Vietnam's Communist Party Congress: A High-Tech, No-Connection Gathering

In Vietnam, something unusual is happening. The Communist Party Congress is taking place. Delegates are given special Samsung tablets. But these tablets are not like the ones people use every day. They do not have internet access. This is not all. Delegates cannot use their phones either. The phone network is jammed. They must stay in specific places during the event. This is all for security. The congress is a big deal. It happens once every five years. Delegates will choose the country's top leader. The current leader, To Lam, wants to keep his position. He also wants more power. The congress is very strict. Even for Vietnam, it is unusual. The one-party state controls information tightly. At the congress venue in Hanoi, phones do not work. A reporter from Reuters saw this. Delegates use tablets for internal documents. They cannot access the internet. Two people told Reuters this. They did not want to be named. Information about the congress is sensitive.Delegates met on Monday. They were in a red-carpeted hall. Leaders were on stage. Behind them was a big statue of Ho Chi Minh. There were also images of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. The delegates will vote this week. They will elect the party's central committee. They will also approve the congress resolution. From Tuesday, delegates cannot bring phones. A third person said this. But phones will not work anyway. The network is jammed. Delegates represent 5. 6 million party members. Vietnam has 100 million people. Delegates must stay in designated places. This is for the whole week. Two sources said this. Reporters have rules too. They cannot bring phones. They can use their own computers. But they can only connect to the event's network. The foreign ministry gave guidelines. Journalists must not harm Vietnam's image. They must not harm the image of the leaders or delegates. This is in the guidelines sent to foreign media.