[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 146 (Thursday, September 12, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S5459]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Vietnam Human Rights

  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I think people are surprised when they 
come to Texas and find out how diverse a State it really is. Not 
everybody there looks like me or pronounces their last name the same 
way.
  In fact, we are a huge melting pot of people from all over the 
country and, literally, many from around the world who come to the 
State because we have a growing economy, creating jobs and opportunity. 
People can find work to provide for their family and achieve their 
dreams.
  It shouldn't surprise anybody that Texas is increasingly diverse. We 
have benefited a lot from the variety of folks and cultures and ideas 
that have come around the world and planted roots in the Lone Star 
State.
  When I ask folks if they know what the second most spoken language in 
Texas is, they say: Well, that is easy. It is Spanish.
  I say: Well, that is right. Let me give you a harder one. What is the 
third most commonly spoken language in Texas?
  After a couple of guesses, they are usually surprised when I say 
Vietnamese.
  It is not in the overall numbers of Spanish or English, to be sure, 
but we have a vibrant Vietnamese community in Texas that was 
established after the fall of Saigon and the Vietnam war. Many of them 
immigrated to the Houston area or to the metroplex area.
  Of course, they have faced many of the same struggles as those who 
have come to America throughout our country's history. In addition to 
adjusting to a new home, language, and culture, they have dealt with 
some ugly aspects of their new home: racism and bigotry.
  From those challenges and from overcoming those challenges, they have 
derived tremendous strength, demonstrated outstanding drive and a 
desire to succeed.
  Our Vietnamese-American communities in Texas are growing and 
thriving, and they continue to play a very important role in our 
increasingly diverse State.
  I had the chance to meet with a number of my Vietnamese-American 
constituents during the August break, and we talked about some of the 
issues that concern them the most.
  Just last weekend, in fact, I visited Cali Saigon Mall in Garland, 
TX, for their annual children's festival. I participated in an on-stage 
discussion with a number of community leaders. Although the children 
seemed more interested in the tiger dance or musical performances and 
the colorful costumes, it was a great opportunity for me to hear from 
these folks firsthand. We had a serious discussion about the human 
rights climate in Vietnam, which has continued to decline.
  The Vietnamese Government limits political freedom by denying its own 
citizens their right to vote in free and fair elections. It denies them 
the freedom of assembly and expression and due process rights--the 
sorts of basic rights we call human rights here in the United States.
  Last year, one of my constituents, a young man named William Nguyen, 
was unjustly beaten and detained for participating in demonstrations in 
Ho Chi Minh City. We were fortunate enough to secure his release back 
home after the government convicted him on trumped-up charges. I was 
glad to welcome him back to the good old U.S. of A.
  Sadly, the people who continue to live in Vietnam have to escape from 
a brutal Communist regime, which continues to disregard the most basic 
human rights, threaten religious freedom, and silence the press.
  Vietnam remains one of the lowest ranked countries in the world when 
it comes to freedom of the press. In 2018, Reporters Without Borders 
ranked Vietnam 176th out of 180 countries worldwide.
  It should come as no surprise that Vietnamese Americans who have 
lived under this type of rule--or who have family members who still 
do--don't take our freedoms here in America for granted. It is just the 
opposite. These immigrants are great patriots who fully appreciate the 
freedoms they enjoy here in America because they realize how close they 
came to seeing those same freedoms denied in their home country.
  With them, I share their concerns about the rising interest here at 
home in failed ideas, like socialism, and will continue to dispel 
rumors that socialism can provide more than the free enterprise system, 
which has created the very prosperity that Vietnamese Americans and 
other immigrants enjoy here in the United States.
  In addition to our efforts to strengthen our own democracy, we need 
to do more to strengthen democracies around the world and to protect 
basic human rights. Earlier this year, I reintroduced the Vietnam Human 
Rights Sanctions Act to try to do just that. This bill would impose 
travel restrictions and other sanctions on Vietnamese nationals 
complicit in human rights abuses against their fellow citizens. These 
sanctions would not be lifted until the Vietnamese Government releases 
all political prisoners and stops the use of violence against peaceful 
demonstrators.
  We simply can't avert our gaze and allow these practices to continue 
without any sort of accountability. I say the same for what is 
happening now in Hong Kong.
  I appreciate the many Vietnamese Americans who have shared their 
experiences with me on this topic, and I will continue to advocate for 
a brighter future for the people of Vietnam.