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Tag: Freedom of Expression

  • 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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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine. 

  • 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.

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  • Pham Doan Trang in Clooney Foundation For Justice: Award-Winning Vietnamese Journalist’s Trial Was Designed to Silence Her, TrialWatch Report Finds

    The trial of multi-award-winning journalist and human rights activist Pham Thi Doan Trang for “anti-state propaganda” violated her rights to a fair trial and freedom of expression, a TrialWatch report has found.

    Excerpt:

    Ms. Trang was arrested just a few hours after the 2020 US-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue concluded, held incommunicado for over a year, then convicted following a one-day trial. This was despite a UN decision that the charges against Ms. Trang were unlawfully vague. She was given a nine-year prison sentence which was a harsher penalty than even the prosecution had requested.

    CFJ calls on the court of appeals to reverse Ms. Trang’s conviction or for Vietnam to release her.

    Over the last decade, Ms. Trang has been repeatedly arrested, detained, and beaten by the authorities in connection with her writing and activism. She is one of 207 journalists or human rights advocates in prison in Vietnam. The charges brought against Ms. Trang were based on her interviews with international press and articles about Vietnam’s human rights record that she wrote or that were allegedly found on her devices. The authorities said her work spread “psychological warfare” and included “untrue, fabricated information to cause dismay among the people.”

    “Ms. Trang was prosecuted for doing what journalists do: collecting data, reporting, and sharing information with the public. None of that is ‘psychological warfare,’” said David McCraw, the TrialWatch Expert who co-authored the report with the Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, and assigned the trial a grade of ‘F.’

    The report found that the trial was marred throughout by egregious violations of Ms. Trang’s rights.  In particular, the court relied on an assessment by the Department of Information and Communications of Hanoi City, which concluded that the documents at issue in the case “have violated the law” before the trial even began. But when the defense requested to examine these ‘assessors,’ the court found that their presence was not necessary because they “had provided their assessment conclusion based on their expertise.”

    Many of the journalists and human rights advocates in prison have faced charges under Vietnam’s array of ‘national security’ offenses, which provide for extended pre-trial detention despite the international law presumption in favor of bail.  In Ms. Trang’s case, she was charged with violating Article 88 of the 1999 Penal Code, which makes it illegal to make, store, or share information deemed “anti-State,” and which the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described as “effectively mak[ing] it a crime for any Vietnamese citizen to enjoy the fundamental freedom to express an opinion, to discuss or to question the Government and its policies.”

    “The law used to prosecute Ms. Trang is by design intended to silence those who try to report critically on government actions and policies. By declaring certain information ‘anti-State,’ the government gives itself broad authority to punish free expression,” explained Mr. McCraw.

    The TrialWatch report also found that the proceedings were an abuse of process. Taken against the backdrop of her repeated harassment by the authorities, and given the timing of her arrest, the inescapable conclusion is that her prosecution was “designed to silence her and warn others against criticizing the government of Vietnam.”

    Download TrialWatch report:

    ENG Pham Doan Trang Fairness Report April 2022
    ENG-Pham-Doan-Trang-Fairness-Report-April-2022.pdf
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    Award Winning Vietnamese Journalists Trial Was Designed to Silence Her TrialWatch Report Finds Clooney Foundation For Justice
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  • Pham Doan Trang in Human Rights Watch Submission to the European Union ahead of the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue

    The Vietnamese government continues to severely repress basic civil and political rights, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, and the right to freedom of religion and belief.  One of the many politically motivated convictions is that of prominent journalists and Luat Khoa’s co-founder Pham Doan Trang who has been served with a 9 year sentence for “anti-state propaganda.”

    Excerpt:

    As the human rights dialogue approaches, Human Rights Watch recommends that the EU focuses on three priority areas regarding the dire human rights situation in Vietnam: 1) political prisoners and detainees; 2) restrictions on freedom of movement; and 3) repression of the right to freely practice freedom of religion and belief. We urge that the EU insist on clear, concrete, measurable benchmarks or deliverables for progress in these areas, laying out consequences for the bilateral relations should these violations continue to occur, taking into account the recently revised EU guidelines on human rights dialogues with partner/third countries.

    1. Political Prisoners and Detainees

    Vietnam frequently uses vaguely worded and loosely interpreted provisions in its penal code and other laws to prosecute and imprison political and religious activists. These include “carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the people’s administration” (article 109), “undermining the unity policy” (article 116), “making, storing, disseminating or propagandizing information, materials and products that aim to oppose the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” (article 117)/or “conducting propaganda against the state” (article 88 of the 1999 penal code), and “disrupting security” (article 118). Vietnam also uses other articles in the penal code to target rights campaigners, including “abusing the rights to democracy and freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, the legitimate rights and interests of organizations, individuals” (article 331), and “disrupting public order” (article 318).

    Vietnam currently holds at least 153 political prisoners. In 2021 alone, the courts convicted at least 38 people for voicing criticism of the government and sentenced them to long prison terms.

