[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6432 Introduced in House (IH)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6432
To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2010
Mr. Cao introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Vietnam Democracy
Promotion Act of 2010''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Purpose.
TITLE I--ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM
Sec. 101. Authorization of assistance.
Sec. 102. Authorization of appropriations.
TITLE II--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND REFUGEE POLICY
Sec. 201. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Vietnam.
Sec. 202. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with
Vietnam.
Sec. 203. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Vietnam.
TITLE III--CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE
GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM
Sec. 301. Conditions.
Sec. 302. Definitions.
Sec. 303. Effective date.
TITLE IV--ANNUAL REPORT ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM
Sec. 401. Annual report.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The relationship between the United States and the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam has grown substantially since the
end of the trade embargo in 1994, with annual trade between the
countries reaching more than $15,200,000,000 in 2008.
(2) The transition of the Government of Vietnam toward
greater economic activity and trade has not been matched by
greater political freedom and substantial improvements in basic
human rights for the citizens of Vietnam, including freedom of
religion, expression, association, and assembly.
(3) The United States Congress agreed to Vietnam becoming
an official member of the World Trade Organization in 2006,
amidst assurances that the Government of Vietnam was steadily
improving its human rights record and would continue to do so.
(4) Despite assurances that Vietnam's accession to the
World Trade Organization would be met with greater respect for
human rights, the Government of Vietnam has continued to
strictly regulate some religious practices and to imprison or
put under house arrest an undetermined number of individuals
for their peaceful advocacy of political views or religious
beliefs, including Father Nguyen Van Ly, Tran Huynh Duy Thuc,
Nguyen Tien Trung, Le Thang Long, Tran Duc Thach, Tran Anh Kim,
Pham Van Troi, Nguyen Xuan Nghia, Nguyen Van Tuc, Nguyen Manh
Son, Nguyen Manh Tinh, Ngo Quynh, Nguyen Kim Nhan, Truong Minh
Duc, Nguyen Van Hai, Vu Hung, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, and Pham
Thanh Nghien, and human rights lawyers, Le Cong Dinh, Nguyen
Van Dai, and Le Thi Cong Nhan. Others arrested during 2010 are
being held incommunicado, including Cu Huy Ha Vu, Pham Minh
Hoang, Phan Thanh Hai, and Vi Duc Hoi.
(5) Vietnam remains a one-party state, ruled and controlled
by the Communist Party of Vietnam, which continues to deny the
right of citizens to change their government.
(6) Although in recent years the National Assembly of
Vietnam has on occasion played a role as a forum for
highlighting local concerns, corruption, and inefficiency, the
National Assembly remains subject to the direction of the
Communist Party of Vietnam and that party maintains control
over the selection of candidates in national and local
elections.
(7) The Government of Vietnam forbids public challenge to
the legitimacy of the one-party state, restricts freedoms of
opinion, the press, assembly, and association, and tightly
limits access to the Internet and telecommunication.
Cyberattacks originating from Vietnam-based servers have
disabled dissident websites and the Government of Vietnam
introduced new restrictions on public internet shops while
continuing to restrict access to numerous overseas and domestic
blogs, news sites, and other websites perceived to carry
content critical of the Government of Vietnam.
(8) The Government of Vietnam continues to detain,
imprison, place under house arrest, convict, and otherwise
restrict individuals for the peaceful expression of dissenting
political or religious views, including democracy and human
rights activists, independent trade union leaders, non-state-
sanctioned publishers, journalists, bloggers, members of ethnic
minorities, and unsanctioned religious groups.
(9) The Government of Vietnam has also failed to improve
labor rights, continues to harass, arrest, and imprison workers
rights activists, including Doan Huy Chuong, Do Thi Minh Hanh,
and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Hung, and restricts the right to organize
independently.
(10) The Government of Vietnam continues to limit freedom
of religion, pressure all religious groups to come under the
control of government- and party-controlled management boards,
and restrict the operation of independent religious
organizations, including the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam
and members of unsanctioned Mennonite, Cao Dai, Theravada
Buddhist, and Hoa Hao Buddhist religious groups and independent
Protestant house churches, primarily in the central and
northern highlands. Religious leaders who do not conform to the
Government's demands are often harassed, arrested, imprisoned,
or put under house arrest.
