[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 92 (Friday, May 26, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E738-E739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WHY RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS ARE CRITICAL TO U.S. NATIONAL 
                               INTERESTS

                                  _____
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 26, 2017

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, over the past forty-two years, 
much has changed in Vietnam. The Vietnamese people are a little richer, 
but still have few rights.
  The Vietnamese Communist Party has opened up a bit to the outside 
world, but remains closed to democratic reforms and the rule of law.
  U.S.-Vietnamese relations have warmed because Vietnam fears China's 
increasing economic power and its incursions in the South China Sea, 
but we see few human rights improvements emerge from better relations.
  Over the past two years, Human Rights Watch has used the words 
``dismal'' and ``abysmal'' to describe Vietnam's human rights record. 
Vietnam scored a 7, the lowest score, on Freedom House's ``Freedom in 
the World'' index.
  From sex and labor trafficking to the censorship of the press and 
Internet; from restrictions on independent labor unions to severe 
repression of faith communities, the Vietnamese Government and 
Communist Party is one of the world's worst abusers of human rights.
  For too long Vietnam has gotten a free pass on human rights. 
Diplomats are so focused on the fact that Vietnam is ``not China'' that 
this oppressive police state is granted trade and security benefits 
without condition. There is a silent human rights crisis going on in 
Vietnam that must be addressed.
  Human rights should be a top talking point when President Trump meets 
next week with Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. Doing so will 
advance U.S. economic and security interests and it will be warmly 
welcomed by the Vietnamese people.
  The President has a real opportunity to bring about tangible reforms 
in Vietnam if he links better U.S.-Vietnam relations to tangible human 
rights improvements.
  I have been to Vietnam. I have met with its rights advocates and 
young activists for decades now, like imprisoned rights activist Nguyen 
Van Dai. I know there is a younger generation in Vietnam--66% of 
Vietnam is under the age of 40--that looks to the U.S. as a land of 
opportunity and freedom. They want the same liberties enjoyed by their 
relatives in California, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana and so many other 
places where former Vietnamese refugees have flourished.
  The Vietnamese people want the U.S. to be a voice for freedom--
because their voice is silenced.
  No government that represses its own people or restricts fundamental 
freedoms can be a trusted ally of the United States. No government that 
censors the Internet, tortures and jails dissidents, and crushes civil 
society should be given generous trade or security benefits without 
conditions.
  The President will face pressure from his advisors and the business 
community to look at Vietnam through the lens of trade deals and the 
containment of China. Hopefully, he will be able to see the situation 
more clearly than past Administrations.
  Failing to press for real and concrete human rights improvements 
underestimates U.S. leverage and will disappoint the young generation 
in Vietnam who are that country's dynamic future.
  It should be clear by now that Vietnam needs the U.S. markets and 
security commitments much more than the U.S. needs Vietnam's markets 
and security cooperation.
  If history is any guide, the President's, championing of individual 
rights will meet with some success. If his interest in human rights is 
sustained, those successes could be tangible and far-reaching.
  The Vietnamese government has responded to concerns expressed by the 
last two Administrations when they linked human rights improvements to 
better U.S.-Vietnam relations. Whether to gain entry into the World 
Trade Organization (WTO), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) or to 
address U.S. concerns over religious freedom abuses, the Vietnamese 
government took steps toward reform when pressed by past American 
Presidents.
  It is when the U.S. loses interest in human rights that conditions 
regress.
  The Communist leaders in Hanoi take our trade benefits and security 
commitments and continue repressing those seeking political reform and 
universal freedoms.
  The business of the Communist Party is staying in power and 
repressing those they believe will challenge their power. They will not 
embrace human rights improvements or the rule of law unless it is a 
firm condition of better relations with the U.S.
  I am circulating a letter for the signatures of other Members of 
Congress detailing the strategic opportunities available for the United 
States and the Vietnamese people if the President pursues a robust 
human rights agenda.
  The letter urges the President to pursue Internet freedom, religious 
freedom, independent labor unions, and the release of prisoners of 
conscience--as a condition of U.S. assistance.
  These fundamental freedoms are directly related to U.S. interests in 
a better business climate, less corruption, investor confidence, 
expansion of economic freedom, and civil society development.
  I also wrote to Secretary Rex Tillerson to urge more robust human 
rights diplomacy in Vietnam, particularly on the issue of religious 
freedom.
  I urged the Secretary to use the authorities given him by the Frank 
Wolf International Religious Freedom Act and the Global Magnitsky Act, 
legislation I introduced, that was passed into law last year to hold 
individual government officials accountable for human rights abuses and 
restrictions on religious freedom.
  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) 
recommended that Vietnam be designated as a ``Country of Particular 
Concern'' for severe and egregious religious freedom restrictions. That 
report provides compelling evidence of egregious and ongoing religious 
freedom violations in Vietnam.
  The President should follow USCIRF's recommendation and immediately 
designate Vietnam as a CPC for its religious freedom violations. This 
designation carries with it potential sanctions and visa denials for 
Vietnamese government officials complicit in religious freedom abuses.
  No Vietnamese government official who tortures political dissidents 
or restrictions the activities of religious communities should profit 
from access to the U.S. or our financial system.
  Let me say that the violence and intimidation faced by Hmong and 
Montagard Christians, by Khmer Krom Buddhists, by the independent Hoa 
Hao and Cao Dai groups is outrageous. The torture faced by Ms. Tran Thi 
Hong is shocking. She was on her way to meet religious freedom 
Ambassador David Saperstein to advocate for the release of her husband 
Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh.
  If there are religious prisoners, if forced renunciations of faith 
are happening, if pagodas and churches and places of worship are 
forcibly closed--how does Vietnam not meet the criteria for CPC? We 
know it does. Politics should not play a part in designations.
  I will be working closely with the State Department to make sure 
international religious freedom is a diplomatic priority. This 
fundamental freedom is not merely a humanitarian issue with little 
strategic value--it is critical to our security and prosperity.

[[Page E739]]

  Research shows that countries that embrace and protect religious 
freedom are more economically successful, protect women's rights, and 
experience less terrorism and political instability. There is not a 
single country that respects religious freedom that poses a security 
threat to the U.S. In fact, just the opposite is true--countries who 
are the worst violators of religious freedom are often those who seek 
to do Americans the most harm and seek to tear down democratic values 
and institutions. These facts alone should give us pause in expanding 
relations with Vietnam.
  President Trump should not prop up Vietnam's Communist old guard 
because they are not Vietnam's future. That future lies with Nguyen Van 
Dai and the many bloggers and advocates of political reform and human 
rights who seek our freedoms more than our trade.
  U.S. policy must send the unmistakable message to the Government of 
Vietnam that human rights improvements are fundamental to better 
relations, critically linked to our mutual economic and security 
interests, and will not be ignored or bargained away.

                          ____________________