    In January 2021, a Ho Chi Minh City court put prominent members of the Independent Journalists Association on trial. Pham Chi Dung, Nguyen Tuong Thuy, and Le Huu Minh Tuan were convicted and sentenced to between 11 and 15 years in prison. In May, a court in Hoa Binh province sentenced land rights activist Can Thi Theu and her son Trinh Ba Tu each to eight years in prison. In July, a Hanoi court convicted writer Pham Chi Thanh and sentenced him to five years and six months in prison. In October, a court in Can Tho convicted and sentenced five members of the Clean Newspaper – Truong Chau Huu Danh, Doan Kien Giang, Le The Thang, Nguyen Phuoc Trung Bao, and Nguyen Thanh Nha – to between two years and four and a half years in prison. In December, courts sentenced prominent blogger Pham Doan Trang to nine years, land rights activists Trinh Ba Phuong to 10 years and Nguyen Thi Tam to six years, democracy campaigner Do Nam Trung to 10 years, and independent political candidate Le Trong Hung to five years in prison. All were charged with propaganda against the state under article 117 (or article 88), or with abusing the rights to freedom and democracy to infringe upon the interests of the state under article 331, of the penal code.

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    Human Rights Watch Submission to the European Union ahead of the EU Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue Human Rights Watch
    Human Rights Watch Submission to the European Union ahead of the EU-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue _ Human Rights Watch.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in Radio Free Asia: Vietnam’s crackdown target: citizens who can inspire others

    The Vietnamese Communist Party has been arresting dissidents, including independent journalists, religious figures, land rights activists and environmentalists- generally, anyone who can mobilize and influence their fellow citizens.  

    Excerpt:

    The political activist Pham Doan Trang, who was arrested in October 2020, was a particular headache for the Vietnamese government as she was not philosophically inclined in her writing. Instead, she communicated Vietnamese laws, constitutional rights, and procedures in ways that ordinary people could understand. She exposed how the government violated its own laws, garnering her a large following. She’s now serving a nine-year sentence for spreading “propaganda against the state.”

    That Mother Mushroom and Pham Doan Trang had won multiple foreign awards and had deep international networks of support only amplified their voices at home. International recognition raised concerns of foreign interference amongst the conservative party elite.

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    Vietnams crackdown target citizens who can inspire others Radio Free Asia
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  • LIV’s Vi Tran in Asia Democracy Chronicles: Who’s afraid of NGOs?

    LIV’s Vi Tran in Asia Democracy Chronicles: Who’s afraid of NGOs?

    Quynh-Vi Tran, co-founder of Taiwan-based Legal Initiatives for Vietnam and editor-in-chief of The Vietnamese Magazine, wrote a commentary on how Vietnam has never been keen on having non-profits and how the country has made it even more difficult for such groups to continue operating in the country.

    Excerpt:

    When I was at the pre-session conference for Vietnam’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review in December 2018, the representative of the Canadian Mission in Geneva asked me — after I had delivered my statement on the death penalty in Vietnam — what the distinction was between registered and non-registered civil society organizations in Vietnam. Despite five consecutive years of working on human rights in Vietnam, I still could not give the representative a full definition of the distinction between the two groups. I just didn’t know how to explain it.

    I was only able to reply that Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), the organization that I had co-founded with journalists Pham Doan Trang and Trinh Huu Long, was not registered in Vietnam. We fell under the category of “non-registered” organizations.

    LIV is a 501(c)(3) organization registered in California. As of December 2021, we were also registered as a legal entity in Taiwan. Nevertheless, it does not matter how many countries recognize LIV as a legal entity. Vietnam will still consider it as “non-registered” as long as the Vietnamese Communist Party is still the only political party in the country. That is because it wants to de-legitimize LIV as an official non-profit organization so that it can create propaganda against us, our work, and our staff. It makes it easier for the Party to defame us by saying that we are not a legitimate media group since we are not registered in Vietnam.

    Why would the Party want to treat LIV like this? It is because LIV operates two online magazines and we refuse to comply with state censorship and also self-censorship. We are a truly independent media organization, and we also call for political pluralism in Vietnam.

    Ever-shrinking civic space

    When I started writing these lines during the first month of 2022, Vietnam had already sentenced two NGO directors to four and five years’ imprisonment for tax evasion. The two are Mai Phan Loi, a former journalist and the director of the Center for Media in Educating Community, and Dang Dinh Bach, the director of Law and Policy of Sustainable Development. Both men had worked on environmental rights. Both organizations are “registered” NGOs in Vietnam.

    In January 2022, Nguy Thi Khanh, the co-editor and founder of Green ID, was also arrested under another alleged tax evasion charge, the free-speech group The 88 Project reported. Nguy Thi Khanh had won an international award for her work in sustainable energy development. On Feb. 9, the Vietnamese media reported that she had been formally prosecuted by the Hanoi Police investigation department.

    After the convictions of Loi and Bach and the arrest of Khanh in January, I started to believe that Vietnam had never made a real distinction between registered and non-registered non-profit groups. Organizations were not black or white. Vietnamese authorities just never wanted the expansion of the civil society sector in the country. Therefore, the idea that people like Loi, Bach, and Khanh joining the DAG of the EVFTA to observe the government’s compliance in an international trade deal would be just as worrisome for Vietnam as how LIV and its independent magazines write facts and truths about them.

