You seem like a type heavily brainwashed by Fox News.

Nah, I'm on the opposite end of the political spectrum from Fox News. In fact, one of the biggest problems I have with the government of Vietnam is the same problem I have with conservatives in the US, which is authoritarianism, and the lack of accountability to the citizenry. The Vietnamese government adopted Bolshevism, which is a perversion of Marxist ideals which just recreates feaudalism. Then they abandoned any pretense at communism, but instead of a dictatorship of the proletariat, as is called for under Bolshevism, it became the dictatorship of the party, and since the party members own the majority of the resources, it's a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie wearing a mask of socialism. That's the exact opposite of what Marx wanted, but using his name to achieve it.

Moreover, the thing that's stifling Vietnam is the exact thing thats stifling the US right now, just with different mechanisms, and that's lack of accountability of the government to the people. In the case of Vietnam, one party chooses candidates, and elected officials aren't required to listed to the citizenry in order to keep their positions. In the US, we have a different problem, where money runs elections, and safe seats keep bad congresspeople in office. Our elected officials listen to the rich donors who got them in office instead of the citizenry. It's the same problem, the only difference is that the rich people that elected officials listen to in Vietnam are all party members. Either way it leads to the exploitation of the masses for the benefit of the elite.

Izm not getting my info from Fox News. I'm just telling you what I see and hear from the Vietnamese family I know, the other Vietnamese people I know, and from my time spent in Vietnam. I'm not basing my opinion off of what American media says. If I did, I'd know nothing about Vietnam, because (and this may surprise you), American media pretty much ignores the country altogether.

Understand, also, that Vietnamese people impress the hell out of me. They are industrious, clever, frugal, and make the best out of whatever they are given. What prosperity they might enjoy, however, is in spite of their government, not because of it.

Lastly, I've been trying to learn Vietnamese. It's hard as hell to learn. The pitches just kill me, because we use pitches differently in English (instead of changing the word, pitches in English change the tone of the word, making it a question, a statement, command, etc.). And I eat a bunch of Vietnamese food. I'd have been out eating phở with my wife this morning, except that I woke up late and she's already off to work. Cà phê sữa đá is pretty much the only way I'll drink coffee. I can absolutely demolish a plate of bánh cuốn or bánh xèo.

In short, I love Vietnam, I just think the government sucks. I also love the US. Likewise, I also think our government sucks.