Its propaganda is more effective than Nhan Dan and is read by more people. This newspaper has more influence than any other in Vietnam. Press freedom should not include the right to the sorts of abuses and dishonest writing seen in this newspaper. Press freedom requires the rule of law that protects the media from the excessive power of the state but also protects individuals from abuses by the media. Press freedoms require a pluralistic economy with private ownership of the media.
Press freedoms require constant debate and self-examination about ethics.
Vietnam does not have any of these things. The media in Vietnam may be more colorful and more entertaining but it remains very much part of a system of political control. That means its role in the creation of an open economic system is constrained, its capacity to check corruption is limited. Without a more open press, Vietnam's hopes to develop the institutions of a modern market economy will fail. A stock market in Vietnam will be merely a high risk casino without a press that can write freely about corruption in state firms.