(11) As noted in the October 2009 report of the United
States Commission on International Religious Freedom, ``[T]here
continue to be far too many serious abuses and restrictions of
religious freedom in the country. Individuals continue to be
imprisoned or detained for reasons related to their religious
activity or religious freedom advocacy; police and government
officials are not held fully accountable for abuses;
independent religious activity remains illegal; and legal
protection for government-approved religious organizations are
both vague and subject to arbitrary or discriminatory
interpretations based on political factors. In addition,
improvements experienced by some religious communities are not
experienced by others, including the Unified Buddhist Church of
Vietnam (UBCV), independent Hoa Hao, Cao Dai, and Protestant
groups, and some ethnic minority Protestants and Buddhists.
Also, over the past year, property disputes between the
government and the Catholic Church in Hanoi led to detention,
threats, harassment, and violence by `contract thugs' against
peaceful prayer vigils and religious leaders.''.
(12) Despite reported progress in church openings and legal
registrations of religious venues, the Government of Vietnam
has halted most religious reforms since the Department of State
lifted the ``country of particular concern'' for religious
freedom violations designation for Vietnam in November 2006.
(13) Unregistered ethnic minority Protestant congregations
suffer severe abuses because of actions by the Government of
Vietnam, which have included forced renunciations of faith,
pressure to join government-recognized religious groups, arrest
and harassment, the withholding of social programs provided for
the general population, destruction of churches and pagodas,
confiscation and destruction of property, and subjection to
severe beatings.
(14) During peaceful Catholic prayer vigils calling for the
return of government-confiscated church properties during 2008
at the Thai Ha Church in Ha Noi, protestors were dispersed
after being harassed, some were detained, and some of the
church property was destroyed. Similar incidents happened at
Bau Sen, Loan Ly, and Tam Toa parishes in central Vietnam and
more recently at Dong Chiem parish in Hanoi, where religious
statues and a crucifix were destroyed and parishioners and
clergies were physically harmed, and at Con Dau parish, where
police forcibly dispersed a Catholic funeral ceremony in May
2010 to a cemetery located on disputed land. Afterwards, police
and members of the civilian defense forces arrested and
interrogated dozens of Con Dau parishioners, with one
parishioner dying from injuries sustained during a beating in
July 2010 by civilian defense forces and two women suffered
miscarriages resulted from police tortures. Catholics continue
to face some restrictions on selection of clergy, the
establishment of seminaries and seminary candidates, and
restrictions on individual cases of travel and church
registration. Dissident clerics such as Father Phan Van Loi and
Father Nguyen Van Ly are currently under house arrest.
(15) The Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam suffers
persecution as the Government of Vietnam continues to restrict
contacts and movement of senior clergy for refusing to join the
state-sponsored Buddhist organizations, the Government
restricts expression and assembly, and the Government continues
to harass and threaten monks, nuns, and youth leaders of the
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The Supreme Patriarch of
Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, Thich Quang Do, is
currently under house arrest.
(16) The Bat Nha Buddhists monastery in Lam Dong province
was attacked by government thugs in October 2009. About 400
monks and nuns were physically abused and forcibly evicted from
the monastery.
(17) The Government of Vietnam continues to suppress the
activities of other religious adherents, including Cao Dai, Hoa
Hao, Mennonites, and Montagnard Christians belonging to
churches that lack official recognition or have chosen not to
affiliate with the state-sanctioned groups, including through
the use of detention and imprisonment.
(18) During Easter weekend in April 2004, thousands of
Montagnard Christians in the Central Highlands gathered to
protest their treatment by the Government of Vietnam, including
the confiscation of tribal lands and ongoing restrictions on
religious activities. Credible reports indicate that the
protests were met with violent response as many demonstrators
were arrested or went into hiding, that many were injured, and
that some were killed. At least 200 of these Montagnard
Christians are still serving long sentences for their
involvement in peaceful demonstrations in 2001 and 2004.
Government officials continue to severely restrict movement by
the Montagnards and prohibit them from seeking asylum in
Cambodia. Many Montagnards were also imprisoned and otherwise
mistreated for their involvement in demonstrations in 2008.
(19) Ethnic minority Hmong in the Northwest Highlands of
Vietnam also suffer restrictions, abuses, and persecution by
the Government of Vietnam, and although the Government is now
allowing some Hmong Protestants to organize and conduct
religious activity, some government officials continue to deny
or ignore additional applications for registration.
