“Four Bottles of Wine,” a Communist Trial, and the Digital Attention Economy in Vietnam

If you happened to browse through TikTok in Vietnam during mid-July 2023, you would have likely encountered thousands of “trending” videos featuring TikTokers lip-syncing over a courtroom recording. This unconventional audio sensation did not originate from a Western celebrity trial, though such cases are commonly featured in Vietnamese social media. Instead, it came from a cross-examination in the so-called “rescue flights trial” [phiên tòa chuyến bay giải cứu] in Hà Nội. Spotlighting predatory activity in an effort to repatriate by air Vietnamese nationals trapped overseas during the COVID-19 crisis, the trial targeted fifty-four prominent communist cadres and high-profile businesspeople facing allegations of corruption.

The viral clips captured an electrifying conversation between a defendant and a prosecutor. In this exchange, the defendant—former police investigator Hoàng Văn Hưng—contested the indictment, arguing that a suitcase alleged to hold US$450,000 in bribes contained nothing but four bottles of wine. The prosecutor’s startled...