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Tag: Trinh Huu Long

  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Nasher: Grim picture of publishing in Vietnam

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-founder Trinh Huu Long expresses his apprehensions on freedom to publish in Vietnam, citing the “untouchables” in Vietnam.  Pham Doan Trang joins the session with a pre-recorded message, as she receives the IPA’s Prix Voltaire, its freedom to publish prize for her courage to o publish works critical of the government and calling for democracy in Vietnam.

    Title: Grim picture of publishing in Vietnam
    Publish Date: October 18, 2020
    Publisher: Nasher News

    Excerpt:

    Trinh Huu Long, editor in chief of Luat Khoa, a Vietnamese language legal magazine, said that there are four “untouchables” in Vietnam.  “You cannot criticize the General Secretary of the Communist Party, the president, the prime minister or the speaker of the House,” he said.  “Everyone fears the government.”

    But there was a hint of optimism.  Long noted that change was inevitable. “Vietnam doesn’t have much choice,” he said.  “It will have to open up to democratic countries for economic development, it will have to become more open and respect the rule of law and human rights – it will become a free country in time.”

    The session included a moving pre-recorded address by the author and journalist and co-founder of Liberal Publishing House, Pham Doan Trang, who was arrested on 6 October.  She has received the IPA’s Prix Voltaire, its freedom to publish prize, and described in her address the difficulties faced by those who choose to publish work critical of the government or calling for democracy.  “We have to move from place to place, we cannot buy printing machinery because it will be picked up by CCTV, so our publishing is about hand-gluing the books.  Book delivery is dangerous too.  The police can disguised themselves as booksellers and make an arrest.  Two book-shippers were arrested and tortured.”

    She concluded her address with these words: “Books are not simply books for us – books mean our lives, books means freedom.”

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    Grim picture of publishing in Vietnam Nasher News
    Grim picture of publishing in Vietnam _ Nasher News.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long in BBC News Tiếng Việt VN: Giới đấu tranh nói hoãn luật biểu tình ‘đẩy dân vào thế rủi ro’

    Luật Khoa editor-in-chief Trinh Huu Long sits down with BBC News Tiếng Việt to share his thoughts on the delays by the Vietnamese government to come up with a law on protests.

    Excerpt:

    Note:  Original texts in Vietnamese.

    The Vietnamese government continues to delay the Law on Protests due to “afraid of hostile forces to disrupt”. What dangers do people face and what should be done to protect their rights?

    The Vietnamese government has just said that it has not yet proposed to include a number of bills, including the Law on Protests, into the law-making program for 2020 and 2021.

    Analysts say that the real reason behind the decision to delay the Protest law for nearly 10 years was “to protect the regime”.

    “In a less transparent environment like Vietnam, we hardly have an answer to the real reason for the delay. I can only surmise that this is purely a political issue, a safety issue. of the regime,” said Mr. Trinh Huu Long, jurist, editor-in-chief of Luat Khoa magazine, in an interview with BBC News Vietnamese on May 14.

    Fear of arguments, fear of losing privileges

    Activist Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh from the US told BBC News Vietnamese on May 13: “The Law on Protests is like a ball being kicked back and forth from the Government to the National Assembly to the Ministry of Public Security and the last reason. The last but most authentic announcement by the Ministry of Public Security has just been announced by the Ministry of Public Security that is fear of hostile forces taking advantage of it. With past experiences, related to student movement protests in Saigon before 1975. , the Communist Party understands better than anyone the concept of ‘taking advantage of protests’ to oppose the government, this is the biggest reason to delay the Law on Protests.”

    From Taiwan, jurist, journalist, and editor-in-chief of Law Faculty Trinh Huu Long said that one of the reasons for delaying the publication of the draft Law on Protests by the Ministry of Public Security was fear of being publicly commented and opposed. defend.

    Trịnh Hữu Long (giữa) tại một trong những cuộc biểu tình mùa hè 2011
    Take pictures,

    Trinh Huu Long (centre) at one of the 2011 summer protests

    He analyzed: “According to the normal process, a bill that needs to be passed takes at least 2 sessions of the National Assembly, which means a year. First, they will submit to the National Assembly for comments at a session, Sooner or later, the law can be passed at the next session.In that year, the draft must be announced to the public, the National Assembly deputies must give opinions, the press will have to step in. not only the domestic press but also the international press. People will participate a lot, especially through social networks.”

    “We can imagine that if the Ministry of Public Security and the Government submit the bill to the National Assembly, it will open up a huge discussion space. If we are the Government, we are the Communist Party of Vietnam, Do we want to open such a large playground that lasts a year for all participants?”, he added.

    Activist Nguyen Trang Nhung analyzed: “When having substantive rights, people will exercise their rights, especially those who are interested in politics and society will speak out more, express their attitudes more than by protests. This puts pressure on government agencies, forcing the government to adjust existing policies and ways of working, which is what the government does not want.”

    Người dân tặng hoa cho lực lượng cảnh sát giao thông trong cuộc biểu tình Formosa 5/2016 tại TP HCM
    Take pictures,

    People give flowers to traffic police during the Formosa 5/2016 protest at Ben Thanh market area, Ho Chi Minh City

    “Not only have the right to protest, the Vietnamese people have long been restricted in many other human and civil rights. Government agencies always want to maintain that so that they can easily govern and act arbitrarily. act as they please. If there are laws now and the right to protest is exercised substantively, the government will lose its privileges. They can’t behave arbitrarily anymore.”

    “If the promotion of these rights goes further, leading to multi-party, for example, then the Communist Party of Vietnam will no longer have a unique position,” added Ms. Trang Nhung.

    Lawyer Trinh Huu Long said that the Ministry of Public Security and the Government do not want to lose their privilege, which is to “use law enforcement documents to control protests”.

    In another aspect, Mr. Long also commented that the delay of the protest law is also related to the political life of the Minister of Public Security himself: “This is a pivotal period in preparing senior personnel before the Congress. Party. As one of the candidates for the top leadership positions, Minister To Lam will not risk introducing a bill that will cause a stir, which could affect his political chances.

    What do people have to do?

    Citing the fact that Vietnam does not have an independent court, an impartial and objective trial, it is difficult for the people to have tools to protect as well as the abuse of power by the executive side is difficult to control, lawyer Trinh Huu Long said: Because of the absence of such legal protection mechanisms, people who want to protect their rights have to resort to external mechanisms, such as international organizations and foreign governments. equally regrettable”.

    “When the number of people who exercise and support the right to protest is large enough, then the behavior of the government will have to change, and change in a positive direction. The story lies in the correlation of power between the two. The people and the government We are talking about the law with an autocratic government, with people who completely disobey even the law, even the constitution they put in. This is not a legal story. law. It is a political story,” he analyzed.

    “People, if they want their rights to be respected, have no choice but to persevere and courageously exercise their rights when necessary, not wait for the Ministry of Public Security, not the Government, no waiting for the National Assembly to grant me the right to protest.”

    According to Mr. Long, people need to realize that “the right is in themselves, not in any law”. “Once we have enough people to exercise that right, we will change the situation,” he stressed.

    Download article in Vietnamese:

    VN Gioi au tranh noi hoan luat bieu tinh ay dan vao the rui ro BBC News Tieng Viet
    VN_ Giới đấu tranh nói hoãn luật biểu tình ‘đẩy dân vào thế rủi ro’ – BBC News Tiếng Việt.pdf
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    VN Protesters say postponing protest law puts people at risk BBC News Vietnamese
    VN_ Protesters say postponing protest law ‘puts people at risk’ – BBC News Vietnamese.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long in Al Jazeera: Vietnam’s battalions of ‘cyber-armies’ silencing online dissent

    Force 47 also known as Vietnam’s cyber armies under the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) hacks anti-government websites and asserts its control over online content by spreading pro-government messages in order to stamp out any form of dissent.

    Excerpt:

    Growing marking of 96 million people

    As Vietnamese searched for more information about what happened in Dong Tam a week ago, some Facebook users reported receiving the message online: “Due to legal requirements in your country, we have restricted access to your profile on Facebook. This means that other people in your country cannot see your profile, and may not be able to interact with you over Messenger.”

    Vietnam has a population of 96 million. With more than 60 million Facebook users, it is the platform’s one of the fastest-growing markets.

    Newspaper - Vietnam
    Reporters Without Borders ranks Vietnam near the bottom of its 2019 World Press Freedom Index at 176 out of 180 countries listed [Luong Thai Linh/EPA]

    “Facebook is the main source of independent news now in Vietnam,” said Trinh Huu Long, a co-founder of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam.

    “The government has been working with Facebook to try to control content posted by dissidents and independent voices,” he added.

    Searches for protests in Hong Kong have also been affected. Many, like Anh Chi, blame the cybersecurity law for the filtered information.

    “They know people in Vietnam are active on social media, and they follow the news, especially with what’s happening in Hong Kong every day,” he said. “The government fears that one day people in Vietnam will join such protests.”

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    Vietnams battalions of cyber armies silencing online dissent Freedom of the Press News Al Jazeera
    Vietnam’s battalions of ‘cyber-armies’ silencing online dissent _ Freedom of the Press News _ Al Jazeera.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Al Jazeera: ‘Pushing boundaries’: The rise of Samizdat publishing in Vietnam

    In Vietnam, illegal copying and distribution of books are banned by the government.  Liberal Publishing House publishes and distributes books Vietnam’s government does not wants its citizens to read.

    Excerpt:

    The government has long censored and controls its media and publishing industries and imposed tight restrictions on them.

    The Law on Publishing prohibits “propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,” the “spread of reactionary ideology” and “the disclosure of secrets of the [Communist] Party, State, military, defence, economics, or external relations.”

    Liberal Publishing House has published 11 books from eight authors during the past year on politically sensitive topics including China’s role in Vietnam and controversial legislation on Special Economic Zones. It has also released a legal handbook for jailed activists.

    It is the first Samizdat in Vietnam to launch a website and Facebook page.

    “We have tens of thousands of readers despite police repression and state censorship,” Ha said. “Many of them are members of the Communist Party.”

    There is no way to verify these claims, but in October, Vietnamese authorities cracked down on Liberal Publishing House, its distribution network and readers.

    In November, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch released a joint statement calling for an end to the intimidation and harassment of people either associated with the publisher’s activities or trying to obtain copies of Samizdat books.

    By printing books they can make independent information look professional and legitimate to readers. If (readers) can hold it in their hands they trust it more.

    BY TRINH HUU LONG, CO-FOUNDER, LEGAL INITIATIVES FOR VIETNAM.

    According to Amnesty International’s Vietnam campaign team, police have questioned nearly 100 people for either owning or reading books printed by Liberal Publishing House.

    “They know how dangerous and damaging [Samizdat publishing] is to their regime,” said Trinh Huu Long, a democracy activist and co-founder of Legal Initiatives for Vietnam.

    “By printing books, they can make independent information look professional and legitimate to readers. If they can hold it in their hands they trust it more. It’s valuable.”

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    Pushing boundaries The rise of Samizdat publishing in Vietnam Human Rights News Al Jazeera
    ‘Pushing boundaries’_ The rise of Samizdat publishing in Vietnam _ Human Rights News _ Al Jazeera.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Journal of Democracy: Thirtieth Anniversary of Polish Democracy

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-director Trinh Huu Long accepted Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Prize for Impact in behalf of Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang, who has been served with travel restrictions.

    Excerpt:

    Reporters Without Borders Prize

    On September 12, Reporters Without Borders awarded its Press Freedom Prize for Impact to Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang. Trang is the editor of the online human-rights magazine The Vietnamese, and founder of the online magazine Luat Khoa. Trang has been repeatedly beaten and imprisoned for her activism. Trinh Huu Long, Trang’s coeditor at Luat Khoa, accepted the award on her behalf when travel restrictions prevented Trang from attending the ceremony in Berlin. Speaking via video, Trang said, “We will fight until journalism is no longer seen as a crime anywhere in the world.”

