A brief overview of Vietnamese references to homosexuality:

So, while alternate systems of love, gender and sexuality have had a long history in Vietnam, public discussion of such things are a complete no-no, and the recent introduction of a discourse on 'homosexuals' has been sporadic at best. The Vietnamese government does not reference homosexual anything in it's legal code as, in a society where such topics are so strictly socially regulated, it's basically a non-issue. Nonetheless, a few scattered and contradictory statements by government officials or state-controlled media (aka all media) have eked through, strongly influencing public confusion about sexuality. Without further ado:

1990 - Government plan for response to the HIV epidemic: "Homosexual behavior probably occurs in Vietnam as in most other countries, but there are no formal meeting places or organized homosexual groups." (Colby 2004)

1998 - One Government official, after having broken up a publicized lesbian marriage in Vinh Long province told Reuters: “They would have had no trouble with their relationship if they had not chosen to have a public wedding” and of other women couples in Vietnam: “As long as they don’t wed publicly they are left in peace.”

1999 - Khoa Hộc và Đới Sống (Science and Life) newspaper: homosexuality could be, or may be, "a disease due to high levels of hormones in food like beef or chicken".

2001 - HIV prevention pamphlet quotes famous sexologist Trang Bon Song: that there are two types of homosexuality - "true" homosexuality, which is "very rare", and "fake" homosexuality, which is much more common, in which people are lured by fashion or experimentation into trying homosexuality but eventually return to a heterosexual lifestyle.

2002 - Thanh Nien newspaper: "[The Long Hai City gay pride parade was] a monstrosity. . . [an] abnormal phenomenon which is foreign to Vietnam’s cultural tradition’’.

2002 - Head of Communications, National AIDS Committee: "My guess is the number of homosexuals in Vietnam is only a few hundred"

2002 - Communist Youth Newspaper: "some people are born gay, just as some people are born left-handed"

2003 - Tiep Thi & Gia Dinh Magazine: "There is no scientific basis to conclude that homosexuality is an illness. But it is clear that these people are mentally confused."