(20) In 2007, the Government of Vietnam arrested and
expelled at least 20 ethnic Khmer Buddhist monks in Soc Trang
province from the monkhood and imprisoned 5 monks in response
to a peaceful religious protest in February 2007. In July 2010,
authorities in Tra Vinh arrested and purported to defrock Khmer
Krom Buddhist abbot Thach Sophon, sentencing him in September
to a 9-month suspended sentence. He remains under house arrest.
(21) The Government of Vietnam controls all print and
electronic media, including access to the Internet, jams the
signals of some foreign radio stations, including Radio Free
Asia, and has detained and imprisoned individuals who have
posted, published, sent, or otherwise distributed democracy-
related materials.
(22) People arrested in Vietnam because of their political
or religious affiliations and activities and charged with
vaguely defined national security crimes are not accorded due
process of law. During the pre-trial investigatory phase of
their detention, religious and political prisoners are often
held incommunicado without access to legal counsel and family
members. They are routinely tortured during interrogation to
force them to confess to crimes they did not commit or to
falsely denounce others. Their trials are usually closed to
international press and diplomats and members of the public.
(23) Vietnam continues to be a source country for the
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor of women and
girls and for men and women legally entering into international
labor contracts who subsequently face conditions of debt
bondage or forced labor, and is a destination country for child
trafficking and continues to have internal human trafficking.
(24) Labor export companies partly or wholly owned by the
Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, and other
agencies of the Government of Vietnam have frequently been
identified as participants in human trafficking. There are a
number of well-documented cases in which these state
enterprises have misled workers by promising specific wages and
working conditions, often in the form of signed contracts, only
to require the workers to sign different contracts immediately
before leaving for their foreign destinations. When workers
have protested debt bondage or slavery-like conditions in the
foreign workplaces to which these Vietnamese state enterprises
have sent them, officials of the Ministry of Labor have
traveled from Hanoi to threaten the trafficking victims with
``punishment under the laws of Vietnam'' if they do not cease
their protests. Workers who have returned to Vietnam after
being exploited by their foreign employers have reported being
harassed and intimidated by public security forces, who
typically accuse them of being liars, collaborating with
reactionary forces overseas, and having betrayed their country.
(25) United States refugee resettlement programs, including
the Humanitarian Resettlement Program, the Orderly Departure
Program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese
Returnees Program, general resettlement of boat people from
refugee camps throughout Southeast Asia, the Amerasian
Homecoming Act of 1988, and the priority one refugee
resettlement category have helped resettle nationals of Vietnam
who have suffered persecution on account of their associations
with the United States as well as nationals of Vietnam who have
been persecuted because of race, religion, nationality,
political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.
(26) While previous programs have served their purposes
well, a significant number of eligible refugees from Vietnam
were unfairly denied or excluded, including Amerasians and
Montagnards, in some cases by vindictive or corrupt officials
of Vietnam who controlled access to the programs, and in others
by United States personnel who imposed unduly restrictive
interpretations of program criteria. In addition, the
Government of Vietnam has denied passports to persons whom the
United States has found eligible for refugee admission.
(27) Congress has passed numerous resolutions condemning
human rights violations in Vietnam, indicating that although
there has been an expansion of relations with the Government of
Vietnam, it should not be construed as approval of the ongoing
and serious violations of fundamental human rights in Vietnam,
particularly those enshrined in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, of which Vietnam is a signatory.
(28) Enhancement of relations between the United States and
Vietnam has provided an opportunity for a human rights
dialogue, but is unlikely to lead to future progress on human
rights issues in Vietnam unless the United States makes clear
that such progress is an essential prerequisite for further
enhancements in the bilateral relationship.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to promote freedom and democracy in
Vietnam.
TITLE I--ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM
SEC. 101. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
The President is authorized to provide assistance, through
appropriate nongovernmental organizations and the Human Rights
Defenders Fund, for the support of individuals and organizations to
promote freedom and democracy in Vietnam.
SEC. 102. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to the
President to carry out section 101 $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal
years 2011 and 2012.
(b) Other Requirements.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations under subsection (a)--
(1) are authorized to remain available until expended; and
(2) are in addition to amounts otherwise available for such
purposes.
TITLE II--UNITED STATES PUBLIC DIPLOMACY AND REFUGEE POLICY
SEC. 201. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIETNAM.
(a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United
States to take such measures as are necessary to overcome the jamming
of Radio Free Asia by the Government of Vietnam.
