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Tag: Human Rights Defenders

  • 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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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine. 
  • 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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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine. 
  • 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.”

    💡
    More from The Vietnamese Magazine.
  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Sentences Former Citizen Journalist To 5 Years In Prison

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Sentences Former Citizen Journalist To 5 Years In Prison

    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 sentences former citizen journalist to 5 years in prison

    • Le Van Dung, an independent journalist also known by his pen name Le Dung Vova, was sentenced to five years in prison and five years probation for “distributing anti-state materials” under Article 88 of Vietnam’s former 1999 Penal Code during a two-hour trial at the Hanoi’s People Court on March 23.
    • Le Dung Vova runs an independent Youtube channel called “Chan Hung Nuoc Viet TV” (Reinvigorating Vietnam Television). In 2017,  he posted videos and hosted talk shows on the channel discussing various social and political issues. He also nominated himself as an independent candidate in Vietnam’s 2021 National Assembly elections but was eventually disqualified by the Vietnamese authorities.
    • One day before the trial, Human Rights Watch (HRW) condemned Hanoi’s move to prosecute Le Van Dung and urged Vietnamese authorities to drop all charges and release him. “International donors and trade partners of Vietnam should press Hanoi to listen to its critics instead of persecuting them,” said Phil Robertson, HRW’s deputy Asia director.
    • Meanwhile, the press freedom advocate Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on March 23 pushed Vietnam to “release journalist Le Van Dung immediately and stop imprisoning members of the press.” “If Vietnam wants to be taken seriously as a responsible global actor, it must stop treating journalists as criminals,” said Shawn Crispin, CPJ’s senior Southeast Asia representative.

    Vietnam upholds activist’s conviction for “distributing anti-state materials”

    • On March 24, the Nam Dinh Provincial People’s Court upheld activist Do Nam Trung’s conviction for “creating, storing, and disseminating information, documents, items, and publications opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” under Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code.
    • Last December, Trung was sentenced to 10 years in prison and four years of probation for his advocacy of the protection of human rights, the environment and Vietnam’s maritime sovereignty.
    • Meanwhile, Trinh Thi Nhung, wife of local dissident blogger Bui Van Thuan, said that an investigator of the Thanh Hoa Police’s investigation unit threatened to arrest her if she did not limit her posts regarding the activism of Thuan on social media.
    • Previously, Nhung received a police summons on March 16 and was requested to present herself at the provincial police station.
    • The investigator also demanded Nhung provide the verification of the ownership of Thuan’s and her Facebook accounts for their investigation. Nhung said the police later threatened that they had all the evidence to prosecute her after she refused to comply with their demands.
    • Dissident blogger Bui Van Thuan was arrested in 2021 and also prosecuted under Vietnam’s Article 117 for “distributing anti-state propaganda.”  Thuan is now being held in pretrial detention in Thanh Hoa Province.

    Family of land rights activist Can Thi Theu allowed to visit her in prison

    • On March 24, the family of the Duong Noi land activist Can Thi Theu was allowed to visit her after she was transferred from Hoa Binh provincial police’s detention center to Thanh Hoa’s Camp 5 prison last month, according to her daughter Trinh Thi Thao. Theu had not been allowed to write, call or visit her family for a total of 21 months, Thao added.
    • Thao wrote that Theu’s overall health remained stable, but she looked skinnier since the first instance trial. She also added that her mother was subject to different types of mental and physical torture while in custody at the Hoa Binh provincial police detention center.
    • According to Thao, the torture methods deployed by Vietnamese authorities included the isolation of her mother with HIV-infected prisoners, sending her to solitary confinement with unbearable conditions, and depriving her of basic necessities while in detention.
    • Thao added that Trinh Ba Tu had been beaten in custody and was on hunger strike for 20 days.
    • Meanwhile, Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong, was allowed to visit her husband earlier on March 8. According to Thu, Phuong’s health remains in good condition and he received the single dose Russian-made COVID-19 Sputnik Light vaccine last December.

