The power needed to be taken away from the ruling families and given to the scholars who did well on the official examinations. Like the era of Le Thanh Tong where the philosophy and the key idea that the government should be run by men/women of noble character as opposed to those from noble families. So people who are naturally gifted and hard working should run things. It makes sense since there is no guarantees that your children will be like you. So it makes sense to hand power to those who are more capable and have proven themselves. Vietnam has been through one tribulation after another because opportunistic external forces and weak leaders. However, we alway get back on our feet because it never lacks those who are capable, but they only emerge during chaos. In time of peace and order they're being suppressed by the ruling families. Its a vicious cycle, but I think Le Thanh Tong knew what's up.

Well, drop me a line and tell me what you think.

What do I think?

I think you should be more practical, and cut back on your dreaming.

I agree. They should also study the Classics in schools and again in applying for public positions....

My apology Big Brother asean, I did not mean to malign the party--it wasn't part of the ordeal. I apologize again for my though, you have every right to upbraid my action, since it is against the party's principle. Let not continue any further because this is so vacuous. Please big brother forgive my crime against the people. I will lock myself in my home for a couple of month, taking the time praying to my ancestors to absolve my sin.

I strongly agree with Gene, there are official examinations in Vietnam now but these are for low-level administration and virtually have little practical impact on public services.

This is the first from Ministry of Education, in which you can self nominate for the position of Vice Minister.
http://www.ktdt.com.vn/newsdetail.asp?CatI...mp;NewsId=70759

The current government is mixed with both elitists and idiots.

Good luck.....If that system is to be installed, the first to fail such an exam will be comrade #1.

Screw all this examination crap, VietNam should reform all institutions and follow the VNCH model of government . The VNCH model is ideal for many reasons, you don't have to be an intellectual of any kind because for a few bucks you could easily purchase a rank within the government.

If it weren't for the evil Viet Cong and their liberation schemes some members of my family could've become commanders of the ARVN

Forget about Le Thanh Tong...why go that far back?
http://blog.freedomhouse.org/weblog/2008/0...in-pr.html#more

Crackdown in Progress in Vietnam


Rapid economic growth in countries like Vietnam and China has fed the debate regarding the tradeoff between democracy and development. Although not free, citizens of these nations have benefited from significant wealth increases and poverty reduction. Yet not only has the expansion of freedom been slow, but the gains are often quite fragile. Indeed, facing setbacks to economic growth, undemocratic governments may quickly reverse advances in liberty. This appears to be the case in Vietnam. Like neighboring China, Vietnam has experienced impressive economic growth after pursuing market-oriented reforms. Yet Vietnam also shares with China a profound reluctance to permit political reforms. And now, in the face of recent financial reversals, Vietnam’s government has once again moved to stifle outcroppings of freedom and democracy in the country.

As the 2006 Countries at the Crossroads report on Vietnam notes, the government is run by the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP). The VCP is the only true political party permitted, and it jealously guards its power. Indeed, the government brooks little dissent. Freedom of speech is harshly limited. Citizens are incarcerated for expressing independent political views or belonging to opposition political parties. Religious leaders are harassed for not affiliating with state-controlled committees. The state owns or controls all media.

For a long time, however, rapid economic growth – combined with the VCP’s legacy as the winners of Vietnam’s independence – has helped suppress pressure for more freedom. But Vietnam has lately faced serious economic problems. The trade deficit has soared and the booming stock market and property prices have dropped. Inflation is a serious concern. The economy had grown at about 8% annually for the past decade, but the rate for 2008 will be lower. This combination has created widespread pessimism about the government’s ability to manage the situation. After all, the cost/benefit calculation of challenging an authoritarian government changes considerably when such a regime’s signature achievement is tarnished.

