Vietnam** Heightened Risk?
In 1975, Vietnam achieved the reunification of the North and the South, forming a unique political structure. So far, Vietnam has been composed of four core leaders, namely the general secretary, the prime minister and the chairman of the National Assembly, each of whom is responsible for different positions, and rarely concurrently.
This kind"Troika"is considered an important guarantee of Vietnam's political stability and its unwritten rules for the composition of power.
Vietnam's political landscape is dominated by Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in the south, showing a clear north-south division. This pattern was formed because of the long-term north-south ** in history, as well as the difference in topography between the north and the south of Vietnam.
With the deepening of reforms, the gap between the north and the south of Vietnam may further increase, and it is still unknown whether this will trigger another ** in Vietnam.
The slender body of this long snake once made it very easy to be cut into two parts, north and south, which led to the situation of north and south. As a close neighbor of China, northern Vietnam was once part of Chinese territory.
During the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, Vietnam took advantage of the opportunity of China's ** and successfully broke away from Chinese rule and achieved independence. It may be precisely because of the long-term north-south ** that Vietnam has also seen a phenomenon similar to the north-south confrontation during the period of the northern and southern dynasties in China, and this phenomenon is not a one-time phenomenon.
In 1428, Lê Le established the Later Lê dynasty in Thang Long. 100 years later, the Later Li Dynasty was usurped by the ministers, and the Mo Dynasty was born. However, the loyal vassal Nguyen found the descendants of the Lê royal family in southern Vietnam, and they revered him as emperor, re-established the Lê dynasty, and formed the ** of the North and South regimes.
During this period, local separatist regimes also experienced the transfer and replacement of power.
From the 17th to the early 19th century, Vietnam also experienced a period of north and south. The north and south fought many times, but they could not distinguish the winner from the loser, and finally had to take the river as the boundary, forming a situation in the south of Nguyen and the north of Zheng.
In the mid-16th century, the Nguyen regime in the south began to rise, and in the early 17th century, it was formally established, and it lasted for two centuries. During this period, they took a number of political, economic, cultural and other measures.
This antagonism and division between the North and the South further exacerbated the differences between the North and the South of Vietnam, and had a profound impact on the politics, economy and culture of Vietnam in later generations. For Vietnam, the long-term partition between the north and the south will inevitably lead to differences in culture and customs.
In times of peace, these differences are a manifestation of diversity, but when the international and domestic situation changes, they may become potential hidden dangers and be exploited by those who have intentions, resulting in an irreparable situation.
In modern times, Vietnam was once again divided into South Vietnam and North Vietnam, forming a de facto north-south opposition. However, like China, due to the inertia of history, Vietnam has also experienced the unification of the north and the south, and the internal national centripetal force is strong.
Eventually, Vietnam succeeded in reunifying the country in the mid-70s.
Although the traces of history make the North and South of Vietnam significantly different, the invasion and colonial rule of European colonizers further exacerbated the gap between the North and the South.
At the end of the 19th century, France took a fancy to the rich land of Vietnam and infiltrated colonial power into it. At that time, the Qing Dynasty was the suzerainty of Vietnam, but with the signing of the Sino-French New Treaty, the weak and incompetent Qing Dynasty was forced to relinquish its suzerainty over Vietnam.
In June 1884, France and Vietnam signed the Treaty of Hue, which marked the complete fall of Vietnam into colonial rule. The French colonists established a governor in Indochina and began their colonial rule over Vietnam.
In order to effectively administer the colonies, the French adopted a "divide and rule" strategy, dividing Vietnam into three parts: Beiqi (Tokin), Chungqi (Annam), and Nanqi (Cochinchina).
It is worth mentioning that Nanqi is the direct territory of France, Zhongqi is a protectorate, and Beiqi is a half protectorate. Under the terms of the Treaty of Hue, the French established a "protectorate system" in Tokyo and Annam, ostensibly allowing the Nguyen court to rule, but in reality the emperor had become a puppet of France.
Vietnam's political landscape was effectively divided into two, with the south being under the direct French rule and the north being a puppet under French control. Under the influence of France, the difference between the north and the south of Vietnam gradually emerged, coupled with the difference in the geographical environment between the north and the south, such as the north is mainly mountainous, while the south is flat and has a natural harbor, which leads to foreign invasions mainly concentrated in the south, while Vietnamese resistance is concentrated in the north.
Before the French colonization, Vietnam implemented a centralized system, influenced by the Chinese imperial examination system, and inherited Confucian culture through private school-style education. However, the invasion of the colonizers caused an impact on Vietnam's Juche ideology, and regional differences gradually became apparent, especially during the period of confrontation between North and South Vietnam, and the differences in political systems further exacerbated ideological and cultural differences, which can be seen on the Korean Peninsula, which is still antagonistic between North and South.
