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  • Vietnamese Delegation Arrives In Geneva To Advocate For Human Rights Improvements in Vietnam

    Vietnamese Delegation Arrives In Geneva To Advocate For Human Rights Improvements in Vietnam

    In preparation for the Martin Ennals Award (MEA) ceremony, a Vietnamese delegation arrived in Geneva, Switzerland to begin a two-week advocacy trip for the improvement of human rights in Vietnam and the release of Pham Doan Trang – one of the three laureates of the 2022 MEA.

    The delegation includes:

    • Mrs. Bui Thi Thien Can, mother of journalist Pham Doan Trang;
    • Mr. Will Nguyen, a former political prisoner, and pro-democracy advocate; and
    • Ms. Tran Quynh-Vi, Co-director of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV, the managerial body of The Vietnamese Magazine and Luat Khoa Magazine).

    The Martin Ennals Award ceremony will take place on June 2 and Mrs. Bui Thi Thien Can will receive this award on behalf of her daughter.

    Pham Doan Trang was arrested on October 7, 2020, and sentenced to nine years in prison on December 14, 2021, for “distributing anti-state propaganda.” She is one of the co-founders of The Vietnamese Magazine, Luat Khoa Magazine, and LIV.

    The award is known as the “Nobel Prize of human rights” and is named after Martin Ennals, a British human rights activist who served as Secretary-General of Amnesty International from 1968 to 1980. The award ceremony is held annually to recognize the efforts of human rights defenders worldwide and advocate for their protection.

    The judging panel is an independent committee composed of representatives from ten prestigious international human rights organizations. The Geneva Municipal Government co-hosts the award ceremony and the Martin Ennals Foundation.


    Source: The Vietnamese

  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Lawyer Allegedly Assaulted By Police While Defending Client

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Lawyer Allegedly Assaulted By Police While Defending Client

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine.


    Vietnamese attorney assaulted by police while defending their client

    • On May 17, attorney Le Hoang Tung from Everest Law Firm filed a complaint to the relevant authorities after he was reportedly beaten by an investigator during a meeting between the police officers and his client at the Crime Investigation Division of Ho Chi Minh City Police.
    • According to Tung and his colleague, attorney Nguyen Thi Hoai Thuong, Tung was punched, beaten and kicked by a police investigator named Tran Duc Minh after he complained about the investigator’s alleged violations of his client rights during the interrogation.
    • The attorneys wrote on their Facebook pages that their client, who is pregnant, showed potential signs of fetal distress after witnessing the incident and was hospitalized immediately. Meanwhile, Tung got a nosebleed and headache after being assaulted and was also admitted to the hospital afterwards. Photos posted on attorney Thuong’s Facebook account showed Tung with a bleeding nose and a shoe mark on his white shirt.
    • After the incident, the Vietnam Bar Federation (VBF), which protects the rights of lawyers, submitted a request to the director of Ho Chi Minh City Police and the People’s Procuracy Office to investigate the incident, RFA reports. The VBF also asked the local authorities to act against people who abuse attorneys or interfere with their  practice of law.
    • In a response on May 18, Ho Chi Minh City Police denied the accusations and announced that the investigator did not assault attorney Tung. Instead, the police explained that Tung had “tumbled” and injured himself on his way out of the interrogation room after “interfering with the investigator’s duty” and “causing disruptions” at the police station.
    • The Ho Chi Minh City Police added that “unverified information” shared by a number of Facebook accounts “had affected the image and reputation of the city’s public security forces.”
    • However, this was not the first time that Vietnamese attorneys were physically harassed by the public security forces. In November 2021, video footage showed that attorney Ngo Anh Tuan from the Hanoi Bar Association was pushed out of a police station by a security guard when he visited a detained client in Thanh Khuong Commune, Bac Ninh Province.

    Vietnamese blogger sent back to detention after spending three years in mental hospital

    • Le Anh Hung, a Vietnamese blogger who was subjected to forced mental health treatment since May 2019, had his treatment order suspended and was sent back to his former detention center on May 9, 2022, according to an update from attorney Nguyen Van Mieng.
    • Attorney Mieng wrote that Hung had been held in pretrial detention for three years and 10 months, with most of his detention period being spent in a mental hospital. In an interview with RFA, Tran Thi Niem, Hung’s mother, said that his official trial would now be held “within a few months.”
    • Le Anh Hung used to be a member of the online advocacy group Brotherhood of Democracy and he also reported for the U.S. government-funded Voice of America. He was arrested on July 5, 2018 under the allegation of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” in Article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code. If found guilty, Hung could face up to seven years in jail.
    • Nguyen Thuy Hanh, another Vietnamese activist known for her funding campaign to help the families of political prisoners in Vietnam, was also transferred to a State-run psychiatric facility at the end of April.
    • The Vietnamese authorities allege that Hanh was sent  to the mental hospital for treatment of her depression; her family expressed a concern that the police might forcibly hold Hanh in the facility and  not  bring her case to trial.

    Attorney allowed to meet three Vietnamese activists in prison

    • On May 17, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng was allowed to meet his three clients, blogger Le Anh Hung, journalist Pham Doan Trang, and lands rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong at the Hoa Lo Detention Center in Hanoi City, according to the lawyer’s Facebook posting.
    • Mieng wrote in his update about the health conditions and general mentality of the three activists. According to his update, blogger Le Anh Hung looked slimmer but his mentality remained percipient. Hung demanded the court release him unconditionally at his trial.
    • Journalist Pham Doan Trang suffers shortness of breath since she had not fully recovered from COVID-19. Trang added she refused to sign any documents or to compromise with the security forces in exchange for her freedom.
    • Activist Trinh Ba Phuong was not informed about his appeal trial, which was previously scheduled for May 19. However, the court later announced that the appeal trial for Phuong and Nguyen Thi Tam, another land rights activist, had been postponed because of a “change in the working schedule.” The court has not yet announced an alternative hearing date.

    15 Hmong people prosecuted for attending a religious leader’s funeral

    • On December 12, 2021, around 50 Hmong religious practitioners were detained by Vietnamese police and others dressed in protective suits at the funeral of Duong Van Minh, Minha Hmong, was the founder of the religious group named after himself in Ngoi Sen Village in Vietnam’s northern Tuyen Quang Province.
    • The Tuyen Quang investigation agency later officially prosecuted 15 people and charged them with “resisting officers in the performance of their duties” and “violating safety regulations in crowded places.”
    • Many of the practitioners alleged that the Vietnamese authorities had used these prosecutions to suppress the freedom to practice religion of Hmong ethnic minorities. The Duong Van Minh religious group is not recognized by the authorities and has been branded a “false religion.”
    • According to attorney Nguyen Van Mieng, who previously registered to defend the arrested Hmong practitioners on March 7, all of the defendants allegedly co-wrote a letter refusing to hire a lawyer and declining to meet anyone while in detention. Mieng said that his request to meet the defendants to verify their refusal of representation was denied by the investigation agency.

    Rhade activist sentenced to 4 years in prison on “anti-State” charges

    • On May 20, a Vietnamese court in Dak Lak Province sentenced Y Wo Nie, a member of the Rhade ethic minority in the Central Highlands, to four years in prison on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code. It was reported that Nie had no defense lawyer for his trial.
    • According to state media, Nie had taken several online courses on religious beliefs, Vietnam’s civil laws, international law and writing  to produce reports regarding human rights violations. The indictment stated that Nie had “collected the distorted and false information” and “written three reports on human rights violations [in Vietnam]” to send to “reactionary figures abroad.”
    • Nie was arrested in September 2021 for allegedly storing materials that “defame, slander and humiliate the Party and the State’s reputation.” He was previously sentenced to nine years in prison for “sabotaging the national unity policy.”
    • The Vietnamese government has been accused of the suppression of the religious freedom of minority groups in the Central Highlands. The land of ethinic minorities has also been confiscated by local authorities, for which these groups have not been adequately compensated. Some ethnic  minorities have  been forced to flee Vietnam and acquire refugee status from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Thailand to escape the Vietnamese government’s suppression and intimidation.

    Landowner of the Tinh That Bong Lai monastery arrested for “abusing democratic freedoms”

    • Cao Thi Cuc, the landowner of Tinh That Bong Lai, a local monastery and orphanage, was arrested on May 12 on charges of “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State and lawful rights and interests of organizations and/or citizens” in Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code, according to State media.
    • Tinh That Bong Lai is a Buddhist Monastery located in Vietnam’s southern Long An Province. Previously, the police conducted an investigation into this facility and arrested four of its monks, including head monk Le Tung Van. They were accused of “abusing democratic freedoms,” “committing fraud,” and “incest.”
    • Many independent observers have claimed that the Vietnamese authorities have deployed these trumped up charges to suppress any religious institutions that are not controlled by the State.

