San Francisco Frontiers - Vietnam admits 'differing opinions' on Hanoi development

The communist country has little tolerance for disagreement, but throughout September encouraged public feedback on multi-billion-dollar plans to renovate areas along Hanoi's Red River and around a historic city centre lake.

Thousands of homes have been knocked down or are slated for demolition as part of a 100-year master plan approved in May, which includes infrastructure, high-end residential complexes and parks.

City dwellers had several weeks to vote on a consultation, with President To Lam announcing the results on Sunday, as reported by state media.

A near-unanimous 92 percent of votes were in favour of the lake project, he said, while 71.8 percent supported the Red River plans -- suggesting more than a quarter did not.

"While the majority of citizens are in consensus, there are differing opinions on certain specific aspects," To Lam was quoted as telling Hanoi residents.

"This is normal, and indeed necessary, for initiatives with long-term impacts."

But US-based Vietnam expert Tuong Vu, from the University of Oregon, said the announcement was "a rare case when some numbers were disclosed".

"In the past, the results of such surveys were disclosed only to officials but not to the public," he said.

The consultation came after months of cautious expressions of protest, from silent prayer vigils to carefully worded banners calling for neighbourhoods to be spared.

- 'Guillotine' arch -

To Lam urged Hanoi authorities to engage in more dialogue with the public, adding: "We must not sacrifice quality or social consensus for the sake of speed."

The development was unveiled earlier this year, but with the public consultation came a more detailed map showing exactly which homes would be razed.

Hanoi authorities also revealed plans for a new ceremonial arch on the edge of the Hoan Kiem lake, dubbed the "Arc de Triomphe" after the monument in Paris, the capital of former colonial power France.

Legend has it that Vietnam's Emperor Le Loi returned his sword to a divine turtle at the lake in the 15th century after using the weapon to defeat a Ming dynasty Chinese invasion.

The lake is surrounded by tree-lined streets, French-style buildings and traditional temples, and the scheme to install a towering modernist arch at its edge -- complete with a huge Vietnamese flag -- shocked residents.

One, Tran Thi Sanh, wrote on Facebook that the proposed arch looked "like a guillotine or a gallows", in a post that received thousands of supportive reactions.

- Angry and sad -

On the other side of the mighty Red River, a $30 billion mega-project is planned.

One 11,000-hectare area roughly the size of Paris is slated to become a network of high-end residential complexes and parks, with roughly 250,000 existing inhabitants relocated.

"I am angry and sad and don't know how the future is for us when we lose all our land," local resident Giang told AFP.

She estimated that "100 percent of residents in my community disagree with the plan".

One of her neighbours, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, confirmed: "For sure there is disagreement."

The neighbour suggested the 71.8 percent result underplayed local opposition, noting Hanoi residents who lived far from the development also took part in the consultation.

Analyst Vu concurred, saying: "The real percentage of critical opinions and people who disapproved of the policy would likely be much higher than what To Lam disclosed if an independent organisation had carried out the survey."

Many residents fear their voices will simply be ignored.

"If they want to do it, they will do it," said Giang, "regardless what people's opinions are".

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L.Ramos--SFF