VOA标准英语10月-Protesters Greet Vietnamese Prime Minister in Aus

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Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung, left, and Victoria state Premier3 John Brumby in Melbourne, 14 Oct 2008

Trade and human trafficking have been key points of discussion between Mr. Dung and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Concerns about human rights in Vietnam have not been a central feature of this visit, despite the concerns of critics of the Vietnamese government. They say it violates the rights of its citizens and blocks basic freedoms, such as freedom of religion and land ownership.

Melanie Beresford, a regional expert at Sydney's Macquarie University, says Vietnam is pursuing an increasingly liberal political and economic path, which has reduced criticism of its record on human rights.

"My impression is that Australians are not too worried about it. I think there have been huge changes that have taken place in Vietnam over the last decade or so," she said. "You know, most Australians feel quite comfortable with the way Vietnam is progressing on the, sort of, long-term scale of things. It is not a country that is going backwards⁴ into evermore repression⁵ of the population."

However, in Hanoi on Tuesday, two journalists who exposed official corruption⁶ went on trial for allegedly writing inaccurate⁷ stories and what the court calls "abusing freedom and democracy."

Trade between Australia and Vietnam has grown by 20 percent annually⁸ over the past five years and is estimated to reach $8 billion this year.

Australian businesses have invested more than $1 billion in Vietnam and the country is Vietnam's third biggest export market.