The universality of terrible customer service
I have been scouting around Hanoi for my first smartphone and have been very disappointed with the level of customer service.Given that most of these phones sell for more than the average monthly wage,...
View ArticleA low key protest by banned group in Hanoi
UPDATE - Monday 08:00 - Viet Tan says that the Australian Vietnamese woman mentioned below, who seemed to be leading the protest, was arrested on Sunday evening. I have no independent confirmation of...
View ArticleUS defence secretary Robert Gates gets a military welcome in Hanoi
While traveling around Hanoi with US defence secretary Robert Gates' entourage on Monday, I took the following video of the Vietnamese army welcoming him to a meeting at the Ministry of National...
View ArticleWarning: You must be over 160cm to enter this diplomatic service
In many diplomatic services around the world, women meet a glass ceiling as they climb the departmental ladder. In Vietnam, it's more like a glass ruler.Two very able female graduates of Vietnam's...
View ArticleFacebook fights back against Vietnam block
Facebook is battling back against the Vietnamese government's block on the social networking website by looking to recruit a Policy and Growth Manager for Vietnam who will "lead the company’s...
View ArticleWill Alan Shadrake verdict affect Yale's plan to set up a college in Singapore?
Singaporean prosecutors on Wednesday wrapped up their case against Alan Shadrake, the 75-year-old British writer charged with contempt of court after publishing a book critical of the use of the death...
View ArticleUS academic in Singapore casts doubt on Yale tie-up
Over the last year, I've hosted a reasonably robust debate on this blog about academic freedom in Singapore. This has generated some very interesting feedback from readers and others.An anonymous...
View ArticleBeware of Burmese bearing gifts
This morning, I was skulking around the depths of Hanoi's National Convention Centre, which is hosting the Asean and East Asian Summits, when I saw an intriguing sight.A very well presented woman in a...
View ArticleMaturing Vietnam-US relations
When Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, chided Vietnam over its recent human rights record during a joint press conference in Hanoi on Saturday with Pham Gia Khiem, Vietnam's Foreign Minister, he...
View ArticleVietnam's diplomatic height requirement applies to men too
After I blogged last month about the 160cm minimum height requirement for women to join Vietnam's diplomatic service, one reader asked whether there was also a limit for men.Further discussions with...
View ArticleSingapore’s confused stance on media freedom
Singapore’s government likes to be number one. If you want proof, look through any speech by a government minister. They will invariably reel off a list of examples of the city-state coming top of some...
View ArticleVietnam: The face of modern Communism
The right to denounce thy neighbour, comrade, colleague or family member is one of the fundamental building blocks of any self-respecting, self-criticising Communist state.The Vietnamese government is...
View ArticleTime for an Aung San Suu Kyi reality check
When U2 releases a statement sharing Bono and The Edge's views on Southeast Asian politics, you know it's time to take a major reality check.The coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's release thus far has been...
View ArticleTaxi boy and the taxi girls
It's been a while since I penned my last Taxi Tale, a regular blog series dedicated to the insightful anecdotes, witty repartee and occasional pearls of wisdom that emerge from my regular conversations...
View ArticleMoving on
Apologies for the lack of posting. This blog has been through its fair share of changes over the last few years, starting out as part of The Daily Telegraph before going independent and then joining...
View ArticleHistory in the making: live tweeting Vietnam's Communist Party congress
The last time Vietnam's Communist Party met for its all-important five-yearly national congress, Twitter, the 140 character micro-blogging service, was yet to launch.So prepare for a social media...
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The power of connections in Vietnam
Whether you're a luckless street kid, an ambitious Communist party apparatchik or an upstanding foreign investor, there are few greater truisms in Vietnam than "it's not what you know but who you...
View ArticleDiageo thirsty for local alcohol in Vietnam
While a select class of wealthy Vietnamese men like nothing more than cracking open a bottle of Johnnie Walker with their mates at a karaoke bar, the vast majority of alcohol consumed here is home-made...
View ArticleVietnam’s black market alchemists
Life is not easy when annual inflation is more than 12 per cent, your currency is likely to be devalued again shortly and you have to splash out on overpriced Lunar New Year gifts to impress your...
View ArticleComparing corruption in India and Vietnam
My colleague David Pilling has written a great column in today's FT, arguing that, despite much hand-wringing, Indian companies are as much to blame for corruption as government officials.India is said...
View ArticleThe Financial Times is recruiting a News Assistant in Hanoi
Vacancy – News assistant for the Financial Times, HanoiThe Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recently opened a bureau in Hanoi in order to expand its coverage of...
View ArticleWestern pop music in Vietnam: from “social evil” to status symbol
My latest post for the Financial Times' Beyond Brics blog:Throaty song-writing legend Bob Dylan and 90s teen favourites the Backstreet Boys might not have much in common as far as most music fans are...
View Article(Not) Understanding Vietnam
If you want to understand why Vietnam is mired in economic instability, I'd urge you not to read this story on the state-owned Voice of Vietnam news website. The story - an interview with a national...
View ArticleAn interview with Vietnam's first and only astronaut
Today the Financial Times has published a special edition magazine to commemorate the 50th anniversary of man going into space.Below is an extract of my interview with Pham Tuan, Vietnam's first and...
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A historic day: Aung San Suu Kyi meets Hillary Clinton in Yangon
Local and international journalists queue up outside 54 University Avenue, the family residence of Aung San Suu Kyi, where she was detained under house arrest by the military junta for 15 years until...
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