A rare internal power struggle in Vietnam over the past few months resulted in the ousting of several major leaders for corruption and the appointment of a new president, former police general To Lam.
But democratic governments courting Vietnam as an attractive market and alternative to China should be wary. Rather than a hopeful sign, Lam’s rise to power is indicative of the Vietnam government’s worsening repression, its complete intolerance of criticism, and utter hostility to basic civil and political rights.
As head of Vietnam’s abusive Ministry of Public Security since April 2016, Lam is no stranger to notoriety. In November 2021 – while Vietnam was struggling through a COVID-19 lockdown – a video surfaced of the celebrity chef “Salt Bae” feeding a $2,000 gold-encrusted steak to Lam in London. The video went viral. To make matters worse, Lam was enjoying the carbon-emitting feast while leading an official delegation to the United Nations COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.
Shortly afterwards, the rights activist Bui Tuan Lam, who parodied the feast on social media, was sentenced to five and a half years in prison.
But eating a $2,000 steak when per capita income in........