Political History of Vietnam

Taro Warriors The characteristic feature of Vietnam’s history is the country’s struggle against foreign occupation and intervention, for a good part of the last 2,000 years.

The invaders were mostly but not exclusively the Han Chinese, who ruled Vietnam over 1,000 years from 111 BC to 938 AD. In mid 19th century, the French began intervening in the country’s affairs on a large scale, and they seized Saigon in early 1859. By 1886, France had conquered the whole country which they governed as a colony and incorporated into French Indochina despite resistance from the Vietnamese

Communist guerrillas under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh resisted French domination. Ho Chi Minh’s declaration of Vietnamese independence after WWII sparked violent confrontations with the French, culminating in the French military defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954.

The Geneva Accords of 1954 temporarily divided Vietnam into 2 zones (the Communist north and the anti-Communist, US-supported south). Political and ideological opposition quickly turned to armed struggle, prompting the USA and other countries to commit combat troops in 1965. The Paris Peace Agreements, signed in 1973, provided an immediate cease-fire and signalled the withdrawal of US troops. Saigon eventually capitulated to the Communist forces on 30 April 1975. In July 1976, the nation was reunited, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was established.

..since then
Important events since the reunification of the country include a border war with China in 1979 and Vietnam’s invasion of Cambodia the year before. Vietnam finally withdrew its troops from Cambodia in 1989. The key feature of these events was that the country’s economy deteriorated and by the mid 1980’s had reached a dire position. The breakthrough came at the end of 1986 with the introduction of the doi moi or renovation policy.

Broadly, the aim was to move from a centrally-planned to a market economy whilst still retaining the socialist political structure. The introduction of the new foreign investment law in December 1987, allowing and encouraging foreign investment, was a major step from which all the current excitement in the international business community has stemmed. Parallels have inevitably been drawn with the developments in China during the 1980’s, and certainly Vietnam has drawn on China’s experience. Such has been the rapidity and strength of the progress that the near total withdrawal of Soviet aid (1991) and the collapse of the COMECON trading bloc, had remarkably little effect on Vietnam’s trade.

There is now far greater openness towards foreign countries in general, and improved relations with other South-east Asian and Western nations. Vietnam became a full member of the Association of South-east Asian Nations ( ASEAN ) at the meeting in Brunei on 28 July 1995, and full diplomatic relations with the United States were re-established on 11 July 1995, some 20 years after the fall of Saigon.

Cultural Perspective

King Afloat
Over the centuries, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have melded with popular Chinese beliefs and ancient Vietnamese animism to shape the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, known as the Triple Religion.

The Vietnamese language kinh is a hybrid of Mon-Khmer, Thai and Chinese elements with most of its basic words deriving from the monotonic Mon-Khmer languages.

Popular artistic froms include traditional paintings on frames and mounted silk, puppetry theatre, music and cultural dance, and religious sculpture.

Geography and Climate

Vietnam is the largest and most populous of the 3 Indochinese countries and is located along the East Coast of Indochina and borders on Cambodia and Laos in the west and the People’s Republic of China in the north. It stretches over 1,600 km along the eastern cost of the Indochinese Peninsula.

Vietnam is the 2nd largest country in South East Asia after Indonesia. It is divided into 3 regions :-

    northern Vietnam consisting of provinces bording China and those that lie in the Red River Delta;
    central Vietnam with provinces lying between the central coast and the 1,600 km-long Truong Son mountain range; and
    southern Vietnam which includes Ho Chi Minh City, the few provinces east of the city, and the rice-rich provinces of the Mekong River Delta.

The south of Vietnam mainly consists of plains. 2 major rivers, the Mekong River in the south and the Red River (Hong) in the north each form deltas of considerable size before entering the South China Sea. The Red River also runs through Hanoi, the capital city.

Although the country is located in the tropics, the climate is tropical only in central and southern Vietnam, with warm and humid weather all year round (22-35oC). In the north, there is a distinct winter season due to cold inland winds. Usually, the winter is also the dry season for the entire country, but the rains are highly unpredictable owing to the influence of several monsoons.

Political, Administrative and Legal Structure

We the People Despite its rapid move towards a free-market economy, Vietnam remains a socialist country with a single political party, the Communist Party. Approximately 90% of the National Assembly’s members, represents the Communist Party and the rest are being encouraged to join.

In April 1992, an almost entirely re-written constitution was adopted. The preamble still speaks of the Communist Party’s leadership, but the overall intention seems to be to provide a greater separation of party and State institutions and give more power to the latter.