Read about this topic in Vietnamese.
VietJet Air, Vietnam’s biggest private commercial airline, has asked the mayor of Hanoi to take action against people spreading “false information” about the company online.
And the mayor is doing just that.
In a statement published by the Vietnamese government on Monday, the Mayor Tran Sy Thanh ordered relevant agencies to investigate and handle Facebook accounts responsible for disseminating “false information” about Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao, the billionaire CEO of VietJet.
The post on the government’s official Facebook account, however, was later edited to remove the reference to VietJet’s high-profile CEO.
This is not the first time the government has gone after people for posting negative information about Thao, reputedly the richest woman in Vietnam.
She became the target of online trolling earlier this year after a parody post mocking her and the airline’s service circulated widely on Vietnamese-language social media.
Two individuals who shared the post were later summoned to a police station, where they were compelled to admit wrongdoing and sign a commitment not to repeat their actions.
VietJet Air is the country’s largest low-cost carrier, offering more affordable fares than the national flag carrier, Vietnam Airlines. However, the airline is often subject to criticism over delays and customer dissatisfaction. It’s also been dubbed the “bikini airline,” because of ads featuring models in bikinis to promote resort destinations.
Thao is a well-known business leader in Vietnam. She has been at the forefront of Vietnam’s efforts to persuade the Trump administration to lift tariffs on Vietnamese exports to the U.S., and in April joined the delegation that came to Washington for trade negotiations.
Even before Donald Trump took office for his second term, Thao made headlines with a personal encounter with him.
In January, Thao was seen on the golf course with the then-president-elect during a visit to Mar-a-Lago. Video of the encounter was widely shared on social media in Vietnam, including on government accounts.
In the communist country, it is not unusual for private companies to use the government to pressure critics.
VinFast, the country’s well-known car manufacturer, has also reported to police customers who say negative things about it online.
A lawyer in Hanoi lambasted the mayor’s decision to instruct authorities to go after critics of VietJet.
“Because in his position as mayor, he represents the interests of all people in Hanoi, not the interests of a single business,” the lawyer told Radio Free Asia, speaking on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
The lawyer added that the company “should use legal means to challenge those they deem to be spreading defamatory statements instead of asking police and politicians to interfere”.
Edited by Mat Pennington.