Govi Snell

Govi Snell

Govi Snell is a reporter for Southeast Asia Globe based in Ho Chi Minh City. She is interested in stories related to arts, culture, the environment and endangered species.

EMAIL g.snell@globemediaasia.com TWITTER @GoviSnell

Articles by Govi Snell

May 26, 2023 • 9 min read
Cyberspace

Stopping the scroll: Vietnam threatens TikTok ban

Hanoi has launched an unusually thorough probe of the video-sharing platform's local operations. As authorities brand the app a social ill, concerns loom over both domestic speech restrictions and sovereignty issues with China
By Govi Snell - May 26, 2023

Apr 03, 2023 • 13 min read
Electric Vehicles

Too big to fail? Vingroup faces headwinds at home and abroad

Vietnam's biggest conglomerate is burning money on pushing its EV startup VinFast into the US market and its most profitable arm faces declining gains in Vietnam's real estate market
By Govi Snell - Apr 03, 2023

Mar 09, 2023 • 9 min read
Literature

Writing for reconciliation, Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai bridges divides

The Vietnamese novelist's English-language debut, 'The Mountains Sing', was an international hit. Now, her second epic, 'Dust Child', examines the scars of war through the circuitous journey of an Amerasian man searching for acceptance
By Govi Snell - Mar 09, 2023

Apr 18, 2022 • 9 min read
Energy

Nuclear moves up the list of Vietnam’s power mix

A looming energy shortage and surging fuel prices have made nuclear power a more attractive option, although pricing and public concern remain obstacles
By Govi Snell - Apr 18, 2022

Mar 17, 2022 • 10 min read
Ukraine-Russia conflict

Vietnam and the Russian ties that bind them

Arms sales, Putin's popularity and a shared ideological and wartime history have put Vietnam in a unique spot during the invasion of Ukraine
By Govi Snell - Mar 17, 2022

Feb 28, 2022 • 3 min read
National Animals

Vietnam: Water Buffalo

The gentle animals remain an important symbol in the country but lack of conservation efforts heighten the risk of extinction
By Govi Snell - Feb 28, 2022

Nov 18, 2021 • 9 min read
Debt

Vietnam lenders adopt loan shark tactics

Weak government regulation to manage debt amidst Covid-19 has left borrowers in the lurch as formal loan companies use strong-arm tactics
By Govi Snell - Nov 18, 2021

Oct 25, 2021 • 9 min read
Covid-19

Overworked and underpaid, Vietnam’s medical staff reflect on Covid-19

As Vietnam emerges from a fourth crushing Covid-19 wave, healthcare workers reveal how they have staffed overwhelmed hospitals during long hours with insufficient pay and resources under government threats to end their careers
By Govi Snell - Oct 25, 2021

Aug 16, 2021 • 13 min read
Reproductive health

Liberal laws and fetus cemeteries: Vietnam’s conflicted abortion stance

Despite liberal laws and among the highest abortion rates in the world, stigma towards the practice is pervasive in Vietnam. Representing a hard-line faction of anti-abortion sentiment, groups across the country collect fetal remains from clinics for burial
By Govi Snell - Aug 16, 2021

Jul 02, 2021 • 11 min read
Immigration

Here’s what Vietnam’s visa crackdown tells us about the country

One of the world's poorest countries three decades ago – Vietnam has made a quick push to middle-income status. While the expertise of outsiders was necessary to this growing prosperity, a new clampdown on foreign workers showcases the country's evolution
By Govi Snell - Jul 02, 2021

May 27, 2021 • 10 min read
Sport

Meet Vietnam’s bobsledders, the country’s most unlikely sports team

Nguyễn Dân An has in recent years led a disparate collection of Vietnamese athletes for the country’s first bobsled team. Winning their first medals this year, the team has its sights set on the unlikely goal of becoming Vietnam's first representatives at the Winter Olympics
By Govi Snell - May 27, 2021

May 14, 2021 • 10 min read
Population decline

Offering cash gifts, why is Vietnam urging women to marry and bear children?

With a fast ageing population, the Vietnamese government is placing the country's economic future on women as it urges them to marry by 30 and bear two children by 35 – a move which women's rights activists have condemned as reinforcing outdated gender roles
By Govi Snell - May 14, 2021

May 07, 2021 • 15 min read
Covid-19

As virus cases explode, why has the Mekong region success story ended?

The Mekong region countries were until recently heralded as exceptional cases in controlling the spread of Covid-19. But recent weeks have seen cases explode across Cambodia, Thailand and Laos, leaving Vietnam on high alert and observers asking what's gone so wrong
By Alastair McCready, Wanpen Pajai and Govi Snell - May 07, 2021

Apr 19, 2021 • 12 min read
Gender equality

The life and legacy of Nguyễn Thị Định, Vietnam’s female war hero

Vietnamese war hero Nguyễn Thị Định was a trailblazer on and off the battlefield, with her efforts toppling world powers only matched by her efforts championing female empowerment. But today, a century since her birth, her legacy fades among the younger generation
By Govi Snell - Apr 19, 2021

Mar 17, 2021 • 13 min read
Conservation

Teeming with life, the destruction of Vietnam’s karsts hits biodiversity

Vietnam's karst forests are abundant in biodiversity. But with rapid habitat loss, it is feared that species are disappearing before they can be studied, while others like the critically endangered Delacour's langur in Kim Bang forest are at risk of extinction due to mining
By Govi Snell - Mar 17, 2021

Mar 02, 2021 • 10 min read
Infrastructure

In decline, what’s the future for Vietnam’s historic North-South railway?

Vietnam’s North-South railway has remained much the same since it was first built 85 years ago, with the iconic line highlighting the halting nature of Vietnamese infrastructure projects as plans to modernise have gone without progress for more than a decade
By Govi Snell - Mar 02, 2021

Feb 18, 2021 • 9 min read
Wildlife trade

The first Vietnamese in Antarctica: The path to conservation for Hong Hoang

At the age of 24, Hong Hoang became the first Vietnamese to visit Antarctica, in a trip that would set her on a path to establishing her own environmental NGO. Today, through CHANGE, she battles intimidation and apathy to promote wildlife conservation across Vietnam
By Govi Snell - Feb 18, 2021

Jan 26, 2021 • 10 min read
History

Brush strokes: Preserving Saigon’s heritage signage

There is much talk about the need to preserve Saigon's heritage architecture, but what about those more subtle flourishes of style that make the city? As heritage signage is pulled down, artists are working to preserve these disappearing relics of Vietnamese history
By Govi Snell - Jan 26, 2021

Dec 24, 2020 • 7 min read
Public health

What’s the danger with Vietnam’s motorcycle helmets?

Vietnam's love affair with the motorbike is a relatively recent one, having only blossomed in the mid-80s. As a result of successful public health campaigns, helmet use today sits at 90%, but researchers point to a significant hurdle to road safety that is yet to be overcome
By Govi Snell - Dec 24, 2020