ABSTRACT
Since the onset of doi moi, Vietnam has experienced remarkable social changes. The emergence of a market economy and the opening up of the society to globalisation, combined with substantial domestic migration, has created a host of new problems. Vietnam’s development has been far from homogenous: some more remote regions were relatively unaffected by the process of economic change, yet regions and households have been increasingly differentiated, as the gap between rich and poor has widened. Socio-economic inequalities produced difficulties for many households, limiting access both to good primary healthcare and to educational opportunities. A widespread perception in Vietnam has been that socio-economic changes, combined with a liberalisation of the media, have opened the door for sexual emancipation, moral laxity and a range of associated problems. As a result, the state has used measures such as the 1993 Law on Publishing to maintain its control over domestic information flows.
