Vietnam joins a shocking trade
To date the evidence is largely anecdotal, but it is mounting, along with the concern of both local and international organisations dedicated to the welfare of children.
Long closed off to the outside world, Vietnam was until recently largely insulated from the dark side of tourism which has seen countless children from throughout the region fall victim to sexual predators from Europe, America, Australia, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
But as the market mentality continues its relentless assault on one of the world's last remaining communist states - and as authorities crack down on paedophilia in the traditional child-sex markets of Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Thailand - all the signs indicate Vietnam is becoming an increasingly popular alternative.
'There is definite evidence of organised child sex tourism from Hong Kong to Vietnam,' said one Hong Kong Police officer who has investigated the country's growing child-sex trade.
'Paedophiles in Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong are collaborating, and as Vietnam is relatively cheap, it's becoming an increasingly popular destination for child-sex tourism.' Aware of the trend, SAR legislators are moving to enact a law which would allow Hong Kong paedophiles who commit offences overseas to be punished at home.
But humanitarian organisations in Vietnam believe the law will be largely ineffective against Hong Kongers unless local authorities receive significant international assistance.
According to Christine Beddoe of the Australian-based organisation End Child Prostitution, Pornography And Trafficking (Ecpat), at least four popular tourist destinations have emerged as the focus of Vietnam's booming child-sex industry.
'Vietnam is certainly on the destination list of foreigners seeking adult sex . . . [Ecpat's experience shows] that kids are then dragged into it with the supply [soon] creating its own industry,' she said.
Ecpat has identified Nha Trang, Hoi Anh and Sapa as increasingly popular playgrounds for foreign paedophiles. But Vietnam's child sex epicentre is the raucous, freewheeling Ho Chi Minh City. There, foreign paedophiles are at their most brazen with mainly middle-aged men shamelessly soliciting sex from the hordes of street children who earn a living as shoe-shine boys or sellers of tourist trinkets.
'The openness is quite shocking - these people are often overheard in cafes negotiating with children over the price of sex,' said Jimmy Pham, a Vietnamese-born Australian who returned to his original homeland to open a rehabilitation project for street children.
'There's a lot of money to be made, as much as US$100 a day for some kids. And that has aroused the interest of [Vietnamese] adults who see the potential profits. It's becoming a very important source of money for mafia-style gangs.' Mr Pham's efforts to intervene have resulted in several death threats, and threats of violence have also been directed at senior representatives of large international organisations.
But their monitoring of even the most brazen of offenders has come to nothing - local police and at least one foreign consulate in Ho Chi Minh City claim they are powerless to act without sufficient evidence.
Local laws provide for penalties of up to 20 years in prison for sex with minors but, according to one well-placed source, not one foreign paedophile has been arrested by Vietnamese police to date.
'This is all about money - often the local authorities don't want to cause trouble for tourists because tourism brings in money,' said one local child welfare worker.