Not coincidentally, the VCP is now in the midst of an intensified crackdown on political expression. On September 10, prominent blogger Nguyen Hoang Hai, known as Dieu Cay, was sentenced to over two years imprisonment for alleged tax fraud after leading protests against corruption and human rights abuses that annoyed the VCP. The police arrested him in April after he lodged protests against China for claims over disputed islands in the South China Sea. Last week’s trial was closed to the public and had grave procedural irregularities. Human Rights Watch notes that “Dieu Cay’s imprisonment fits a wider pattern of harassment and arrest by Vietnamese authorities of independent journalists, human rights activists, cyber dissidents, religious freedom advocates, and farmers protesting confiscation of their land.” The conviction also sparked protests by Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Following Dieu Cay’s trial, the police continued the crackdown with the arrest of various activists. Among the arrested are activists who evidently sought to join a Hanoi land dispute being waged by Catholics over church land seized by the government for a private company. Land protests are common in Vietnam, as the government has been inclined to take advantage of climbing property prices by confiscating land. The government’s crackdown also seeks to limit public objections to land disputes. In general, the current counterattack against dissent may be tied to the desire to stop dissent in its tracks, before economic pressures bring the urge to protest to a wider section of society.

As in many systems as opaque as Vietnam’s, corruption is also an important theme. For governments that prioritize growth above all else, corruption can act as a damper by scaring foreign investors and decreasing citizens satisfaction, which can lead to instability. However, in closed systems, the mechanisms for combating graft are almost invariably feeble. Vietnam is no exception. The government realizes that public disgust with corruption is very high and constitutes a challenge to its legitimacy. Yet the government lately has reversed the leeway allowed to the media in covering major corruption cases. In essence, the government has gone after those exposing graft even while it claims to be fighting public corruption. In May 2008, two anti-corruption journalists were picked up. The journalists, Nguyen Van Hai and Nguyen Viet Chien, reported in 2006 on a scandal involving public funds used by public officials to bet on soccer matches. The government arrested high-level officials and generally praised the press. However, in March 2008, one of the accused was cleared of wrongdoing, and the two journalists were soon detained. The press has been pressured to refrain from coverage, although the journalists’ papers are top sellers and the story remains in public conversation.

As Vietnam reconciles the ups and downs of capitalism and the accretion of freedoms, it might look beyond autocratic China at healthier nearby models: Taiwan and South Korea. Those countries transitioned from one-party dictatorships to multi-party democracies while still increasing national income. While the very different histories of these countries make such a comparison highly superficial, the point is that the China/Singapore model is not the only one available to emulate, even in Vietnam’s own neighborhood. At the very least, a good start for the VCP would be to stop, even in the face of economic uncertainty, the current crackdown on civil and political liberties.

yea "vietnam" always manage to ruin our topics with that his VNCH crap

back to the topic, the first thing we have to do is spread education to every citizen in our country. You know education from grade 1-12 in Vietnam is not free like in the US so pretty much only middle class and upper class families can send their kids to school.

Why are you so obsessed about VNCHs.....everywhere you look, there's a VNCH...... If someone says something critical of the government, he is VNCH



So after twenty some years of "open doors" policies, kids from poor families can't afford to be in schools. The government is drowning itself in investors' USD now, but they can't afford to provide free education as they once did during the "close doors" period, when there were so little foods and little of everything else? What's the excuse this time around?

just to let you know
i paid over $25 000 for my degree
nothing in the US, the world's premier economy, is free pal

K-12 is provided free for all, even children of illegal immigrants who will get free lunches because of their family low-income status. Higher education costs more, but nowhere to the point children of the low income families can't afford an education. Low income family kid is considered having an edge over the middle income family one because the kid's education is subsidized by the state in forms of work-study, funds, scholarships.....etc....Middle income family kids are those who have to struggle in term of financing their education, but they can always work part time, earning merit based scholarships, borrowing student loans at a low interest rate......etc...I haven't heard of a case where these kids get dropped out because they/their families can't afford their tuitions/books. Most of the time, the student drops out because he couldn't keep up the intellectual demands of higher education.

