[atlarge-discuss] Re: Comment?

[eric@hi-tek.com]

Yes of course I can.

First of all let us get it straight.  Viet Nam is a case study of how to do it
right, we watch and learn every day from your mistakes and implement corrections.
The term here used "communist ruled" is pejorative. They run their country as we
would like to run the At Large. In truth it is the Socialist Republic thereof.
Independence, Freedom and Happiness (and we have added PRIDE in our education
outreach) are the words of direction of this great nation.  Their declaration of
Independence written by Uncle Ho is almost a direct translation of The USA's, with
much of Abraham Lincoln's' beliefs added in, along with Juarez's sentiments on
social justice.

As to the protection and utmost dedication to their young in protecting them from
smut, they are outstanding world citizens.  We are registering over 700 Internet
cafes and what we term PIAs (Public Internet Access) and we are educating and
warning against bad content and wrongful usage.  I only hope the government can
move quicker than we can in stamping out pornography access to children.

OTOH,  Hanoi, led by the very wise Mr. Thuy of VNNIC is doing all it can to open
access and free speech on the internet, in a socially responsible manner.
Secretary General Truc of the DGPT is an extremely brilliant and gentle man who is
very concerned of the balance between free speech and degradation of human
affairs.

Inspections of PIAs are a must.  They must pay proper amounts for commercial use,
they must contain proper fire prevention (China) they must limit access for young
people to see smut and/or Nazi type content.

Yes our great nation of Viet Nam is suffering some growing pains in access.  But
we are working night and day to do so in a socially responsible manner, in
accordance with international standards, and national security, free speech,
cultural integrity, and above all we look to a moral basis of right and wrong
derived from a multicultural understanding of protection of the less advantaged.

We will place concepts like, Privacy, and children's' rights to be unharmed, far
above free speech and IP considerations and place them above whois and commercial
interests.  We consider the Internet and dotVN to be a resource of the people of
this great nation, not a resource for exploitation of commercial interests.

Perhaps, this helps.  In general the article is poorly written and tries to
sensationalize what is merely a regulatory scheme to assess access to improper
content.  No different from the USA and in fact modelled somewhat after it.

Sincerely,
Eric Dierker
Chief InterGlobal Strategest
Hi-Tek.com.vn
Authorized Global Marketing Agent for Viet Nam


DannyYounger@cs.com wrote:

> Eric, can you provide us with any informative updates on this story?
>
> HANOI (Reuters) - Communist-ruled Vietnam has ordered local authorities to
> inspect Internet usage in its two biggest cities in a crackdown on "harmful
> information" from cyberspace, officials said on Tuesday. A spokesman at the
> Directorate General of Posts and Telecommunications (DGPT) told Reuters the
> scrutiny, which started last week, would be nationwide after initially
> targeting the capital city Hanoi and commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City.
>
> "It is our policy to prevent (access to) harmful information on the net, but
> at the same time to encourage local people to use the Internet," the
> spokesman for the telecom regulator said.
>
> "DGPT and the culture ministry have guided the content for inspection and
> local cultural inspectors would cooperate with police to check all public
> Internet service accesses (cafes)."
>
> No definition was provided on what the state deems as harmful information,
> but subversive and pornographic material are banned.
>
> About one million of Vietnam's 80 million population surf the Internet.
>
> An official at the Ministry of Culture and Information, which censors
> Internet content, confirmed the crackdown has started, but added the ministry
> had not reviewed inspection results.
>
> It was not clear how long the inspections would last.
>
> In opening up the telecoms market, Vietnam has licensed three firms to
> provide Internet access but have kept the gateways state controlled.
>
> The tighter curbs on cyberspace are not the first in the Southeast Asian
> country, which is seeking to push an aggressive economic agenda and promote
> foreign investment while maintaining control over its population.
>
> Earlier this year, the government detained three dissidents for publishing on
> the Internet pro-democracy texts and criticism of Vietnam's border agreements
> with China. In addition, official media have warned about teenagers using the
> Internet to download pornography.
>
> On Wednesday, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper said the culture ministry has
> suspended a Web site designed as a forum for Vietnamese youth, as the hosts
> had not registered and some materials carried by the site "were wrongful and
> violated the press law."
>
> Vietnam has 12 licensed Internet Service Providers but only four have begun
> operating. The fifth, a military-run firm, plans to launch later this month. +


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