The true meaning of freedom of speech, freedom of the press

Freedom is inherently a fundamental human right, but along with that is the awareness and behavior in accordance with the community, nation, and people, to respect the freedom of others and comply with the law. Article 29 of the 1948 "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" of the United Nations states: "Everyone has duties to the community, in the exercise of his rights and freedoms, to be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society."

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are two concepts in the same field, only different in level. The press is a forum in a developed society, where all citizens, all classes, all ages, genders, and different professions have the right to speak, express thoughts, opinions, and demonstrate actions, and the press becomes the place where freedom of speech is expressed most concentratedly, strongly, and widely.

That is why freedom of the press becomes a special concern everywhere, in every country, in every political and social regime. Whether in the capitalist press or the socialist press, the press has common functions such as: Informing, reflecting, forming and orienting public opinion, educating, entertaining...

The press is given favorable conditions to work in Vietnam. Illustration photo: cand.com.vn

These basic functions give the press a social responsibility, for the common progress and development of society, towards the universal values ​​of human happiness. Therefore, when exercising the right to freedom of the press, it must also be associated with these functions, not going against the values ​​of truth, morality, culture, not against the common security of the community, not contrary to the progressive trend of humanity.

President Ho Chi Minh gave a very clear explanation about freedom of speech and freedom of the press as follows: “What is freedom? On all issues, everyone is free to express their opinions, contributing to finding the truth... Truth is what is beneficial to the Fatherland and the people. What is contrary to the interests of the Fatherland and the people is not the truth.” Thus, it can be seen that true freedom of the press must be based on a democratic, good, and humane society, where all press activities serve the interests of the majority of people.

There is no pure, absolute freedom of the press, standing outside of society, community, political institutions and stifled in a dictatorship, when the ruling class has become an obstacle to social progress. There is no right to rise above the economic regime and the social development determined by that economic regime. There is only freedom of the press in a democratic society, when the ruling class has a progressive role in leading society.

In practice, almost all different political regimes consider opposing the government as a violation of the law and there is no document that considers freedom of speech and freedom of the press as absolute rights. As Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon once said: “Freedom of speech is protected when it is used for the purpose of justice and the community... When some people use this freedom to provoke or insult the values ​​and beliefs of others, that action will not be protected.”

Beware of plots to promote "free speech, free press"

In the arguments criticizing Vietnam for not having freedom of speech and freedom of the press, it can be seen that the arguments deliberately focus on the first part of the 1948 "Universal Declaration of Human Rights", affirming that freedom of thought and freedom of publication are basic human rights, while leaving out the second part that such freedom is within the legal and institutional framework of each country.

Instead of considering the relationship between the Constitution, the law and practical press activities, hostile and ill-intentioned forces only focus on specific cases and individuals to distort freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Vietnam. The concepts they use are "free speech" and "free press", which are close to the concept of absolute freedom without limits.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has ranked Vietnam near the bottom of its press freedom rankings of 180 countries in recent years, with the main reasons being “repression of bloggers” and “imprisonment of journalists.” However, in these cases, the arrested subjects all abused democratic freedoms to report false news, spread propaganda against the Party and the State, and distort the socio-economic situation in Vietnam.

On an ill-intentioned overseas media channel, when commenting on Vietnam recently, there was an article about RSF’s rankings. But RSF did not provide any concept or understanding of press freedom. If they believe that journalists cannot be arrested and that no one should be arrested for participating in speech, then perhaps they have completely ignored the fact that press activities must be within the framework of the law. With such reasoning, they are advocating free speech and free press without taking any social responsibility.

In the recent arrest of a female journalist, it can be seen that for a long time, this journalist has publicly criticized many individuals, businesses, and organizations on her personal page, such as Dai Nam Joint Stock Company, Song Foundation, Vietnam Autism Network... with harsh words but without any valid basis. Hiding under the guise of "raising doubts", "asking questions", "analyzing assumptions", "fighting against negativity", this journalist has arbitrarily released information with many signs of bias, judgment, and falsehood, regardless of the law and morality.

Free speech based on subjective and malicious judgments and inferences has led to a former journalist and lawyer being held responsible before the law for abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the rights and legitimate interests of other individuals and organizations. A number of other journalists, lawyers, and social media users who have been arrested have also committed similar violations of the law.

