In the comments to the preceding post, Jon asks where in HCMC the sinking bridge is located. I should have been more careful to provide background for the story and the pictures. But note that the Thanh Nien News article itself does not provide enough background about the locatiion and circumstances of the sinking bridge.
This is unfortunately rather typical, in my opinion, of Vietnamese journalism. Vietnamese reporters often neglect important elements of background for a news story, and do not answer the basic questions: Who? Where? They usually get the "What?" answered, but often do not speculate on a "Why?"
For example, note this opening sentence in a 19 March 2007 article in the Vietnam Investment Review online:
"Although HOK did not yet have any specific projects in mind for Vietnam, they had shown interests especially in building airports."
The reporter did not get around to defining the who and where of HOK until much later towards the end of the article. Since I am well aware of HOK, the article caught my eye. Otherwise, this opening line raises many questions without giving a real sense of the article to follow -- my first reaction is "Huh?".
