The people and the government have no connection. Thus, many of the executions in Vietnam, which are irregularly reported by the Western media, have been under the pretense of seemingly despicable crimes. The concern is that the Government of Vietnam employs the death penalty to eliminate its opponents. The so-called legal process leading up to death by firing squad instills little confidence otherwise. Lately, some of the high-profile executions in Vietnam have been for drug smuggling.
Drug smuggling is a vile activity with no defense.
The trouble, though, is that authorities are exploiting the judicial system to make select individuals scapegoats. Hanoi's draconian legal system has lately been used to cower foreign investors. Such strong-arm tactics by government officials, experienced by Tran Trieu Quan and other foreign businessmen, symbolize how authorities have turned the legal system upside down to further their own political and economic interests. This total abuse of the legal system, whether for executions or kidnapping, is indicative of the state of the country. The recent publicized executions in Vietnam tell a lot about the current rulers of Vietnam, and why people who cannot stomach injustice shall not tolerate this status quo.