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    News and Notes Journal of Democracy
    News and Notes _ Journal of Democracy.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long in Sveriges Radio: Han kämpar för yttrandefrihet i Vietnam

    LIV’s Trinh Huu Long in Sveriges Radio: Han kämpar för yttrandefrihet i Vietnam

    Full Article Translation in English:

    In Vietnam, the situation is difficult for bloggers and journalists. The authorities’ persecution means that journalists have to change homes all the time.

    In Southeast Asia, there is great concern about the lack of freedom of expression. In Vietnam, with communist rule, it is complicated work to get information out.

    Journalist Long Trinh from Vietnam leads the organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam with web-based newspapers. It is a way to build a foundation for independent media with high-quality journalism.

    – We see many violations of human rights in society as a whole. Bloggers and journalists are exposed both online and in real life. Vietnam is on a par with China and North Korea, among the worst on Reporters Without Borders’ press freedom index, says Long Trinh.

    Long Trinh lives in exile and Ekot got an interview when he was visiting Sweden.

    “Communism fell in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union 30 years ago, but it survived in Vietnam and still dominates the entire political system,” he said.

    – The Vietnamese government can not control the internet as much as China can, but fake news and hatred are spread against dissent.

    Authorities are trying to shut down websites using Facebook and Google. Vulnerable journalists have to move between homes all the time, they are beaten by police and imprisoned. According to Long Trinh, it is most difficult to report on politics:

    – But there are incredibly brave people who do not give up, he emphasizes.

    His hope is that Sweden and the EU will put more pressure on Vietnam and other countries where human rights are not a matter of course.

    – Do not abandon the very democratic values ​​in Europe for quick solutions, he urges.

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    Han kampar for yttrandefrihet i Vietnam Nyheter Ekot Sveriges Radio
    Han kämpar för yttrandefrihet i Vietnam – Nyheter (Ekot) _ Sveriges Radio.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in Nguoi Viet: Blogger Phạm Đoan Trang được trao giải ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’

    Pham Doan Trang in Nguoi Viet: Blogger Phạm Đoan Trang được trao giải ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’

    The morning after accepting the “Prize for Impact” award, journalist and blogger Pham Doan Trang sat down with Nguoi-Viet for a private interview where she reveals her thoughts on the Press Freedom Prize award and the challenges that she and other conscientious Vietnamese journalists are facing in order to do their job.

    Title: Blogger Phạm Đoan Trang được trao giải ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’
    Publish Date: September 13, 2019
    Publisher: Nguoi Viet

    Full Article:

    Note:  Original text in Vietnamese.

    Blogger Pham Doan Trang was awarded the ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’

    BERLIN, Germany (NV) – At dawn Vietnam time on Friday, September 13, blogger and freelance journalist Pham Doan Trang was honored to be one of three people jointly awarded the “Press Freedom Prize 2019” by Reporter. Reporters Without Borders.

    The award ceremony took place solemnly at the Deutsches Theater in Berlin. The person who represented blogger Pham Doan Trang to receive the award was Mr. Trinh Huu Long, editor-in-chief of Law Faculty Magazine.

    Pham Doan Trang is the author of many books that are banned from circulation in Vietnam: “Popular Politics,” “A Handbook on Raising Prisoners,” “Non-Violent Resistance”…

    She was awarded in the category “The Prize For Impact”

    The other two are Saudi journalist Eman al Nafjan and Maltese journalist Caroline Muscat. The special thing is that all three are female journalists.

