On the evening of May 22, 2022, on social networking sites, photos of some Vietnamese leaders such as President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, etc., were sitting in the stands watching the football match between Thailand and Thailand. and Vietnam with their clothes and tea made as if they were going to a meeting.
On the same day, another photo showing the leader’s nameplates in the stands during a women’s soccer match also caused a stir on social media. The photo has the names of Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky, secretary of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee, and Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, former chairwoman of Vietnam’s National Assembly.
In 2018, Ms. Ngan caused controversy with the image of her shaking hands and patting the heads of two players Quang Hai and Cong Phuong of the Vietnam U23 team. While the state press called Ms. Ngan’s action “a gesture of affection“; “Affectionately patting the head“, netizens think that this is an act of condescension and superiority of the country’s top legislator.
As a citizen, journalist Nguyen Ngoc Gia commented:
“The first is that until now, the 5K regulation (Covid-19 preventions) is still valid. While they are the top leaders, they themselves are violating. That is deplorable. The laws they make, but only apply to the people. They violate the law and lose their dignity. Secondly, in the socio-economic situation that can be said to be very tragic, which has been warned by many experts, but they can still calmly, cheerfully, and happily watch football, I can’t imagine the Vietnamese people would be so unhappy, having such public servants. Their attitudes as leaders at the top and bottom reflect a moral decadence that is beyond redemption.
It is also the embodiment of the images of people pouring into the streets without respecting 5K but also having bizarre actions just for the purpose of celebrating winning a football match.
The most condemnable thing for the top leaders of the Vietnamese communist government, namely the Politburo, the Central Commission for Education and Propaganda, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and even the National Assembly, did not have a word to stop the so-called “disgraceful” acts of the nation. As a citizen of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, I feel humiliation and despair in the current situation in Vietnam.”
The “bizarre actions” that journalist Nguyen Ngoc Gia mentioned are nude images of some young people pouring out into the street to celebrate the victory [Vietnam’s U23 football team won the Seagame final match against the Thai’s one], or placards with words and images that are considered offensive to Thailand.
Perhaps only Vietnam has such images that are considered monstrous both in the stands and on the street after the victory. Composer Le Thieu commented:
“People in the world still go to watch football normally, only security is guaranteed. But in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the officials are very polite. Just now in the football final, the state leaders must have a table for tea and water, not to mention they have a lot of security guards. Those costs are very expensive, but they are also temporarily acceptable if they are leaders such as the Prime Minister or the President of the country. Here, there are very average officials at the department or district level, but when going to watch sports, they also put nametags in front of them. People are very allergic to these images.
First time I’ve seen it but never before. The brazen and uncultured acts are increasing day by day. Their faces are getting thicker and thicker, not knowing weirdness or shame; I don’t know what to do, what not to do.”
Many people believe that sport connects people with each other through equality. Looking at the photos of the heads of democratic countries going to watch sports matches, people feel the closeness and harmony with the people in simple clothes, the seats are not too different. Maybe it’s just more security. Lawyer Vu Duc Khanh from Canada expressed his views to RFA via the Facebook Messenger application:
“In liberal democracies, about once every four years, the people have the right to choose their national leaders. If the leaders seem cold and distant from the masses, they will not get re-election votes. Therefore, the leader must always find a way to create the image closest to the people. And sports, especially those that are loved by the whole country, are the best means of doing this public relations work. At that time, leaders wanted to be close to the people, sharing their joys and sorrows. A leader’s best image is one who is closest to the crowd around him. I think the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam have not shared these “democratic” values!
The cultural story of Vietnamese leaders is a long, sad story that everyone who spoke to RFA acknowledged. Many people still remember in May 2016, exactly six years ago, the Vietnamese government brought Vietnamese girls in revealing four-piece dresses to dance and sing at the state banquet for the President of the United States. At that time, it was Barack Obama.
Most recently, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s vest was unbuttoned while standing next to US President Joe Biden on May 12, 2022, at the White House.
Also during the visit to the United States of Vietnam by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the website of the US State Department appeared with a short clip showing the way of speaking and language of Vietnamese officials who were called “uncultured” and “shame the Vietnamese in the country” by netizens.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
