In Vietnam, Propaganda dares speak its name - Feature

Hanoi - Readers of the newest website of Vietnam's government-controlled press can't complain of any hidden bias in reporting. Propaganda magazine, the official organ of Vietnam's Committee for Propaganda and Training, launched its website (www.tuyengiao.vn) Monday, featuring articles about Ho Chi Minh Thought and a visit by representatives of the Russian Communist Party. But while the magazine's name, Tuyen Giao, translates literally as "propaganda," that word in Vietnam does not have the negative connotations it has in non-Communist countries. Many of the articles in Tuyen Giao concern the kind of well-meaning social causes that might appear in publications by UNESCO or NGOs like Oxfam. Indeed, in Vietnam, public-service campaigns on everything from HIV prevention to wearing motorbike helmets are termed "propaganda." The... [read full story]