What happened in April 2016: socio-cultural, literary, and political news and events relating to Vietnam and to the Vietnamese diaspora. [Comments (in brackets “[ ]”) are the opinion of the poster and does not reflect the view of diaCRITICS]
Announcement
• The 2016 Pulitzer Prize for fiction is awarded to Viet Thanh Nguyen for his book, The Sympathizer. Prof. Nguyen discusses his two books.
Viet Kieu in the news
• Vietnamese Americans commemorate the 41st anniversary of the fall of South Vietnam.
• Decades later, many Vietnamese immigrants experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
• Famed human rights activist Nguyen Van Dai‘s wife Vu Minh Khanh comes to Orange County’s Little Saigon to plea for her husband’s freedom.
News about Viet Nam
• Rapper Suboi talks about her experience acting in a Vietnamese film.
• With still a few obstacles to overcome, Vietnam is on track toward attaining the emerging-market status.
• Tuoi Tre News discusses the Vietnam-U.S. post-war relations with a U.S. historian.
• The rampant use of unsafe and toxic food in Vietnam is very dangerous to human health since it can cause cancer.
• International human rights groups are petitioning for a probe into the torture of a Christian activist who was beaten by police.
• The Vietnamese government introduced new rules to prohibit student from posting critical comments of the government.
• Four refugees returned to Vietnam by Australia have been sentenced to prison.
• Thailand invades Vietnam–Thailand investors, that is.
Other News
• The Korean-Vietnamese Peace Foundation held an event commemorating Vietnamese war victims.
• Senator John Kerry talks about the Vietnam War and its aftereffects.
• China’s controls of six dams on the upper Mekong River is exacerbating droughts in Southeast Asian countries.
• Ever since the government recognized the importance of the private sector, the signs of a market economy has been everywhere.
• A candidate for the U.S. Senate said: “when [Vietnamese immigrants] needed something to eat, they went to their natural ways of doing it by harvesting people’s dogs and cats, their pets.” [Racism is still the best way to get votes in America]
Special thanks to Viet Thanh Nguyen for providing some news items.
RP