    Vietnam court jails ex-health official amid anti-graft drive

    Reuters:

    “A court in Vietnam on Thursday sentenced a former deputy health minister to four years in prison for his involvement in a trading ring for fake medicines.

    Truong Quoc Cuong, 59, who served as a deputy health minister since 2016, was accused late last year of helping local firms to import more than 148 billion dong ($6.4 million) worth of fake medicines to sell domestically, according to a Ministry of Public Security statement.

    The Vietnam authorities have stepped up an anti-graft drive with a recent series of arrests targeting prominent business people, market regulators and health officials.”


    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    History Education and the Politics of Identity in a Globalizing Vietnam

    The Diplomat/ To Minh Son/ May 18

    “These effects of globalization on the Vietnamese youth have given rise to anxieties of national identity, typically among establishment scholars and elites. Complaints about students’ lack of historical knowledge have become a social trope in contemporary Vietnam. From 2005 to 2021, history was consistently one of the subjects in which students performed the worst in Vietnam’s highly competitive national high school exam. The youth’s lack of historical knowledge and basic historical facts have been widely and repeatedly reported in Vietnamese media since at least 2005.”

    Sizing-up the US-ASEAN Summit and Vietnam’s Place in the World

    The Diplomat/ Luke Hunt/ May 18

    “Carl Thayer, Emeritus Professor at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, spoke with The Diplomat’s Luke Hunt about the summit and Vietnam, which is in an awkward position due to its reliance on Russian military hardware.

    He says efforts to maintain a “free and open Indo-Pacific” have been complicated by the Southeast Asian nations and their desire to be seen at the center of the framework, despite their growing and at times intractable differences.”

    Hikvision sanctions signal uncharted waters from UK to Vietnam

    Al Jazeera/ Liam Gibson/ May 17

    “Vietnam, also accustomed to balancing a giant northern neighbor in China, is Hikvision’s biggest customer. With more than 670,000 Hikvision camera networks estimated to be installed in the country, according to Top10VPN, ditching the Chinese vendor will not happen overnight.

    “There are a few alternatives in the Vietnamese market, including domestic ones … but it will take time for the market to shift significantly,” Nguyen Khac Giang, a senior fellow at the Vietnam Institute of Economic and Policy Research in Hanoi, told Al Jazeera.”

    After renewables frenzy, Vietnam’s solar energy goes to waste

    Al Jazeera/ Lam Le/ May 18

    “After an unprecedented boom in renewable energy investment in recent years, the transmission lines that connect solar and wind projects to the national grid lack the capacity to deal with spikes in supply.

    Policymakers have not been able to keep up either, leaving regulatory gaps that prevent some investors from monetising the power they harness.”

    Early exit for Vietnam’s communist boss Trong?

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ May 6

    “Trong, a committed ideologue who has significantly refashioned party politics during his 11-year reign, still doesn’t think his anti-corruption campaign is secure enough to be passed on to another leader, especially since Vuong, his trusted graft-buster, failed to win support to succeed him last year.

    Question marks were previously raised about Trong’s health, another reason why he might have found support for a third term last year, if others sensed he may not have physically been able to complete a full five-year term.”


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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Releases Political Dissident Ahead Of Prime Minister’s Visit To The United States

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Releases Political Dissident Ahead Of Prime Minister’s Visit To The United States

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine


    Family of Vietnamese land rights activists petitions the international community for the release of their detained members

    • In a petition released on social media on April 30, family members of the detained land activists Can Thi Theu, Trinh Ba Phuong, and Trinh Ba Tu called on international human rights advocates and foreign embassies in Vietnam to pay attention to the detention of these activists and urge Hanoi to drop all charges against them.
    • Theu and her two sons, Tu and Phuong, are land rights activists in Duong Noi Commune, Hanoi City. In 2021, Theu and Tu were each sentenced to eight years in prison while Phuong was sentenced to 10 years for their alleged activities involving “making, storing, and distributing propaganda and documents against the State.” They became land and human rights activists after the local authorities seized their farmland in 2008 without paying just compensation.
    • Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong, who wrote the petition, said that although the Duong Noi farmers had peacefully and lawfully advocated for their legitimate rights to land usage over the years, the Vietnamese authorities had “repeatedly threatened, assaulted, detained, and imprisoned” them. Thu added that the arrests and detention of her family members violate international conventions on freedom of expression, which Vietnam has signed.
    • The petition also highlighted the abuses and mistreatment by correctional officers against the detained activists. According to the petition, Trinh Ba Phuong was reportedly beaten while in custody while Trinh Ba Tu suffered kidney failure due to being tortured in prison; Can Thi Theu was kept in pretrial detention with  HIV-infected prisoners.
    • Meanwhile, Trinh Ba Khiem, Theu’s husband, received a police summons on May 11 and May 12 because of his live-streaming on Facebook criticizing the Vietnamese government for the imprisonment of his wife and two sons. In an interview with RFA, Khiem said that the police threatened to arrest and prosecute him if he did not stop live-streaming his criticisms.
    • Khiem also visited Trinh Ba Tu on May 9 and Can Thi Theu on May 12 in prison. Tu said that his health remains in good condition despite being previously tortured while in custody; he added that the police illegally cracked his phone’s password and accessed his personal accounts without the lawyer’s presence.
    • Meanwhile, Can Thi Theu’s current imprisonment condition is much more preferable to her previous pretrial detention, according to Trinh Ba Khiem. Theu also said that she sent her gratitude to those who stood by her family’s activism over the past years.

    The 88 Project’s latest report: Vietnam stepped up arrests in 2021

    • In the latest report released on May 9, The 88 Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for the freedom of expression in Vietnam, highlighted the Vietnamese government’s increasing persecution and crackdown of media professionals and civil society leaders in Vietnam.
    • According to The 88 Project’s database, Hanoi arrested 12 media professionals in 2021, a significant increase from just three arrests in 2019. The organization noted that this trend represented the government’s “desperate attempt to stamp out fledgling efforts to promote press freedom in [Vietnam.]”
    • Another worrying issue is the Vietnamese government’s suppression of civil society with the detention and imprisonment of leaders of registered civil organizations. Civil society leaders such as Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong have been arrested and imprisoned on “tax evasion” charges. Earlier this year, environmental leader Nguy Thi Khanh was arrested under the same allegation.

    Vietnamese Prime Minister arrives in Washington D.C. for the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

    • On May 11, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Washington D.C. to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, an event hosted to mark the 45th anniversary of the bilateral relationship between the United States and other ASEAN countries, state media reported. The event took place from May 12 to 13.
    • Chinh’s agenda during his official visit to Washington includes the promotion of U.S.-Vietnam cooperation in economic development, trade, national defense, healthcare, and energy. According to State media, the two countries are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral commitments to support “a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam,” according to State media.
    • During his speech at the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Pham Minh Chinh emphasized crucial elements such as sincerity, trust, and responsibility and their essential role in fostering healthy international relations. Chinh also promoted the need to strengthen international cooperation by “respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political institutions, and international law.”
    • However, Vietnam’s public commitment to uphold international law and the UN Charter stood in contrast to its failure to publicly condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Hanoi twice abstained from the United Nations’ resolution condemning the act of aggression and voted against the U.S.-led attempt to suspend Moscow’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam’s social media exploded last week after a diplomatic scandal happened before Prime Minister Chinh met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on May 13.
    • In a video live-streamed on the State Department’s Youtube channel, Chinh and other members of the Vietnamese delegation to the summit were heard making imprudent comments regarding the two countries’ relationship and diplomatic affairs. The video is no longer accessible on Youtube.
    • Many netizens have criticized the country’s leaders for their lack of courtesy while on diplomatic trips abroad. In November 2021, a video recording of Minister of Public Security To Lam’s luxurious meal in London at the restaurant of Nurset Gokce, popularly known as Salt Bae,  also attracted enormous public attention and widespread criticism.
    • The video was later deleted from Salt Bae’s personal account, but netizens in Vietnam downloaded it and republished it on social media.

    Human Rights Watch sends a letter to President Joe Biden to address human rights issues in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

    • On May 6, Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW)  in an open letter called on U.S. President Joe Biden to “feature robust discussion” on human rights, democracy, and rule of law both among Southeast Asian countries and the United States in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12.
    • The letter also urged the Biden administration not to ignore problematic human rights violations in many ASEAN countries as it seeks to shore up alliances with members amid China’s growing influence in the region. The worsening situation and severe human rights abuses in Southeast Asia “threaten to corrode US efforts to strengthen ties” with the region’s nations.
    • HRW wrote that “Vietnam’s one-party authoritarian state has imprisoned more than 150 people for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly.” The country’s penal code also “criminalizes criticism of the government,” the rights advocate added.
    • Hanoi on May 11 released Ho Duc Hoa, a Vietnamese journalist, and rights activist, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, ahead of the special summit between the United States and ASEAN countries. Hoa was released after serving 11 years in jail, and he later boarded a plane to the United States with Tran Thi Thuy, another land rights activist who was sentenced to eight years in prison.
    • According to RFA, Vietnam has previously released high-profile political prisoners ahead of diplomatic meetings with U.S. leaders. During Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Vietnam in August 2021, Hanoi also released detained Vietnamese-Americans Angel Phan and James Han Nguyen. Phan and Nguyen were convicted of allegedly attempting to overthrow the State in 2018 and were both sentenced to 14 years in prison.

