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Arboreal Angst in Hanoi spurs use of Social Media for civil society protest

Finger-pointing is the order of the day. Authorities insisted that only problematic trees have been targeted for replacement, and that proper procedures have been followed. But tens of thousands of Hanoians don’t seem to trust them. There’s a Facebook group that, translated from Vietnamese, is called “6,700 People for 6,700 Trees,” which has me imagining an army of people chaining themselves to trunks. But actually, more than 56,000 people have tapped the “like” button. As it happens, I first learned about the imbroglio through another Facebook group, Hanoi Massive, a site popular with expats and Vietnamese who are comfortable conversing in English. 

All things considered, it’s heartening to see how the Hanoi Chainsaw Massacre has brought out Vietnam’s tree huggers. The trees that have already been executed did not die in vain, for their peers have been granted a reprieve because Hanoians have raised their voices. Vietnam is a land of great natural beauty and people working to protect both the rural and urban environments. What with the rampant littering and public urination, it’s great to see Hanoians rally around the greenery that is much too sparse in a gritty city now becoming more crowded and polluted. 

Speaking of fingers, consider the ones that tapped that “like” button. Consider the fingers that tapped out the blog postings and the comments. This is also heartening. The public outcry wasn’t just a victory for the trees, but for the rising influence of social media in Vietnam.

http://tuoitrenews.vn/city-diary/26977/on-the-slaughter-of-trees-in-vietnam-capital

Public protests are still not common in Vietnam but online protests and organizing have become more common in recent years. Facebook, now used by a quarter of the country’s 93 million citizens, is one of the most common venues. In fact it was most likely organizing against bauxite mining projects in the country’s Central Highlands that led to the social media site’s ongoing block in 2009. The government has since revised its stance (though it never stated it in the first place) and earlier this year Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung spoke of the need to harness Facebook’s power. At the same time environmental concerns have come to the foreground in Vietnam. Last year there were online protests and petitions to stop the building of a cable car in Hang Son Doong cave, the largest in the world. Some protesting that were also at Sunday’s protest, according to VOA.

http://thediplomat.com/2015/03/hanoi-citizens-protest-tree-felling-plan/

"To be precise it's not only this tree chopping but virtually every policy of the government is being complained about," said one Facebook user. "Many things are short-termish and unreasonable that are not to the people's liking and people have lost trust [in the government]." 

Hung Nguyen of BBC Vietnamese says the nature of the campaign - or rather, the fact it was a nature campaign - allowed Hanoians to question their government. 

"This is a rare example of civil society in Vietnam," Nguyen says. "Challenging the government or party is still something rare in Vietnam and can land people in jail quite easily. But this issue appears to be non-political which is why it got momentum on Facebook."

http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-31991940