    The price of speaking out

    Did learning about how the government began its suppression of the registered organizations in Vietnam make me lose hope for a day when human rights will be respected in Vietnam? No, it did not.

    When Pham Doan Trang, Trinh Huu Long, and I began to develop LIV with our two online magazines, our common goal was to use journalism to promote human rights, democracy, and the rule of law in Vietnam. We wanted to write and to be a part of independent journalism. In an authoritarian regime like Vietnam, however, that meant that the three of us had to take on a role that few people would be willing to take: being classified as “enemies of the state.”

    Because we dared to take on this role, my close friend and colleague, Pham Doan Trang, was sentenced to nine years of imprisonment in December 2021, after more than one year of being detained incommunicado. Trinh Huu Long and I cannot go back to Vietnam; if we do, it’s certain that we will meet the same fate as Doan Trang.

    From the recent convictions of Loi and Bach — the directors of two registered NGOs in Vietnam — we can see that the fate of Doan Trang was being shared with many NGO workers inside the country. But that will not deter those of us from continuing our work. Because for us, the government has shown that it fears civil society.

    If any person or group demands that Vietnam respect human rights, be it the freedom of expression, workers’ rights, or environmental rights, the government only shows one reaction: to arrest and imprison those asking for such rights. This demonstrates that the Vietnamese government is the main culprit that is preventing Vietnam from being a country that respects human rights and follows international laws.

    The authoritarian nature of our government is the cause that prevents Vietnam from moving forward to be a democratic country. But the more suppression the government does — be it toward the registered or non-registered groups — the weaker it becomes.

    LIV and I will continue to write about the human rights situation in Vietnam because we need to continue to tell the truth and hold the authorities accountable. LIV exists so that the stories of Pham Doan Trang, Mai Phan Loi, and Dang Dinh Bach will be told to the public. These are the stories that we will carry with us on our way toward achieving democracy and human rights for our nation. And we will get there someday.

    Download:

    Whos afraid of NGOs Asia Democracy Chronicles
    Who’s afraid of NGOs_ _ Asia Democracy Chronicles.pdf
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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Activists Receive Speech Freedom Awards; Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On NGO

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnamese Activists Receive Speech Freedom Awards; Vietnam Steps Up Crackdown On NGO

    Source:  The Vietnamese Magazine

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

    Pham Doan Trang was awarded the 2022 Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award

    • On February 10, Vietnamese human rights defender and journalist Pham Doan Trang was awarded the 2022 Canada-United Kingdom Media Freedom Award. The result was announced during the third Global Media Freedom Conference in Tallinn, Estonia.
    • Pham Doan Trang spent 434 days in detention before being sentenced to nine years imprisonment for allegedly conducting “anti-state propaganda.” Doan Trang’s family and her lawyers have reportedly not been able to visit her since she was convicted last year.
    • The Media Freedom Award, launched in 2020 at the second Global Conference for Media Freedom, honors and recognizes “the work of those who have defended journalists, or championed media freedom at a local level.” Doan Trang is the second recipient of this award; the Belarusian Association of Journalists received this prestigious prize in 2020.

    Mai Khoi Do Nguyen, a Vietnamese singer and activist, received the Freedom of Speech Award 2022

    • On February 9, Mai Khoi Do Nguyen, a Vietnamese singer and democracy activist, was named one of the laureates in the Four Freedoms Awards 2022, an annual award presented by the Roosevelt Institute. Mai Khoi received the Freedom of Speech award this year for bringing to the forefront “the importance of freedom of expression, social justice and improving the human rights situation in Vietnam,” according to the Four Freedoms’ website.
    • The prizes are awarded each year to the people whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to the principles presented by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his historic speech to Congress on January 6, 1941, which were regarded as essential to democracy: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.
    • Upon awarding her the Freedom of Speech Award, the committee added that Mai Khoi “emphasizes the right of everyone to make their own choices,” while she draws public attention to “equal opportunities for women and the LGBTI+ community, gender-based violence, freedom of expression, and the environment.” Furthermore, she also called attention to the Formosa Plastics disaster in 2016 that resulted in environmental damage and which had an economic impact on local fishermen.

    Vietnamese Dominican priest killed while administering the sacrament of confession forgave his murderer

    • Father Joseph Tran Ngoc Thanh, the 41-year-old Vietnamese Dominican priest killed while listening to confessions and celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the diocese of Kon Tum on January 29, forgave his murderer just before he died, according to the missionary news agency Fides.
    • The news was reported to Fides by Msgr. Aloisio Nguyen Hung Vi, the bishop of the diocese of Kon Tum. On February 7, together with other priests, the bishop visited the community of Sa Loong, part of the Dak Mot parish, where Father Joseph Tran Ngoc Thanh carried out his pastoral service and was later murdered, Fides reports.
    • Local police subsequently arrested the murderer, Nguyen Van Kien, and declared he was mentally ill. But several rights groups and individuals blamed the incident on the Vietnamese government for nurturing hostility against religions. This serious incident has nevertheless received scant media coverage in Vietnam.