    Reporters Without Borders said in a statement: “The Impact Journalist Award is given to a journalist whose work has made concrete improvements to press freedom and pluralism, or increased awareness of the issues of the press. This topic was given to Vietnamese journalist and blogger Pham Doan Trang. She is a co-founder of Luat Khoa, an online magazine specializing in providing information on legal issues, and also edited the English-language website The Vietnamese to help Vietnamese people protect their human rights. them and against the authoritarian rule of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Pham Doan Trang is the author of many books, including one that defends the rights of the LGBT community in Vietnam. She was beaten by the police for her works and was detained twice in several days in 2018.”

    Before the award ceremony took place, journalist Pham Doan Trang explained to VOA Vietnamese Language about the decision not to go to Germany to attend this event: “As far as I know, the German ambassador intervened with the Vietnamese government to they returned the right to carry the passport as well as guarantee the freedom of entry and exit of some Vietnamese activists including myself. The German side is very enthusiastic, but in my experience, they have to negotiate with the Vietnamese police anyway such as: not campaigning, not propagandizing, not slandering the country… otherwise they will prosecute ; they’ll also think they’ll have a hard time deciding whether or not I’ll go home, so it’s best for me to decide not to go.”

    At the end of August, when the news of the nomination for the “Press Freedom Prize 2019” was spread, journalist Pham Doan Trang wrote on his personal page: “I also want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to the countless people who have helped me. supported me over the years, quietly or openly, with things that might have been trivial to them. Like many people who have worriedly inquired about my health and sent me medicine. Like thousands of readers have bought, read and read ‘Popular Politics,’ ‘The Prisoner’s Handbook,’ ‘Non-Violent Resistance’… despite the stalking and hunting of the police and public opinion, defying summons for ‘reactionary reading.’”

    “What can I do to repay them? I understand that I can never be grateful to them all, and no words of thanks are enough. I can only say: For me, it doesn’t matter whether I win or not, because there is no prize as precious as your love for me. And to repay the favor, there is nothing like trying, with all that we can, to contribute to a democratic, free Vietnam – in our lifetime,” according to Facebook Pham Doan Trang.

    “Fighting for freedom must accept the loss of a large part of freedom and many other things”

    On the morning of September 13, right after learning of the award, journalist Pham Doan Trang gave a private interview to Nguoi Viet daily.

    *Vietnamese: Looking back on the journey from a state-owned newspaper reporter to the 2019 Press Freedom award of Reporters Without Borders, what do you see yourself having to trade, or lose?

    – Journalist Pham Doan Trang: I think I also lost a lot, but I don’t want to talk about those losses, because my concept has long been “do not cry, ask not to do.” Having accepted to go on the road to fight for freedom, surely it takes a large part of freedom and many other things.

    *Vietnamese: At the same time as you received the award, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam denied that Vietnam was in the top 10 countries with the most strict press censorship in the world, what is your comment?

    – Journalist Pham Doan Trang: I am neither surprised nor outraged by that reaction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam and the Vietnamese state in general. However, I do know for sure that Ms. Le Thi Thu Hang, as a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has a wealth of experience in dealing with the Vietnamese press and has extensive relationships with Vietnamese journalists. Nam and she understand too well the reality of whether or not Vietnam controls press freedom or not, how tightly it is controlled… Having understood that fact so well that it can still be denied, we must recognize it as an official or cadre. of the Communist Party and State of Vietnam is very good at living both sides and lying without being ashamed.

    *Vietnamese: According to you, what challenges, or sufferings, are the journalists in Vietnam facing if they love their job and have a conscience for journalism?

    –Journalist Pham Doan Trang: Good question but too broad, to answer it I would need to write at least one book. As succinctly as possible, for me, the biggest torment for a conscientious Vietnamese journalist is the feeling of being powerless, unable to do anything to change the situation, solve problems, save lives. victims of injustice, poverty and human rights violations in Vietnam. (T.K.)

