Vietnam
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. It borders China, Laos, Cambodia, and the Gulf of Tonkin.
History
Main article: History of Vietnam
For much of its history, Vietnam was either a vassal state or under the direct control of China. France occupied Vietnam in 1884, ruling it as a colony and as a part of Indochina, until expelled by Japan in World War II. During the war, Vietnamese nationalist forces that have previously fought against the French formed a united front named Việt Minh (Việt Nam Độc Lập Đồng Minh or Allies for Vietnamese Independence) to drive off the Japanese. After the war, France (with the collaboration of the Allies) attempted to regain control of the country, but the Việt Minh were quicker to grasp the opportunity. On September 2, 1945, Việt Minh's leader, Hồ Chí Minh, declared Viet Nam's independence and the formation of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam (DRV). War broke out between France and the Việt Minh in 1946, which lasted until the defeat of French forces in the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. With the French's subsequent surrender, the First Indochina War (1946-1954) came to an end.
On July 20, 1954, the Geneva Accords was signed by French and Vietnamese representatives. Vietnam was partitioned, ostensibly temporarily into Northern and Southern zones. Ho Chi Minh was the leader of North Vietnam and former Emperor Bao Dai was the leader of the South Vietnam and he appointed the religious nationalist Ngo Dinh Diem as his Prime Minister. Following the partition, there was a mass exodus of millions of North Vietnamese, many Catholic, to the South to escape persecution. A general election to be held in June 1956 (Article 3), and a prohibition against introducing foreign troops (Article 4).
In 1955, Ngo Dinh Diem used a referendum to remove former Emperor Bao Dai and form a republic, taking control of the South himself, while managing to win American support. The referendum was widely regarded as fraudulent, showing an alleged 98 percent in favor of Diem. Bao Dai abdicated once again and remained in exile in Paris.
Ngo Dinh Diem refused to open consultation with the North Vietnamese concerning general elections when the date for these fell due in July 1955. According to the Pentagon Papers, this was because Ho Chi Minh would have significant support in the north, mainly because the communists had implemented a massive land reform that resulted in poor peasants gaining ownership of the land. No such reforms were implemented in the South, causing it to lose key peasant support. The South refused to abide by the Geneva Conference that declared a Republic because, according to them, under Ho Chi Minh and his government, North Vietnamese people were not free to choose or to vote. This was hypocritical since South Vietnam was a dictatorship that strictly forbade opposition. Their move was followed by the declaration of North Vietnam as an independent country by Ho Chi Minh, backed by the USSR and China.
Economic and military aid from the United States to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government in the struggle against domestic Viet Cong guerrilas supported by North Vietnam (see Vietnam War). Despite an intense military effort by the USA, the Viet Cong continued to gain ground and, its supporters argued, popular support. US armed forces were eventually withdrawn following a ceasefire agreement which was signed in Paris in January 1973. Two years later, ignoring the Paris ceasefire agreement, the North Vietnamese army invaded. Some people consider this action to have been one of "occupation", while others see it as a long-awaited "liberation". Regardless, the fact remains that Vietnam was re-unified and the war ended. A total of about 3.8 million lives had been lost over the course of this war.
Following the communist victory, many highly skilled and educated Vietnamese fled the country, causing a severe brain drain. The number of refugees fleeing the country in unsafe conditions were so alarming that the United Nations had to set up refugee camps in neighboring nations to process them. Economic reconstruction of the reunited country has proven difficult at first, but Vietnam eventually recovered from the devastation of the war.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Vietnam
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed through a highly centralized system dominated by the Vietnamese Communist Party (Đảng Cộng Sản Việt Nam), which was formerly known as the Vietnamese Labor Party. The government is in theory independent from the party, but in practice it receives most of its directives from the party. Although there has been some effort to discourage membership in overlapping party and state positions, this practice continues. Four Politburo members (Phan Van Khai, Nguyen Tan Dung, Le Minh Huong, and Pham Van Tra) concurrently hold high positions in the government.
There are no legal opposition parties in Vietnam, although a number of illegal groups do exist scattered overseas among exile communities such as France and the United States, that have led demonstrations and bombings against the government. The most prominent are the Vietnamese Constitutional Monarchist League, People Action's Party of Vietnam, Montagnard Foundation Inc. and the Government of Free Vietnam. The Government of Free Vietnam has claimed responsibility for a number of guerilla raids into Vietnam, which the government has denounced as terrorism.
