Vietnam blocks mobiles and internet at secretive congress to pick new leader

Delegates attending Vietnam's Communist Party congress, which began on Monday, have been subjected to stringent security protocols: they were issued Samsung tablets without internet, had mobile network access blocked, and must remain in designated accommodation, according to two individuals briefed on the matter.

These measures are part of heightened security for the week-long, once-in-five-years event, where 1,600 delegates will select the nation's top leader for the coming decade, with incumbent party chief To Lam reportedly seeking reconfirmation and expanded powers.

The foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Such strict arrangements are notable even by Vietnamese standards, where the one-party state monopolises information; a Reuters reporter at the Hanoi venue observed mobile connections jammed within the centre and surrounding areas.

open image in gallery

Delegates, who will vote on an unspecified day this week to elect the party's 200-strong central committee and will approve the congress resolution, were given tablets with only intranet functions to work on internal documents during the event, the two people said, declining to be named because information about the congress is deemed sensitive.

The delegates met on Monday for a preparatory session in a red-carpeted conference hall at the congress venue, with leaders on the stage under a towering statue of the party's founder Ho Chi Minh and the images of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin.

Delegates will also be prevented from carrying their mobile phones at the congress from Tuesday, a third person said, although the jamming of the mobile network will anyway make them useless for communication.

open image in gallery

Representing roughly 5.6 million party members in the country of 100 million, delegates were also told to stay in designated accommodation during the week of the congress, including those from Hanoi, according to two sources.

Guidelines issued to reporters covering the congress prohibit them from carrying mobiles phones. They can use their own computers but can only connect to the event's network.

Journalists "shall not cause any negative impact on the image or reputation of Viet Nam, its senior leadership, or its delegates in any form," according to guidelines sent to foreign media by Vietnam's foreign ministry.