there was a time when I often mulled over whether having Vietnamese as part of my language proficiency would value add my resume. yes, it's among the top 20 spoken languages in the world and yes, there're more native speakers of it than of Italian. but chances were that you would be hired not because you could speak Vietnamese.

and so it's a pleasant thing how for the first time, I can feel, for both pragmatic and nationalistic reasons, that Vietnamese is an asset. everyone is eyeing a piece of Vietnam, and there's no better way to get started than understanding the language. and although English is the medium for almost anything nowadays, there's still something that should be, and is best, said in Vietnamese.

it's a thing to be proud of as your language gets recognised. it's like the coming of age of the nation. think how China had no interest in English before the industrial revolution, and how Chinese is today probably the fastest growing language in the West (let's not delve into the exponential growth of Nerdic). yeah, it kind of marks the point when your country is in the globalisation game, despite having heard the talk for years.

but this asset could very well become cost. bloggers Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, Bui Thanh Hieu , Huy Duc and journalist Pham Doan Trang should know better than most, for all are under arrest for speaking out against the government. I couldn't access their posts and so don't know what it is exactly. my guess is that it should be on bauxite mining in Vietnam's central highlands, on the South China Sea disputes, along those lines.

I suppose we could say Vietnam has been soft on the Spratlys and the Paracels. but it's a whole different thing labelling, say, the government as a feeble machinery that could only hold press conferences to a mere roomful of domestic journalists to "protest" against China's expansionism. we may not be fully aware of the constraints Nguyen Tan Dung faces. no, having constraints is not a weakness. even Obama has his fair share of those. in fact, understanding constraints is key to effective governance - look at Lee Kuan Yew's Singapore and Hayato Ikeda's post-war Japan.

and let's have some perspective: the South China Sea thing and central highlands bauxite mining are separate issues and should be approached differently. it is unbelievably ridiculous to think that China once again wants to "invade" Vietnam as "whole villages of Chinese workers have mushroomed on the [central highlands] plateau, and 10,000 Chinese settlers are expected in the coming year." China had tried that for a thousand years without success. and, to be objective, China would be better off "occupying" energy-rich CIS states than Vietnam for the matter.

I understand the green and the wealth redistribution movements against the Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (CHALCO) in Vietnam or the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Wasit, Iraq. but xenophobia, excuse me! when the world gravitates around China, it's a good thing that Hu Jintao is sending trade and not troops to Vietnam. the blame's not on China that Vietnam has no money to develop its central highlands. beggars cannot be choosers, that is.

I agree that the bauxite project is a bad call, for environmental and strategic reasons very much as General Vo Nguyen Giap has written on. there could be better ways to devise a long-term strategy on the matter. in the meantime, people with an asset and a mind to work it should work it with care and responsibility, especially the anti-China lobby, so as to reach the masses effectively and avoid regrettable arrests.

it's been a really long time since I last blogged. it was a whole new environment as soon as April was over and May heralded in a long blast of summer of anticipatory travel, age-old family affairs and, of course, friends, lost & found. in all, I'm lucky that no matter how bad I do during school terms, the summer has always been good. and this one was great. and I didn't even screw up my study.

things do change.

for one, I used to be puzzled why people would visit Thailand over and over again. be it an urban escape to Phuket or just a weekend shopping spree in Bangkok. now I kind of get it. the cultured and hospitable mix of malls and temples, highways and getaways have done the country good. I would wanna visit Suan Lum night bazaar again. it was like a safari of street-wear varieties where one can appreciate the bargain galore in comfort.

also, the few weeks of backpacking from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City have made me feel better attached to Vietnam. the experience must have been amazing to strip me off the long-held prejudice against the country, that it was hardly fun, that the people were more often than not rude, and that you might as well move Mount. Fuji before attempting to do business in Vietnam. in place of that is now a new-found respect for the nation, for its drive to change. coincidentally, it's Vietnam's 34th national day today, 2/9/2009. may there be more than just fireworks and musical propaganda to eventually unmask the hidden charm.

and in the end, the (extended) family matters were still pretty hot. but even that has changed. what previously seemed permanently impaired has now been pretty much ironed out. I'm just glad people are beginning to be brothers and sisters again. but of course, it may never be the same. some things do change; some things just don't.

like how even when something as monumental as "Ikea" typefaced in ubiquitous Verdana instead of the customised Futura of the past 60 years happens, Ikea remains the leading low-cost proponent of fine living, just as it has been paying close attention to the design of even a $9 lampstand since 1943.

or like how although the DPJ has finally unseated the incumbent LDP from its 5 decades of uninterrupted rule, and Yukio Hatoyama repeatedly promises to change Japan, the land of the rising sun is still facing a severe confidence crisis. in fact, Hatoyama has been constantly moderating his change rhetoric since his apparent election victory at 9:40pm, 30 Aug, realising the full extent of challenge on the DPJ.

change, of course, should be good. change is necessary for development. and so, as much as I would like to see Vietnam changes, it's not going to be easy.