[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 8]
[House]
[Pages 11106-11107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          VIETNAM HUMAN RIGHTS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 
40th anniversary since the end of the Vietnam war and 20 years of 
normalized relations between the U.S. and Vietnam.
  This week, our President hosted the General Secretary of the 
Vietnamese Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, a political leader but 
not an official leader.
  During that meeting, I know that the two leaders discussed more 
normalization of economic and military issues, and I know that 
President Obama brought up the issue of human rights; but I am going to 
say this: after 19 years in this Congress of fighting for human rights 
around the world, the Vietnamese Communist Government always promises, 
when economic issues are on the table, to do something better with 
respect to their human rights record, but they never follow through. In 
fact, it gets worse.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, as the co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on 
Vietnam, I don't want to focus on what the economic implications are 
and the trade implications are that are going

[[Page 11107]]

on with respect to Vietnam, but I want to remind my colleagues about 
what is happening with respect to human rights in Vietnam.

                              {time}  1115

  Nguyen Dang Minh Man is currently serving a 9-year prison term after 
being charged with ``attempting to overthrow the government'' under 
article 79 of the constitution of that country. Her crime, she was 
arrested while taking photographs during a protest against Chinese 
encroachment of the Paracel and Spratly Islands.
  Ho Duc Hoa, a community organizer and a contributing journalist for 
Vietnam Redemptorists' News, is currently serving a 13-year prison 
sentence for defending human rights and promoting democracy. He has 
been charged with ``attempting to overthrow the government.'' He is 
currently suffering from harsh treatment in prison, including torture 
and denial to medical care, water, or adequate food.
  Dang Xuan Dieu, another activist, is currently serving a 13-year 
sentence under article 79 in response to advocating for education--
imagine this--for education for children living in poverty, for aid to 
people with disabilities, and for religious freedom in Vietnam. Mr. 
Dieu is also a victim of mistreatment and torture in the prison system.
  Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, a human rights activist and entrepreneur, was 
also arrested for writing blogs that called for political reform and 
improved human rights in Vietnam. He only peacefully exercised his 
rights to freedom of expression; yet Thuc was charged of attempting to 
overthrow the government under article 79. He was sentenced to 16 years 
in prison and 5 years of house arrest.
  These are just four of the so many people in prison in Vietnam.
  The government of Vietnam continues to deny its citizens their rights 
to freedom of speech, to freedom of assembly, to freedom of the press, 
to freedom of religion. Although Vietnam strives to further its 
relations with the U.S., it does not grant human rights to its people.
  I understand that President Obama has agreed to visit Vietnam in the 
near future, and I strongly urge that not only the President and the 
administration work on the issues of human rights with respect to the 
Vietnamese people, but that we in the Congress continue to push 
because, as we know, as Americans, people around the world look to us 
as the shining light of upholding democracy and human rights and 
freedom and liberty and freedom of the press and freedom of assembly.

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