    Vietnam responds to the UN Commission on Human Rights’ mandate on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association

    • On April 27, the permanent mission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the United Nations responded to the UN Special Rapporteurs’ mandates concerning the Vietnamese government’s restrictions on the freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
    • Previously, the Special Rapporteurs in an open letter expressed their “serious concerns” over a number of the Vietnamese government’s amended decrees and decisions. According to the rapporteurs, these updated legislations are allegedly used to restrict the activities and funding of national and international nonprofit organizations (NGOs) and further control public meetings and seminars in Vietnam.
    • In its response, Vietnam said that these regulations are used to “ensure transparent and effective operations” and do not “contain any provisions relating to restrictions on freedom of association and assembly.” “Vietnam always respects, protects, and ensures citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and access to information according to the 2013 Constitution and laws,” the letter stated.
    • However, the Vietnamese government’s latest suppression of registered NGOs and civil society leaders shows that Hanoi has zero-tolerance for anyone challenging its one-Party rule. According to The 88 Project, there are currently 206 activists in prison and another 334 at risk in Vietnam.

    Imagery shows China still building on Subi Reef in the South China Sea

    RFA:

    • “Recent satellite imagery shows that China continues to actively develop its facilities on the disputed Subi Reef in the South China Sea, two months after a top U.S. commander said Beijing had “fully militarized” the reef.
    • Simularity Inc., a U.S. geospatial intelligence company, said that an analysis of satellite imagery from May 5 revealed new structures and seven active construction sites on Subi, the coral reef occupied by China since 1988 but also claimed by the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Parsing the News About the Vietnam-Russia Joint Military Drills

    The Diplomat/ Hai Hong Nguyen/ May 12

    “However, Vietnam is also aware that any public sign of taking sides with Russia while the latter’s troops and tanks are still occupying Ukraine could expose it to consequences and cost it much-needed U.S. support in the South China Sea. Surely, Vietnamese diplomats would not be so naïve as to take this risk to Vietnam’s national interests at a time when the West is [closely] watching those countries who are continuing to do business with Russia at a time of increasing international tension.”

    US will have to work hard to win over Vietnam’s conservatives

    Nikkei Asia/ Dien Luong/ May 11

    “As public sentiments in Vietnam on the Ukraine crisis suggest, America’s much-touted role as a global security guarantor has yet again been thrown into question. At least, that is how the conservatives are portraying it. Still, suspicions of the U.S. agenda by Vietnamese hard-liners are not utterly groundless.

    Against this backdrop, the million-dollar question for champions of U.S.-Vietnam rapprochement is how to advance bilateral ties forward without ruffling conservative feathers, a treacherous line to straddle.”

    Why Vietnam Might Want to Reconsider its Russia Policy

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Derek Grossman/ May 11

    “Economic ties between Russia and Vietnam, however, are minimal. In 2020, for example, their two-way trade turnover was less than US$5 billion. For comparison, Vietnam’s combined trade with China and the United States during the same year reached US$153.4 billion and US$87.2 billion, respectively.[5] Russia’s accumulative investment in Vietnam also remains modest, at only US$944 million across 144 projects by the end of 2020.[6] A significant component of economic cooperation is joint energy extraction operations. For example, Vietsovpetro, a joint venture established in the 1980s between Russia’s Zarubezhneft and PetroVietnam, had by the late 2010s produced approximately 242.7 million tonnes of crude oil and 37.3 billion cubic meters of gas from the South China Sea.[7]”

    Vietnam Relations Are a Quiet U.S. Victory Already

    Foreign Policy/ Brian Eyler/ May 9

    “Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is making his first visit to the United States later this week for the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit. Since the mid-1990s, when U.S. President Bill Clinton and a cohort of bipartisan allies reestablished relations with Vietnam, the two countries have achieved remarkable things. Hanoi is now one of Washington’s top trading partners in the region, and the United States has invested billions of dollars in Agent Orange remediation and other remaining war legacy issues, showing how, with persistence and trust, former adversaries can turn into partners.”

    Viet Premier’s Delicate Pilgrimage to Washington

    Asia Sentinel/ David Brown/ May 6

    “Chinh and his colleagues must tread very carefully in Washington. Attention there is riveted on the Ukraine crisis. Many who are directing the proxy confrontation with Russia lack a nuanced appreciation of America’s Asia-Pacific interests. In support of Ukraine, Vietnam (though for its own good reasons) has been out of step with the rest of America’s friends, and that does not sit well with the Eurocentrists in the US foreign policy establishment.

    The Vietnamese prime minister’s very presence in Washington may prompt negative comment. Aggressive interlocutors may ask why the US shouldn’t sanction Hanoi’s purchases of Russian weapons systems and decry Hanoi’s failure to join UN votes condemning Putin’s war.”

    Vietnam’s Peacekeeping Contributions: Drivers and Prospects

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Phan Xuan Dung, Nguyen Cao Viet Hung/ April 29

    “In the coming years, boosting peacekeeping contributions will remain a major diplomatic and defense task for Vietnam. The Political Report of the 13th CPV National Congress in 2021 reaffirms the Party’s vision for national defense and foreign policy priorities, which emphasizes a peaceful external environment, protection of the Homeland from afar, enhanced defense diplomacy, and effective and proactive participation in multilateral organizations, including the UN.[30] It specifically notes that Vietnam should step up international cooperation and integration on defense and security, and contribute positively and effectively to UN PKO. President Phuc, who is also Chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, has asked the VPA to study and participate in more peacekeeping fields, enlarge the number of peacekeepers, and explore more operating geographical areas.[31]”


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  • Pham Doan Trang in US Congress Press Release: Lofgren, Chris Smith, and Colleagues Urge President Biden to Highlight Vietnam Human Rights Concerns During US-ASEAN Summit

    Six US Representatives signed a letter to President Biden urging him to elevate the human right abuses by the Vietnamese Government in the upcoming U.S.-ASEAN Summit at the White House with Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.


    Title: Lofgren, Chris Smith, and Colleagues Urge President Biden to Highlight Vietnam Human Rights Concerns During US-ASEAN Summit
    Publish Date: May 13, 2022
    Publisher: US Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren website


    Press Release:

    WASHINGTON, DC – Ahead of the U.S.-ASEAN Summit at the White House, U.S. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-19), Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), and House colleagues sent a letter to President Biden, urging him to raise the issue of the Vietnamese government’s human rights abuses in his meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

    “U.S. policy should press for expanding freedom for the Vietnamese people, and not support the privileged Communist Party elites who oppress them,” wrote the lawmakers.

    The letter highlights the ongoing harassment of religious and indigenous communities. It also asks President Biden to specifically raise the release of numerous prisoners of conscience and journalists who have been persecuted by the Vietnamese government, including Nguyen Bac Truyen, who Lofgren has been advocating for since 2020.

    The lawmakers continued, “Given the egregious nature of Vietnam’s violations of religious freedom, we also believe that you should instruct the State Department to place Vietnam on its list of Countries of Particular Concern.”

    The full letter from the Members follows.

    Dear President Biden:

    In advance of the upcoming US-ASEAN Summit (May 12-13), we ask that in your meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam you explicitly raise concern about his government’s antagonistic policies towards religious minorities, indigenous communities, and political dissidents, and instruct State Department officials to do the same in meetings with their counterparts.

    While we welcome the opportunity for expanded robust, regional diplomacy and the strengthening ties with partners in the region, we need to emphasize the need for shared goals and common principles. To that end, the upcoming US-ASEAN Summit will be an opportune forum to highlight the importance of human rights and freedom of expression.

    More to the point, we believe that a freer Vietnam – which has the potential to be a strategic partner of the United States against the People’s Republic of China’s hegemonistic ambitions – would advance critical national interests of the United States. While the Vietnamese people as a whole are very patriotic, we are concerned by reports that members of the Vietnamese Communist Party are becoming increasingly compromised economically and politically by Communist China. Further evidence of increasing ties between these two communist parties is evidence, recently cited by the Uyghur Tribunal chaired by Sir Geoffrey Nice, that Vietnam has repatriated Uyghurs to China at the request of the PRC government, and, per the Department of Homeland Security, is importing cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region for reexport, thus helping the PRC bypass sanctions prescribed in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which you signed into law earlier this year. Accordingly, U.S. policy should press for expanding freedom for the Vietnamese people, and not support the privileged Communist Party elites who oppress them.

