[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 136 (Wednesday, September 14, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          HOUSE RESOLUTION 352

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, 53 years ago, China 
declared ownership of the islands in the Eastern Sea, which include the 
Spratly and the Paracel Islands.
  On September 14, 1958, then-Prime Minister Pham Van Dong of North 
Vietnam issued a diplomatic note affirming the declaration from China 
regarding the Chinese ownership of those islands. When this decision 
became known, Vietnamese students and bloggers organized unprecedented 
protests in Hanoi and in Saigon against China's violations of Vietnam's 
sovereignty in the Eastern Sea. The Vietnamese security police were 
ordered to end the public demonstrations regarding the issue of the 
Spratly and Paracel Islands and detained over 40 activists who were 
involved in this protest.
  Since early August of this year, at least 13 young patriots have been 
arrested by police and the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam, and 
several of these activists are prominent bloggers, such as the Vinh 
Diocese of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, for this same 
issue.
  As a cosponsor of House Resolution 352, I call for a framework in 
accordance with the United States Convention on the Law of the Sea for 
a peaceful resolution to this conflict.
  Furthermore, I urge the Vietnamese Government to unconditionally 
release all advocates who were exercising their rights as citizens to 
call for social justice and protesting the sovereignty of Vietnamese 
territories from China.

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