    Vietnamese environmentalist and NGO founder arrested and prosecuted on “tax evasion” charges

    • State media on February 9 reported that the Hanoi Police investigation department had officially prosecuted Nguy Thi Khanh, a Vietnamese environmentalist and NGO founder, on “tax evasion” charges in accordance with Article 200 of Vietnam’s Penal code.
    • Khanh, the founder of Green Innovation and Development Center (GreenID) and a recipient of the Goldman environmental prize in 2018, was reportedly detained last month, but her detention was only confirmed by state media on February 9. Khanh’s organization had campaigned for Vietnam to adopt greener and more sustainable energy production alternatives while pressuring the government to cut down on fossil fuel-generated energy.
    • She was the latest activist to be prosecuted by the Vietnamese authorities for tax-related crimes. Last month, Dang Dinh Bach, director of the Law and Policy of Sustainable Development Research Center, was sentenced to five years in prison for “tax evasion.” Previously, Mai Phan Loi, a former journalist and the director of the Center for Media in Educating Community, also received four years imprisonment for the same charge.
    • In a 2020 interview with AFP, Khanh acknowledged the risks that her activism brought. “When we got global recognition, these vested interest groups recognized us as their enemy and they are very powerful,” she said.
    • Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, told The Guardian regarding Khanh’s arrest: “Now that Hanoi has finished imprisoning all the political dissidents while the world was distracted by COVID-19, the state’s repressive apparatus is turning on the environmental and social NGOs.”

    Vietnam a ‘country of particular concern,’ US religious freedom agency says

    RFA reports:

    • Despite some improvements, Vietnam remains a “country of particular concern” the 15th consecutive year in terms of allowing its citizens to freely practice their religion, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
    • The commission said a new law adopted in Vietnam in 2018 was a “notable improvement” to a previous ordinance but remains overly restrictive and has been applied unevenly across the country. Meanwhile, Hanoi continued cracking down on unregistered independent religious groups and publicly labeled many as “bizarre or wrong.”
    • “Authorities continued to actively persecute independent religious minority communities, including Protestant Hmong and Montagnard Christians, Hoa Hao Buddhists, the Unified Buddhists, Cao Dai followers, Catholics and Falun Gong practitioners,” the report said.
    • “Ethnic minority communities faced especially egregious persecution for the peaceful practice of their faith, including physical assault, banishment, detention, imprisonment, and forced renunciation of faith,” it added.

    Former journalist prosecuted for “defaming provincial police leaders”

    • Doan Tu Tan, a 40-year-old former journalist, was prosecuted on February 5 for “abusing democratic freedom to infringe on state and individuals’ legal rights,” state media reported.
    • According to the police, Tan allegedly used several untraceable phone numbers to send hoax messages to leaders in Bac Giang Province, spreading rumors and accusing the police heads of the local Luc Ngan District of wrongdoings. The police concluded that Tan’s messages were “defamatory and slanderous” of the local police leaders.
    • The former journalist was previously convicted and sentenced to three-year imprisonment for “receiving bribes” and is currently awaiting the execution of his sentence. There is no clear evidence that Tan’s accusations about police officials had any correlation to his previous conviction.

    Le Chi Thanh, the former policeman, appealed his conviction of “resisting law enforcement officers”

    • Le Chi Thanh, a former policeman who was sentenced to two-years in prison for “resisting law enforcement officers on duty,” has filed an appeal against the Thu Duc court’s verdict, his lawyer Dang Dinh Manh told RFA Vietnamese on February 10.
    • Attorney Manh added that Thanh had also been prosecuted for another charge of “abusing democratic freedom” by the investigative unit of Binh Thuan Police Department. Thanh used to be a correctional officer in the Binh Thuan Province Police Department, where he accused its leaders of corruption and other wrongdoings.
    • Thanh is expected to be transferred to Binh Thuan after his appeal trial, according to attorney Manh. His appeal hearing date has not been announced yet.

    Vietnam warns of hospitals strain as COVID-19 cases spike after the holiday

    Reuters reports:

    “Vietnam warned on Thursday that its healthcare system could become overloaded, after seeing a surge in new daily coronavirus infections following its week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

    The Southeast Asian country reported nearly 24,000 new cases on Wednesday, compared to about 15,000 per day in the week before the annual holiday, when millions of people traveled to their rural homes and to tourist hotspots.

    “Increased traveling will lead to the risk of more infections among the community, including the risk of spreading the Omicron variant,” the health ministry said in a statement.”

    Vietnam Releases Guidance on Implementation of COP26 Commitments

    Mayer Brown:

    “At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2021 (COP26), Vietnam’s prime minister announced that the country would target achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and phase out coal power generation by 2040.