In order to consolidate colonial rule, France adopted a policy of assimilation, disseminated the ideology and culture of the suzerain, and carried out cultural colonization in order to form a strong ideology**.
In order to better control Vietnam and train translators, the French set up bilingual schools in southern Vietnam, and in 1897 implemented a policy of "assimilation", planning to spread French-style modern education to every corner of southern Vietnam.
However, in northern Vietnam, as it was still under the nominal rule of the Nguyen Emperors, the traditional imperial examination system was still practiced here, and the imperial examination system was still the mainstream of education, while the power of Western-style education was very weak.
Vietnam's imperial examination system was abolished 14 years later than China's, reflecting the gap between North and South education. This difference in educational systems has led to a great difference in thinking between the North and the South, and the impact of this ideological difference is far-reaching and long-lasting.
By the forties of the twentieth century, southern Vietnam, influenced by Western education, had abandoned the Confucian classics in favor of modern ideas such as science, talent, and civilization, while the official families in the north still respected Confucian culture.
After the United States took over control of South Vietnam, the South emphasized the cultivation of practical talents and students' active learning to promote talent development. In the north, patriotic education and literacy eradication are the mainstay, and education is pursued to spread among the working people.
The South attaches great importance to elite education, while the North strives to popularize literacy. This difference in education has led to an increasingly significant ideological and cultural difference between the North and the South, with the South generally being influenced by the West and the North being deeply influenced by communist ideology.
Even if the North and the South are reunified, it will be difficult to bridge this historical inertia and interests in a short period of time. The gap between the North and the South of Vietnam is significant, and the gap is widening. The mountainous north and the flat terrain of the south with excellent ports and resorts make the south economically superior to the north.
Ho Chi Minh City, as the economic center of the South, was once Saigon, the core of Western powers' rule and governance area, and was known as the "Little Paris of the East".
In Vietnam, there is a clear difference in economic development between the north and the south, with the south generally being wealthier and the north being relatively backward. This difference is not only influenced by the natural environment, but also related to historical developments.
Since the 16th century, Vietnam has often divided the north and the south, resulting in regional differences in economic and social development, which continue even today. In particular, during the period of confrontation between North and South Vietnam from 1955 to 1975, differences in political and economic systems further widened the development gap between the North and the South.
During this period, the economy of the south was diverse, including bureaucratic capitalism, national capitalism and other capitalist economic components, and feudal land ownership and numerous small industries and businesses were retained.
In the countryside, private ownership of land was maintained in the South, and in order to gain the support of the peasants, both the Southern National Liberation Front and the Saigon regime attached great importance to the properivization of the peasants and distributed land to the peasants.
For example, in 1970, the Saigon regime, with U.S. assistance, enacted the Cultivators' Land Law,** which protected the interests of landlords while paying for the purchase of landlords' land and distributing it to peasants free of charge.
After obtaining the funds, the landlords, with the support and incentives of the first, invested them in industry and commerce, and promoted the development of the rural capitalist economy. Due to the impact of the war, the northern region paid more attention to the construction of heavy industry and neglected the development of light industry.
At the same time, the failure of industry and agriculture to achieve supporting development led to the inability of the two sides to promote each other, which was similar to the situation of the Soviet Union, which rose in the flames of war and attached importance to the development of heavy industry, but paid less attention to the improvement of people's livelihood and economy, which indirectly affected the living standards of residents.
For a number of reasons, when the North and the South were unified, the level of industrial and agricultural production and the commodity economy of South Vietnam surpassed that of the North. The south is dominated by light industry, and almost 90 percent of its industrial output comes from light industry.
At the same time, commerce is extremely prosperous, from rural bazaars to urban supermarkets and business districts.
After the reunification of Vietnam, a war of self-defense and counterattack against Vietnam broke out due to provocation against China. The war almost completely destroyed North Vietnam's heavy industry, leading to a two-decade recovery process that further exacerbated the imbalance between North and South development.
In recent years, while Vietnam has made remarkable economic progress, this achievement has only widened the gap between the North and the South.
Vietnam's fiscal system is different from China's regional tax transfer policy, and it lacks a mechanism to balance local finances and reduce regional disparities, resulting in a continuous widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Such a situation could lead to a serious rift in Vietnamese society and could lead to a resurgence between the North and the South**. So far, the gap between the North and the South of Vietnam has not been improved, but has been widening.