[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 4057-4058]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RESOLUTION TO HONOR PROFESSOR DOAN VIET HOAT

  (Ms. LOFGREN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to join the gentlewoman 
from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) in introducing this resolution in 
honor of Professor Doan Viet Hoat. It is a rare individual who is 
willing to sacrifice their own personal freedom for the sake of their 
fellowman, and when

[[Page 4058]]

we do find such a person, it is important for us in Congress, and 
society at large, to recognize their achievement and the purpose of 
their struggle.
  This journalist spent 19 of the last 21 years in Vietnamese prisons. 
Dr. Doan repeatedly was arrested for his efforts to bring about 
political change. He was offered his freedom if he renounced his 
political views, but he did not succumb to the will of his captors. 
Instead, despite the temptation of freedom, he continued to write, to 
smuggle out of prison essays, and to be a leader for freedom in 
Vietnam.
  Last year the Vietnamese government released 7,000 prisoners, and Dr. 
Doan was among them. As a scholar in residence at Washington Catholic 
University, Dr. Doan remains committed to his fight for Vietnamese 
democracy. We are pleased he was finally able to receive the Robert F. 
Kennedy Human Rights Award he won in 1995.
  I hope that Congress will act swiftly to adopt this resolution of 
commendation.

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