    As a follow-up to this announcement, on 30 January 2022 the Vietnam government issued Notice no. 30/TB-VPCP identifying the following eight areas of focus for implementing Vietnam’s COP26 commitments:

    1. conversion from fossil fuel to green/clean energy sources;
    2. reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in various sectors/industries;
    3. reduction of methane emissions, especially in agriculture and waste management sectors;
    4. R&D and use of electric vehicles;
    5. sustainable management, use of existing forests, and increase of afforestation for carbon absorption;
    6. R&D and use of construction materials and urban development for sustainable and green development;
    7. public relations campaigns directed at the public and business communities to enhance awareness and support for the government’s implementation of COP26 commitments; and
    8. acceleration of digital (economy) conversion for climate change.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Prospects and challenges for Vietnam’s economy in 2022

    East Asia Forum/ David Dapice/ February 11

    “The big question now is if these developments will tarnish Vietnam’s hard-won reputation as a reliable supplier and alternative to China for manufactured exports? Despite factory closures, exports rose 19 percent in 2021 to an astonishing US$336 billion — while GDP was only US$271 billion in 2020 and grew only slightly in 2021. The high level of foreign direct investment (FDI) did not grow nor shrink much. The rapid increase in vaccinations — about 60 percent fully vaccinated by early 2022 — suggests that factory closures will be modest in 2022.

    But labour shortages may be more of a problem, as workers fear another round of factory closures and travel restrictions. There were troubles hiring even in 2019 as labour force growth slowed. Global pressures to reduce risk and increase resilience in supply chains are another headwind. While the momentum of past FDI commitments will keep export growth high in 2022, there are questions about later years.”

    The Biden Administration and Southeast Asia: One Year in Review

    ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute/ Hoang Thi Ha, Ian Storey/ February 11

    “The Biden administration’s record in Southeast Asia was also mixed, though generally positive. Due to the above-mentioned priorities, Washington’s engagement with the region was slow to start, causing much frustration in Southeast Asian capitals. In the second half of the year, however, momentum picked up as a flurry of senior officials visited the region, and culminated in a virtual US-ASEAN Summit and an American president’s full attendance at the East Asia Summit for the first time since President Barack Obama in 2016.”

    Why Won’t Vietnam Teach the History of the Sino-Vietnamese War?

    The Diplomat/ Travis Vincent/ February 9

    “According to Professor Tuong Vu from the University of Oregon, the Sino-Vietnamese war still divides Hanoi’s leadership today. One faction puts the blame on Le Duan, a former party leader known for being anti-China, while the other faction believes the party was wrong all along for having trusted China too much.

    “Allowing any discussion of the war threatens to deepen that rift and the survival of the party and would expose the mistakes of party leadership,” Vu said via email. “Teaching children about this war might over time create public pressure that forces the party to move away from China and closer to the U.S., which it does not want to.”

    Inequity and corruption taint Vietnam’s return to international travel

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ February 3

    “Despite the easing of restrictions, some are still frustrated by the inequity: the high cost of entry, often fueled by corruption, turned travel to the country into a luxury. Further, while travel restrictions aligned with the government’s ‘Zero-Covid’ policy, once cases of the virus ballooned in the summer of 2021 the continued barriers felt increasingly unreasonable.”

    Rhino horns pierce a wall between crime and affluence in Vietnam

    Southeast Asia Globe/ Govi Snell/ January 19

    “Among the target rhino users in the country – rich, middle-aged individuals – Nam sees very little stigma and low perception of risk for using the illegal product. The government focuses on making big seizures of illegal wildlife products rather than seeking out and punishing consumers, he stated. The combined factors make lowering demand for rhino horn difficult.”

    💡
    More from The Vietnamese Magazine.

  • LIV supports Access Now Resist Myanmar’s digital coup: stop the military consolidating digital control

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM joins Access Now and several civil society organizations in resisting the coup and standing with the people of Myanmar.

    Title: Resist Myanmar’s digital coup: stop the military consolidating digital control
    Publish Date: February 8, 2022
    Publisher: Access Now

    Full Statement:

    One year ago, as the Myanmar military sent tanks down the streets and rounded up government officials and activists, it shut down the internet, mobile phone networks, radio, and television channels. As it plunged the country into a communications blackhole, the junta launched concerted assaults at already threadbare protections online to throttle expression and information-sharing. Today, the military is ramping up efforts to cement authoritarian control of online space, alongside violent crackdowns, and serious human rights violations. This is a digital coup, and the world must resist.

    Internet shutdowns continue to be wielded to shroud serious human rights violations. Soon after the coup and lasting almost three months,  the military imposed near-complete nationwide internet shutdowns — including nightly communications blackouts and online media and messaging platform bans. The people in Myanmar were not able to communicate with loved ones, share information, report on human rights violations, or seek help amidst an emergency.  Contrary to the principles of net neutrality and the norm of a free internet, the junta lifted some disruptions to favor its own “white-list” of organisations and corporations that could access the internet, while the rest of the country suffered the consequences of these discriminatory and unequal shutdowns. The military continue to order regional shutdowns  — particularly where active armed conflicts are ongoing, in attempts to conceal thousands of reports of assault, killings, arrests, detention, enforced disappearance, ill-treatment, torture, torching and gender-based violence committed by the junta.

