Analysis by Philip J. Heijmans | Bloomberg

The Vietnamese flag flies atop the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX) in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. Vietnam has averaged economic growth of 6.3 percent between 2005 and 2017, multiplying its per capita income six-fold to $2,385 last year from $396 in 2000, according to data from General Statistics Office in Hanoi. Photographer: Maika Elan/Bloomberg (Bloomberg)

washingtonpost – January 11, 2023 at 5:42 p.m. EST

Vietnam’s Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has likened his anti-graft campaign to a “blazing furnace,” one that’s caught hundreds of senior officials, business executives and others in its blast over the years. While the country’s position has improved by more than 30 spots over the past decade on a global corruption perception index, it was still at 87th place out of 180 ranked in 2021. Now as Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economy seeks to bolster its appeal as a destination for foreign investment in the midst of mounting trade tensions between the US and China, the fight seems to be flaring again.

Continue reading How Vietnam’s anti-corruption fight keeps expanding →

CNN
“My behavior encroached on the physical and mental health of minors,” read a court-ordered apology issued by a tattoo artist in China’s Shaanxi province in September. “I am deeply aware of my mistakes,” he added. 

The man, who had admitted giving tattoos to 43 minors, became one of the first people charged under a new age restriction law, which came into effect in June. But while many countries enforce similar rules banning young people from getting inked, Chinese state media coverage suggested that protecting minors was as much about ideology as medical welfare. 

At the time, tabloid newspaper Global Times argued that tattoos are “driving minors away from establishing socialist core values,” as they can convey “harmful ideas” such as “feudal superstition,” “gang culture” and “overseas culture.”

An op-ed in Beijing Youth Daily meanwhile said that tattoo subculture “clashes” with the mainstream. The legislation, which bans people from even encouraging those aged under 18 to get tattoos, is just the latest move in an expanding crackdown on body art in China. 
Continue reading Inside China’s crackdown on tattoo culture →