    Vietnam abstains from United Nations’ resolution calling to send humanitarian aid to Ukraine

    • On March 24, 140 members of the UN General Assembly voted in favor of a resolution drafted by Ukraine and its allies to provide aid access and civilian protection in the country after Moscow invaded its neighbor one month ago.
    • One the one hand, Vietnam’s foreign ministry previously said in a press statement that the country “will support and contribute to UN humanitarian relief activities for Ukraine” in accordance with its permitted capabilities.
    • At the UN’s special session on March 23, Vietnamese Permanent Representative Dang Hoang Giang also reaffirmed Hanoi’s promise to join the effort of the international community in its humanitarian support for Ukraine.
    • Yet, Vietnam remained one of 38 countries that abstained from voting for the UN resolution on March 24 calling to facilitate such humanitarian assistance and operations.
    • It was also one of 35 countries on March 2 that did not vote in favor of the resolution to condemn Moscow’s aggression and demanded it to withdraw its troops.
    • According to The Vietnamese Magazine’s observations, state-owned media in Vietnam has largely avoided mentioning the country’s abstention of the UN General Assembly’s call to address the current humanitarian crisis in Ukraine.

    Ukrainian fundraising event in Hanoi canceled by police

    RFA:

    • Vietnamese police on March 18 prevented Ukrainians in Hanoi from holding a fundraiser  to help those affected by Russia’s attacks on Ukraine, the event organizers said.
    • The organizers planned to sell food and souvenirs and hold an art auction to raise money to send to Ukrainians affected by the war. They also arranged a musical performance to entertain visitors.
    • But authorities informed them on Friday that the event to be held at the Chula Fashion House in Hanoi’s Tay Ho District had to be canceled because of “police intervention.” They provided no further details. The district is known for hosting small fashion shows, musical performances and art exhibitions.
    • “We are very sad now as we have spent time and effort to prepare for the event,” a Ukrainian organizer who only gave her name as Julia told RFA. “We did all these things in order to raise funds for people in need in our home country.”

    Vietnam arrests businesswoman turned YouTube sensation for her live streaming

    RFA:

    • The Ho Chi Minh City’s Public Security Department arrested businesswoman and social media influencer Nguyen Phuong Hang for live streaming videos critical of celebrities and other figures, police announced Thursday.
    • Hang, the director of a local amusement theme park Dai Nam, was detained last Friday on charges of “abusing freedom and democratic rights” under Article 331 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code. Police said they arrested Hang for “insulting and using foul language to offend the honor and dignity of others” on her popular YouTube channel.
    • Hang’s videos criticizing celebrities and politicians have made her an internet sensation in Vietnam, with each post garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
    • The law used to prosecute Hang has also been widely deployed to silence dissenting voices and restrict freedom of speech in the country.

    China has fully militarized at least three artificial islands in the South China Sea, says U.S. Admiral

    • China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, U.S. Indo-Pacific commander Adm. John C. Aquilino told The Associated Press.
    • The Admiral added that Beijing had also been arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, lasers, jamming equipment, and fighter jets.
    • “I think over the past 20 years we’ve witnessed the largest military buildup since World War II by the PRC,” Aquilino said. “They have advanced all their capabilities and that buildup of weaponization is destabilizing to the region.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Webinar: Vietnamese Civil Society: Recent Challenges and Prospects

    Date: April 07, 2022
    Time: GMT+8 10:00 am – 11:00 am
    About: This webinar will present examples of civil society actions over the past decade and examine prospects for Vietnamese civil society’s survival and effectiveness. To what extent is civil society facing temporary setbacks, or a permanent reversal? And absent high-level policy changes, what can Vietnamese civic actors and their supporters do to remain viable in an era of Party dominance?

    Ukraine conflict echoes loudest in Vietnam, not Taiwan

    Nikkei Asia/ Derek Grossman/ March 21

    “A fellow socialist state ruled by an authoritarian Communist Party, Hanoi is under growing pressure from China, particularly around overlapping sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. While China has not threatened an invasion of Vietnam like Russia’s of Ukraine, sometimes deadly maritime skirmishes between the two Asian countries have taken place. It is not unthinkable that an incident at sea could spill over onto land, disrupting the decadeslong peace at their shared border. To the contrary, such a scenario is more likely than an invasion of Taiwan any time soon.”

