I think one positive trend in Vietnam right now is the development of a nascent civil society. In recent years we began to see more and more grassroots organizations starting to spring up and operate inside Vietnam, and also NGOs from the outside coming in and establishing operations inside Vietnam.
However, the overwhelming majority of these groups are still working on issues that are non-threatening to the government. If they work on the environment, poverty reduction, literacy, HIV prevention, great, they are welcome to operate. But if they touch on issues like religious freedom, sensitive issues, that's where trouble begins.