January 2016 News and Events

What happened in January 2016: socio-cultural, literary, and political news and events relating to Vietnam and to the Vietnamese diaspora. [Note: Comments (in brackets “[ ]”) are the opinion of the poster and does not reflect the view of diaCRITICS]

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Announcement

Creative CapitalDao Strom announces, “I’ve just received the very fortunate news that I’ve been awarded a 2016 Creative Capital Award in Literature.”


Viet Kieu in the news


Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning composer Vân-Ánh VõAndrew Lam talks with Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning composer Vân-Ánh Võ about her new work, The Odyssey–From Vietnam to America.


UCI Medical StudentsMedical students volunteer at the free An Lanh Clinic to serve the uninsured in Garden Grove.


Cuong NguyenA Vietnamese American was arrested for allegedly raping, assaulting, and tormenting his ex-girlfriends for nearly two decades.


Front leader Hoang Co Minh• FBI documents reveal the Front was also responsible for violence on refugees in Australia.


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News about Viet Nam


Demonstrators against government• Vietnamese authorities break up a demonstration and arrest petitioners for protesting against government seizure of family farms.


Chinese poisonous coffee• A “black liquid” disguised as concentrated coffee is actually a poisonous chemical substance made in China. [This is probably another one of China’s many ploys to destroy Vietnam and its people.]


Beer consumption• Compared to 2014, in 2015 Vietnam’s beer consumption increased by 10% to 3.4 billion liters. [Another sad statistic.]


Proposed law unfair to poor• The new population law will be “regressive [and] unfair” to the poor.


Mr. Dung and Mr. TrongWith “an old-style ideologue” coming to power, the disconnect between the government and the people continues to widen.


Sacred turtleThe death of a sacred turtle is seen by many Vietnamese as a bad omen for the ruling party and the country.


Illegal gamblingAs a means of tackling the illegal casual sport betting, a draft decree is proposed to allow betting on some sports.


A Hanoi gated communityHanoi’s gated communities reflect the widening gap between the wealthy and the poor.


Other News


Catholic University in Vietnam• In agreement with the Vietnamese government, the Catholic Church will officially open a Catholic university in 2016.


The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced it will create a new mission in Hanoi, Vietnam.


Politically-engaged Asian Americans• A growing number of Asian-Americans are becoming politically engaged, but “Asian-American voters are not getting as much attention from either party.”


 Jim Reischl meets Nguyen Thi Hanh after 40 yearsA U.S. veteran finds the Vietnamese girlfriend he abandoned in 1970.


Special thanks to Viet Thanh Nguyen and Nina Lamaria for providing many of the news items.

RP

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