    Explaining the Vietnamese Public’s Mixed Responses to the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

    The Diplomat/ To Minh Son/ March 18

    “One thing unites these public opinions and the state: The idea of “independence,” an animating yet open-ended concept in the Vietnamese psyche. Critics of the war attach the concept to ASEAN’s non-interference principle, respect of sovereignty, and the precedent it sets for Chinese aggression, while supporters refer to Vietnam’s “four no’s” principle, “national interest,” “bamboo diplomacy,” and American hypocrisy. These talking points proliferate as the conflict rages on, with each new statement by the Vietnamese state voraciously shared and reinterpreted by supporters and detractors alike.”

    The Greening of Vietnam and Environmentalism 2.0

    Geopolitical Monitor/ James Borton/ February 28

    “Vietnam’s fast-track economic growth over the past several decades arrived at the expense of the environment, leading to polluted waterways, extensive loss of wildlife, marine biodiversity, and a near collapse of the fisheries. A global environmental performance ranking places Vietnam in 141st place out of 180 economies.”

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  • Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Abstains From Condemning Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine

    Vietnam Briefing: Vietnam Abstains From Condemning Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine

    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 abstained from United Nations’ resolution condemning Russian aggression

    • On March 2, as the UN General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Vietnam remained one of 35 countries that abstained. It is also one of the only two countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN,) together with Laos, that chose not to publicly vote in favor of the resolution.
    • In the resolution, the UN stated that it deplored “the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.” It also demanded that Russia “immediately cease its use of force against Ukraine” and “immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces.”
    • Vietnamese Ambassador at the UN Dang Hoang Giang on March 1 made a speech during its special session on the situation in Ukraine, calling on involved parties to “stop the use of force, resume dialogue, and seek longterm solutions to differences.”
    • He also mentioned the need to “ensure security and safety of the people and protect essential infrastructure in accordance with international humanitarian law” and asked the international community to “continue providing humanitarian aid for civilians.”
    • Nataliya Zhynkina, chargé d’affaires a.i. at the Embassy of Ukraine in Vietnam, wrote in a Facebook status that she was “deeply disappointed” about its abstention.
    • As Russia’s closest partner and ally, the Vietnamese government has been largely silent on voicing its support for Ukraine while refraining from criticizing Russia for its unprovoked attacks on a sovereign state. Meanwhile, local pro-government internet users have also been seen widely supporting the Kremlin’s manufactured reasons for its invasion.

    Vietnamese scholars, lawyers, and activists show support for Ukrainian people

    Radio Free Asia:

    • Two groups of Vietnamese scholars, attorneys, and representatives from civil society organizations voiced support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invading army. It strikes a markedly different tone than their government’s stance, which has largely been silent on the war.
    • In a letter to Nataliya Zhynkina, three dozen Vietnamese declared themselves “freedom lovers” and urged Ukrainians to resist Russia in defense of their “young democracy,” which emerged from an authoritarian past.
    • Among the signatories were members of the Civil Society Forum, Nguyen Trong Vinh Club, Le Hieu Dang Club, Lap Quyen Dan, and Vietnam Independent Writers Initiative. They noted that while Vietnam is a communist country, many Vietnamese believe that independence and democracy — values that Ukrainians are protecting — are important.
    • The letter and a second one a group of attorneys wrote to Russian President Vladimir Putin circulated among closed groups on Facebook. They stand in sharp contrast to the Vietnamese government’s overarching passivity to the conflict.
    • The two letters also criticized Vietnamese who support Putin’s actions in Ukraine. “Given invasion threats from China, as Vietnamese people, they should have empathized with Ukrainian people instead of supporting Putin’s invasion,” Mac Van Trang, an expert on sociopolitical issues in Vietnam, said about the pro-Russia stance of several Vietnamese groups. “How stupid and narrowminded they are!”
    • Meanwhile, on March 4, a group of local activists and civil society organizations gave donations worth more than 200 million dong (US$8,755) to the Ukrainian Embassy in Vietnam via its chargé d’affaires Nataliya Zhynkina. The donations were locally raised and “surpassed 200 million after one day,” one of the organizers wrote. “We understand and […] share the losses that the Ukrainian people and its government have been bearing,” he added.