    We specifically ask that the United States raise concerns over harassment, intimidation, and persecution of the religious and indigenous communities including Cao Dai followers who refuse to join the government-created “1997 Sect,” the independent Hoa Hao Buddhists, the members of the Unified Buddhist Church, the members of Montagnard and Hmong house churches, and Catholic priests who are leaders in fighting for environmental justice.

    Of particular concern are government-supported – and government-supporting – Red Flag groups that routinely attack Catholic priests and members of the Unified Buddhist Church, a phenomenon reported on by Radio Free Asia, among others.

    We also request that you resolutely raise the release of prisoners of conscience with your Vietnamese counterpart, including Hoa Hao Buddhists Nguyen Bac Truyen, Bui Van Trung, and Bui Van Tham; Catholic environmental justice advocate Nguyen Van Hoá; Montagnard Pastors Y Pum Bya and Y Yich; and Buddhist Phan Van Thu.

    Given the egregious nature of Vietnam’s violations of religious freedom, we also believe that you should instruct the State Department to place Vietnam on its list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC), aligning with the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom’s longstanding – and we believe correct – listing of Vietnam as a CPC.

    Additionally, please advocate for press and internet freedom, and raise the conviction and nine-year sentence imposed upon the prominent Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang, who has published extensively on human rights and alleged police brutality in Vietnam.

    In conclusion, we request that you highlight these ongoing serious concerns, which remain an obstacle to greater engagement with the Government of Vietnam, and that you remind Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a State Party.

    Thank you, and we wish you a successful Summit.

    ###


    Download the full press release:

  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Press Freedom Restrictions Highlighted In RSF’s Latest Report

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Press Freedom Restrictions Highlighted In RSF’s Latest Report

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine


    Vietnam ranks 174th in Reporters Without Borders’ 2022 press freedom index

    • On May 3, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released its annual ranking and evaluation of press freedom in 180 countries and territories around the world. Vietnam ranks 174th in RSF’s report this year, moving up one place from last year’s 175th position.
    • According to RSF’s evaluation, the press freedom ranking is based on the assessment of each country’s performance in five different indicators, including political, economic, legislative, social, and security. Vietnam ranks 173rd, 176th, 172nd, 170th, and 170th in each category, respectively.
    • In a press release following the publication of the World Press Freedom Index, RSF underscored how the increasing polarization of the media had fuelled divisions and created tensions within and between many countries at the international level. The press freedom advocate added that fake news, propaganda, and unregulated disinformation had created “disastrous effects” as well as “weakened” democracies around the world.
    • There are currently 41 journalists imprisoned in Vietnam, according to RSF’s index. They include the prominent journalist Pham Doan Trang, five members of the journalistic initiative Bao Sach (Clean Newspaper,) and three journalists of the Independent Journalists Association of Vietnam (IJAVN.)

    Vietnamese activist transferred to hospital for treatment of depression  as her mental health deteriorates

    • Nguyen Thuy Hanh, an activist popularly known for her founding of the 50K Fund, the monetary fund to assist the families of political prisoners in Vietnam, has been transferred to Central Mental Hospital No. 1 in Hanoi for depression treatment amid her worsening mental health condition, according to her husband Huynh Ngoc Chenh. Hanh was previously held in pretrial detention under investigation for “anti-State activities.”
    • According to Chenh, Hanh was reportedly transferred to the mental hospital at the end of April but he only learned about her situation after he was notified by the investigation authorities on May 6. The investigation police added that her pretrial detention term was temporarily suspended and the investigation process would resume as soon as she recovers from her illness.
    • Chenh also expressed concern on his Facebook that the Vietnamese authorities could use Hanh’s mental health conditions to forcibly make her stay in de facto police custody without having to bring her case to trial.
    • Previously, the Vietnamese activist and blogger Le Anh Hung was also forced to receive treatment in the Central Mental Hospital despite his family saying that he had no problems with his mental health. Hung has been held in the mental hospital since 2019 and his case has never been brought to trial. There were also reports that he was subjected to abuse and mistreatment during his treatment.
    • In the latest update on social media, Chenh said he was finally allowed to meet Nguyen Thuy Hanh on May 7 in the mental health facility after she was held incommunicado for 13 months. He wrote that Hanh got skinnier but still looked healthy and youthful.
    • Also according to Chenh, Hanh complained about the poor conditions of her place of detention; meanwhile, the depression medications prescribed for her personally, that Chenh sent to her every four months, were replaced by the detention center’s own medicines without notifying her or her family.

    Vietnamese Facebook user sentenced to eight years in prison for “distributing anti-State materials”

    • Vietnam’s State media on May 5 reported that a Vietnamese court in Tien Giang Province has sentenced Tran Hoang Huan, a local Facebook user, to eight years imprisonment and three years probation on charges of “making, storing, or distributing anti-State information and materials” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
    • Huan’s indictment states that in the period between September 2020 and April 2021, he regularly accessed webpages having “poisonous and reactionary” content as well as foreign news channels that had a “hostile and defiant” attitude towards the Vietnamese government.
    • Consequently, Huan used the information obtained from these channels to write and publish a total of 186 posts on his personal Facebook account in order to “distort, slander and defame the Party and State  leaders” as well as “attack and insult the regime and deny the revolutionary achievements.”
    • In 2020, Huan was fined 12,5 million dong by the Tien Giang provincial authorities for “providing false information which distorts and defames the dignity of individuals and organizations.” He had previously received police summonses in 2016 and 2017 under the same charges.

    Vietnam arrests high profile business leaders amid the government’s intensifying crackdowns on corruption

    • Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security on April 29 issued an arrest warrant and conducted a house search for Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, a businesswoman and the director of Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC), for her alleged involvement in corruption related to the construction of a hospital in  Dong Nai Province.
    • It was reported that she had traveled to Japan on a business trip since February last year and still has not returned to Vietnam.
    • However, according to an exclusive report published by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz on May 1, Nhan is also known for her role as a key middlewoman in promoting and facilitating Vietnam-Israel arms deals over the past decade. Haaretz wrote that the primary reason behind Nhan’s prosecution was to crack down on rampant corruption in arms purchases between Vietnam’s Ministry of Defense and Israel’s security exporters.
    • Russia has traditionally been one of Vietnam’s main arms suppliers. But Hanoi in recent years has sought to diversify and modernize its military weaponry amid Beijing’s intensifying aggression in the South China Sea, and most recently due to Western sanctions against Moscow as a result of its invasion of Ukraine.
    • Hanoi’s latest crackdown on the country’s top business leaders, including the arrests of billionaire Trinh Van Quyet and property developer, Do Anh Dung, earlier this year, signaled the expansion of the Communist Party’s anti-corruption campaign against government bureaucrats, including high profile corporate leaders.
    • According to several analysts and entrepreneurs, the turmoil in Vietnam’s economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic is pushing the government to tackle corruption in an effort to speed up economic recovery. The World Bank said in a report that problems such as declining incomes, job losses, and inequalities, among other things, are cautionary signs for the Vietnamese government as the country faces a much more challenging phase of COVID-19 ahead.

    Vietnam protests as China declares annual South China Sea fishing ban

    RFA:

    • Hanoi has recently spoken up against China’s announcement of a unilateral fishing moratorium in the South China Sea, which began on May 1, and covers the waters north of 12 degrees north latitude in the South China Sea. Both  Vietnam and the Philippines claim this area as their “traditional fishing grounds.”
    • According to the spokesperson for Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry, Le Thi Thu Hang, Beijing’s imposed three-and-a-half-month fishing ban is “a violation of Vietnam’s sovereignty and territorial jurisdiction.” The moratorium applies to part of the Gulf of Tonkin and the Paracel Islands, both claimed by  China and Vietnam.
    • “Vietnam requests China to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel Islands and sovereign rights and jurisdiction over its maritime zones when taking measures to conserve biological resources in the East Sea (South China Sea), without complicating peace, stability, and order in the East Sea,” Hang added.

    Vietnam and Japan agree to boost trade and security ties

    Reuters:

    • Japan and Vietnam agreed on Sunday to boost economic and security ties while calling for an end to the war in Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said during a Southeast Asia tour.
    • Chinh said the two “agreed to boost cooperation in post-pandemic trade, strengthen supply chains and energy transition, in accordance with mutual interests.” Japan is Vietnam’s largest provider of official development aid and third-largest source of foreign direct investment. Bilateral trade rose 8.4 percent last year to $42.9 billion, according to Vietnam’s customs data.
    • Kishida and Chinh said they discussed regional responses to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and disputes in the South China Sea, where China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing territorial claims. Chinh also announced Vietnam’s donation of $500,000 in humanitarian aid to Ukraine via international organizations.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Vietnam and the new Pacific Trade Triangle

    East Asia Forum/ Tran Van Tho/ May 6

    “This trade pattern resembles a new Pacific Trade Triangle comprised of China, South Korea, and the United States, with Vietnam as the focal point. The trade triangle of the 1980s featured industrializing Asian economies such as South Korea and Taiwan, who imported intermediate and capital goods from Japan and exported final consumer goods to the United States.