    Download article in Vietnamese:

    Blogger Pham oan Trang uoc trao giai Press Freedom Prize 2019
    Blogger Phạm Đoan Trang được trao giải ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’.pdf
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    Nguoi Viet Blogger Pham Doan Trang was awarded the Press Freedom Prize 2019
    Nguoi Viet Blogger Pham Doan Trang was awarded the ‘Press Freedom Prize 2019’.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in BBC Vietnamese Giải Tự do Báo chí: Phạm Đoan Trang đấu tranh bằng ngòi bút

    Trinh Huu Long co-founder of Luật Khoa Magazine and The Vietnamese received the 2019 Press Freedom award by Reporters Without Borders in behalf of colleague Pham Doan Trang.  According to him, the Prize for Impact made Ms. Pham not only a journalist but also a democracy activist who uses her pen to help change the political rule in Vietnam.

    Excerpt:

    Note:  Original texts in Vietnamese.

    With Pham Doan Trang being awarded the 2019 Freedom of the Press award, it is hoped that domestic authorities will “reduce the intensity of their repression against the individual”, lawyer Trinh Huu Long told the BBC.

    A freelance journalist, blogger, and a well-known democracy fighter in Vietnam has just been awarded the 2019 Press Freedom award by Reporters Without Borders, in the Influence category.

    Representing journalist Pham Doan Trang at the award ceremony was Mr. Trinh Huu Long, who co-founded two websites of Luat Khoa Magazine and The Vietnamese with Ms. Doan Trang.

    “We hope that by being more known to the world [through this award], and more recognized by the world for the efforts of independent Vietnamese journalists, the Vietnamese government will reduce the intensity of the violence. pressure on Pham Doan Trang personally and the community of Vietnamese independent journalists as well as Vietnamese activists,” Mr. Trinh Huu Long said from Berlin.

    “We hope that international pressure will help gradually improve the Vietnamese government’s attitude, behavior and policies towards independent journalists,” added Mr. Trinh Huu Long.

    This event made her “not only a journalist but also a democracy activist,” said Trinh Huu Long.

    “Pham Doan Trang tries to use the most popular language, to explain in the most understandable way the seemingly abstract concepts, difficult to understand about democracy, human rights, the rule of law, the rights people have.”

    She wants to “use her pen to wish to change the political regime in Vietnam”, Mr. Trinh Huu Long added.

    Download article in Vietnamese:

    Giai Tu do Bao chi Pham oan Trang au tranh bang ngoi but BBC News Tieng Viet
    Giải Tự do Báo chí_ Phạm Đoan Trang đấu tranh bằng ngòi bút – BBC News Tiếng Việt.pdf
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    Press Freedom Prize Pham Doan Trang struggles with pen BBC News Vietnamese
    Press Freedom Prize_ Pham Doan Trang struggles with pen – BBC News Vietnamese.pdf
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  • Pham Doan Trang in Taz: Preis für vietnamesische Journalistin Pham Doan Trang in Berlin geehrt

    Pham Doan Trang, one of Vietnam’s famous dissident, received her Press Freedom Award from Reporters Without Borders via a recorded video message as the journalist is currently in hiding.  Vietnam is notorious for keeping a tight grip on press freedom and expression.

    Excerpt:

    Note:  Original texts in German.

    She can enjoy Vietnamese river landscapes. She likes to pick up the guitar and sing along. But the law graduate Pham Doan Trang sees her profession as journalism. On Thursday, Reporters Without Borders honored the 41-year-old Vietnamese with the prestigious Press Freedom Awards in the Sustainable Journalism category.

    For the award ceremony in the Kammerspiele in Berlin, she sent a video message, a greeting from a country without freedom of the press, as she says. She couldn’t travel there herself because Trang lives underground in Vietnam without a valid passport. If she went home, she would risk arrest. “But journalism is not a crime,” she warns in her video message.

    She began her journalistic career at the semi-public newspaper Vietnam Express . She has published nine books, including a bestseller: in 2008 her volume of portraits of gay and lesbian people was published. The subject of homosexuality was a taboo subject in Vietnam for a long time, and the volume of portraits helped to raise public opinion about it.

    Understandable language, wide reach

    In her journalistic work, Trang advocates for the civil rights of her fellow human beings and encourages them to claim such rights. She writes in an easy-to-understand language, allowing her to reach many readers on the internet.

