this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2026
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China will back Vietnam soon. America cannot win over guerilla warfare that made Vietnam victorious against the fascist South back in the Vietnam War.
That was 1975 and you have no idea how reactionary most of Viet Nam is today. I live in the south and everyone here worships some idealized fantasy of american middle-income consumerism. Many vietnamese born after the war straight up worship white men (kissing hands, kneeling/groveling, etc.) Most people here despise the government and distrust the party, and not without reason, either.
You have no idea how much facebook has destroyed people's brains, or how politically apathetic we've become. I've been warning for years that the US will pull an Arab Spring kind of social media campaign and how easy it would be to ignite a civil war here. Look at what happened to Nepal and I'll tell you it could happen here, too.
Most people here believe that if Amerikkka comes back, it will be in parachutes and machine guns again. Virtually no one understands what information warfare and color revolution are, or that Google, Facebook and US media are weapons.
It's not good.
Everyone who is not a kid understands what color revolutions are. The education system makes sure that they learn about it, in high schools and in universities. Those who chose to be willfully ignorant of it are probably either reactionaries or school drop-outs.
The loving-the-West symptoms were more prevalent in the near past than now, especially since we observe American society breaks down. Those who still worship white men are just ignorant.
The people of Vietnam also closely watch Fulbright. So even if they'd like to pull off that shit again, they'd have to be more covert about it.
The fight against reactionaries and peaceful evolution is a never-ending struggle. It's not a once and done thing. Both the people and the cadres are responsible. The people watch the cadres, the cadres guide the people.
Where in the South do you live? It's possible that the region you are in have some confirmation bias.
A timely reminder. And I hope your observations regarding Vietnam are the prevalent.
I'd prefer not to be too specific, but lets say south-central. I travel to TPHCM/Bien Hoa somewhat frequently and I've been as far north as Ha Noi and Lao Cai. There is definitely a reactionary bias here. What region do you live in?
I've had to explain what a color revolution is, and how they operate, to full-grown adults here. I'd love to be more optimistic too.
I know being critical of VN is personally dangerous and also likely to tilt the mods here. Anyone here who doesn't think a Viet ML, living in Viet Nam, doesn't know how it is, I invite them to come learn the language and live here for a year and see for themselves.
Lingering sentiment in southern Vietnam toward the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is rooted in history. Many of the most reactionary elements fled to the U.S. after 1975. Their relatives remain, supported by remittances and pathways to U.S. citizenship, creating a material basis for pro-American sympathy.
Historically, Vietnam's relationship with China is defined by centuries of domination contrasted with a brief period of communist camaraderie. The fraternal bond between Ho Chi Minh and Mao was genuine, but it was catastrophically damaged by the 1979 border war and the conflict over Cambodia. The persistent South China Sea disputes, a major point of contention from the late 20th century onward, have continuously strained the relationship. These maritime conflicts transform historical grievance into a present-day, tangible issue of sovereignty and resources.
This shifting perception coincided with Đổi Mới. To develop, Vietnam opened to the global economy. The nearest, richest market was the West. This created a new material base:
The South, with its ports and historical links, became the engine for Western-facing trade and investment.
This base then shaped the ideological superstructure: a generation in the South now sees the U.S. as a primary partner for development and, for some, a potential strategic counterweight.
The North retains stronger memories of the wars with both the U.S. and China. The state, pursuing national development, intentionally invested in the South to harness its proximity to Western markets.
The southern economic base, built on this Western integration, naturally fostered a new ideological reality: a generation more oriented toward global consumerism than party doctrine. This is not a failure of propaganda but a dialectical outcome of the development strategy. Systemic corruption emerged as a severe, destabilizing cost of this rapid economic model. The party's perpetual and contradictory project is to manage the resulting ideological drift while checking the corruption that threatens its legitimacy, all to maintain enough discipline for the state machinery to function and prevent the corrosion of the party structure itself.
