That’s it the end of the mid-term congress in #Vietnam. While no news is good news, the fact that they didn’t announce/couldn’t agree on new politburo members indicates that infighting is still ongoing. Stable (for now), but not really…

Dancing with the stars, new season!

My appreciation of #Indonesia's democracy 25 years after the fall of Suharto (21 May). No country in recent years did more to make a successful transition. But beyond performative aspects, there've been some real setbacks. Democracy is not irreversible. benarnews.org/english/commen…

Has anyone seen the Barbie movie? What exactly is the scene with the SCS map in it? If this is what the Vietnam’s government thinks the nine-dash line is, it looks wrong to me (because it’s above “Asia”).

And my sabbatical has begun…in a Vietnamese squat…

Vietnam female football team is helping lift the country’s nationalism which has been strongly damaged by details of corruption from shameless politicians in the rescue flight trial. At the end of the day, perhaps only football could unite the country…

Try to beat my breakfast view 🌊

Hanoi’s local govt warns people not to go out to see Biden when he’s in town and close all the doors because the US security force could shoot them down 😂🤣

A double upgrade it is! But there will be no street food moment - so I’m still disappointed!

It tells a lot, seeing To Lam and Truong Thi Mai were closest to Trong on Vietnam side (except the translator).

Panettone and yule log cake made by me, and behind the scenes… Merry Christmas, everyone 🎄

What did I say a year ago? That’s it for such a young man’s political career!

More than half of Vietnam’s politburo members now are MPS and military guys (7/13) - no one has strong economic policy experience. Obviously, the Party no longer sees economic growth as its highest priority, nor sees performance legitimacy as the primary bastion of its authority.

New leadership appointments in #Vietnam indicate rising influence of the military - potentially is a stabilising force for the country’s politics in near future. Looks like 50yrs after the war, the military has an additional role: saving the country from political infightings!

The appointment of Tran Thanh Man to the head of Vietnam’s parliament shows the lack of experienced policymakers in the country at the moment. While it hasn’t had immediate impact on the economy, it definitely poses concerns over longer terms. I’m personally very concerned.

The upcoming leadership appointments in Vietnam will prove my assessment that the country is running out of senior policymakers - which is (again) very concerning.

Nguyen Phu Trong’s greatest legacy is To Lam.

I opened FB and thought there was a prob with my phone because everything turned black & white. Turns out everyone changed their avatars to monochrome. That’s how Vietnamese pay tribute to the late leader Nguyen Phu Trong. Very special. Never saw anything like that before.