(b) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to
the Broadcasting Board of Governors to carry out the policy
under subsection (a) $12,5000,000 for fiscal year 2011 and
$2,500,000 for fiscal year 2012.
(2) Other requirements.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to
the authorization of appropriations under paragraph (1)--
(A) are authorized to remain available until
expended; and
(B) are in addition to amounts otherwise available
for such purposes.
SEC. 202. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH
VIETNAM.
It is the policy of the United States that programs of educational
and cultural exchange with Vietnam should actively promote progress
toward freedom and democracy in Vietnam by providing opportunities to
Vietnamese nationals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensuring that
Vietnamese nationals who have already demonstrated a commitment to
these values are included in such programs.
SEC. 203. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF VIETNAM.
(a) Policy of the United States.--It is the policy of the United
States to offer refugee resettlement to nationals of Vietnam (including
members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups) who were eligible for
the Orderly Departure Program (ODP), the Humanitarian Resettlement (HR)
Program, the Resettlement Opportunities for Vietnamese Returnees (ROVR)
Program, the Amerasian Homecoming Act of 1988, or any other United
States refugee program and who were deemed ineligible due to
administrative error or who for reasons beyond the control of such
individuals (including insufficient or contradictory information or the
inability to pay bribes demanded by officials of the Government of
Vietnam) were unable or failed to apply for such programs in compliance
with deadlines imposed by the Department of State.
(b) Authorized Activity.--Of the amounts authorized to be
appropriated to the Department of State for Migration and Refugee
Assistance for each of the fiscal years 2011 and 2012, such sums as may
be necessary are authorized to be made available for the protection
(including resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refugees
and asylum seekers, including Montagnards and ethnic Khmer in Cambodia
and Thailand.
TITLE III--CONDITIONS ON INCREASED NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO THE
GOVERNMENT OF VIETNAM
SEC. 301. CONDITIONS.
(a) Conditions.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
United States Government may not provide nonhumanitarian
assistance to the Government of Vietnam during any fiscal year
in an amount that is greater than the amount of nonhumanitarian
assistance provided by the United States Government to the
Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010.
(2) Exception.--The United States Government may provide
nonhumanitarian assistance to the Government of Vietnam during
any fiscal year in an amount that is greater than the amount of
nonhumanitarian assistance provided by the United States
Government to the Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010
but is not greater than twice the amount of nonhumanitarian
assistance provided by the United States Government to the
Government of Vietnam during fiscal year 2010 if--
(A) the President certifies to Congress that the
United States Government has provided assistance, in
addition to assistance authorized under section 102,
supporting the creation and facilitation of human
rights training, civil society capacity building,
noncommercial rule of law programming, and exchange
programs between the Vietnamese National Assembly and
the United States Congress during the 12-month period
ending on the date of the certification in an amount
that is not less than the amount of nonhumanitarian
assistance provided by the United States Government to
the Government of Vietnam during the 12-month period
ending on the date of the certification; and
(B)(i) with respect to fiscal year 2011, the
President certifies to Congress, not later than 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, that the
requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of
subsection (b) have been met during the 12-month period
ending on the date of the certification; and
(ii) with respect to subsequent fiscal years, the
President certifies to Congress, in the most recent
annual report submitted pursuant to section 401, that
the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of
subsection (b) have been met during the 12-month period
covered by the report.
(b) Requirements.--The requirements of this subsection are the
following:
(1) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward releasing all political and religious prisoners from
imprisonment, house arrest, and other forms of detention.
(2) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward--
(A) respecting the right to freedom of religion,
including the right to participate in religious
activities and institutions without interference,
harassment, or involvement of the Government, for all
of Vietnam's diverse religious communities; and
(B) returning estates and properties confiscated
from the churches and religious communities.
(3) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward respecting the right to freedom of expression, assembly,
and association, including the release of independent
journalists, bloggers, and democracy and labor activists.
(4) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward repealing or revising laws that criminalize peaceful
dissent, independent media, unsanctioned religious activity,
and nonviolent demonstrations and rallies, in accordance with
international standards and treaties to which Vietnam is a
party.
(5) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward allowing Vietnamese nationals free and open access to
United States refugee programs.
(6) The Government of Vietnam has made substantial progress
toward respecting the human rights of members of all ethnic and
minority groups.
