Vol 4, No 1 (2020)

The economic reforms ( Doi Moi ) initiated in Vietnam in 1986 led to substantial economic changes,specifically as a consequence of land policy developments but also led to conflict and land disputes among ethnic minority communities. This research aims to evaluate land tenure-related conflict among ethniccommunities in northern Vietnam from the time that the land reform was implemented to the present. Thestudy was conducted on Tay and Dao ethnic communities in Lang Son and Quang Ninh Provinces betweenFebruary and June 2018. It is recommended that careful attention should be paid to the traditional practices of land use by ethnic groups when making adjustments to land policy in order to avoid conflict due to the implementation of inappropriate legislature.

Given the reported high incidences of depression related suicides in Ho Chi Minh City (HCM City)Vietnam, a phenomenological case study was conducted to assess the profiles of mental health providers and their customer relationship practices. The study presents findings from eight in-depth interviews with MentalHealth (MH) doctors and marketers at public and private facilities about activities used to attract and retaincustomers, their effectiveness, and the challenges encountered. The trade publications and also the scholarly literature would indicate progressively increasing use of marketing skills at both public and private MHproviders, through social marketing campaigns, anti-stigma and MH awareness, social media marketing,Search Engine Optimization (SEO), digital platforms, and tech-enabled Customer Relationship Management (CRM), despite the fact that there is a recurring undersupply of mental health care services. In somewhat of a contrast, findings from interviews for the HCM City showed that government-affiliated providers were reactive, dependent on direct transfers and unconcerned about retention or CRM. Investments in CRM and marketing in general were limited and non-strategic in the State sector; marketing communication materials were of limited effectiveness and quality, even among mid-tier private providers. In contrast, upscale private clinics used a repertoire of tools including Facebook Business pages, YouTube.com clips, content-rich websites, blogging, toll-free numbers and workshops. Through innovation and client-focus, upscale private MH clinics derived a major source of business from Word of Mouth (WOM). Some challenges to MH usage that we identified were stigma, gender roles, unethical doctor behaviors, poor quality of MH education, and practice. Also, many providers had a difficult time educating individuals about the symptoms and treatmentof mental illness, and outreaching with the MH service delivery to induce trial.

The article reconsiders one of the components of Chinese religious syncretism (Confucianism,Buddhism and Taoism) in Vietnam, based on a comprehensive concept of Taoism developed by E. Torchinov. Using various historical sources and previous studies the author reveals fragments of Vietnamesereligious believes and practices that can be identified as Taoist, such as numerology, magic, spiritualtechniques, the pantheon of deities, medical procedures, and institutionalized forms of Taoism.All foreign religions in Vietnam went through the universal cultural stages of translation into the language of local religious traditions. To make the language of the new faith understandable, correspondences wereestablished between old and new characters; for example, Vietnamese spirits were incorporated in Buddhistpantheon. What makes the study of Taoism in Vietnam particularly complicated is the fact that local religious practices were quite similar to Taoist. This is partially because ancient Dongshon civilization was created inthe region of modern Northern Vietnam and Southern China, which some sclolars believe to be the areawhere Taoism originated from. On the other hand, Vietnamese traditional medicine and magic have been developing under the influence of Taoist methods so they became deeply interrelated. Even Buddhist preachers had to master some medical and magical skills to earn the respect of newly converted Vietnamese followers.A special attention is given in the article to spirit possession techniques such as “len dong” that many scholars tend to categorize as Taoist. The differences between Chinese and Vietnamese possession practicesare shown in comparative perspective. Based on the data from author’s field research on spirit possession inVietnam, the conclusion is made that despite some similarities with Chinese Taoist rituals, Vietnamese tradition of communication with spirits of the dead is a part of local ancestor worship and has its own specificfeatures.Although various elements of Taoism have become an intrinsic part of Vietnamese everyday life, hardly anyone recognizes them here as Taoist or foreign by nature. In the same time scholars often put the label of Taoism on whatever phenomena of popular religion or social practices that don’t fit into the categories of Confucianism and Buddhism. To further clarify the status of Taoism in contemporary Vietnam an extended anthropological fieldwork is needed.

The article presents the assessments of the leading Russian and Vietnamese experts of the currentstate of Russian-Vietnamese cooperation in various fields. The high level of trust between the leaders of the two countries and regular contacts at the highest level, close cooperation in the international arena and in themilitary and technical field, the spiritual closeness of the peoples of Russia and Vietnam were reminded. Butat the same time, negative moments in the relations between the two countries were also revealed. Scientists drew attention to the fall in the influence of the Russian Federation in the economy, science and culture of Vietnam, the main reasons for this phenomenon were named. Russia has lost its previous positions in most sectors of the Vietnamese economy, due to objective reasons and its own mistakes, and the return of these positions under intense competition in the Vietnamese market is a difficult problem. The tight migration policy of the Russian authorities and the fall of the ruble exchange rate were named among the reasons for the loss of interest in Russia as an object of Vietnamese labor migration. Despite the allocation of the maximum number of quotas for free education for Vietnamese students in Russia, the attractiveness of Russianeducation among Vietnamese youth is far inferior to education in other countries. The main reasons were the problems with employment in Vietnam with Russian language and obtaining high-paid work in Russia after graduation. Low funding of Russian-Vietnamese cooperation in the field of science and technology, as well as culture, poor coverage of the Vietnamese theme in the Russian press were noted. The participants of theRound Table made a number of recommendations with the aim to correct the current situation and expressed the conviction that it is necessary for Russia to inherit the best that existed in the practice of cooperation with Vietnam in the Soviet years.

This collection consists of articles by Russian and Vietnamese scientists who participated in theRound table discussion on the subject: “Vietnam - China relations: the difficult search for agreement”, held at the Center for Vietnam and ASEAN studies, Institute for Far Eastern studies of the Russian Academy ofSciences, on February 20, 2019 and timed to the 40th anniversary of the 1979 “border war” between Chinaand Vietnam. The volume includes 12 articles by Russian and Vietnamese authors, divided into two parts. The first examines the conflict itself, its causes and consequences, the role of the Soviet Union, the lessons ofthis war. In the second part, the authors touch upon the actual problems of relations between the twoneighboring countries in the period from the normalization of relations in 1991 to the present day.

The article is devoted to the memory of the outstanding Vientamese scientist, journalist, honoraryDoctor of IFES RAS professor Do Tien Sam.