    Vietnamese activist arrested on allegations of “distributing anti-state materials”

    • Vietnam’s state media on March 1 reported that Ho Chi Minh City Police had arrested Tran Van Bang, a local dissident, and pro-democracy activist, for investigations of his alleged activities of “storing, making, and posting online materials that propagandize, distort, and defame the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.” It added that his posts had “intended to defy the government and negatively affect social security and order.”
    • Bang was subsequently prosecuted under Article 117 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code, which penalizes anyone who “distributes anti-state materials.”According to the police, the investigation agency had conducted a search of his house and “collected a number of books and materials containing anti-state information.”
    • Following Bang’s arrest, his attorney – Dang Dinh Manh – told RFA that he was in the process of registering to defend his client. Attorney Manh added that he would be allowed visitation to his client only after the police finished its investigation.
    • Bang, 61, is a member of the Le Hieu Dang Club, a local organization advocating for democracy and the protection of Vietnam’s sovereignty, and also a regular attendee at several anti-China protests in Vietnam. In 2015, he was assaulted by security forces at an anti-China rally in Ho Chi Minh City.

    Vietnamese court postponed the trial of former journalist

    • On March 3, the Hanoi People’s Court announced that the trial of former independent journalist Le Van Dung was postponed after one of the judges tested positive for COVID-19, according to attorney Ha Huy Son.
    • Previously, Dung had his trial scheduled on March 11 on accusations of “distributing anti-state propaganda.” The new trial date will be announced later, Son added.
    • Commonly known by his pen name Le Dung Vova, Dung was detained in late June last year after the police issued a national warrant for his arrest. He owned a Vietnamese language personal media channel – Chan Hung Nuoc Viet TV – where he reported and live-streamed his comments on different social and environmental issues.

    China announces South China Sea drills close to Vietnam coast

    Reuters:

    “In a statement late on Friday, the Hainan Maritime Safety Administration said the drills would start from the same day and last until March 15.

    It provided coordinates for an area roughly halfway between Hainan’s Sanya and the Vietnamese city of Hue. Sanya is home to a major Chinese naval base.”

    Salinization in Mekong Delta in Vietnam to a spike in March

    Radio Free Asia:

    “On Feb. 7, Vietnam’s Southern Institute of Water Resources Research (SIWRR) said that the Mekong Delta had been suffering from early salinity intrusion since the beginning of the dry season as China had been limiting water discharge from its upstream hydropower plants.

    According to SIWRR, China’s decision to cut water discharge from its storage reservoirs to generate electricity has been one of the key causes of the salinity levels.”

    Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

    Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine: The Diplomatic Dilemma Facing Vietnam

    The Diplomat/ Hai Hong Nguyen/ March 4

    “Prima facie, these statements reveal that Vietnam faces a dilemma in how to respond to the war in Ukraine. Reading between the lines, however, Vietnam is sending different messages not only on Russia and Ukraine but also with regard to other potential future conflicts.”

    ASEAN needs to uphold principles, not neutrality, in Ukraine war

    Nikkei Asia/ Huong Le Thu/ March 2

    “Still, ASEAN’s muted response to Russia’s attack on Ukraine is disappointing. Even more so was the joint statement by ASEAN foreign ministers calling for restraint from “all parties.”

    Trying to remain impartial when one country is bombing the unarmed civilians of another country does nothing to uphold the principle of neutrality. It is, in fact, a blurring of black and white.”

    ASEAN response to Ukraine crisis a show of ‘diplomatic cowardice’

    RFA/ Zachary Abuza/ March 2

    “Already riddled with divisions over Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, the damming of the Mekong, the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya, and the 2021 coup d’êtat in Myanmar, ASEAN, through its toothless response to the Russian invasion, yet again is proving inept in collectively addressing a security issue with potential implications for Southeast Asia.”

