In a feat many have called inconceivable, the Vietnamese U23 football team beat former champions Iraq to secure their place in the Asian Football Cup’s semi-final. In the celebrations that immediately followed the win, people and vehicles poured into downtown streets, wearing clothes of bright red and yellow, waving national flags, and singing and screaming at the top of their lungs, all in good fun.

In the celebrations that immediately followed the win, people and vehicles poured into downtown streets, wearing clothes of bright red and yellow, waving national flags, and singing and screaming at the top of their lungs, all in good fun. 

The commotion took a wild turn when some girls ‘bared it all,’ wrapping their modesty in what looked like the Vietnamese flag, and leaving very little to the imagination. The whole sequence was posted to social media and inevitably spread like wildfire. The video elicited various reactions – from lighthearted amusement and lewd comments, to contemptuous complaints of indecent exposure, anger at the perceived ‘desecration of the flag,’ as well as transphobic remarks as the ‘girls’ turned out to be flamboyant transgender women.

Days later, the whole country seems to still be bursting at the seams with delirious jubilance that threatens to overshadow the already festive New Year’s Eve. A few companies have allowed employees to take a day off to watch the coming semi-final against Qatar, on January 23, and if the streak of luck continues, a day off on January 24 will be arranged. More of the same is expected if the team manages to reach the final. Several other firms offered special gatherings to watch the match.

CEO of VietJet, the country’s affordable airline, has even pledged on Facebook to paint aircrafts with the images of the Vietnamese team and their coach, should they be crowned champions.

Shops have also taken the occasion to hold sales and promotion events.

While understandable, these festivities will surely disrupt the normal flow of work, and it would be better, as recently said in Việt Nam, “to be joyful, but don’t be overjoyed.”

Not so generous after all

A woman in southern Việt Nam was on cloud nine when she received a generous gift from her adoring boyfriend. Little did she know, the higher she floated, the more painful the fall would be.

It later turned out the gift was bought with proceeds from the sale of the girl’s motorcycle, which the cheap Casanova had pawned without her knowledge.

Last week, police in Long Xuyen City, capital of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang, said they had completed documents to apprehend and commence criminal proceedings against the young man, on charges of “abusing trust to misappropriate property.”

According to the police, the 18-year-old girl drove her boyfriend to a café for a date. At the café, the thought occurred to the boyfriend that he should have some presents for his lover, out of vanity or gallantry, who knows. However, as his pockets were near empty, he slipped away and sold his partner’s motorbike for VNĐ9 million (US$400).

Flush with cash, the couple then went to a supermarket to buy the gifts.

Still filled with joy for her new purchases, the young girl was aghast to find her bike gone. She immediately went to the police and the rest, including the duplicitous lover, is history.

Remorse has teeth

There’s an old Vietnamese phrase that roughly translated in English means “gnawing remorse.”

A Hà Nội man recently faced a string of emotions – from puzzlement, delight, to being downright confused – after he received VNĐ8 million ($352) that was stolen from him three years ago.

With an accompanying note of apology, no less!

Nguyen Danh Tan, 26, owner of a mobile phone shop, posted photos of his surprise package on Facebook, and received loads of comments and reactions.

While some optimistically said this is a truly rare incident and called for forgiveness, others were less altruistic and refused to sympathise with whatever motives were behind the original theft. — VNS