US embassy cable - 01HOCHIMINHCITY1316

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001316 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BEXP, BTIO, ECON, ECIN, ETRD, PGOV, PREL, VM, BTA 
SUBJECT: DPO'S MEETING WITH STANDING DEPUTY SECRETARY OF HCMC COMMUNIST PARTY COMMITTEE 
 
1.  SUMMARY: DPO MET WITH VO VAN CUONG, STANDING DEPUTY 
SECRETARY OF THE HCMC COMMUNIST PARTY COMMITTEE (CPC), 
 
SIPDIS 
NOVEMBER 8, ACCOMPANIED BY ECONOFF AND CONOFF.  CUONG 
SAID HCMC HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A "LAB" FOR PARTY 
POLICY FORMULATION, BUT STRESSED THAT FINAL ACTION ON 
"EXPERIMENTS" RESTS WITH THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE IN 
HANOI.  CUONG SAID HE HOPED THE USG WOULD PLAY A 
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SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN LINKING U.S. AND VIETNAMESE 
BUSINESSES AS BOTH SIDES IMPLEMENT THE BTA.  ASKED 
ABOUT CONTROLS ON INTERNET ACCESS, HE STATED THE PARTY 
UNDERSTANDS VIETNAM MUST BE MORE OPEN FOR THE COUNTRY 
TO SUCCEED IN THE GLOBAL MARKET.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. CUONG WELCOMED DPO TO HCMC, AND SAID THAT HCMC HAS 
HISTORICALLY BEEN A "LAB" FOR EXPERIMENTATION ON POLICY 
FORMATION.  HE CITED THREE EXAMPLES ON THE SOCIAL 
FRONT: POVERTY REDUCTION AND HUNGER ELIMINATION, 
"HOUSES OF COMPASSION" AND "HOUSES OF GRATITUDE." 
(NOTE: THE LATTER TWO ARE SOCIAL PROGRAMS PROVIDING 
HOUSING TO POOR FAMILIES AND TO FAMILIES WHO LOST 
MEMBERS DURING THE WAR.)  HE ADDED THAT THE HCMC CPC IS 
CURRENTLY FOCUSED ON A NUMBER OF OTHER SOCIAL AND 
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, NOTING HE IS IN CHARGE 
OF MONITORING AND IMPLEMENTING ALL PROGRAMS DEVELOPED 
BY THE CPC.  HE CITED PROGRAMS ON STREET CRIME, 
PROSTITUTION, AND DRUG USE AS EXAMPLES.  HE ALSO CITED 
FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR THE 
POOR AS EXAMPLES OF PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSING 
PROBLEMS CREATED BY HCMC'S RAPID POPULATION GROWTH. 
 
3. CUONG SAID THAT, ON THE ECONOMIC SIDE, HCMC HAS BEEN 
THE TESTING GROUND FOR MANY PILOT PROJECTS.  THE CITY'S 
DYNAMISM HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE SUCCESS AND EVENTUAL 
NATIONWIDE IMPLEMENTATION OF MANY OF THESE PROJECTS. 
DPO SUGGESTED HCMC'S DYNAMISM WILL BE AN IMPORTANT 
FACTOR IN THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BTA, 
INTIMATING THE HCMC CPC WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO 
PLAY A DIRECT ROLE IN CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR 
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SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.  RESPONDING TO A 
FOLLOW-ON POINT ABOUT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE 
INTERNET, CUONG SAID EXPLICITLY THAT THE CPC 
UNDERSTANDS THERE WILL HAVE TO BE MORE OPENNESS IN 
ORDER FOR VIETNAM TO BE COMPETITIVE IN THE GLOBAL 
MARKETPLACE. 
 
4. CUONG SAID HE HOPES FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION ON BTA 
IMPLEMENTATION, IN ORDER TO MAKE THE BTA BENEFICIAL FOR 
BOTH SIDES.  HE SAID THE GVN IS IN THE PROCESS OF 
REVIEWING ITS POLICIES AT THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL 
IN ORDER TO FIND AND ROOT OUT BARRIERS TO SUCCESSFUL 
IMPLEMENTATION.  HE ADDED THAT HE HOPES CONGEN HCMC 
WILL PLAY A LEADING ROLE IN LINKING U.S. AND VIETNAMESE 
BUSINESSES AND LOOKS FORWARD TO A CLOSER WORKING 
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE USG AND GVN. 
 
5. TURNING TO THE DELICATE ISSUE OF PRESS COVERAGE, DPO 
ASKED HOW THE CONSULATE GENERAL COULD BEST WORK TO 
ADDRESS A LACK OF BALANCE IN VIETNAMESE PRESS REPORTING 
ON THE WAR AGAINST TERRORISM IN AFGHANISTAN.  CUONG 
REPLIED THAT, ALTHOUGH HE DID NOT KNOW THE DETAILS 
ABOUT HOW REPORTING IS DEVELOPED, NEWSPAPERS IN VIETNAM 
REPORT NEWS ONLY "TO THE LEVEL OF THEIR KNOWLEDGE."  IN 
ADDITION TO INCOMPLETE INFORMATION, CUONG SAID ANOTHER 
PROBLEM THE PRESS FACES IS THE GROWING 
COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE PAPERS AND A RESULTING 
SENSATIONALISM OF THE NEWS AS THE MEDIA COMPETES TO 
"MAKE A BUCK."  HE SAID THERE HAVE BEEN CASES WHERE THE 
PARTY ITSELF HAS BEEN DISPLEASED WITH PRESS REPORTING. 
AT THE END OF THE DISCUSSION HE SAID HE "TOOK NOTE" OF 
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THE ISSUE.  (NOTE: ALTHOUGH THERE IS CONSIDERABLE 
LEEWAY IN THE WAY EDITORS CAN PRESENT THE NEWS, WE HAVE 
BEEN TOLD THEY MUST CLEAR THEIR MATERIAL BEFORE IT IS 
PUBLISHED TO ENSURE IT IS IN LINE WITH PARTY VIEWS -- 
WHICH ON IMPORTANT ISSUES ARE DETERMINED IN HANOI.) 
 
6. COMMENT:  THIS MEETING FOUND CUONG MORE WILLING TO 
ENGAGE THAN IN THE PAST, WHILE STILL FOCUSED ON SET 
RESPONSES TO SENSITIVE TOPICS.  ON ECONOMIC 
DEVELOPMENT, IN PARTICULAR, IT IS NOTEWORTHY THAT THIS 
CPC OFFICIAL EXPRESSED HIGH HOPES FOR THE BTA AND 
AGREED PROPER IMPLEMENTATION IS IMPORTANT AND WILL 
REQUIRE SOME CHANGES.  HE ALSO CONFIRMED HCMC'S ROLE AS 
AN INCUBATOR FOR NEW IDEAS -- AND WAS EVEN QUICK TO 
PICK UP ON THE NEED FOR MORE OPENNESS TO ATTRACT 
FOREIGN BUSINESS.  IT WILL BE IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP 
PROGRAMS EARLY ON, WHICH WILL HELP HCMC CAPITALIZE ON 
THE BTA AND BECOME A MODEL FOR MODERN BUSINESS 
PRACTICES COUNTRYWIDE.   YAMAUCHI 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED