Dan Hauer

The Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) has said it will fined Dan Hauer, American man living in Hanoi for his recent offensive comments insulting the late Vietnamese hero, General Vo Nguyen Giap.

In his comments, Dan compared a genital piercing to the shape of the late Vietnamese hero, a statement that has received backlash from the Vietnamese community, and threats to his family.

                  

While speaking at the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI), Dan said he lacked the understanding of Vietnamese culture, and sends his "sincere apologies" to the Vietnamese people and the family of  General Vo Nguyen Giap.

According to the deputy head of ABEI, Le Quang Tu Do, Dan was remorseful and was cooperative during the meeting with the Vietnamese officials. Quang in his statement said;

Some people went too far by insulting and making death threats to Hauer and his family. Those are deplorable actions and must not be encouraged, as we cannot fight evil with evil.

An official also said that Dan has been found violating a national hero, and could be fined between VND35-50 million (US$1,500-2,200). Do added;

A fine can be reduced if the violator takes action to fix their mistakes. We have reached an agreement that Hauer and his family would voluntarily remove all violating online content and visit the family of late General Vo Nguyen Giap to make a formal apology.

In that case, we will wait to see his corrective measures before issuing an appropriate fine at the earliest time possible.

Dan's wife was also present at the meeting and also acknowledged his wife wrongdoings, she said;

I’m stressed, exhausted and terrified from all the threats and insults hurled at my family. As a Vietnamese citizen, I was also offended by [Hauer’s] remarks, so I could understand why the public was so angry with my husband. I know Dan made a big mistake, and I did the best I could to help him understand how severe his mistake was.

See video by local media news website;

             

Since the comment posted on Facebook, Dan has lost more than 7,000 youtube subscribers..

 

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An American man is currently facing backlash after his comment about a Vietnamese revered hero, General Vo Nguyen Giap on a Facebook page. The man on a comment on Facebook disrespected the hero when he compared General Vo Nguyen Giap head to a tattoo on his genitalia to Giap's head.

             

The post had caused a lot of backlash from Vietnamese around the country with Vietnamese calling for the teacher to be deported from the country with the lack of respect for the country tradition and heroes, informing him that Vietnam is different from the U.S., and why Americans can go ahead to disrespect their heroes or leaders, the Vietnamese will not take such insults on its leaders or heroes, whether dead or alive from heroes.

Daniel has now been summoned by the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (ABEI) to clarify the comment next Tuesday. 

Who Is Daniel Hauer

Daniel Hauer is an American and a vlogger who had stayed in Hanoi, Vietnam for 5 years. He runs a vlog on Youtube with 1 million subscribers. He also has a Vietnamese wife and with a child in Vietnam.

Who is General Vo Nguyen Giap

During the war with the French in 1954, General Vo Nguyen Giap was the man who had a different plan from what the French had thought. His side won the war after he laid a war plan that sees the commander of the French side at the time commit suicide. He is the hero of the DIen Bien phu war

                   

When the death of the man was announced in 2013, a 2-day National funeral was held for him, with all the Vietnamese in mourning state.

Apologies

After so much backlash from the Vietnamese community, Dan went on his page to issue an apology and said he was only mocking someone another commenter who had vowed to tattoo his chest with a Vietnamese flag if the Vietnamese side won their U23 Final on Saturday, and did not realise that the use of the General's name will cause such an uproar in the Vietnamese community.

Hauer has now lost his contract with his current employer, and many other Vietnamese are looking to boycott his new videos going forward.

Repeat Offender?

Dan Hauer had in the past insulted the Vietnamese election via a Facebook comment. The English teacher at the time called the Vietnamese election "a waste of time, and the noise calling for people to vote in the country a disturbance" he sighted that the leaders already knows who will win, and the calling of the election early in the morning, disturbing his sleep was unnecessary, like now, Dan was criticized for his comment and many Vietnamese called on him to leave the country if he finds their tradition offensive.

Fine?

If he is found guilty of the comment, Dan will be fined VND70-100 million ($3,100-4,400)  for his comment and insult on the internet, the deputy head of ABEI  Le Quang Tu Do confirmed to the media.

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