[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17822-17823]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     IMPRISONMENT OF CONG THANH DO BY SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

  (Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, on August 14, the 
communist government in Vietnam arrested an American, my constituent, 
Cong Thanh Do, while he was visiting as a tourist in Vietnam with his 
family. It took a full week for the State Department to

[[Page 17823]]

even be notified of his arrest, and more than 2 weeks before the 
Vietnamese Government even allowed the State Department to meet with 
Mr. Do.
  The State Department has repeatedly assured me that Mr. Do is nothing 
more than a peaceful democracy and human rights activist who has 
written articles posted on the Internet while he was living in the 
United States.
  The Socialist Republic of Vietnam has had the gall to keep this 
American citizen imprisoned and incommunicado for nearly a month. At 
the same time, they are making gestures to the United States of America 
suggesting that they should have permanent normal trade relations with 
us.
  It is absolutely unbelievable that the communist government would 
think we would entertain that while they keep our American locked up.

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