    Her colleague Trinh Huu Long, who lives in Taiwan, accepted the award for Pham Doan Trang. “She is the main journalistic voice within Vietnam criticizing the government and has great empathy for oppressed people. Her mission is independent journalistic information,” says the man who helps her from Taiwan to find publishers for her books and articles. In Vietnam, the press is state-controlled.

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    Prize for Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang honored in Berlin tazde
    Prize for Vietnamese journalist_ Pham Doan Trang honored in Berlin – taz.de.pdf
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  • LIV’s Trinh Huu Long and Pham Doan Trang in Radio Free Asia: Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom

    Author and journalist  Pham Doan Trang, co-founder of Luật Khoa and The Vietnamese, in her video message during the 2019 Press Freedom Prize ceremony in Berlin, said that she will continue her passion for truth and commitment to change… hoping for a democratic Vietnam.  

    Legal Initiatives for VIETNAM co-founder Trinh Huu Long confirmed that the prominent journalist, now a Prize for Impact honoree, has suffered severe injuries in her arms and legs after being beaten by the police in August 2018.

    Excerpt:  

    Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has awarded its 2019 Press Freedom Prize to three female journalists, including prominent Vietnamese blogger Pham Doan Trang, who authored a book on political engagement that angered authorities in Hanoi.

    Trang, who has vowed to remain in Vietnam until the country becomes a democracy, was awarded RSF’s Prize for Impact in absentia for her work which “has led to concrete improvements in journalistic freedom, independence and pluralism, or to an increase in awareness of these matters.”

    In a video Trang recorded that was played during the award ceremony in Berlin, Germany, on Thursday, the author of Politics for Everyone said that while Vietnam’s Constitution contains language which, among other things, guarantees the protection of human rights such as freedom of speech, “it doesn’t mean anything.”

    “We have all the human rights guaranteed by the Constitution, but you know, in fact, ‘all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than the others,’” Trang said, referencing George Orwell’s political satire Animal Farm.

    “The more-equal-than-others ‘animals’ like to see us [journalists] as losers, as their hostile forces, as their state enemy, enemy of the people, and fake news producers,” she said, adding that “they do everything they can to harm us, to destroy us.”

    “But it doesn’t matter much to us because we have what they don’t have. We have a passion for truth, we have a commitment to change, and we have hope … [that Vietnam will] soon turn into a democracy … where journalists like me, like us, can travel everywhere and not [have] to hide from the police, but can listen to unheard voices and tell untold stories, to bring information and knowledge to the people.”

    Trang, who also founded the online legal magazine Luat Khoa and edits another web-based rights journal called thevietnamese, noted that Vietnam is home to nearly 1,000 official media outlets, but said the country has “only one editor-in-chief—the head of the propaganda department of the [ruling] Communist Party.”

    And while some 20,000 journalists have been granted press cards or have been licensed to report, she said that “thousands of people have been imprisoned over the past two decades just because they spoke their mind.”

    Trang thanked RSF for the recognition and said she also received her award on behalf of others “fighting for the truth” around the world.

    “We will fight until journalism is no longer seen as a crime anywhere in the world,” she said.

    ‘Struggling with injuries’

    Huu Long Trinh, a Vietnamese journalist based in Taipei, Taiwan, who co-founded the civil society organization Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV), accepted RSF’s Prize For Courage on Trang’s behalf, noting that the blogger is “struggling with severe injuries in her arms and legs” after she was beaten by police because of her work in August 2018.

    A colleague told RFA’s Vietnamese Service at the time that Trang was among at least four activists who were attacked after policemen stormed into a cafe and broke up dissident singer Nguyen Tin’s “Memory of Saigon” show. She was then taken by police to an unknown road outside the city and “beaten further to the point of disfiguring her face.”

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    Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom Radio Free Asia
    Vietnamese Blogger Pham Doan Trang Receives Award For Work to Improve Journalistic Freedom — Radio Free Asia.pdf
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