So what? I forgot to include the BBC on my list.
The hard cold fact is that Vietnam is closer to unrestricted capitalism than any of he places I listed.
Try to open a business, any business, in DC, California, on any Ivy University campus, or in the BBC building. Do the same in Vietnam.
Then get back to me.
I get your point.
Socialist regulation has this country in a stranglehold on entrepreneurs, no doubt.
However, there are other considerations that weigh in how “free” a country is, other than economic freedom.
Vietnam’s political and human rights status is awful.
That country has inserted language into the TPP which forbids any expression of government criticism by All TPP signatories.
Catering to capitalist cloaked communist Vietnam’s TPP demands will eventually result in further erosion of our very own political and civil rights.
That onerous provision is one of the reasons why TPP disclosure’s were hidden from the public.
https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2015/vietnam
Freedom in the World
Vietnam
Freedom in the World 2015
2015 Scores
Status
Not Free
Freedom Rating
(1 = best, 7 = worst)
6.0
Civil Liberties
(1 = best, 7 = worst)
5
Political Rights
(1 = best, 7 = worst)
7
Overview:
In 2014, Vietnam continued to suppress freedom of expression online, in print, and through public demonstrations. The state enacted Decree 174 to institute harsh new penalties for certain types of speech in blogs and social media, expanding upon government powers to censor internet and social media usage in place under a previous decree. Several high-profile internet writers and bloggers were arrested, while the trials of other prominent activists proceeded despite international pressure for their release.