Nothing in America is free because it is a capitalist country. If it provides free lunches/education for the children of the illegal immigrants, it hopes to keep these kids in schools, and away from the thugs on the streets. In exchange for free lunches/education, these kids are expected to learn about the possibility of a better life having a college degree. (Whether these kids choose to believe it or not is up to them, not the schools or the government)

As for the price tag of $25,000 USD for a college degree that will put one into the middle class dream of America, I think it is a bargain in the long run.

wow
i wonder what life was like under the VNCH in pre-1975
must be heaven on earth

because they can't afford it PERIOD
China itself didn't provide free elementary education until this year.
stop vach la tim sau

That's good to hear.

VN will provide free elementary education by 2016.

I wonder if official examination requires scholars to take Calculus. It is a very enjoyable subject to study.

That's quite a bargain.

Nowadays, $25K is enough to cover one year at a public university.

Hell yea, wouldn't it be cool to be able to say you "do~ Trang Nguyen" in this day and age?

do you guys know that in the First District of Ho Chi Minh City there is a cuộc thi called "Trạng Nguyên Lương Thế Vinh" for kids in elementary/middle/high school?
Basically the kids just go there and compete in various areas of studies like Math, History, Literature, Art etc. They compete individually and the winner of each age get the Trạng Nguyên title and the school where they come from will be very honored. They get to wear áo trạng nguyên, mũ trạng nguyên, ngồi kiệu trạng nguyên and all that cool stuff. Other districts of Saigon should copy this because it's a very fun and educational competition, vừa giúp các em có một sân chơi lành mạnh bổ ích vừa giúp các em tìm lại cội nguồn lịch sử của mình.

i went to college
do some expressed courses then transferred to uni
saved big time
i havent include the textbooks and other expenses
$25k is the just the tuition fees

Vạch lá tìm sâu???? Chẳng cần vì giòi đầy ra đó thôi........

For a collections of writings regarding this issues, one can go here and read. Warning, the language is very academic and...boring to some.

http://www.talawas.org/talaDB/talaDBFront.php?rb=0501

We are not talking about VNCHs, are we? That should be another thread.

I suggest we follow the mercantilism system of Jean Colbert that has long been applied in France.

For "vietnam", anti-gov pages are not valid evidences. People need something more convincing

Anti-government????! Where is your proof that it is anti-government? or just because they dare admitting to the sorry problem of the so-called XHCN education, it's automatically anti-government? (You sound very objective and open-minded)

For the most convincing evidences, let's read the state-controlled newspapers and watch their TV programs......

^ Too bad 'vietnam' prefers Nguy controlled radio.

Not only that, but I also prefer to read "phản động" articles......the more the government said it was "phản động", the better it was, IMO. I recommend you do the same, comrade. Want me to post some links to read in your free time? Just PM me anytime, ok?

^ The bad thing is you just only read and whine. As for doing anything physically about it, you are too chicken.

I don't blame you. Like nguy, like 'vietnam'.

js cant admit it cant you?

Physical about it? Like pulling a gun on someone like you in real life???? I thought only violent exptremists/terrorists would talk like it.......like VCs, like comrade 'asean'.

I do pleinty. I tell.

^ No gun or knife is needed. If you have a problem with our government, just fly to Hanoi and say it straight to the government face. No need to talk crap behind the government back.

Admit to what....it being paradise???? Did I say it was paradise anywhere?

admit that you 3 que talk big but do jack

About going back......I am doing what HCM was doing in those years writing flaming articles from the safety of France, Soviet, and China. Some 20-30 years in total, I remember. Are you telling me HCM was coward during those years , for not confronting the brutal colonists in Hanoi in person during those years? Use your head, comrade. My staying in the USA is not that long, and I still have things to learn from them, rotten capitalists.

I don't know about "3 que". Why don't you ask them yourself. Just be sure to take cover if one of them decide to get "physical" w/ you, ok?