Vietnam Names New Information Minister Nguyen Manh Hung

Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam): Vietnam’s National Assembly on Wednesday elected Lieutenant General Nguyen Manh Hung as the new Minister of Information and Communications at a time the government is silencing dissent.

Hung, 56, has been acting as interim minister since July when an official commission opened an investigation into former minister Truong Minh Tuan for alleged corruption, according to the official media. The majority of the unicameral National Assembly on Tuesday approved the removal of Tuan before proceeding with the election of Hung, Efe news reported.

The appointment of Hung, who in the last four years served as General Director of the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, came the day after the unicameral legislature session opened under new conservative President Nguyen Phu Trong. Trong, 74, is also the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, a position he has held since 2011. (IANS)