Pham Doan Trang was honored at the award ceremony “International Women of Courage 2022.” US First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken were present at the online award ceremony. US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper and IWOC laureate Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh offered their praises to the acclaimed journalist.
- Title: Phạm Đoan Trang được tôn vinh tại lễ trao giải ‘Phụ nữ Can đảm Quốc tế 2022’
- Publish Date: March 14, 2022
- Publisher: VOA Tiếng Việt
Excerpt:
Note: Original texts in Vietnamese.
On March 14, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the awarding ceremony of the “International Women of Courage” (IWOC) award to independent journalist Pham Doan Trang in Vietnam along with 11 other women around the world, praising their exceptional courage, strength and leadership in advocating for peace, justice, human rights… despite the danger to their lives.
Foreign Minister Blinken commented on the contribution of independent female journalist Pham Doan Trang being imprisoned in Vietnam:
“In December, Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to 9 years in prison in Vietnam for writing about democracy and human rights. She wrote about the crackdown on protesters and secretly recorded police interrogations. While the media stopped printing her articles, she founded her own website. Despite facing constant threats, she continued to communicate to others about their rights.”
Secretary of State Blinken added: “We condemn her unjust detention. We call for her immediate release.”
US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper said via video:
“Pham Doan Trang, who fearlessly pursues an inclusive society and a wider space for free speech in Vietnam, has attracted international recognition.”
“Through the Vietnamese press, the United States values our comprehensive partnership with Vietnam. We work to help promote a strong, prosperous and independent Vietnam, and we firmly believe that for this country to thrive it needs openness, transparency and inclusion and respecting the rights of all citizens that Pham Doan Trang has constantly sought out through his writings and advocacy.”
Ambassador Knapper added: “We applaud you, Pham Doan Trang, for your work as a human rights activist. Your bravery continues to inspire people in Vietnam and around the world.”
First Lady Jill Biden, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Assistant Secretary of Education and Culture Lee Satterfield attended and delivered speeches at the 16th annual IWOC ceremony held at the Department of Education and Training. US Diplomacy.
First Lady Biden said:
“Today, we honor these 12 women, and we’ve gone even further, giving them a platform to speak the truth with their voices.
“We recognize the strength they hold to face the most formidable challenges of our time.”
In a message to the honored women, First Lady Biden said: “We will continue to work with passion and persistence, with development and with democracy to stop those who want to be silenced. your mouth. And we will tell your stories even if you can’t.”
Pham Doan Trang is the third woman in Vietnam to be awarded the IWOC award, after Blogger Me Nam or Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, awarded in 2017, and Blogger Ta Phong Tan, awarded in 2013. The common point of the three people This woman was awarded the award by the US Department of State while they were serving 9-10 years in prison in Vietnam, for the same charge of “conducting propaganda against the State”, under Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code.
Currently living in Houston, Texas, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Vietnamese government in 2017, commented to VOA about journalist Pham Doan Trang being awarded the IWOC 2022:
“Congratulations to Ms. Pham Doan Trang for the title of International Woman of Courage 2022. This is the recognition of the United States in particular and the world in general for Pham Doan Trang personally with her hard-fought and sustained efforts. for human rights and freedom of speech in Vietnam. The 9-year prison sentence that the Hanoi People’s Court has pronounced is the revenge that the Vietnamese government has spent in response to Pham Doan Trang’s courage.”
“I hope that Ms. Doan Trang’s commitment will create positive change in a society full of fear and terror. And most importantly, no more Vietnamese citizens will be convicted for speaking out politically, for resisting oppression and injustice. Not a single Vietnamese citizen has been jailed for showing his courage in front of the authoritarian government,” added Nhu Quynh.
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