[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 16]
[House]
[Page 21627]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT MUST STOP DENYING THE RIGHTS OF THEIR PEOPLE

  (Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, on September 3, the 
Vietnamese police arrested blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh.
  This arrest followed an earlier arrest of two other Vietnamese 
bloggers. Fortunately, Quynh was released on Sunday. However, there was 
one condition for her release, and that was that she had to stop 
blogging. In order to be released from jail, she had to give up her 
freedom of expression, and I believe this is unlawful and is absolutely 
unacceptable.
  The Vietnamese Government continues to deny their people's 
fundamental rights, and this must be stopped. Vietnamese citizens have 
the right to advocate their views whether it's on the Internet or in 
public protest.
  For that reason, I have introduced House Resolution 672, calling on 
the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to release these 
imprisoned bloggers and to respect Internet freedom. I urge my 
colleagues to cosponsor House Resolution 672.

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