[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 95 (Friday, June 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E809-E810]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 A BAD YEAR FOR HUMAN RIGHTS IN VIETNAM

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 8, 2018

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, yesterday we held a hearing on 
human rights in Vietnam. It has been a very bad year in Vietnam for 
human rights. Since the beginning of 2018 alone, the Vietnamese 
government has handed out sentences totaling over 100 years in prison 
and house arrest to human rights defenders and democracy advocates.
  In the past year alone, 22 bloggers have been jailed as well as six 
members of the Brotherhood for Democracy. An outrageous 15-year 
sentence was given to Nguyen Van Dai, whose wife Vu Minh Khanh 
testified before this committee in 2016.
  Nguyen Van Dai should be released unconditionally and immediately. I 
know he is courageous and he wants to remain in his own country seeking 
rights and reform. However, if he desires to leave Vietnam, he should 
be allowed to leave with his wife immediately. Vietnam's loss will be 
the world's gain.
  The Vietnamese government has gotten a free pass on human rights for 
too long.
  There are currently 169 political and religious prisoners in Vietnam, 
including bloggers, labor and democracy advocates, and religious 
leaders.
  Freedom House rates Vietnam as ``Not Free'' and possessing of some of 
the world's highest press and internet restrictions.
  The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom again this 
year recommended that Vietnam be designated as a ``Country of 
Particular Concern'' for egregious religious freedom abuses. U.S. 
policy has failed the Vietnamese people. This is a bipartisan 
criticism. We have enriched Vietnam's Communist leaders and coddled 
their interests at the expense of the hopes and desires of the 
Vietnamese people of liberty and human rights.
  The Trump Administration has an opportunity to bring about real 
reforms in Vietnam if tangible human rights improvements are linked to 
better U.S.-Vietnam relations.
  The U.S. has leverage to encourage reform--Vietnam needs a strong 
U.S. partnership--particularly as China's aggressiveness

[[Page E810]]

increases. The questions is--will this leverage be used to help the 
people of Vietnam or their Communist rulers?
  I have been to Vietnam. I have met with its rights advocates and 
young activists for decades now. The younger generation in Vietnam--66 
percent of Vietnam is under the age of 40--looks to the U.S. as a land 
of opportunity and freedom.
  This generation wants the same liberties enjoyed by their relatives 
in California, Texas, Virginia, Louisiana and so many other places 
where former Vietnamese refugees have flourished.
  They want to speak freely, blog freely, worship freely, and be free 
to choose and change their leaders.
  Failing to press for concrete human rights improvements 
underestimates U.S. leverage and will disappoint the young generation 
in Vietnam who are that country's dynamic future.
  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.
  I know there is great interest in the Pentagon about a partnership 
with Vietnam to oppose China's aggressive South China Sea policy. The 
U.S. has an interest in free and open sea lanes.
  But 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.
  Robust championing of individual rights will meet with some success--
if recent history is our guide.
  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 
TransPacific 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--as it has in the past year.
  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.
  Putting human rights and the rule of law at the center of bilateral 
relations is the goal of H.R. 5621--the Vietnam Human Rights Act--
bipartisan legislation that was introduced last month.
  The bill emphasizes the connection between human rights improvements 
and U.S. interests and states that U.S. policy should prioritize the 
freedom of religion, freedom of the press, Internet Freedom, 
independent labor unions, the protection of women and girls from 
trafficking, and advances in the rule of law as critical components of 
both U.S.-Vietnam relations and any U.S.-led effort to ensure a free 
and open Indo-Pacific region.
  Similar bills passed three times in the House with overwhelming 
margins, only to stall in the Senate.
  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.

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