Hoang Linh, editor of the state-run business newspaper Doang Nghiep, was arrested on charges of revealing state secrets. The charges were linked to articles he wrote that explored questionable practices of Vietnam’s General Customs Department in the purchase of coastal patrol boats. Local journalists said the arrest was interpreted as a warning to reporters to stay away from stories about government corruption. The arrest followed restrictions imposed earlier in the year concerning financial and banking information. The government also barred Vietnamese journalists from giving information to their foreign counterparts without first obtaining state permission.