Reporters Without Borders said honoring blogger Chenh is the way this organization acknowledges contributions made by free lance reporters in Vietnam who support freedom of speech, freedom of information and freedom of internet. It is RSF’s right to give an award to an individual whether it is deserved or not. It’s a shame that RSF distorted the reality of the press in Vietnam by listing Vietnam among the “Enemies of the Internet” and ranking Vietnam 172 out of 179 in its World Press Freedom Index 2013. This organization said that many Vietnamese internet providers are helping the government in internet censorship.

When making this statement RSF must have deliberately forgotten the fact that since Vietnam first accessed this new technology in 1997, the country has witnessed a rapid growth of internet in terms of pace, types of services, the number of subscribers and its availability. This reality demonstrates the Vietnamese Party and State’s attention and open mechanisms in facilitating the development of internet. VOV once quoted Mr. Pham Quoc Nhat, Director of Nhat Cuong software company, as saying that since Vietnam connected to the Internet, Vietnamese people have never faced any difficulties in accessing the internet. Mr. Pham Quoc Nhat says: ”Vietnam is one of the countries with a rapid growth of information technology. Internet services are now available in remote villages. This reality has been internationally recognized. Everyone can access information on the internet if they wish to. So it’s wrong to say that internet access in Vietnam is limited”.

If the RSF was right, there would not have been 27 million internet users accounting for 31% of the Vietnamese population in the past 16 years. If it were true as the RSF has said that “internet providers are helping the Vietnamese government censor the internet”, foreigners living, working and visiting Vietnam would have had problems in connecting to the Internet. However, the reality is far different from the RSF’s distortion. Yaima, a Cuban person, who has lived in Vietnam for many years, says: “Since I came to Vietnam, I have never had any difficulties in accessing internet. In Vietnam, I can connect with my relatives at home. I think that every country has its own regulations in developing internet to serve its national interests”.

It’s not by accident that Vietnam is listed as one of the countries with the fastest internet growth in the region and the world. The key to this achievement is the Party and State’s special attention to information technology and the internet in particular. However, like other countries, Vietnam has legal regulations in using the Internet to protect the country’s traditions and customs and national security. RSF was wrong to say that Vietnam censored the Internet in its report on March 12, 2013.

RSF was unobjective to present its “Netizen of the Year “ award to Vietnamese blogger Huynh Ngoc Chenh. In his acceptance speech, Chenh forgot that thanks to the rapid growth of the internet in Vietnam, net citizens can exchange and express their views on different issues in the country and the world democratically and freely. It’s clear that the RSF presented its award to an undeserving individual to serve its own unobjective aims.

Thu Hoa