Vietnamese pro-democracy dissident dies

Hoang Minh Chinh, one of Viet Nam’s most famous dissidents, has passed away at the age of 85 following a long illness, BBC News reported on February 8.

Chinh, formerly a leading figure in the Communist Party, began to criticize the regime in the 1960s, spending many years in jail and under house arrest due to his calls for democracy. In 2006, he took part in the establishment of the largest democratic campaign to date, Bloc 8406.

According to the article, his past attachment to communism somewhat alienated him from the younger generation of activists, who wanted a clean break from the past.

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