Han Ah Song
DEV STD 100
Section 107
May 24th, 2015
Essay 3
TITLE
Even with a series of wars lasting for decades and the reunification at last in 1976, Vietnam was not awarded with peace on its agenda; the country remained having to face with economic turbulence, post-war damages and continuous natural disasters from 1977 to 1980 including the massive flood in 1978. For a nation heavily focused on rice production, nature destruction and desolated land meant famine. This was clearly indicating the insignificance of five-year systems for a strong political and economic reform in Vietnam, so the government introduced a new outlook to renovation with Doi Moi policies in 1986. It provided Vietnam with a revolutionary transformation from a
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Vietnam had undergone a significant economic change and development with the initiation of Doi Moi policies in 1986 under the 7th Congress of the Communist Party. The rapid economic growth was closely carried out by the open-door policy, establishing diplomatic and economic relations with its neighboring Asian countries and powerful Western European countries. International investors and private corporations marched in to establish themselves on the empty canvas that Vietnam is. Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi as the central development sites, Transnational Corporations (TNCs) were drawn into these cities where economic development was carried out with rapid industrialization. Civilians sought for the economic and social mobility opportunities as they poured into these central cities. Massive rural-to-urban migration movement was especially at its peak, providing a large pool of concentrated skilled workers to growing industries and foreign investors. The industries in urban areas were ever evolving and emerging into global cities with population growth as they gained its popularity as a new site for international investment. Compared to the reported 85 percent of rural population in the early 1980s, Vietnamese rural population was cut down to 75 percent in 2004 (Country Profile). In the year 1995, Vietnam made important marks as a rapidly globalizing
Production was nonexistent. Northern industries and infrastructures were systematically ravaged by the military might of the United States. The South fared little better. Viet Cong attacks disrupted significant economic activity. The fall of Saigon ended this murderous conflict in 1975. The country was united again under communist economic tutelage. This correlated to huge drain of human capital. By 1982, close to 1 million people fled the country; among them tens of thousands of professional, intellectual, technicians, and skilled workers. The next decade (1976 - 1986) saw the economy of Vietnam plodding along under the weight of central planning. The Vietnamese economy has been plagued by enormous production difficulties, supply and demand imbalances, inefficiencies in distribution, soaring inflation rates, rising debt problems, excessive governmental corruption and illegal asset confiscations by authorities. Vietnam is one of the few countries in modern history to experience a sharp economic deterioration in a postwar reconstruction period. Its postwar economy was one of the poorest in the world and has shown a negative growth in total national output as well as in agricultural and industrial production. Cracks began to appear in the facade of the communist command economy. In 1982, a compromise was reached. Excess food production was allowed to be sold at markets or sold to the State for profit. Free enterprise was sanctioned and small export firms were established to try to sell on the export markets. Planning started to unravel from the rigid communist system and decentralization was allowed to flourish. This activity culminated with the Doi Moi reforms to economic activity. Doi Moi (Vietnamese Perestroika) combined free market incentives (profit!) with government planning. The program abolished agricultural
Vietnam is a southeastern Asian country that has been occupied by the French since the early 19th Century. During War War II Japanese forces invaded Vietnam. In order for the native Vietnamese to fight off both the French Colonial Administration and the invading Japanese, political leader Ho Chi Minh inspired by Soviet Communism, established the League of Independence of Vietnam. After Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945, the Japanese withdrew their forces from Vietnam. The French educated Emperor Bao Dai was now back in control of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh saw this as an opportunity to finally gain control and almost immediately took control of the northern city of Hanoi. Ho Chin Minh declared himself as president. In hopes to regain control of Hanoi, France backed Emperor Bao and created the state of Vietnam in 1949. Although both sides wanted the same goal of uniting Vietnam, their government views were drastically different. Ho and his followers wanted the nation to be modeled after other communist countries. While Bao and his followers wanted their country to be in close ties with democratic countries in the west. These causes led to a civil war for the sole control of Vietnam.
Vietnam has a very rich history that often goes unnoticed and unaccounted for, this is most likely due to the war being such a big landmark in the history of Vietnam. Before the war many events transpired that would eventually lead up to the war. In the late 19th century Vietnam was considered to be a French colony. The French built their own standing infrastructure, they began to build railways and roads and bridges. All of this building meant heavy taxation on the Vietnamese. This was all good and progressive for vietnam however “Naturally the Vietnamese wanted independence.” (http://www.localhistories.org/viethist.html) From there Ho Chi Minh founded a revolution and within 20 years Vietnam came under Ho Chi Minh rule.
“The Communist Party of Vietnam [CPV], became the ruling party, in the northern part of Vietnam, after defeating the French, at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954 and across the nation, since 1976, following the collapse of the American-backed southern regime. The next decade saw the CPV’s rationalist installation of a Stalinist-style centrally planned economy” (Nguyen, 2016, p. 33). The social structure of Vietnam based on total control, Nguyen’s family like many others found it impossible to adjust to the tyranny imposed by the Communist regime, therefore, they fled Vietnam!
Vietnam Fact Sheet Date: Nov. 1, 1955-Apr. 30, 1975 BACKGROUND: Prior to World War II, the French had controlled most of Indochina, and Vietnam. Once Japan lost the war, they left the country in 1945 which led to the French wanting control of Vietnam again. Vietnam wanted to pursue a communist way of living since China had become a communist country in 1949. Ho Chi Minh, a national leader, had declared Vietnam an independent country. Minh’s leaders declared a war against the French, and the country was soon divided after the French lost the battle at Dien Bien Phu.
