Newspaper closed down for reporting protests

The Ministry of Information and Communication has suspended a biweekly publication in Vietnam for three months for its reporting on territorial disputes and popular protests against China. Officials have also indicated they will rearrange the publication's ediitorial leadership. The publication, Du Lich (Tourism), was accused of "writing untruthful information" and "inciting violence, causing hatred between nations," for a series of articles it ran in which it praised anti-Chinese demonstrators for their "pure patriotism" and criticized China's position on the Spratly Islands. The assistant editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief, Nguyen Trung Dan told the BBC that the newspaper only reflected "the people's wishes... Being a Vietnamese, I did not think twice when I approved those articles. Isn't it a good thing to encourage patriotism among the public?"

Sources: Associated Press April 15; BBC news [Nga Pham] April 15.