    This led to large trade deficits with the former and surpluses with the latter, resulting in a trade conflict with the United States. Newly industrializing economies in Asia solved this problem by substituting imports from Japan for upgrades in their own industrial structures.

    The current Pacific Trade Triangle in which Vietnam is enmeshed is riskier. On the one hand, the United States may impose protectionist measures on trading partners with which it has large deficits. On the other hand, over-reliance on imports from China may bring about instability when changes in Chinese domestic policy affect trade with neighboring countries.”

    The Russia-Ukraine War: Unpacking Online Pro-Russia Narratives in Vietnam

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Hoang Thi Ha, Dien Nguyen An Luong/ April 27

    “The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war following Moscow’s invasion on 24 February has sparked intense public debates on Vietnam’s social media. For Vietnam, the ramifications of the war are felt beyond the economic and diplomatic realms. It has become an online hotbed of conflicting and confounding narratives that demonstrate different worldviews and political leanings among Vietnamese netizens. Of note, those who support Russia and Putin have been as energized and engaged as those who are against the war and sympathetic towards Ukraine.”

    Vietnam unleashes the taxman on dissent

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ May 4

    “Now ‘tax evasion’ is being added to the repressive mix. There is an ‘emerging and disturbing pattern in the use of Vietnam’s tax laws to criminalize environmental leaders, and follows the broader targeting of civil society leaders, as well as shrinking civil society space,’ said the International Federation for Human Rights and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights in a recent report.”

    Vietnam’s cable car craze is driving environmental decline

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ May 2

    “But the cable-car craze represents something bigger than the sum of the concrete pillars, steel, cables, and glass. The rapid development showcases how giant conglomerates are carving out space on Vietnam’s coasts and mountains for resorts and tourism complexes that some argue negatively impact the environment and have little benefit for local communities.

    Cable cars are often key features of these projects and enable thousands of people daily to visit some of the country’s most environmentally tenuous locales. Land is often cleared for construction and the high volume of tourists shuttled to now easily accessible destinations leads to waste buildup, putting pressure on the ecosystem.”


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  • Pham Doan Trang in the US Congress: S.Res. 609: A resolution recognizing widening threats to press freedom and free expression around the world…

    and reaffirming the vital role that a free and independent press plays in combating the growing threat of authoritarianism, countering misinformation and disinformation, documenting human rights abuses, informing local and international audiences about public health crises, and furthering discourse and debate to advance healthy democracies, in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2022.

    Title: S.Res. 609: A resolution recognizing widening threats to press freedom and free expression around the world…
    Publish Date: May 3, 2022
    Publisher: GovTrack.us


    Excerpt:

    117th CONGRESS

    2d Session

    S. RES. 609

    IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

    May 3, 2022

    Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Tillis, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Moran, Mr. Coons, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

    RESOLUTION

    Recognizing widening threats to press freedom and free expression around the world, and reaffirming the vital role that a free and independent press plays in combating the growing threat of authoritarianism, countering misinformation and disinformation, documenting human rights abuses, informing local and international audiences about public health crises, and furthering discourse and debate to advance healthy democracies, in commemoration of World Press Freedom Day on May 3, 2022.

    Whereas Thomas Jefferson, who championed the necessity of a free press for a thriving democratic society, wisely declared, Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.;

    Whereas Article 19 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in Paris on December 10, 1948, states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”;

    Whereas in 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the third day of May of each year to be “World Press Freedom Day”—

    (1) to celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom;

    (2) to evaluate press freedom around the world;

    (3) to defend the media against attacks on its independence; and

    (4) to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while working in their profession;

    Whereas the battle for a free press continues to be fought in South and Southeast Asia, where—

    (3) Vietnamese journalists Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan were each sentenced to more than 10 years in prison; and

    (4) Pham Doan Trang, a Vietnamese journalist and writer, following a year in detention, was sentenced to 9 years in prison for anti-state propaganda in a judicial proceeding and imprisonment declared arbitrary by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention;


    Download:

  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks EU’s Support In Strengthening National Cybersecurity Apparatus

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Seeks EU’s Support In Strengthening National Cybersecurity Apparatus

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source: The Vietnamese Magazine


    Day to remember: On April 30, 1975, the South Vietnamese government surrendered unconditionally as North Vietnam Army’s tanks crashed through the gates of the Presidential Palace in Saigon and effortlessly occupied the city. The fall of Saigon marked the end of the Vietnam War and the 30-year struggle for control over Vietnam. It was followed by the new Communist authorities’ punishment and discrimination of the southern population, which later led to a mass exodus of nearly one million refugees fleeing Vietnam in the following decades.


    Vietnamese social media activist sentenced to 5 years in jail for “anti-State activities”

    • A Vietnamese court in Lam Dong Province on April 26 sentenced Dinh Van Hai, a social media and civil rights activist, to five years in prison and three years probation for allegedly “making, storing, and distributing propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” in accordance with Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • Hai, who is disabled, was first temporarily detained in 2017 after he participated in a peaceful rally in Ho Chi Minh City, protesting against the environmental disaster caused by the Taiwan-based Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp. on Vietnam’s central coast. Since 2019, he has received a few police summons because of his online activism.
    • Dinh Van Hai was arrested by plainclothes police at the Phuoc Buu Pagoda on October 7, 2021, where he had taken refuge for the previous several months. The activist was later transferred to Lam Dong Provincial Police for pretrial detention while awaiting investigation.
    • According to the indictment, the evidence used to prosecute Hai was mostly collected on his personal Facebook account, including a total of 13 videos and 79 posts that contain “false and fabricated information” which aims to “distort history, the economic, social and political situation, as well as the socialism building agenda [in Vietnam.]”
    • It was reported that Hai did not have a defense lawyer for his trial, but only a legal representative sponsored by Vietnam’s Disabled People’s Organization. An unnamed relative of Dinh Van Hai told RFA in an interview that Hai claimed to be responsible for all the materials he published online, but that his intention was to make Vietnam a better and more developed country.
    • The United Nations Special Rapporteurs last November sent a mandate to the Vietnamese government to raise concerns over the arrest, detention, and denial of family visits of social media activists and human rights defenders in the country, including Dinh Van Hai. The UN rapporteurs also demanded Vietnam provide a legal basis as well as the explanations for their alleged activities of suppressing the fundamental civil rights of citizens.

    Jailed citizen journalist allowed family visitation after an opaque appellate hearing

    • Vietnamese citizen journalist Le Trong Hung, who had his sentence of five years in prison and five years probation upheld in a secret trial, was allowed to see his wife for the first time since his arrest more than a year ago, RFA reports.
    • Hung was arrested in March 2021 on charges of “distributing anti-State materials” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s Penal Code shortly after his self-nomination for Vietnam’s National Assembly elections. Hung was able to see his family on April 22, three days after an appeals court in Hanoi upheld his sentence in a hearing that neither his lawyers nor his family was informed about in advance, said Hung’s wife, Do Le Na.
    • “My husband said that on April 19, the trial day, he was kidnapped and sent to the court. He did not agree to stand the trial as he hadn’t had a chance to see his lawyers,” Na told RFA, adding that her 40-minute meeting was closely monitored.
    • “They repeatedly reminded me and my husband not to mention the appeal trial,” she said. “They warned that our talk over the phone would be stopped and we would be kicked out if we talked about the trial.”
    • “I myself will keep speaking up and reaching out to human rights organizations and civilized countries which pay attention to the human rights situation in Vietnam. I want to point out how my husband has been treated and expose all of the Vietnamese government’s wrongdoings,” Na said.

    Human Rights Watch urges the Japanese Prime Minister to raise human rights issues during the Southeast Asia trip

    • Human Rights Watch (HRW) in a press release on April 26 urged Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to Southeast Asia from late April to early May to put pressure on Southeast Asian governments, including Vietnam, to improve their human rights records.
    • Kishida is expected to travel to Vietnam during an extended visit to Southeast Asia, where he aims to coordinate regional responses to the Ukraine crisis as well as counter China’s rising assertiveness in the region, according to Reuters. The Japanese prime minister will pay an official visit to Vietnam from April 30 to May 1 and will meet the country’s prime minister and president, according to state media.
    • The rights advocate noted that Japan is “Vietnam’s most important bilateral donor” and that Kishida should express concerns regarding the Vietnamese Communist Party’s suppression of fundamental civil rights, press Vietnam “to respect freedom of online expression,” and “publicly urge the Vietnamese government to release everyone imprisoned for exercising their rights.”
    • According to HRW, “at least 51 people in Vietnam were put on trial, convicted, and sentenced to many years in prison” between the period December 2020 and April 2022 for simply exercising their basic human rights, including the freedom of expression, association, and religion.
    • “Japan proudly claims its commitment to protecting human rights on the global stage, but in practice, it does little to press rights-abusing governments in Asia to improve their records,” said Kanae Doi, Japan’s director of HRW. “Prime Minister Kishida’s Southeast Asia trip is an important opportunity to break with Tokyo’s longstanding public silence on abuses abroad and instead assert global leadership on rights issues.”
    • Meanwhile, the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights and the UN Environment Programme on April 22 expressed “grave concern” over Hanoi’s arrest and conviction of environmental human rights defenders on “tax evasion” charges.
    • “The use of income tax evasion charges to stifle critical voices is not a new practice in Vietnam. However, this time the charge of income tax evasion is being used against registered non-profit organizations whose work focuses on environmental protection,” said Cynthia Veliko, Southeast Asia Representative for the UN Human Rights Office in Bangkok.
    • On April 20, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and the International Federation for Human Rights also issued a joint urgent appeal for international intervention over the Vietnamese authorities’ alleged torture and ill-treatment of rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong. According to the appeal, Phuong was subjected to acts of torture throughout the investigation of his case. He was also reportedly hit by four security guards in sensitive areas of his body.

