The widely shared expectation among Vietnam specialists that Vietnam would be no exception to the global trend of democratization in the 1990s turned out to be a mere speculation. Despite the introduction of a market economy and the following economic development, the hegemonic communist party of Vietnam is still in power. This article challenges the existing approaches of democratization and proposes instead an analysis on people`s perception of rights. From a dialectical point of view, this article contends that the best barometer of democratization and the ensuing consolidation process is the gap or contradiction between the official concept of rights sanctioned by the state and people`s perception of rights. In this perspective, Ho Chi Minh`s thought on freedom and rights along with the constitutional codes on rights are analyzed in a chronological order. The result is that the official concept of rights has recently been liberalized, turning back to the liberal spirit held by Uncle Ho in the early years of revolutionary struggle. For people`s perception of rights, a survey was conducted on workers and college students in Vietnam. The survey result shows that their perception of rights has also been expanded but not to the extent to which a serious contradiction between the official concept of rights and their perception of rights is to emerge. It seems that therefore a dramatic democratization is not very likely to near future. Nevertheless, the survey yielded a promising finding that students are likely to resist the state encroachment on their rights.