Tây Sơn News Wire

Commentary: It is estimated that there are 1.6 million LGBT people in a country of 90 million people, about 1.7% of the population. Despite the poor record on human rights regime, Vietnamese officials are considering openly about  recognition of gay marriage.

There are several reasons to this openness to the LGBT community by the regime because it does not oppose directly to the communist rule and the regime can claim the advancement on the human rights even though it systematically crackdowns on any dissent.

In terms of the societal perspective, Vietnamese society does not have a state religion and is not religious. Vietnamese culture is deeply ingrained in Buddhism and Taoism, which are not actually religions and both preach about the reincarnation. Reincarnation can take place in either form of gender or mixed gender from one life to the next life. Therefore, there is no religious basis to be against homosexuality and transgender.

Participants carry a rainbow flag while attending Vietnam’s first-ever gay pride parade in Hanoi on August 5, 2012. (Nguyen Huy Kham/Reuters)

Unofficial gay wedding celebration.

As the LGBT community is small and thus still a rare phenomenon, stigma may take sometimes to dissipate. Thanks to the internet and the fight for LGBT rights in other countries, open acceptance of LGBT in Vietnam may come sooner than other countries.  Continue reading →