    Vietnam seeks EU’s assistance in building national cybersecurity protection

    • On April 28, Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security General To Lam met with Gunnar Wiegand, managing director for Asia and the Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), in Hanoi as he was asking for further support from the EU in cyber security protection, state media reports.
    • According to the minister, Vietnam has received significant assistance and shared experience from the EU in the building of the country’s Cybersecurity Law and related decrees.
    • To Lam also suggested the EU continue to support and share its experience regarding cyber security with Hanoi, as well as introduce and transfer technologies and equipment for cyber security protection and high-tech criminal prevention.
    • Vietnam’s Cybersecurity Law, which became effective in January 2019, has worried the country’s dissidents, human rights activists, and the blogger community as they were afraid these laws have been utilized by the government to stifle critics.

    Vietnam’s National Assembly to hold its third session for the 2021-2026 term

    • According to General Secretary of Vietnam’s National Assembly Bui Cuong, the country’s legislative body will hold its third session for the 2021-2026 term from May 23 to June 17. According to state media, five bills and four resolutions will be discussed for approval in this session, while six other draft bills will be open for further discussions.
    • More specifically, the National Assembly will pass legislation and amendments related to the mobile police forces, insurance business, telecommunications and information industry, and intellectual property.
    • Vietnamese lawmakers are also expected to give their opinions and approve an additional four resolutions regarding vocational training programs for prison inmates, the legislative agenda for the next year, regulations of or National Assembly sessions, and specific development mechanisms for Khanh Hoa Province.
    • They will also examine reports on Vietnam’s socio-economic development and budget spending plans drafted in 2021, as well as monitor the implementation of those plans in the beginning months of 2022.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    How the Russia-Ukraine War Is Impacting Vietnam’s Economy

    The Diplomat/ Thoi Nguyen/ April 28

    “Vietnam’s agriculture is one of the sectors that has suffered most from the Ukraine conflict and has been forced to find new ways to survive. Truong Dinh Hoe, general secretary of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers, stated that Vietnamese business owners trading with Russia are worried about collecting payments after Russia’s exclusion from the SWIFT system. For example, the Phuc Sinh Group, a Vietnamese export business that engages in around $10 million in trade with Russia each year, has said that it is losing considerable revenue due to the Western sanctions.”

    Is Vietnam Going to Hold a Military Exercise With Russia?

    The Diplomat/ Carl Thayer/ April 27

    “Vietnam has yet to confirm or deny officially that the planning meeting took place. On April 21, for example, at a press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang responded to a direct question from Channel News Asia about the reported Russia-Vietnam military exercises, in these words, “Viet Nam’s consistent policy is that all of its defense cooperation with other countries – including delegation exchange, joint training, and military exercises, games and contests – are meant to bolster friendship, solidarity, mutual trust, and understanding, for the sake of peace, cooperation, and development in the region and in the world.”

    Asia’s democrats testing their term limits

    Asia Times/ David Hutt/ April 27

    “Between 1986, after the death of the political boss Le Duan, and 2021, no Vietnamese senior leader had ever held office for more than two terms, and not one ever seriously attempted to do so.

    But last year all that was overridden by Nguyen Phu Trong, the general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, who secured himself an unprecedented third term as party boss. He also parlayed an exception for his age, 11 years over the limit, which should have seen him step down at last year’s National Congress.”


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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On Internet Freedom With Proposed Social Media Regulations

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On Internet Freedom With Proposed Social Media Regulations

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine


    Vietnam proposes new social media regulations to take down ‘illegal content:’ Reuters sources

    • Reuters on April 21 reported based on information from people with knowledge of the matter that Vietnam is planning to adopt new regulations requiring foreign social media companies to “take down content it deems illegal within 24 hours.”
    • The move is seen as another effort by the Vietnamese authorities to crackdown on internet freedom and tighten control over online discourse in a country where the government already shows little tolerance for dissenting opinions or criticisms of the regime.
    • According to Reuters, the planned amendments to current cyber laws will require foreign media platforms to take down “illegal content and services” within the 24-hour time frame while “illegal live streams” must be blocked within three hours of notice, and content that “harms national security” must be taken down immediately.
    • Reuters sources also said that these amendments currently remain confidential and are expected to be signed into law by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in May and become effective in July. Social media companies that fail to take down “illegal content” within the permitted time frame risk having their platforms blocked in Vietnam, the sources added.
    • Representatives from popular social media platforms in Vietnam, including Meta’s Facebook and Google-owned Youtube, declined to comment. Meanwhile, the Chinese-owned video sharing platform Tiktok told Reuters that it would comply with local laws “to ensure TikTok remains a safe space for creative expression,” adding that the company would “take down content that breaks platform guidelines.”
    • Vietnam, with a population of nearly 100 million, continues to rank among Facebook and Youtube’s top markets by user numbers and “is more profitable than many European markets,” according to Reuters sources. It is estimated that Facebook has up to 70 million users in Vietnam while Youtube has 60 million and TikTok has 20 million.
    • The new proposed regulations have raised concerns from human rights organizations that they could be used as a repressive tool to worsen the already restrictive internet environment in Vietnam.
    • “In Vietnam, social media, including Facebook, is one of the very few places for local people to express their opposition,” said Ming Yu Hah, deputy regional director of campaigns in East and Southeast Asia for Amnesty International, in the face of the threats posed by the proposed new laws.
    • “They face the risk of being imprisoned for years if their posts are deemed to violate the law,” she said, adding that such laws are “an existential threat to the freedom of expression in Vietnam.”

    Vietnamese court upholds citizen journalist Le Trong Hung’s sentencing in an opaque appeals trial

    • Do Le Na, wife of the currently jailed citizen journalist Le Trong Hung, wrote on her Facebook account on April 22 that a Hanoi Court had held an appeals trial for her husband on April 19 and consequently upheld his previous sentencing of five years in prison and five years probation.
    • Most notably, Na said that the court had neither informed her nor Hung’s lawyer about the appeals trial, adding that she only learned about the court results when she went to Hanoi Detention Center No. 1 on April 22 to send some necessities to her husband while asking for the procedures regarding his visitations.
    • Na said that there was a heavy plainclothes police presence guarding her and other local activists’ houses on the date of Le Trong Hung’s appeals hearing, but that she was unsure about their motive at the time. She added that she was “surprised” and “angry” about the Vietnamese authorities’ unlawful prevention of the Hung family from attending the hearing, even though the court previously announced that it would be an open trial.

    Vietnam court jails 12 people with links to a U.S.-based organization on subversion charges

    RFA:

    • RFA reported that a court in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on April 18 had sentenced 12 Vietnamese to prison on charges of supporting a U.S.-based exile group classified as a “terrorist organization” by Hanoi. The convicted people’s sentencing ranges from three to 13 years in prison while their defense attorneys said the trial was flawed and that it violated legal principles.
    • Prosecutors charged the group with “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government,” under Article 109 of Vietnam’s Penal Code, for recruiting others to join the foreign-based Provisional Government of Vietnam. Defendant Tran Thi Ngoc Xuan, who received a 13-year prison term, was described by prosecutors as the most active member of the alleged plot.
    • However, attorney Nguyen Van Mieng, who defended Xuan, told RFA in an interview that standards of fairness in the trial were violated and jeopardized, given the Ho Chi Minh City court’s decision to try different defendants gathered from separate parts of the country in the same trial.
    • “This trial violated legal procedures, as it gathered nine cases from different provinces and cities and then combined them in a single trial,” Mieng said. “These 12 people had no relationship or links with each other,” he added.
    • Based in Orange County, California, the Provisional Government of Vietnam was founded in 1991 by former soldiers and refugees loyal to the South Vietnamese government, which was in power prior to 1975. At least 18 Vietnamese have been jailed in recent years for their alleged involvement with the group.