    Control of telecommunications providers and abuse of surveillance technology expands monitoring and targeting of individuals. Reuters recently reported that the Myanmar military had privately approved the sale of Telenor Myanmar to M1 Group and military-linked Shwe Byain Phyu Group — with the latter as a majority shareholder. Should the sale go ahead, three of the four telecommunications providers operating in Myanmar would be directly controlled by the junta — including Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and Telecom International Myanmar Company Limited (MyTel). It can also be assumed that thereafter, all operators in Myanmar — including the fourth, Ooredoo — will activate surveillance technology within their networks, noting Telenor’s statement that its departure was due to “continued pressure” on operators to “activate intercept equipment and technology for the use of Myanmar authorities”. These targeted efforts will enable the military   to bring all network services under its stranglehold and escalate abuses of privacy and security rights, through surveillance and related efforts. Yet, disturbingly, not a single telecommunications sector actor has implemented urgent data protection and privacy safeguards needed to protect their customers. Telenor Group, in particular, had earned people’s trust on the basis of their earlier commitments to human rights and public reporting on network shutdowns and military orders. These customers — including activists, journalists and other at-risk individuals — are now in danger of having their data transferred to a military-linked outfit through an irresponsible disposal of its business operations in Myanmar.

    Legal tools are abused to stifle individuals’ rights to expression, information, and privacy. By amending the Broadcasting Law and resurrecting a previously defeated Cybersecurity Law, the military will fortify censorship controls online. The amended Broadcasting Law effectively criminalises any speech deemed impermissible by the military on a wide range of media — including radio, television,  audio and video social media posts, and websites —  with up to three years’ imprisonment. Meanwhile, the draft Cybersecurity Law provides overbroad censorship and regulatory powers to the authorities — including the Ministry of Defence with its notorious record of committing abuses amounting to serious international crimes — to censor online content, order the furnishing of individuals’ personal data from internet service providers and control online platforms and services through onerous registration and licensing requirements. Not satisfied with the increasing trend of arrests for alleged illegal VPN usage, the draft Cybersecurity Law proposes to penalise VPN usage with up to three years’ imprisonment, further extinguishing one of the last tools of protection and security available to the people of Myanmar.

    Price hikes and onerous data provision requirements make it increasingly difficult for people to access the internet. In December 2021, in an attempt to price people out of telecommunication access, the military forced telecommunications operators to significantly hike up prices for data usage and phone calls, doubling the price of mobile data, and increasing the cost of phone calls by nearly a quarter — significantly impacting a population already struggling from a banking crisis. In January 2022, the increasing cost of connectivity was worsened by the junta’s 10% tax hike on mobile data service providers — which then  increased customers’ prices further — and a 20,000 kyat (US$11) commercial tax on new SIM card activation, which exacerbated the already onerous requirements for SIM card registration. These manipulations now pose extortionate barriers to internet access for the average person in Myanmar, amidst a coup and a pandemic — when they need connectivity the most.

    Harassment and dissemination of incitement to violence online propagates fear and insecurity. Reports continue to emerge of military and military-linked personnel appropriating social media platforms to post hate speech and incite violence against individuals supporting opposition to the coup. From even before the coup, content moderation failures on platforms like Facebook and YouTube had accelerated hate speech and incitement to violence online. Pressure from civil society forced Facebook to take down hundreds of military-linked accounts and strengthen its mitigation measures. After being blocked from Facebook, increasing numbers of military and military-linked actors are now abusing less responsive services and platforms to amplify a regime of fear and abuse online, including through death threats on TikTok, and doxxing on Telegram. In contrast, the junta are conducting stop-searches of individuals’ devices which often result in arrests, detention, and assault, with impunity. While tech platforms meander in their mitigation measures, privacy and security violations proliferate.

    With a year of concerted effort to control and manipulate the online and offline lives of millions of people in Myanmar as groundwork, today, the junta’s digital coup is more violent and aggressive than ever — aimed at crushing remnants of the already razed rights to privacy, expression, information, association, and security.  As the world watches on, the Myanmar military is very close to its goal of consolidating absolute control of digital spaces.

    The international community, technology companies, platforms, and network providers must stand with the people of Myanmar and resist the digital coup. We have an obligation to hold the Myanmar military accountable for the serious human rights violations it continues to commit. The international community must:

    • Publicly condemn the Myanmar junta’s continued attacks on civic space and push back against assaults on rights — including to freedom of expression, information, association, privacy and security;
    • Support calls for targeted sanctions against the military and against military-linked individuals and businesses, including sanctions aimed at restricting the sale and supply of dual-use surveillance technology
    • Pressure companies to uphold international standards on responsible business;
    • Continue and expand support for civil society, humanitarian and other actors working to defend human rights within Myanmar.

    Telecommunications and technology companies in Myanmar must:

    • Immediately implement data protection and privacy safeguards to resist increasing attempts to extend surveillance, censorship, and abuse of rights;
    • Conduct due diligence and pursue genuine public engagement when creating or changing their policies on data protection, content moderation, and others, pursuant to international human rights standards; and
    • Implement policies informed by genuine public engagement and based on international human rights standards.

    Every day, the people of Myanmar continue to suffer escalating attacks in an environment of repression and violence. The coup is offline and online. The international and business community must resist. Continued inaction costs lives.

