Table of Contents
No Joking Allowed in Vietnam
The Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam has shown that it has no sense of humor, as it continues to retaliate against individuals who make jokes or satirical comments about government officials. The latest victim of this crackdown is Bui Tuan Lam, a man who gained fame for making a parody video of himself imitating the celebrity chef known as Salt Bae, who had recently gone viral in Vietnam after spreading salt over a US$2,000 gold-encrusted steak and feeding it to Vietnam’s public security minister, To Lam.
Bui Tuan Lam’s Video
In November 2021, Lam released a video in which he replaced the gold encrusted steak with everyday sliced pork, green onions, and noodle soup. The video instantly went viral, earning him the moniker “Green Onion Bae.” However, the Minister’s men quickly retaliated by harassing and threatening him, summoning and interrogating him, and pressurizing him to close his sidewalk noodle soup shop. These actions were followed by Lam’s arrest in September 2022 on bogus charges of “propaganda against the state.”
Mistreatment Of Bui Tuan Lam’s Wife
The government kept him incommunicado for more than seven months and claimed that he didn’t want legal counsel. In May 2023, his wife, Le Thanh Lam, successfully challenged this claim. However, the authorities retaliated by refusing to let her attend her husband’s trial in Da Nang. She still showed up outside the court, where police apprehended, manhandled, and dragged her in the street, injuring her legs.
They detained her for several hours, searched every inch of her body, and treated her inhumanly. The debacle continued inside the court as the judge ordered a defense lawyer removed from the courtroom before he could even finish his argument.
Unjust Conviction
Despite the politically motivated nature of the charges against Bui Tuan Lam, there was little suspense that he would be convicted. The provincial court sentenced him to five and a half years in prison, plus four years’ probation, severely restricting his freedom of movement long after he completes his prison term.
Minister To Lam
Minister To Lam may have gotten his revenge by muzzling a critic, but that won’t salvage his reputation. Vietnamese only need to be reminded of his squandering thousands of dollars on a steak while ordinary people struggled amid the Covid-19 economic downturn and rampant inflation.
Conclusion
The cruel and outrageous sentence against Bui Tuan Lam and the mistreatment of his wife will only amplify the Vietnamese government’s unrestrained abuses. The government needs to learn to take a joke and stop cracking down on anyone who dares to make a satirical comment on social media or elsewhere.
Freedom of speech is a fundamental right, and suppressing it only harms society. The international community must come together to condemn such practices and pressure the Vietnamese government to release Bui Tuan Lam and other political prisoners and end its crackdown on freedom of speech.
<< photo by Josh Withers >>
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