    Vietnamese organizations urge UN members not to vote for Vietnam’s candidacy in Human Rights Council

    • On April 18, a group of eight Vietnamese organizations published an open letter calling for United Nations members to prevent Vietnam from joining the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 term.
    • They cited Hanoi’s opposition to the resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council on April 7 and its previous abstentions to condemn Moscow’s war-waged against Ukraine as the contributing reasons for their petition.
    • According to the letter, these organizations included Vietnam Human Rights Network (Mạng Lưới Nhân Quyền Việt Nam), Defend The Defenders (Tổ Chức Người Bảo Vệ Nhân Quyền), Assembly For Democracy Of Vietnam (Họp Mặt Dân Chủ), Humanistic Socialist Party (Đảng Nhân Bản Xã Hội), The Great Viet Party (Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng), Vietnam Democracy Federation (Lực Lượng Dân Tộc Cứu Nguy Tổ Quốc), The Independent Journalists Association of VietNam (Hội Nhà Báo Độc Lập Việt Nam), and Vietnam Democracy Radio (Đài phát thanh Đáp Lời Sông Núi).
    • The open letter also added that the systemic violations of human rights committed by the Vietnamese government and its pro-Kremlin stance consequently made Vietnam ineligible for a role in the Human Rights Council.
    • “Before seeking membership of the Council, the Vietnamese government must improve its human rights record, strictly enforce international human rights conventions on human rights, and contribute to the international community to build a peaceful and prosperous world,” the letter said.

    Vietnam expected to hold joint military training drills with Russia

    RFA:

    • Russian state media reported on April 19 that Russia and Vietnam, Moscow’s closest ally in Southeast Asia, are preparing to hold a joint military training exercise. They added that the initial planning meeting for the drills was held virtually between the leaders of Russia’s Eastern Military District and the Vietnamese army.
    • According to Russian state media, the two countries “agreed on the subject of the upcoming drills, specified the dates and venue for them” and “discussed issues of medical and logistic support, cultural and sports programs.” No other details were given.
    • The spokeswoman for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Le Thi Thu Hang confirmed on April 21 that  Vietnam’s mutual military training agenda with Russia, which is set to be named “Continental Alliance 2022,” during a press briefing and said that these activities were meant to “foster friendship and trust.”
    • Hang reiterated that Hanoi’s consistent policy of defense cooperation with other countries was only meant to “bolster friendship, solidarity, mutual trust, and understanding, for the sake of peace, cooperation and development in the region and in the world.”
    • RFA reported that Vietnamese media had remained silent on the meeting and had not reported on the proposed military exercise. Vietnamese officials were not available for comment.
    • “This is a totally inappropriate decision on Vietnam’s part,” said Carlyle Thayer, professor emeritus at the New South Wales University in Australia, and a veteran Vietnam watcher, in an interview with RFA.
    • “The U.S. is hosting a special summit with Southeast Asian leaders in May,” Thayer said. “How will the Vietnamese leader be able to look Biden in the eye given the U.S. clear stance on the Ukrainian war and the Russian invasion?” “This is not how you deal with the world’s superpower,” he added.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam could be hit with US sanctions over its continuing military relations with Moscow under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which was passed by the United States in 2017, writes David Hutt in The Asia Times. However, several experts noted that the chances Vietnam would get sanctioned under the CAATSA are low as the Biden administration could face a dilemma in pursuing contradictory objectives.

    Vietnam arrests former coast guard chief over “embezzlement” case

    Reuters:

    • “Vietnam’s Defense Ministry has detained a former commander of its coast guard on suspicion of embezzlement, the government said on Monday, in the latest arrest as the ruling Communist Party intensifies its long-running crackdown on graft.
    • Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Son was arrested last Wednesday along with six other senior coast guard officials for their involvement in an “embezzlement case,” the government said in a statement that did not elaborate on the alleged offense.
    • The state-run Tuoi Tre newspaper cited the Defense Ministry as saying that Son was responsible for violations committed by the coast guard between 2015 and 2020, including “financial mismanagement” and “procurement irregularities.”

    U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper calls for the upgrading of the Vietnam-United States relationship

    • During a press conference in Hanoi on April 20, U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper said that the United States and Vietnam have deepened mutual cooperation on multiple strategic issues and that it is time for the two countries to upgrade their bilateral relationship from comprehensive to a strategic level.
    • “Upgrading the relationship with Vietnam to strategic partnership is a priority, not just for myself but the U.S. government,” Knapper said when he was asked by the local news agency VnExpress about what he sees as the priorities during his incumbency.
    • Meanwhile, Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will attend the U.S.-ASEAN summit in Washington D.C. from May 12 to 13 at the invitation of President Joe Biden, according to the confirmation from the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry.
    • Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said that Vietnam “stands ready to work with the Biden administration on further strengthening and deepening bilateral relations” with an aim to promote regional and international “peace, stability, cooperation, and development.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Corruption is the Worst Enemy of the Vietnamese Army

    Fulcrum/ Le Hong Hiep/ April 22

    “The Vietnamese military is involved in a wide range of commercial activities, facilitated by its dominant role in Vietnamese politics. This sometimes causes civilian authorities to defer to military officials’ requests, including for resources and preferential treatments, which creates opportunities for corruption to thrive. The existence of military-owned businesses, both genuine ones and front companies set up to support intelligence gathering and operational purposes, also makes rent-seeking activities by corrupt individuals difficult to detect due to the blurred distinction between commercial and defence-related activities.”

    How Does Inviting Autocrats to the White House Make Asia More Free?

    The Diplomat/ John Sifton/ April 22

    “The Biden administration needs to adopt more coherent principles for supporting nations in Asia without sacrificing the promotion of human rights. A key problem in the Biden administration’s Asia rhetoric is that it too often conflates human freedoms and rights with the “freedoms” and “rights” of governments not to be coerced by other governments (i.e., by the Chinese government). When Blinken in December cited a “rules-based order” in Asia meant to “protect the right of all countries to choose their own path, free from coercion, free from intimidation,” he was not talking about human freedoms. He was dressing up “countering the Chinese government” in the language of liberty.”

    US-Vietnam Partnership Goes Beyond Strategic Competition with China

    U.S. Institute of Peace/ Nguyễn Khắc Giang/ April 19

    “U.S. rapprochement with Vietnam is more than a way to “contain” China (as if this could be done). A long-term, stable friendship should not be based solely on mutual concern about a rising regional hegemon. Washington should not only focus on economic and security partnerships but needs to support Vietnam in areas that it is lagging behind, particularly institutional reforms and the increased repression of civil society. A more democratic and open Vietnam will not only be good for the Vietnamese but a more trusted regional partner. A friendship based on shared values is much more sustainable than the one based purely on security and economic interests.”

    Nuclear moves up the list of Vietnam’s power mix

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ April 18

    “The potential scarcity of electricity comes amid discussion around what will be included in Vietnam’s eighth national power development plan, or PDP8.

    Some see a turn towards nuclear energy as a long-term solution for Vietnam to meet its energy needs while reducing fossil fuels. However, building nuclear power plants in Vietnam would be an expensive and time-consuming process and public support for nuclear energy is low in the country.”


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  • Pham Doan Trang in Amnesty International – Viet Nam: Move beyond repression

    10 International human rights organizations and individuals strongly urge the Vietnamese authorities to cease their crackdown on independent media and those who express dissent and to protect and promote the rights to freedom of expression, opinion, and information, in line with Viet Nam’s obligations under international law.


    Excerpt:

    These arrests represent a further grave escalation in the Vietnamese government’s longstanding intolerance for dissent and its harassment of human rights defenders, activists, and journalists. Independent media and civil society groups — including the Liberal Publishing House and the Independent Journalists Association — have been under sustained crackdown since the end of 2019, further imperiling the environment for free expression in Viet Nam.

    We are also alarmed at the threats faced by individuals such as Pham Doan Trang, an internationally recognized author who is being targeted solely on the basis of peacefully and legitimately exercising her right to freedom of expression. On 24 June, Viet Nam’s Ministry of Public Security explicitly referred to Pham Doan Trang’s written works as “anti-state propaganda,” and on 10 July, she was forced to dissociate from Liberal Publishing House in order to preserve the safety of its members. She is currently in hiding, and her risk of arrest remains extremely high.