    What’s in a Name: The Promise and Peril of a US-Vietnam ‘Strategic Partnership’

    The Diplomat/ Phuong Vu/ March 2

    “It should not be controversial to point out that Vietnam and the U.S. share a deeper, more multi-faceted relationship than some nations higher up in Hanoi’s diplomatic hierarchy. Since 2013, the U.S.-Vietnam comprehensive partnership has made significant strides. In 2020, bilateral trade reached $92.2 billion, more than nine times higher than Vietnam’s trade with India. The U.S. is Vietnam’s 11th largest investor, with nearly $10 billion invested in the country.”

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    More from The Vietnamese Magazine.
  • Pham Doan Trang in Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards – Pham Doan Trang: UN experts call for release of Vietnamese human rights defender

    Pham Doan Trang in Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards – Pham Doan Trang: UN experts call for release of Vietnamese human rights defender

    United Nations human rights experts call on the Vietnamese government to immediately release acclaimed journalist and activist Pham Doan Trang after serving a year in detention.  They accuse the authorities of “criminalising the exercise of their right to freedom of opinion”.

    Excerpt:

    On 30 October 2021 AFP reported that a group of UN human rights experts called for the immediate release of Vietnamese activist Pham Doan Trang (pic), who is awaiting trial after a year in detention. The prominent Vietnamese author, who campaigns for press freedom and civil rights, was arrested in October last year.

    Trang has pushed for change on a host of controversial issues, including land grabs and LGBTQ rights. “Pham Doan Trang is only the latest victim of the authorities’ use of vaguely-defined propaganda charges to persecute writers, journalists and human rights defenders,” the experts said in a statement.

    The UN experts said the charges against her stem from at least three human rights reports she co-authored, plus interviews with foreign media. They accuse the authorities of “criminalising the exercise of their right to freedom of opinion”.

    “We urge the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Ms Pham Doan Trang.“

    The UN experts included the special rapporteurs on the right to freedom of opinion, on human rights defenders, and on the right to physical and mental health.

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    Pham Doan Trang UN experts call for release of Vietnamese human rights defender Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Asia Democracy Chronicles: When calls to free arrested activists are not enough

    LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Asia Democracy Chronicles: When calls to free arrested activists are not enough

    This op-ed article was written in Vietnamese by Trinh Huu Long and was published in Luât Khoa on October 10, 2020 and on May 6, 2021 in The Vietnamese.

    Title: When calls to free arrested activists are not enough
    Publish Date: May 18, 2021
    Publisher: Asia Democracy Chronicles

    Excerpt:

    Every time an activist is arrested, several campaigns for his or her release emerge in response to the government’s persecution of human rights. This method is the oldest, most common, and most familiar form the common citizenry uses to call for justice.

    I have been a part of those movements and have even organized several campaigns many times in the past nine years.

    Yet, despite everything, I constantly ask myself, do these calls to action actually do any good? “How long am I going to do this,” I ask myself, “and are there any benefits in it or not?” These are just some of the questions that constantly linger in the back of my mind.

    Most likely, the arrested activists will remain in prison; their sentence will be upheld. In fact, the length of their imprisonment might even be extended. Despite all our work, more and more people are still being incarcerated. There has been no change in our laws or institutions, despite all our efforts at home and abroad.

    And even if we’re blessed with the smallest amount of luck, those arrested are granted asylum in another country, defeating the primary purpose of our campaigns.

    Pham Doan Trang, imprisoned activist, blogger, journalist, and co-founder of The Vietnamese and Luat Khoa online magazines, has put some of my concerns to rest.

    “I do not need my own freedom; I need something much more significant than that: freedom and democracy for the whole of Vietnam,” she wrote in a letter entitled, “Just In Case I Am Imprisoned.” “This goal sounds grandiose and far-fetched, but reaching it is actually possible with everyone’s help.”

    Doan Trang wrote the letter on May 27, 2019, her 41st birthday, while she was on the run from the police. She wanted this letter to be released to the public only when she was indeed convicted and not when she was merely detained. Eventually, she was arrested and now faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

    If Doan Trang merely wanted freedom for herself, she had at least two opportunities to attain this in the past.

    The first was after her nine-day criminal detention in 2009. If she was obedient and ceased all her activities regarding sensitive topics and cut all her ties with social elements deemed “anti-state,” she would have continued to live a safe and full life.