The declaration of Vietnamese independence made by Ho Chi Minh in 1945 served as a milestone in what was a century-old struggle against foreign control. In its history Vietnam had spent 1000 years under control of the Chinese and had resisted this control vehemently. Revolts and rebellions against China finally lead to Vietnamese independence in the tenth century. In the thirteenth century the Vietnamese drove back Kublai Khan three times under the leadership Dao. Tran Hung Dao not only led the Vietnamese people in driving Kublai Khan back, but did so by pioneering the guerrilla warfare methods that would later be employed against both the French and the United States. It is thus evident from this brief history of Vietnams that its
Vietnam War’s leading cause was the Indochina War. Many countries tried to seize control of Vietnam, leading to many conflicts. For a long period of time Indochina was overrun by the French, which was a region of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. They continued to have power over the country until the World War 2. Japan invaded but their power was short-lived due to the defeat of the war. Emperor Bao who was a French leader then took control of Indochina. The communist political leader named Ho Chi Minh decided it was time to take action and sent his army known as the Viet Minh to attack a northern city called Hanoi. Winning the battle in 1945 Ho Chi Minh became president, created Hanoi as capital and announced the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Albercht, M., & Sack, S. (2011, August). International trade statistics 2010. Retrieved from World Trade Organization:http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/its2010_e/its10_toc_e.htmAnderson, S., & Cavanagh, J. (1997, January 1). World trade organization. Retrieved fromhttp://www.fpif.org/reports/world_trade_organizationBloomberg.
After the war, the Vietnamese economy was lagging way behind that of many other countries. Famine and disease also contributed heavily to the depleted economy of Vietnam. In response to their economy, the Vietnam government integrated the Doi Moi, which literally means reconstruction, in hopes to gain an increase in economic growth and development. The main objective of the Vietnamese government was the advancement of modern improvement. The main areas that needed the most attention was that of the rural and urban territories.
After World War II, The United States played a detrimental role in recognizing France’s right to colonial rule in Vietnam. As a result, the French instituted repressive control, and an estimated 600,000 to 2,000,000 Vietnamese were starved to death while Vietnamese rice was exported to France (Gunn). Oppressed and furious, the Vietnamese, led by Ho Chi Minh, a communist who had pursued Vietnamese autonomy all of his life, declared their independence in 1945 and overthrew the French five years later. However, France and the United States continued to instill their influence in South Vietnam by inserting their own democratic puppets (“The American Involvement…”). In essence, the United States, under the pretense of combating an oncoming “plague” of Communism, instigated a war in 1965 against North Vietnam with the intention to prevent the southern and northern portions of Vietnam from uniting and achieving sovereignty under one government. Kerry perceived the war as an illegitimate act against a people who have longed to be free from foreign intervention and thus, wants to end the war by calling on the Senate to begin withdrawing troops.
In November of 1969 President Richard Nixon introduced a new strategy called “Vietnamization,” a change in United States policy with the goal of having South Vietnam take more responsibility
The economic grew slowly under the government’s planned economy system. In 1986, the government launched its “socialist-oriented market economy program (Doi Moi), which supported the creation of privately owned enterprises and foreign investment. The economy grew at an annual of 7 percent and poverty was reduced by 50 percent. Since 2001, Vietnam has had one of world’s fastest growing economies. Vietnam has signed a free trade agreement with the European Union and when the deal takes effect next year, tariffs will be eliminated on 90 of European goods entering Vietnam, which will make the country a distribution hub, according to Phil Hogan, the EU’s commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development. This will create for more jobs for the Vietnamese working class and continue to spur economic
Another objective was to establish a government for workers, peasants, and soldiers and the organization of a workers ' militia. Other objectives were cancellation of public debts and confiscation of means of production and their transfer to the government. There would be distribution of French-owned lands to peasants, a suppression of taxes for the people and establishment of an eight-hour work day. A development of crafts and agriculture and the institution of freedom of organization will be issued through the charter. Finally, an establishment of education for all citizens will be issued. (1) This was the beginning of the radical change in Vietnam; these new objectives will be the starting points of what will be a brand new government completely separate from French control.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a global organization that helps countries and producers of goods deal fairly and smoothly with conducting their business across international borders. It mainly does this through WTO agreements, which are negotiated and signed by a large majority of the trading nations in the world. The purpose of the WTO is to ensure that global trade commences freely, smoothly and predictably while also aiming to create economic peace and stability in the world through a multilateral system. This is based and applied to member states, currently 162 countries, that have consented and ratified the rules of the WTO in their individual countries. Simply put, these documents act as contracts that provide the legal framework for conducting business among nations, integrating into a country 's domestic legal system, therefore, applying to local companies and nationals in the conduct of business internationally. For instance, if a company were to open an office or business in a foreign country, the rules of the WTO dictates how that can be done.1
However, WTO as an international institution is still a good idea. WTO seems to be important for developing economies in some reasons. First, as the weaker part in organizations, developing countries benefited from unilateral trade actions of United States and Europe. Second, WTO help developing countries to advance agriculture liberalization. As we know that agriculture is the most important thing for developing economies to raise its economy and reach more gain from trade. Third, the new open sectors in specific sectors like tourism also help developing countries to create more job opportunities. This means that developing countries still gain from joining the WTO as long as they perceived differentiated treatment to implement new trade disciplines due to their level of development.