Southeast Asia: Dictatorships Are Gone, But Censorship Hangs On

The State doesn’t need to kill journalists to control the media because by and large, Vietnam’s press card-carrying journalists are not allowed to do work that is worth being killed for.

Since the late 20th century, many Southeast Asian countries have moved from military dictatorships and unelected governments to representative governance systems. While these transitions have brought many improvements to national law and government accountability, certain old ways still remain.

Both off and online, censorship is still enforced in several countries through the use of draconian laws and strict media regulation. Media groups have consistently decried certain controversial laws and regulations as tools of media repression in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Myanmar.