    Download:

  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Human Rights Abuses Highlighted In U.S. Department Of State Report

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam’s Human Rights Abuses Highlighted In U.S. Department Of State Report

    The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine


    State Department released 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights, detailing Vietnam’s human rights abuses

    • The U.S. Department of State released the 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights practice on April 12, which aimed at covering the international implementation of “individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.”
    • In the Vietnam section, the State Department report described the country as “an authoritarian state ruled by a single party” where there were no fair elections, limited competition among Communist Party-vetted candidates in the National Assembly, as well as notable abuses committed by members of the public security forces.
    • Other issues, include the questionable independence of Vietnam’s judiciary, serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media, serious interference with citizens’ freedom of movement and peaceful assembly, government corruption, and hindrances to workers’ freedom of association, among other things, are all mentioned in the report.
    • The State Department’s evaluation of Vietnam’s performance also highlighted allegedly unlawful killings by the government, harassment, intimidation, and torture of political activists and their families in police custody, in addition to arbitrary arrests and detention and the denial of a fair public trial, especially in cases regarded as endangering “national security.”
    • Meanwhile, anyone who criticizes Vietnam’s human rights performance usually becomes a target of online harassment from supporters of the government and its funded cyber trolls, commonly known as the 47 Force.
    • Enes Kanter Freedom, a professional basketball player who played for the Boston Celtics and who is famously known for his pro-democracy activism, has been targeted by pro-government trolls and internet users from Vietnam after he shared on social media photos of hand-painted shoes with messages advocating human rights in Vietnam.
    • In his media post, Freedom underscored the country’s incarceration of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as its lack of freedom of expression, speech, and the press.
    • The athlete also asked his fan base to “stand up for human rights” in Vietnam while condemning the Vietnamese Communist Party and Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Vietnamese Communist Party, for their suppression of the fundamental freedoms of Vietnamese citizens.

    Vietnamese poet accuses her former colleague of sexual assault, igniting a potential #MeToo movement in Vietnam

    • Vietnam’s social media has been stirred up the past few weeks after Phan Thi Thanh Thuy, a renowned Vietnamese poet, also known by her pen name Da Thao Phuong, accused her former colleague at Vietnam’s Literature and Arts Magazine, of sexually harassing her when she was working at the publishing house 22 years ago. Thuy made the accusation on April 6 in a Facebook posting.
    • Phuong’s social media post has attracted massive public attention in Vietnam, gathering more than 64,000 interactions as of April 17.
    • According to the poet’s accusation, her colleague, Luong Ngoc An, who is currently the magazine’s deputy editor, allegedly sexually assaulted her when she was working alone at the publisher’s bureau on April 14, 2000.
    • Phuong added that the now deputy editor had previously attempted to “manipulate, control, abuse and rape” her during the period between July 1999 and April 2000.
    • The female poet disclosed that she suffered serious mental breakdowns following the incident and she said the reason she chose to speak up now was to “change the current situation” and to assure that no one would have to go through what she has experienced. She also said that the victims of sexual harassment in Vietnam are still being stigmatized for the crimes they did not commit and that this shocked her.
    • Speaking from a legal perspective, Vietnamese attorney Ngo Anh Tuan argued that it was “almost impossible” to sue the alleged perpetrator as the duration for filing a lawsuit for rape cases in Vietnam is 20 years.
    • Da Thao Phuong’s allegations may have sparked a #MeToo movement in Vietnam, although it remains small. On April 13, 2022, Bui Mai Hanh, a Vietnamese writer living in Australia, also publicly accused Luong Ngoc An of attempting to rape her 25 years ago.
    • In an interview with the local newspaper Vietnamnet, An said he had filed a report to the police for libel because he was “defamed” by Da Thao Phuong. An said that this was a “necessary” response to the ongoing scandal. He later reportedly resigned as deputy editor at Vietnam’s Literature and Arts Magazine to take up a new position starting May 1, according to a statement by the magazine.

    Former police officer receives another charge of “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy”

    • Le Chi Thanh, a former policeman, and correctional officer received another charge on April 12 for allegedly “abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to violate the state’s interests, legitimate rights, and interests of organizations and individuals,” which is a violation of Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • According to his indictment, Thanh used his Facebook account to “publish videos and posts that distort and infringe on the rights of the State and individuals” when he accused several correctional supervisors at the detention centers where he worked of corruption.
    • Previously, Thanh was convicted of “resisting officers on official duty” on January 14 and sentenced to two years in jail for opposing the confiscation of his car by the Ho Chi Minh City Police on March 2, 2021. The police said that he was pulled over for driving in the wrong lane but Thanh argued that their actions were politically motivated.
    • The Ho Chi Minh City High Court on April 13 upheld the two-year sentence after Thanh appealed the court’s verdict in January.
    • Meanwhile, citizen journalist Le Van Dung, also known as Le Dung Vova, had filed an appeal against the court’s decision after he was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation on March 23 for “distributing anti-state materials,” according to his family.
    • Le Dung Vova’s family told RFA Vietnamese in an interview that they still had not been allowed to call or visit Dung in prison since his first instance trial. Bui Thi Hue, Dung’s wife, previously said that she was also not allowed to attend her husband’s trial last month.

    Thai authorities release Vietnamese refugees after detaining them for “not having a passport”

    • Thai authorities on April 8 detained Vietnamese political dissident Chu Manh Son, along with four other Vietnamese refugees, when he went to the headquarters of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok to request a police report for an immigration application to relocate to Canada with his family members, RFA reports.
    • Son was arrested in 2011 and later sentenced to 30 months in prison for “conducting propaganda against the state” after he campaigned and participated in several anti-China rallies in Vietnam.
    • Son and his family members, who were later granted U.N. refugee status, were forced to flee to Thailand in 2017 after he was arrested again in 2016 for protesting the Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh, Ltd.’s environmental pollution scandal in central Vietnam. These Vietnamese refugees faced possible deportation after they were charged with illegally residing in Thailand a day after being arrested.
    • On April 13, Chu Manh Son told RFA that he and another political refugee, Nguyen Van Them, were released on bail with the help of their lawyers and UN representatives. But Them’s wife, Nguyen Thi Luyen, and their two children were still being held in a Thai immigration detention facility because they had tested positive for COVID-19.

    Vietnam arrests deputy foreign minister in bribery case

    Reuters:

    • Vietnamese police on April 14 arrested To Anh Dung, deputy minister of Foreign Affairs, on allegations of bribery, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
    • Dung, 58, is accused of taking bribes; police have searched his house, the ministry said in a statement.
    • Dung’s arrest is part of a wider investigation into foreign ministry officials who have been accused of taking bribes from Vietnamese citizens abroad who wanted to return to the country on “rescue flights” during the COVID-19 pandemic when commercial flights were not available, according to state media.
    • The police on Thursday also arrested an official of the Health Ministry and an official of the Ministry of Public Security for involvement in the same case. Four foreign ministry officials were arrested earlier in January.

    Vietnamese girl’s 1940 birth certificate could support Paracels sovereignty claim

    RFA:

    • New evidence has emerged that may help support Vietnam’s claims over the Paracel islands in the South China Sea, currently occupied by China.
    • A copy of a birth certificate issued in June 1940 claims that Mai Kim Quy, a girl, was born at 3 p.m. on Dec. 9, 1939, on Pattle Island to Mai Xuan Tap, a Vietnamese meteorologist, and his wife, Nguyen Thi Thang.
    • The birth certificate was witnessed by Nguyen Tang Chuan, a medical doctor, and Do Duc Mui, head of the local radio communication station.
    • This indicates that French Indochina, of which Vietnam was a part at the time, had administrative control of the island and that Vietnamese people worked there. That could be significant evidence of Vietnam’s claim to disputed features in the South China Sea and may show that Vietnam was the first to have an official presence there.

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Agent Orange in Vietnam: Legality and US Insensitivity

    The Diplomat/ Phan Xuan Dung/ April 14

    “Negative reactions to the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook post show that the U.S. insensitivity to the Agent Orange issue could undercut the Vietnamese people’s generally favorable opinion of the country, in the context of rising concerns about China. Regardless of the legality of Agent Orange, given the controversies surrounding the herbicide, the United States would be best placed to avoid insinuating that it is not guilty of chemical weapons use.”

    Cambodia-Vietnam Relations: Key Issues and the Way Forward

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Kimkong Heng/ April 12

    “Bilateral relations between Cambodia and Vietnam can be considered a love-hate relationship. As immediate neighbours with a long history of engagement, collaboration, and hostility, the two countries have been both friends and enemies. Following the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 15th century, weakened Cambodia was constantly threatened by its two more powerful neighbours, Thailand and Vietnam. To counter the threat from Thailand, Cambodia would establish an alliance with Vietnam and vice versa. Cambodia’s formal relationship with Vietnam began in the early 1600s when Cambodian King Chey Chetha II married a daughter of Vietnamese Lord Nguyen Hy Tong.[1] Through the alliance, Vietnamese migrants were permitted to settle in Khmer territory. The complex relationship between the two countries and between Cambodia and Thailand have also led to Cambodia’s diminishing independence over the past centuries.”

    Regional Partners Seek Clarity on Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework

    The Diplomat/ Matthew P. Goodman, Aidan Arasasingham/ April 15

    “After years on the sidelines in Asia, the Biden administration hopes its new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will get the United States back in the economic game. But while partners in the region welcome a U.S. return to the economic field, they remain skeptical of the benefits of joining Team IPEF. For the Biden administration to win over regional partners, it must address questions and concerns.”


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