Nikkei Asian Review quotes Long in article on Vietnam party chief being named president
Ngo Vinh Long, a professor of Asian history at the University of Maine, was quoted in the Nikkei Asian Review article, “Vietnam party chief Trong formally named president.” Vietnamese lawmakers elected Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong as president, making him the first leader to hold both titles since the nation’s founder, Ho Chi Minh, according to the article. The election highlights a shift that is comparable to the centralization of power in China under Xi Jinping, the article states. “The election of Mr. Trong to the position of president is a temporary solution because the current leadership in Vietnam has not agreed on a suitable person for that position,” Long said. “He might want to imitate Xi Jinping’s model, but the current situation in Vietnam will not allow him to seize power as Xi Jinping did.”