The Borats of Vietnam

From Nothing To Do With Arbroath

Vietnamese 'Borats' cause a storm

Two students who dressed up as the TV character Borat are at the centre of a row in Vietnam.

The pair performed a dance act at a company party dressed as the spoof Kazakh journalist in his notoriously skimpy "mankini" swimming costume. They have now found themselves suspended from college for 12 months.

The incident, dubbed the "nude dance of FPT Arena students", has stirred up a storm on internet forums and also in the domestic media. The leading technology firm FPT owns the college where the two performers were studying design.


Hanoi Cultural Inspectorate on Tuesday fined the college 4m dong ($240; £135) for a number of offences including "use of improper clothing".

Newspapers deemed the display "obscene", saying it was against Vietnam's morality and tradition. Angry readers wrote in to call for punishment.

"I cannot understand how they could do such an anti-cultural thing," said Nguyen Dinh Van from Hanoi, adding: "I cannot accept it."

Once I got past the train wreck of a photo and looked at the article I did what I always do before reading something; I skimmed over it first, looking for the relevant items. The first thing that I saw was 4m dong.