ABSTRACT
Workers striking for better wages and employment conditions; villagers demonstrating against corrupt officials and land confiscations; teachers, students, lawyers, and others protesting against Chinese encroachment into Vietnam; religious groups pressing for their rights – these and other forms of public criticism became prominent features of political life in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam during the first two decades of the 20th century. In addition, a movement emerged that sought, non-violently, to replace the Communist Party regime with a democratic political system. Authorities’ reactions to all these political challenges ranged from responsiveness to toleration to repression.
