By AP News Sep 14, 2012 1:55PM UTC
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s government has vowed to crack down on three dissident blogs, a move that appeared to backfire Thursday as record numbers of people visited the sites and the bloggers pledged to keep up their struggle for freedom of expression.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s order for police to arrest those responsible for the websites reflects growing unease within the Communist Party over the emergence of blogs and social media accounts that publish dissenting views, independent reporting and whistleblowing. The party doesn’t allow free media, and it fears criticism or discussion of its failings on the Internet could lead to social instability and — ultimately — loss of its power.
“Nobody can shut our mouth or stop our freedom of expression,” said a member of the team that administers one of the targeted blogs, Danlambao. “This is our mission. We will continue at any cost.” The blogger chatted over the Internet with The Associated Press on the condition that his name and exact location not be published because of the risk of arrest.
Danlambao, or “Citizens’ Journalism,” is one of the most prominent of several dissident blogs that have started in the last two years.
Read more: http://asiancorrespondent.com/89282/under-fire-vietnamese-bloggers-keep-up-dissent/