I agree with your outline here. Although I think there are deeper roots to the corruption problem that go back to lack of ideological coherence between regions, ethnic groups and factions during the war. Obviously, Uncle Ho was very good at getting ideologically disparate people to unite against colonialism, but afterwards getting everyone to understand and believe in socialist reconstruction has been a bigger challenge. Its a small country, but attitudes, dialects and world views can vary to the extreme depending on where you are. The corruption we have to deal with here, comes from people who only believe in money and family. It is a great shame to see so many wear the uniform and the symbols, but not care at all about what they are supposed to represent.
I'm in some rural area.
It's honestly depends. If you complain about "human rights" and all other Western cliche, then you would certainly be invited to a tea by the authorities at minimum.
I lived here my whole life.
LOL. Okay. Sure.
The NGOs whine about that crap and nobody arrest them. That's not why people here get arrested or harassed by police. Everyone here knows, you don't?
I have never tried writing a hit piece on Vietnam that somehow goes viral on social media, so maybe not. What then are you referring to?
LOL Is this reddit? Do you just come here to lie on the internet?
I was being serious. Yet you came here to troll. I'm very disappointed.
BTW, "kredditacc" is just a username. Nothing more.
Oh no, the lying troll is disappointed! 😭
I'm wondering if the US retirees there also influence that?
The actual expats have their own little quarter in TPHCM and don't bother anybody for the most part.
It's the US social media, NGOs and CIA-linked schools that are doing the most damage. Going to these western schools is a sign of prestige and wealth, and you can probably guess what they teach and you'd be right.
There's something of a scandal at one of these schools a few years ago that the students were being shown hollywood movies about the Viet Nam war, and being taught to be extremely sympathetic to the invading genicodal nazis -- to the extent that Vietnamese students were literally crying about how sad it was that Amerikkkans were "forced" to kill Vietnamese.
That's not good. Are there any strong communist groups?
Not in my experience.
I live in a south-central area of the country where it's still fairly rural. Maybe it's a little better up north, I don't go to Hanoi very often. Down here, no one even knows what communism or socialism are, nor are they inclined to discuss it. Especially not openly. Saying anything political can get you arrested, so people avoid the topic entirely.
The entry point to anything ostensibly political is generally by joining the police and working you way up. The police and government officials are basically just motivated by taking bribes and making connections.
Don't let our flags, decorations and art fool you, most people here think that shit is annoying. People will roll their eyes if you speak positively of it (or mention it all, really). Uncle Ho is a mainly figure of nationalism and there's little understanding of what he believed in beyond studying his poetry (though everyone will tell you they are an "expert" about Uncle Ho). The symbols of communism are usually associated with nationalism, so positive views toward communism tend to represent an internalized sense of masculine strength.
I was recently talking to a couple kids who completed primary last year and was trying to start a business together. Neither of them knew who Marx, Lenin or Mao where. Weird since Lenin (LêNin) appears all over the place in school books. I never went to the primary schools here, so I don't know what's going on there.
The bookstores here don't sell anything related to Marxist theory, economics or history at all. BUT they DO sell hagiographies of Richard Nixon, Friedman, Trump, Trump Jr., Henry Kissinger, Karl Rove, Betsy DeVos, Netanyahu, Modi, Ronald Reagan, Papi Bush, Dick Cheney, John Bolton, etc.. I get pretty mad about it sometimes. Some of the kids here think it's really fucked up too, so maybe there's some hope. I have to order most of my books in English and from outside the country.
Primary education doesn't teach about political ideologies. Ethics and History are the subjects remotely related. Ethics use the image of Bác Hồ as an exemplar. History frames the anti-colonial war against France/Japan and the anti-imperialist war against the US as fighting for freedom and independence. At least, that was how I vaguely remember it.
The more ideological subjects are only taught in higher levels of education such as high school and university. It is here that we would learn about capitalism, colonialism, imperialism, socialism, scientific socialism, revolution, incomplete liberation, complete liberation, etc. Although, they are not super detailed.
