Red bull (feminine: red cow)[a] is a pejorative label from Vietnamese social media used to describe Vietnamese public opinion commentator.[1][2] Red bulls not only support Vietnamese government unreasonably but also monitor active Internet users and harass or scare dissidents.[1][3]

Other political extremist groups aside from the red bull include the "yellow bull" or "yellow cow", which describe the extreme opposition group of red bull, who anti-communists or held a revisionist view of the defunct South Vietnam.[1][4] The slang was inspired by the South Vietnam flag and its yellow background.[citation needed]

Both "red/yellow oxen" pejorative terms are also used by Overseas Vietnamese communities to denigrate people with opposing political beliefs within these communities.

Sometimes, people who do not criticize the Vietnamese government or praise state-made films such as Đào, phở và piano [vi] are labeled unfairly as red bulls.[4][5] According to PhD Nguyễn Phương Mai, this is a indication of political polarization.[5]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Vietnamese: Bò đỏ

References

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  1. ^ a b c Nguyen-Pochan, Thi Thanh Phuong (2021-12-16). "State Management of Social Media in Vietnam". The Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies. 5 (1S): 29. doi:10.54631/VS.2021.S-23-33. ISSN 2618-9453.
  2. ^ Đặng, Đình Mạnh (2024-08-05). "'Bò đỏ' chửi 'Thánh đu càng' Việt Nam mà không biết". Nguoi Viet Daily News. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  3. ^ Abuza, Zachary (2022-12-17). "Opinion | Vietnam tightens screws on foreign tech firms, internet users". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2023-12-19. Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  4. ^ a b Võ, Ngọc Ánh. "45 năm sau ngày 30/04: 'Người Việt vẫn công kích lý lịch của nhau'". BBC News Vietnamese (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-09-21.
  5. ^ a b Nguyễn, Phương Mai (2024-03-03). "Phân cực chính trị qua Đào, phở và piano". BBC News Vietnamese (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 2024-09-21.