When criticizing and accusing Vietnam of not having freedom of speech and freedom of the press, hostile forces do not point out which laws or regulations hinder journalists' freedom, but tend to impose a Western model on Vietnam. This is an approach that has no scientific basis. The content of freedom in each country and each time period may be similar in general, but the rest will have the characteristics of each political and social institution. In fact, there is no place with absolute freedom, this is just a relative concept and has developments in different social foundations.

Thus, freedom of speech and freedom of the press as propagated by hostile forces is to promote the ideology of individuals, without responsibility and legal frameworks, social ethics, and without concern or underestimating the consequences for society and the community. That is very different from true freedom of speech and freedom of the press that is responsible for the progressive development of society and humanity.

Vietnam always ensures freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

In Vietnam, right from the struggle for independence, the Viet Minh Front led by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc raised high the flag demanding freedom of speech, freedom of publication, freedom of organization, belief, and movement, rejecting the unjust oppression of the colonial government.

When it gained power, the first Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1946 stipulated freedom of speech, freedom of publication and other freedoms of citizens. Through amendments and supplements, the Constitutions of 1959, 1980, 1992 and most recently the 2013 Constitution have consistently affirmed the freedom of speech and freedom of the press of citizens.

Along with the Constitution and other legal documents, the Press Law also sets out the basic and unified foundations for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Article 10 of the 2016 Press Law stipulates: “Citizens have the right to: 1. Create press works; 2. Provide information to the press; 3. Respond to information in the press; 4. Access press information; 5. Cooperate with press agencies to produce press products; 6. Print and distribute printed newspapers”. Thus, although Vietnam does not have a private press, the law stipulates that all citizens have the right to participate in press activities.

Anti-government forces often use the fact that Vietnam does not have a private press model to deliberately ignore the fact that all citizens have the right to participate in creating and publishing newspapers, and all social classes and organizations have their own representative press agencies.

Article 11 of the 2016 Press Law clearly states: Citizens have the right to express their opinions on the situation of the country and the world; to participate in formulating and implementing the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws; to contribute opinions, criticisms, recommendations, complaints and denunciations in the press against Party organizations, state agencies, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, socio-professional organizations and other organizations and individuals. Article 13 clearly states: "The press is not subject to censorship before printing, transmitting and broadcasting".

Not only in terms of law but also in practice, press freedom in Vietnam is also vividly demonstrated. The Vietnamese press has developed strongly in terms of quantity, type, scale, and journalism technology. According to statistics from the Ministry of Information and Communications, as of May 2023, the whole country had 808 press agencies (including 138 newspapers and 670 magazines) and 42,400 people working in the press field, about 6 times more than in the 2000s.

In addition, it is impossible not to mention social networks that have strongly participated in the media environment in the past 10 years. In Vietnam, citizens are not prohibited from participating in social networks. The right to speak, to give opinions, and to discuss all social issues has been greatly expanded on these new media. The press, along with social networks, has become a large forum where all people have a voice, all national and people's livelihood issues are exchanged and discussed, which are very clear manifestations of freedom of the press and freedom of speech.

Modern journalism in recent years, with the support of digital media technology, has increased its interactivity with the public. Online newspapers have opened comment sections for readers. Radio and television channels have live broadcasts, with hotline numbers for listeners and viewers to call and interact while the program is taking place.

With modern equipment, the station can travel to interview and broadcast live right at the citizens’ homes. On the other hand, the press agencies have set up programs to collect feedback from “citizen journalists”. This is a clear proof that the press can publish immediately without censorship.

Thus, both in terms of law and practice, freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Vietnam are clearly expressed, always associated with legal regulations, always aiming at the purpose of serving the people, contributing to promoting social progress. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Vietnam is not freedom of speech and freedom of the press according to individual will, but freedom built for good goals, for genuine responsibility to the community, for a political-social institution of the people, by the people, for the people.

No matter how hostile forces attack, criticize, or sabotage, they cannot change the nature of freedom of speech and freedom of the press in Vietnam. In fact, they are just negative, isolated voices of those who deliberately go against the sustainable development of our country, our people, and our proud revolutionary press.

Associate Professor, Dr. NGUYEN THI TRUONG GIANG, Deputy Director of the Academy of Journalism and Communication