In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

On September 23, a Vietnamese organization arranged simultaneous flash mobs in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to promote lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. A few days later, another organization helped a youth group hold a festival to promote anti-corruption among students…

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In the just-released 2012 World Risk Index, which ranks countries based on their level of vulnerability to natural disasters, 12 of the top 20 at-risk countries are in the Asia-Pacific. Vietnam, which every year endures an average of eight to 10 extreme weather events and natural disasters…

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Nearly two decades of market-based development has dramatically changed the way Vietnamese live and work, transforming patterns of personal and commercial saving, borrowing, and lending. By 2011 there were 93 banks…

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The majority of migrants are young and, increasingly, women. Migrants represent both Vietnam’s greatest advantages and greatest challenges. Their 14-15-hour work days have helped fuel the economic miracle that has rocketed Vietnam from one of the five poorest countries in the world in 1985 to an average per capita income of over $1,000 in 2010. Economic reform, combined with cheap, flexible labor has led to a surge in foreign investment. Booming consumerism is visible in the adverts on every street corner and the accessories hanging off Vietnam’s newly wealthy youth.

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