(7) Neither any official of the Government of Vietnam nor
any agency or entity wholly or partly owned by the Government
of Vietnam was complicit in a severe form of trafficking in
persons, or the Government of Vietnam took all appropriate
steps to end any such complicity and hold such official,
agency, or entity fully accountable for its conduct.
(8) The Government of Vietnam treats government officials
and military personnel of the former Government of South
Vietnam with dignity and equality.
(c) Exception.--
(1) Continuation of assistance in the national interest.--
Notwithstanding the failure of the Government of Vietnam to
meet the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of
subsection (b), the President may waive the application of
subsection (a) for any fiscal year if the President determines
that the provision of increased nonhumanitarian assistance to
the Government of Vietnam would promote the purpose of this Act
or is otherwise in the national interest of the United States.
(2) Exercise of waiver authority.--The President may
exercise the authority under paragraph (1) with respect to--
(A) all United States nonhumanitarian assistance to
Vietnam; or
(B) one or more programs, projects, or activities
of such assistance.
SEC. 302. DEFINITIONS.
In this title:
(1) Nonhumanitarian assistance.--The term ``nonhumanitarian
assistance'' means--
(A) any assistance under the Foreign Assistance Act
of 1961 (including programs under title IV of chapter 2
of part I of that Act, relating to the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation), other than--
(i) disaster relief assistance, including
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of
that Act;
(ii) assistance which involves the
provision of food (including monetization of
food) or medicine;
(iii) assistance for refugees; and
(iv) assistance to combat HIV/AIDS,
including any assistance under section 104A of
that Act; and
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under the
Arms Export Control Act.
(2) Severe form of trafficking in persons.--The term
``severe form of trafficking in persons'' means any activity
described in section 103(8) of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22
U.S.C. 7102(8)).
SEC. 303. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The prohibition on the amount of nonhumanitarian assistance to the
Government of Vietnam during a fiscal year under section 301 applies
with respect to fiscal year 2011 and subsequent fiscal years.
TITLE IV--ANNUAL REPORT ON FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIETNAM
SEC. 401. ANNUAL REPORT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act and every 12 months thereafter, the Secretary of
State shall submit to the Congress a report on the following:
(1) The determination and certification of the President
that the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (7) of section
301(b) have been met, if applicable.
(2) Steps taken to carry out section 301(a)(1), if
applicable.
(3) Efforts by the United States Government to secure
transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in countries in close
geographical proximity to Vietnam in accordance with section
201(a).
(4) Efforts to ensure that programs with Vietnam promote
the policy set forth in section 202 and with section 105 of the
Human Rights, Refugee, and Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act
of 1996 regarding participation in programs of educational and
cultural exchange.
(5) Steps taken to carry out the policy under section
203(a).
(6) Lists of persons believed to be imprisoned, detained,
or placed under house arrest, tortured, or otherwise persecuted
by the Government of Vietnam due to their pursuit of
internationally recognized human rights. In compiling such
lists, the Secretary shall exercise appropriate discretion,
including concerns regarding the safety and security of, and
benefit to, the persons who may be included on the lists and
their families. In addition, the Secretary shall include a list
of such persons and their families who may qualify for
protections under United States refugee programs.
(7) A description of the development of the rule of law in
Vietnam, including--
(A) progress toward the development of institutions
of democratic governance;
(B) processes by which statutes, regulations,
rules, and other legal acts of the Government of
Vietnam are developed and become binding within
Vietnam;
(C) the extent to which statutes, regulations,
rules, administrative and judicial decisions, and other
legal acts of the Government of Vietnam are published
and are made accessible to the public;
(D) the extent to which administrative and judicial
decisions are supported by statements of reasons that
are based upon written statutes, regulations, rules,
and other legal acts of the Government of Vietnam;
(E) the extent to which individuals are treated
equally under the laws of Vietnam without regard to
citizenship, race, religion, political opinion, or
current or former associations;
(F) the extent to which administrative and judicial
decisions are independent of political pressure or
governmental interference and are reviewed by entities
of appellate jurisdiction; and
(G) the extent to which laws in Vietnam are written
and administered in ways that are consistent with
international human rights standards, including the
requirements of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.
(b) Contacts With Other Organizations.--In preparing the report
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, as appropriate, seek out and
maintain contacts with nongovernmental organizations and human rights
advocates (including Vietnamese-Americans and human rights advocates in
Vietnam), including receiving reports and updates from such
organizations and evaluating such reports. The Secretary shall also
seek to consult with the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom for appropriate sections of the report.
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