Vietnam moves its dead for Trump golf course

{"text":[[{"start":9.25,"text":"In a small cemetery nestled between fruit farms in northern Vietnam, farmers who for decades buried their dead near family plantations are digging up the graves."}],[{"start":19.35,"text":"They are dismantling the cemetery to make way for a $1.5bn golf course and luxury residential project by the Trump Organization and its local partners. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":30.150000000000002,"text":"In the graveyard, in the Chau Ninh commune of the Hung Yen province, broken nameplates and half-burnt incense sticks now perch precariously on fallen altars. Some tombstones bear giant “X” marks to indicate the bodies have been moved. "}],[{"start":43.800000000000004,"text":"“It’s because of this project people are forced to move,” said Tran Minh Hai, a farmer who grows lilies. He cited a Vietnamese saying that calls for graves to be left in peace. “It’s a spiritual thing, people don’t want to disturb the graves.” Some villagers are refusing to agree to exhumations."}],[{"start":63.550000000000004,"text":"The row over the cemetery is delaying a 990-hectare project including five-star hotels and ultra-luxury villas by the Trump Organization, Trump’s family business. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• Damaged and partially demolished graves with ornate stone and tile structures surrounded by overgrown vegetation in a cemetery.
• A sign displays a site map for the planned Trump hotel and golf course at a construction site in Hung Yen province, Vietnam.

"}],[{"start":74.25,"text":"The project is seen as crucial for ties between Hanoi and Washington. At the groundbreaking ceremony in May 2025, Vietnam’s then-prime minister Pham Minh Chinh said the golf course was “significant to strengthening Vietnam-US relations and fostering foreign investor confidence, especially those from the US,” according to state media. Eric Trump described the Vietnam project as “the envy of all of Asia and of the entire world”."}],[{"start":105.15,"text":"Export-reliant Vietnam fast-tracked approvals for the project, with the groundbreaking ceremony held six weeks after Trump’s “liberation day” tariffs and it was widely seen as an attempt to appease the US president and his allies. Trump initially threatened a 46 per cent levy on Vietnam — the highest tariff rate after China — before lowering it to 20 per cent. Hanoi’s surplus with the US, which is its top export market, has risen as geopolitical tensions encouraged some manufacturers to relocate from China. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":136.15,"text":"“There is a growing sense that Vietnam needs to do more in order to please the Trump administration in terms of trade, tariff and the recent concern about intellectual property rights,” said Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow with the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute."}],[{"start":152.85,"text":"The project was initially expected to be operational in 2027 but disputes over land have delayed it, according to people familiar with the matter. "}],[{"start":160.79999999999998,"text":"Land in Communist-party-run Vietnam is owned “by the people” and managed by the state, making it the government’s responsibility to acquire the land and then hand it over to investors. According to state media reports in March, compensation and resettlement plans have been approved for just over a third of the 500 hectares needed for the first phase. "}],[{"start":180.39999999999998,"text":"Some of the more than 4,000 households set to be affected are either refusing to give up their land or are demanding higher compensation from the government, according to interviews with nearly two dozen residents. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• Excavator and black pickup truck parked in front of a construction site office with a Vietnamese flag and project sign for Trump International, Hung Yen.
• Two road rollers smooth a dirt road near green fields and an industrial building, with a tall smokestack in the background.

"}],[{"start":193.2,"text":"Construction does not appear to have begun at the project site though a few bulldozers and dump trucks were parked next to a red banner bearing the words “project management board of Trump International” when the FT visited earlier this month.  "}],[{"start":206.29999999999998,"text":"“When they [first] told us about the golf project, the people were excited and supported the project for the development of the country,” said Nguyen Duc Theo, 63, who has a banana farm near the planned golf course. "}],[{"start":220.6,"text":"But Theo and other residents say local officials are urging them to accept “below market” rates of 80,000 dong ($3) per square metre of farmland. "}],[{"start":231.4,"text":"While advocates argue it could create jobs and attract tourists, much of the proposed golf course is on the fertile soil that has made Hung Yen province one of the country’s top fruit-growing areas. "}],[{"start":242.70000000000002,"text":"Signs of prosperity are everywhere in the villages near the planned golf course, located less than an hour from Hanoi. Almost every narrow alley has new houses under construction. The residents are mostly older farmers, who have sent their children to study or work in the cities. The redevelopment of such profitable land also irks residents. "}],[{"start":263.05,"text":"“You can tell this land is very fertile. We have been relying on land to farm and could manage to build such houses, so you can tell how much value the land brings in,” said Hai. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• Nguyen Ngoc Dan stands among rows of young trees on his farmland near a road.
• Hoang Anh Xa stands in a quiet residential alley, hands in pockets, wearing a floral shirt and light trousers.

"}],[{"start":273.5,"text":"The local partner for the project is Kinh Bac City, known primarily as a developer of industrial parks. The two companies have not disclosed who will pay for the development costs. "}],[{"start":284,"text":"However, the Trump Organization typically does not pay for any development costs, which are the responsibility of local partners such as KBC. Instead, it licenses out the Trump brand and is paid a fee by the local partner. A subsidiary of KBC has paid $5mn in licensing fees to the Trump Organization, according to Trump’s 2024 financial disclosures to the US Office of Government Ethics."}],[{"start":308.6,"text":"The red banner at the site mentions Lung Lo Construction Corp, an infrastructure developer owned by Vietnam’s defence ministry. The company also handles mine and bomb clearance. Unexploded ordnance from the Vietnam war has been found in Hung Yen in recent years."}],[{"start":323.65000000000003,"text":"KBC, Lung Lo, the Trump Organization and officials from the Hung Yen province and the Vietnamese government did not respond to requests for comment."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

• Hoang Anh Xa holds official documents at a table as another man looks on, with tea and a kettle beside them.
• A group of local residents, mostly women and one young girl, sit closely together on the floor in a small, dimly lit room during a community meeting.

"}],[{"start":333.05,"text":"The ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute’s Giang said that Vietnam would need to resolve the land issues quickly to ensure that the project proceeded smoothly. “Symbolism is important, but it will not solve all the concerns and structural issues between Vietnam and the US.”"}],[{"start":350.35,"text":"For now, residents near the project continue to hold out."}],[{"start":354.45000000000005,"text":"Hung Yen’s leadership committee asked officials in local communities to accelerate and complete land clearance by the end of April. But as of early May, some residents have refused to comply, complained about intimidation and a lack of transparency in the government’s land surveys and assessment of crop value."}],[{"start":372.65000000000003,"text":"“It’s painful,” said 72-year-old Hoang Do, who received about 70mn dong for moving the graves of his parents and son. “I’m outraged by the compensation price [for land takeover],” he added."}],[{"start":384.50000000000006,"text":"Another resident, Bui Thi Yen, said she did not want to give up a part of her land as it was originally provided as compensation for the families of soldiers who lost their lives in the Vietnam war. "}],[{"start":396.00000000000006,"text":"“The grave of my great-grandparents has been there since 1967, before the establishment of this country [Socialist Republic of Vietnam], so why should I move them?” said Hoang Anh Xa, who has five family members buried in the cemetery. "}],[{"start":410.40000000000003,"text":"Xa, 50, is also worried about his livelihood. "}],[{"start":414.55,"text":"“I won’t be able to find another job,” said Xa. “We do not oppose the policy of the Party and the government. We just ask for one thing only, the land price has to be [higher].”"}],[{"start":431.6,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780059139_9872.mp3"}