    Signatories:

    Access Now

    Advocacy Initiative for Development (AID)

    ARTICLE 19

    ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) Indonesia

    Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)

    Association for Progressive Communications

    Athan

    Censored Planet

    CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

    Digital Rights Collective

    Digital Rights Foundation, Pakistan

    Digital Rights Kashmir

    E-Commerce Actors Association of Burkina (2AEB)

    ELSAM (Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy)

    Fortify Rights

    Foundation for Media Alternatives

    Free Media Movement, Sri Lanka

    Heartland Initiative

    Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA)

    International Service For Human Rights (ISHR)

    Internet Protection Society, Russia

    Justice for Myanmar

    Kijiji Yeetu

    Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada

    Last Mile4D

    Legal Initiatives for Vietnam

    Manushya Foundation

    Media Foundation for West Africa  (MFWA)

    MiCT – Media in Cooperation and Transition

    Myanmar Media Support Network

    Open Net Association

    Open Observatory of Network Interference (OONI)

    Organization of the Justice Campaign

    Paradigm Initiative (PIN)

    PEN America

    Ranking Digital Rights

    Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

    SAFEnet – Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network

    Sassoufit Collective

    South Asia Media Defenders Network (SAMDEN)

    Transformative Justice Collective

    Wikimedia Community User Group Uganda

    Wikimédia France

    WITNESS

    Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET)

    Women ICT Advocacy Group (WIAG)

    World Pulse

    Zaina Foundation

    For additional information on Resist Digital Coup.

    Download:

    Digital Coup Myanmar Statement
    Digital Coup Myanmar Statement.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in VOA Tiếng Việt: Người Việt hải ngoại vận động đề cử Phạm Đoan Trang cho giải Nobel Hòa bình

    With the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their contributions in defense of freedom of expression, Vietnamese living overseas are campaigning to nominate journalist Pham Doan Trang who is regarded as a torchbearer for human rights and peaceful democracy activism for Vietnam.

    Excerpt:

    Note:   Original texts in Vietnamese.

    The Vietnamese community in many places is campaigning to nominate journalist – activist Pham Doan Trang for the Nobel Peace Prize for her outstanding contributions to the struggle for freedom and democracy for the Vietnamese people. .

    Citing the Nobel Prize Committee’s press release awarding the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their contributions to the defense of freedom of expression, Joint Statement of the Nomination Campaign for Journalist Pham Doan Trang said she deserves to be a candidate for the prestigious award.

    “Sacrificing her youth to fight for the ideal of freedom, Ms. Pham Doan Trang deserves to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize to represent all the victims who have been persecuted by the Vietnamese Communist regime throughout the years. Over the past 70 years for fighting for basic human rights,” the statement said, after summarizing the outstanding achievements and international human rights awards Pham Doan Trang has received over the past 10 years. years of operation, before being arrested on October 6, 2020.

    Worthy

    Writer Cung Thi Lan, President of Overseas Vietnamese Literature, told VOA that she “admires” the young female author not only for her courage and talent.

    “Pham Doan Trang demands more, that is democratic freedom for the whole of Vietnam, not freedom for only Pham Doan Trang. This is very difficult. That is a very big goal, the desire for the whole nation, not just selfishness for herself”, the female writer who is living in the US said about one of the reasons why she supported the nomination campaign. Pham Doan Trang.

    Ms. Cung Thi Lan and Writers of Vietnam Overseas, a branch of Writers International, have organized many activities in support of human rights in Vietnam over the years. She is also the one who wrote a letter asking Vice President Kamala Harris during his visit to Vietnam last year to bring up human rights issues and demand the release of Pham Doan Trang and other imprisoned authors in Hanoi.

    Talking about the face of the young generation of writers, writer Cung Thi Lan said: “When I follow and read the biographies and works of each individual fighting for Vietnam, I see that each person has I like the positives. But with Pham Doan Trang, I personally think Pham Doan Trang deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. Firstly, Pham Doan Trang is female. Prison is not easy for women, and Pham Doan Trang’s works are captivating. For the Nobel Prize, it’s not just the individual who has the courage that their pen attracts the reader. I think that has led to everyone, not only the Vietnamese community, but if you follow them, you will see in the world, such as on the International Literature page, Van Pen Anh, Van Pen Duc … then you will see a lot of things. People around the world support author Pham Doan Trang”.

    Sharing the same comment with writer Cung Thi Lan, Doctor Do Van Hoi, co-chair of the Vietnam Council for Foreign Affairs and Domestic Affairs, told VOA that journalist Pham Doan Trang makes him admire her courage. and her very peaceful way of fighting.

    “The people who fight are very respectable, under a regime that is always under threat,” he said. Second, she fights very peacefully. And thirdly, she can speak out all about fighting for Vietnam, which currently does not have freedom of democracy and freedom of speech. Which she dares is the fight for freedom of speech and book publishing in the country. Books are very useful to people of all times and places.”

    “In a socialist environment, of course those who follow the government will benefit, and those who go against it will be severely persecuted. However, Ms. Pham Doan Trang spoke according to the conscience of humanity, not against anything, that is freedom, democracy and human rights. If the young generation can follow that, it will be very beneficial for our country,” said Dr. Association expressed to VOA.