Former political parties include the nationalist Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang of Nguyen Thai Hoc, the Can Lao party of the Ngo Dinh Diem government and the Viet Nam Duy Tan Hoi of Phan Boi Chau during the colonial period.
Vietnam is a member of the United Nations, La Francophonie, ASEAN, and APEC and is has applied for membership to the World Trade Organization.
Map of Vietnam
Provinces
Main article: Provinces of Vietnam
Vietnam's capital (thủ đô, singular and plural) is Hà Nội.
There are also four municipalities (thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương, singular and plural) existing at provincial level:
Cần Thơ, Đà Nẵng, Hải Phòng, Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
Besides, the country is divided into fifty-nine provinces (tỉnh, singular and plural):
An Giang, Bắc Giang, Bắc Kạn, Bạc Liêu, Bắc Ninh, Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu, Bến Tre, Bình Định, Bình Dương, Bình Phước, Bình Thuận, Cà Mau, Cao Bằng, Đắk Lắk, Đắk Nông, Điện Biên, Đồng Nai, Đồng Tháp, Gia Lai, Hà Giang, Hải Dương, Hà Nam, Hà Tây, Hà Tĩnh, Hòa Bình, Hậu Giang, Hưng Yên, Khánh Hòa, Kiên Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Châu, Lâm Đồng, Lạng Sơn, Lào Cai, Long An, Nam Định, Nghệ An, Ninh Bình, Ninh Thuận, Phú Thọ, Phú Yên, Quảng Bình, Quảng Nam, Quảng Ngãi, Quảng Ninh, Quảng Trị, Sóc Trăng, Sơn La, Tây Ninh, Thái Bình, Thái Nguyên, Thanh Hóa, Thừa Thiên-Huế, Tiền Giang, Trà Vinh, Tuyên Quang, Vĩnh Long, Vĩnh Phúc, Yên Bái.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Vietnam
The country is approximately 331,688 square kilometers. The topography consists of hills and densely forested mountains, with level land covering no more than 20 percent. Mountains account for 40 percent, hills 40 percent, and forests 75 percent. The northern part of the country consists of highlands and the Red River Delta; the south is divided into coastal lowlands, Dai Truong Son (central mountains) with high plateaus, and the Mekong River Delta.
The climate is tropical and monsoonal; humidity averages 84 percent throughout the year. Annual rainfall ranges from 120 to 300 centimeters, and annual temperatures vary between 5°C and 37°C.
Land boundaries: Total: 4,639 km border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km
Economy
Main article: Economy of Vietnam
In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam formally abandoned Marxist economic planning and began introducing market elements as part of a broad economic reform package called "Doi Moi" ("Renovation"). In many ways, this followed the Chinese model and achieved similar results. On the one hand, Vietnam achieved around 8% annual GDP growth from 1990 to 1997 and continued at around 7% from 2000 to 2002, making it the world's second-fastest growing economy. Simultaneously, investment grew three-fold and domestic savings quintupled. On the other hand, urban unemployment has been rising steadily in recent years, and rural unemployment, estimated to be up to 35% during nonharvest periods, is already at critical levels. Layoffs in the state sector and foreign-invested enterprises combined with the lasting effects of an earlier military demobilization further exacerbate the unemployment situation. They are attempting to become a member organization of the WTO.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Vietnam
The ethnic Vietnamese are concentrated largely in the alluvial deltas and in the coastal plains, having little in common with the minority peoples of the highlands, whom they historically have regarded as hostile and barbaric. A homogenous social group, the Vietnamese exert influence on national life through their control of political and economic affairs and their role as purveyors of the dominant culture. By contrast, the ethnic minorities, except for the Hoa, are found mostly in the highlands that cover two-thirds of the national territory. The Hoa, the largest minority, are mainly lowlanders. Officially, the ethnic minorities are referred to as national minorities.
More than 87% of the population speaks the Vietnamese language, the nation's official language. Various other languages are spoken by the several minority groups in Vietnam. The most common of these are Chinese and Khmer. French is spoken by some, mostly older Vietnamese, as a second-language. In recent decades, English has become a more popular language to learn and is increasingly used in business, among other things.
See also: List of ethnic groups in Vietnam
Culture
Main article: Culture of Vietnam
Miscellaneous topics
External links
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