After the meetings, editors convey the guidelines to their staffs. The Friday meetings also cover controversial topics, so that editors will know what not to publish. Despite constitutional guarantees of free expression, journalists face severe restrictions on reporting anything deemed to be a state secret or a threat to national security. They are also subject to increased legal harassment, the result of a 1999 law that allows the media to be sued for defamation whether or not the information they publish is accurate. This provision was deployed for the first time in September, when the Haiphong Agriculture Materials and Transport Company sued the popular newspaper Tuoi Tre Hanoi for allegedly damaging its reputation.
Dissident journalists face the greatest threat.
In April, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Tu, better known by his pen name, Ha Sy Phu, was placed under house arrest in the town of Dalat. A scientist and essayist who had previously been jailed for political writings, Ha was suspected of helping to draft a recent pro-democracy declaration, according to CPJ sources. Foreign correspondents based in Vietnam face surveillance and restrictions on their activities, especially if they try to interview dissidents. They must inform state authorities if they travel outside their city of residence, and must obtain written permission to interview Vietnamese nationals. In practice, these requirements are routinely ignored.