    Writer Cung Thi Lan believes that there are two factors that have made a young generation “intelligent”, not falling into the orbit of “indoctrinated” of the socialist education system. That is the “smart” characteristic of Vietnamese people and the development of technology, especially the emergence of the internet and social networks.

    “Thanks to the Internet and a lot of information online, children learn, learn and find that what they learn in school or what is propagated in society is completely different from the knowledge that they acquire. from the internet”.

    In addition to co-founding the Law Faculty Magazine, specializing in disseminating knowledge and information on law, politics and human rights, Pham Doan Trang’s famous works such as Popular Politics, Nonviolent Resistance, The prison raising manual… are works written by Trang in the most “popular” way, but have the ability to “liberate” many people, and become works that make the authorities panic, according to his assessment. of the Joint Declaration.

    Download the article in Vietnamese:

    Nguoi Viet hai ngoai van ong e cu Pham oan Trang cho giai Nobel Hoa binh
    Người Việt hải ngoại vận động đề cử Phạm Đoan Trang cho giải Nobel Hòa bình.pdf
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    Download the article in English:

    Overseas Vietnamese campaign to nominate Pham Doan Trang for the Nobel Peace Prize
    Overseas Vietnamese campaign to nominate Pham Doan Trang for the Nobel Peace Prize.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in CIVICUS: Repression persists as Vietnam jails human rights defender Pham Doan Trang and other activists.

    Since October 2021, several activists, journalists and human rights defenders including Pham Doan Trang have been harassed, arrested and convicted by the authorities simply for exercising their freedom of expression.  CIVICUS examines how Vietnam’s civic space has been continuously repressive, even putting pressure on Facebook to remove “anti-state” posts and silence anti-government critics in Vietnam.

    Excerpt:

    Vietnam’s civic space rating remains ‘closed’ in ratings published by the CIVICUS Monitor in December 2021. Among concerns raised by civil society through the year were the use of restrictive laws to criminalise activists, the targeting of journalists, surveillance and allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

    In January 2022, Human Rights Watch (HRW) published its annual report which found that the Vietnamese government hid behind the COVID-19 pandemic to carry out a severe crackdown on peaceful activism. HRW said that people who publicly criticise the government or Communist Party leaders on social media routinely face harassment, intimidation, intrusive surveillance, restrictions on freedom of movement, physical assault and arrest. After being detained for exercising their rights, people face abusive interrogation, long detention periods without access to legal counsel or their families, and trial by politically controlled courts meting out increasingly lengthy prison sentences.

    Since October 2021, the authorities have convicted sentenced human rights defender and journalist Pham Doan Trang to nine years’ imprisonment as well as five journalists of the now-shuttered Báo Sạch (Clean Newspaper). A number of individuals have been arrested and convicted for exercising their freedom of expression online while Facebook was accused of removing “anti-state” posts. Others arrested or jailed include political and land rights activists.

    Expression

    Prominent human rights defender and journalist jailed

    🇻🇳#Vietnam: The decision to sentence #humanrightsdefender Pham Doan Trang to 9 years in jail sends a further chilling message for media freedom and freedom of expression in the country.

    ✊We stand with her and other convicted activists and will keep demanding their release. pic.twitter.com/lG0R3xgFlV December 21, 2021

    Human rights defender and independent journalist Pham Doan Trang was sentenced to nine years in prison by The People’s Court of Hanoi on 14th December 2021. She was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City on 7th October 2020 and charged under Article 88 of the 1999 Criminal Code which criminalises “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.”

    The indictment in Pham Doan Trang’s case includes as evidence several of her published works on environmental and human rights issues, as well as two interviews she gave to Radio Free Asia and the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

    In a statement released ahead of her trial, Pham Doan Trang wrote, “The longer the prison sentence, the more demonstrable the authoritarian, undemocratic and anti-democratic nature of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.”

    According to Amnesty International, Pham Doan Trang was held incommunicado from the time of her arrest until 19th October 2021, when she was finally allowed to meet with one of her lawyers after having been denied access to her family and legal representation for over a year.

    On 25th October 2021, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) issued Opinion No. 40/2021 concerning Pham Doan Trang. The WGAD found her detention to be arbitrary and called for her immediate release.

    Pham Doan Trang is among the leading voices and best-known independent writers in Vietnamese civil society and recognised internationally for her human rights advocacy. She is the author of thousands of articles, blog entries, Facebook posts and numerous books about politics, social justice and human rights.

    In 2019, Reporters Without Borders awarded her a Press Freedom Prize in recognition of her impact. Her work at the Liberal Publishing House helped it receive the prestigious Prix Voltaire award in 2020 for its continued coverage in spite of risks and dangers of reprisals. On 20th January she was named this week as a recipient of the 2022 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, the first rights activist from Vietnam to be given the award.

    Download:

    Repression persists as Vietnam jails human rights defender Pham Doan Trang and other activists CIVICUS Tracking conditions for citizen action
    Repression persists as Vietnam jails human rights defender Pham Doan Trang and other activists – CIVICUS – Tracking conditions for citizen action.pdf
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