    The second was when she studied in the United States and could have chosen a path towards residency or citizenship. In fact, at least three agencies and organizations wanted to sponsor her permanent stay in America.

    So, why did Doan Trang choose to return to her homeland? It is because she understands that her freedom means nothing compared to the whole of Vietnam. Vietnam needs people to step up and work for the freedom of everyone.

    Such a concept is simple and easy to understand, yet making it a reality is challenging to attain.

    Doan Trang could have chosen to contribute to Vietnam’s fight from the outside as many others, including myself, are doing. Yet, she chose the most complex, most painful, and most difficult way to contribute to the cause. She returned home and faced the problem head-on. She published various works, wrote books, and even taught about democracy and freedom right in front of the police.

    Doan Trang often told me that the best way to fight is to be an example, to be an inspiration for others to do the same. Only then can we, as a society, start to see what democracy, human rights, and the rule of law look like in reality. Words without actions are meaningless.

    Sadly, I do not know how successful Doan Trang’s efforts have been, nor how many lives have been touched by her words and deeds. But regarding her arrest in October 2020, I would like to say this.

    Activists have a saying called “sharing fire,” which means sharing the tasks and responsibilities of dangerous activities with many people to reduce individual risk. Sometimes we coordinate with each other, but more often than not this is not the case; people passively participate in this phenomenon without discussing plans in advance.

    What if the deeds Doan Trang had done in the past five years were divided among five or 10 people? Would she still have been arrested? More recently, if she had not produced the two Dong Tam reports, would she be in jail right now? (Dong Tam, a village on the outskirts of Hanoi, was “the target of a violent raid by police January 2020 with the aim of suppressing resistance by residents contesting the seizure of their land by the authorities,” reports Reporters Without Borders.)

    She often told me that these things are not difficult to accomplish and that there are many people who share similar ideas with her. If so, why are there so few people standing up for what is right? Granted, some people do, and Doan Trang was one of them. Yet because of inaction, apathy, or fear, she and the handful of brave, noble souls like her shoulder the entire risk.

    Many of them will go to jail, while those who are content to watch from the sidelines will get angry again. They will once again clamor for the release and freedom of those imprisoned. But in the end, nothing gets done. Rinse and repeat.

    Will we Vietnamese forever play the same old games with the government? Will we continue to sheepishly and ineffectively demand the release of our friends? Then, when nothing gets done, will we once again forget and return to the tolerated normalcy of life in this great prison that the government has made?

    Things will be different if more people actively do their part to create social change, just like Doan Trang. Doing so has two advantages.

    The first is to “share the fire” with those still fighting to reduce their risk and limit their chance of getting captured. Government resources are limited, and they can only invest in monitoring and controlling a few people.

    Those outside Vietnam can do their part as well. For instance, to write something similar to the Dong Tam Report, we just need to collect data on the internet and conduct interviews online or through the phone. It is not necessary to live in Vietnam physically to accomplish these tasks.

    The second is to normalize press freedom, independent publishing, and political activities considered “sensitive.”

    When these activities become commonplace, the government will be forced to accept them. This was observed in the past when private businesses were considered illegal. Nonetheless, they continued to operate, and gradually the government had to admit that these establishments were a fundamental component of the country’s economy. Since 1986, the state no longer considers owning a private business a criminal offense.

    For me, the best way to help Doan Trang and people like her is to play a more active role. Eventually, everyone will benefit when the political space expands. No one will ever be arrested or imprisoned again for writing or publishing books. I will no longer have to clamor for one person’s freedom every single time someone gets arrested. I will finally be able to rest.

    Calls for freedom are good, but they are often not enough. We should release ourselves from the shackles of fear, apathy, and apprehension to actively fight for progress and change.

    Doan Trang has completed her mission and the responsibility now falls on our shoulders. Even if she were to be released tomorrow, even if she chooses to stay in Vietnam or decided to leave, the fight continues in each one of us.

    And if you love Doan Trang, I implore you to do what she would have done.

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    When calls to free arrested activists are not enough Asia Democracy Chronicles
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