I was about to ask why you're obviously pretending and making shit up, but then I saw the "reddit" in your name. Makes total sense now.
Initially, I engaged with you because I felt you were being too alarmist. I gave you the benefit of the doubt. I thought that perhaps you was a foreigner who has no clue regarding the Vietnamese education system, that's why I explained it to you. Never had I thought that you would accuse me of spreading falsehood. I now have a good reason to suspect you of being a bad actor for whatever reason.
LMAO I'm the bad actor? My wife went to school here, as well as all my neighbors and their children. You're a fake and an obvious liar. You don't know shit. Just stop.
Vợ mày hả? Nhưng bản thân mày thì không đúng không? Mày là Tây lông à? Tao chưa chửi mày bịa chuyện thì thôi mày đi chửi tao. Định lừa ai đấy?
troi dat oi em noi chuyen giong robot qua 😂
Mày "sống ở Việt Nam" bao năm rồi mà ngay cả Telex cũng không biết cài vậy?
Thật ra telex thì thông dụng hơn với lứa trẻ, còn tụi millennial và boomer Việt mình dùng vni nhiều hơn, bạn thông cảm với cụ lão ICBM 🤭🤣😢
Ko biết telex thì đánh vni hay là viqr chứ mấy cậu đừng có đánh chữ như mấy bạn tây nhìn tếu lâm lắm 🤭😊
Holy moly. That's extremely disheartening, I can't begin to imagine how you may feel, living there.
There are good things, but I don't spend my time worrying and talking to people about the good things. Many workers, especially men, here do 10-12 hour days and spend their free time drinking heavily. Not much time for history, current events or politics. Students have more time, but social media (we have tiktok zombies too) and mobile slop games often consume it. Some of the kids who recently served in the armed forces here have pretty decent knowledge.
It's nice to at find people who are interested in the world outside their routine.
It's extremely disheartening. I was reading an article that referenced this article https://www.military.com/video/operations-and-strategy/vietnam-war/ace-of-spades-in-vietnam-war/2838824484001 (CW, extreme desecration/disrespect of the dead in the video there) and thinking of our conversation here (source article found here: https://news.abolish.capital/post/25145)
Eta: I have worked, in my lifetime, often voluntarily, with mentally and physically disabled. I have watched family members go off for drinks, sex, drugs, or sit in the same room glued to games, Facebook, TV to ignore them to completely shirk as much responsibility as possible to whomever will assume it for pity and mercy of the ailing family member and even their pets.
I saw that too, its horrifying. Also one of the most direct examples of the imperial boomerang I can think of.
A lot of people can't understand a policy is wrong until they personally suffer under a similar policy; and looking at Zionists, not even then. 😞
I like the optimism but Sino-Viet relations aren't amazing (but are improving slowly), so depends what you mean by 'back' and in what context
They've had a war(a much smaller and shorter border conflict) with China more recently than the US
On the official government level the relations are pretty good from what i can tell. There are also extensive economic ties between the two countries and a lot of Chinese investment. And what lingering animosity there still is at the level of the everyday people seems to be entirely one sided. I have never heard anything bad from the Chinese side about the Vietnamese.
All that's to say that i think China and the Chinese people as a whole definitely would help Vietnam in case of a conflict with an outside power that doesn't belong in the region.
Would they help in the case of a border conflict with a neighbor, something like the recent troubles between Cambodia and Thailand? I think in that case China would try to make sure there was peace as soon as possible. War causes instability and instability is bad for the kind of business China likes to do (very different model than the US which thrives off of wars and instability).
At a state level, relations are probably the best they've ever been with China. It's warming, but still very cautious.
