The Vietnamese political system is authoritarian, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being tightly restricted. There are no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, all religious activity is controlled by the CPV, dissent is not permitted, and civil rights are curtailed. Elections in Vietnam occur under a single-party authoritarian political system. Vietnam is among the few contemporary party-led dictatorships to not hold any direct multiparty elections at the national level. The competitive nature of the elections is highly constrained by the Communist Party's monopoly on power in Vietnam, limitations on free speech, and government interference with the elections. (Full article...)
Image 6Water puppetry, lit. "Making puppets dance on water") is a tradition that dates back as far as the 11th century when it originated in the villages of the Red River Delta area of northern Vietnam.
Image 8Dong Ho painting is a line of Vietnamese folk painting originating in Đông Hồ village (Song Hồ commune, Thuận Thành District, Bắc Ninh Province.
... that Nothgottes, a pilgrimage destination in the Rheingau since the 14th century, is a monastery of Cistercians from Vietnam?
... that the owner of the bus service connecting the two largest Vietnamese-American communities in the United States was the target of an assassination plot by a competitor?
... that when students spoke Vietnamese in a graduation speech in Louisiana, the school district proposed banning all non-English languages?
... that Lài dogs were instrumental in the Vietnamese Lam Sơn uprising against Ming China in 1418–1428?
Image 13A trio of Vietnamese musicians performing together. The man on the far left plays kèn đám ma, the man in the middle plays the đàn nhị and the man on the right plays the trống chầu. (from Culture of Vietnam)
Image 14Vietnamese calligraphy depicting people on a boat, the calligraphy says, "Thuyền nhân" (from Culture of Vietnam)
Image 1519th-century manuscript of "Mysterious tales of the Southern Realm" (Lĩnh Nam chích quái), a copy of 15th-century original tale. (from Culture of Vietnam)
Image 16A lantern procession during Tết Trung Thu in Vietnam, which is also celebrated as "Children's Festival". (from Culture of Vietnam)