Yes, but there are lot's of areas where Viet Nam desperately needs investment and modernization (#1 among those is clean energy and clean water infrastructure), but Viet Nam has this delusional "we'd rather go it alone" attitude towards China, but warmly embraces western investments of any kind. As a result, out vital infrastructure gets ignored while cities like TPHCM become increasingly financialized and turned into real estate speculation nightmares -- to the extent that it's becoming almost impossible for people to afford to live there.
We still mostly burn coal for power, and many homes now have 3-6 air conditioners to survive the summers here. The grid is a rats nest, and the more we cool our homes, the more unbreathable the air gets from all the pollution. There's been talk about building a nuclear plant, but it would probably take 30+ years and pretty much no one believe it will ever happen. Not unless we accept a lot of help from China.
Very true. I've never met a Chinese person who bears any ill feelings toward vietnamese, but you still see some weird animosity in some of the older (40+) people here, especially in the south. It's funny because it's not really even about the border war with the PRC, but about the cultural memory of Imperial Chinese occupation, which mostly just exists today in old music and movies.
The attitude among the petite bourgeois here (often landlords), living in China has become enviable. Your son getting a white-collar job in China is starting to become a bigger brag than someone else's son doing similar living in Amerikkka.
Yes, but will we accept that help? That's the real question.
The US doesn't want to invade Viet Nam again; they want us to be proxies against China. What happens will probably depend on how effective the narrative manipulation is. Nepal waited to long to try to regulate or ban US social media. Only vietnamese really know how corrupt things are here -- from bottom to top, but no one here understand how Facebook is a weapon.
Many people here wear US flags on their clothes. They US flag stickers on their cars. They hate Viet Nam and wish the US "won" the war, especially the calis (viet gusanos). I regularly talk to the children and grandchildren of collaborators who secretly wish for the US to re-invade. Recently one woman I was talking with, who was 9 years old in 1975, told me she misses the war because her traitor father used to bring home hamburgers and cookies from the US bases. Her father abandon her when he fled to the US on a naval ship and she blames the 'dirty communists' for taking her dad away. People here very reluctant to talk about any kind of politics or history (alcohol helps), but it's usually really bad tbh.
I hope the government is just playing a careful game by openly licking US and Israeli boots, and doesn't just sell us out.
Ironically that's the same way it is in the US itself with large swathes of the population still holding the Confederacy in high regard, though at the moment most of those types are fairly placated with the naked unapologetic fascism of the current admin.
Many such cases in the global south, even in AES countries. Cuba is another example. A lot of problems could be solved by simply asking for help from either Russia or China, and i highly doubt they would refuse in most cases. But these governments do have to ask. They have to stop being so stubborn about it.
I think it's a mix of genuine concern about presrving sovereignty (or i guess you could call it pride) and the government's fear of being accused of or seen as being a proxy or a vassal to a country that has been heavily demonized by the Western media (which reaches citizens in these global south countries too, unfortunately). Especially if the Western propaganda already accused them of being too close to these countries, they wish to go out of their way to show, including to their own people, that these accusations are false.
It's very unfortunate. One part of the solution is of course to reign in the West's influence in the information space by establishing tighter control over foreign propaganda vectors, and building domestic alternatives for the media and online spaces. The other part is simply, unfortunately, time. The reason why Western investment is not seen in the same way as help from Russia or China, is because the West has been hegemonic for so long. Thus ties with the West are seen as "normal" and apolitical. But this is slowly changing as the West declines and China rises, and China becomes an indispensable part of global south economies.
Or Russia. Russia arguably has the most expertise in the world on building nuclear power.
I think here it's more of an alignment issue, which is, IMO, rooted in economic coercion by the US for decades. By the time China became a major power Viet Nam was already very dependent on US imports. Corruption is a massive problem, too. Capitalism thrives in corruption and our soil very is fertile.
I doubt China would see the US attempt to create a puppet state right on their border and decide to stay passive even if they don't like Vietnam.
That's why I asked for specific context, if 'back' means help them in the case of another imperial invasion then I agree, but 'China will back Vietnam soon' by itself is ambiguous