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In other news, political prisoners Bui Van Thuan and Trinh Ba Tu are nearing a month on hunger strike as they continue to protest solitary confinement for political prisoners at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An. Vietnam has just announced its intention to run for another term on the UN Human Rights Council. Military general Luong Cuong was chosen by Vietnam’s National Assembly this week to replace General Secretary To Lam as President. However, To Lam’s tight grip on dissent is unlikely to loosen. As Ben Swanton, Co-Director of Project88 told the AP: “The installation of Luong Cuong as president is yet another example of the expansion of Vietnam’s police state.”

HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL SOCIETY

The letter from former political prisoner Tran Huynh Duy Thuc to General Secretary To Lam 

Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, who describes himself as having been “forcibly released from prison” by General Secretary To Lam right before Lam’s U.S. trip last month, has written a letter to To Lam (above) requesting an end to the “tiger cage” confinement of political prisoners at Nghe An’s Prison No. 6. Thuc describes the “tiger cages” as a second layer of high fences of 4×4 inch metal mesh that wraps outside the regular prison cells, completely preventing inmates from accessing the exercise yard and vegetable garden; access to green space is required by law. Prior to April 18, 2024, Thuc said political prisoners were kept inside their cells only 12 hours a day and were allowed to exercise and grow vegetables. But since the arrival of Deputy Warden Thai Van Thuy, he says that a 24-hour “tiger cage” restriction has been implemented without any official orders or decrees. Even Thuy’s own deputies had reportedly told Thuc that they knew it was not legal to do this, but they said that they had no choice but to carry out Thuy’s “verbal commands.” Thuc sent copies of his letter for To Lam to several diplomats as well.

Trinh Ba Tu and Bui Van Thuan

Meanwhile, the group hunger strike staged by three political prisoners at Prison No. 6, which also calls for an end to the “tiger cages,” among other demands, is entering its fourth week. Dang Dinh Bach had to withdraw after 10 days due to failing health. The other two — Trinh Ba Tu and Bui Van Thuan — are pushing on, although Thuan’s health has also become an issue, according to Tu’s sister, Trinh Thu Thao, who visited them on Oct. 16. Thuan has been suffering from joint pains so severe that he can hardly sleep, Thao said. His cellmates in the division called Group A have also asked officials to immediately improve prison conditions. On Oct. 14, Lt. Col. Nguyen Van Du said he would let prisoners exercise for a few hours on Sundays but also said he would have to ask for permission from his superior to completely remove the “tiger cages” (which are only used for political prisoners).

Trinh Ba Tu received good results from a health check on Oct. 13 that showed his blood pressure at 125/70 and his heart rate at 80bpm, even though his weight has gone down from 68kg to 59kg. Tu said that aside from occasional dizziness and blurred vision, he was feeling strong enough to continue the hunger strike. However, he said he would end it if Thuan’s health was in danger. Thuan’s wife, Trinh Thi Nhung, told Project88 that the package of supplies she sent her husband arrived on the day Thuan began the hunger strike, so he sent it back. A surprise search of Tu’s and Thuan’s personal belongings on Oct. 9 revealed that neither man had any food stored away.

Le Trong Hung and Truong Minh Duc

Another Prison No. 6 inmate, Le Trong Hung, recently completed his own 30-day hunger strike and was able to speak to his wife on Oct. 15 for 10 minutes — the monthly time allotted by law. Do Le Na told Project88 that Hung is recovering well physically and that there was no retribution afterwards.

Also from Nghe An’s Prison No. 6, Truong Minh Duc told his wife Nguyen Kim Thanh in their monthly 10-minute phone call that his heart conditions have stabilized since the heat has waned. However, he still needs to take medications daily to control his blood pressure.

During all the conversations noted above, each political prisoner was told by their families about Nguyen Thuy Hanh‘s release two weeks ago, as well as the strong statements of support and solidarity from their former Prison No. 6 inmate Tran Huynh Duy Thuc. All said they were very happy to hear of his release and and they.wished to thank everyone involved in trying to secure their releases as well.

Duong Van Thai

Next week, blogger Duong Van Thai faces trial on charges of spreading “anti-state propaganda,” under Article 117. Thai was a refugee in Bangkok awaiting relocation to a third country when he was believed to be kidnapped by Vietnamese police in April 2023 and taken back to Vietnam.

FreeHub, a private educational institution that offered courses in independent and critical thinking, is still being targeted by the authorities after it was closed late last year. FreeHub’s founder, Paolo Thanh Ngoc, told RFA that since that time, police have summoned dozens of its teachers and students for questioning, even after he was forced to close FreeHub due to constant police harassment of its students. This is a developing story.

INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY

Civil society letter to the Thai government on the extradition of Y Quynh Bdap. World Organization Against Torture; 2024-10-18. 34 civil society organizations wrote to the Thai government to express their grave concern for the fate of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese national and United Nations-recognized refuge currently in Thai government custody.

Freedom on the net 2024: Vietnam. Freedom House. Authorities aggressively pressured global internet companies to comply with requests for content moderation and access to user data. Activists and ordinary people were often punished for their online activities, while media outlets faced punitive fines in response to their reporting.

PEN America Condemns Harassment of Vietnamese Activist and Online Commentator. PEN America; 2024-10-21. PEN America strongly condemns the ongoing harassment and intimidation of Dang Thi Hue, a Vietnamese activist and online commentator, by the Vietnamese government.

Shooting the climate change messenger in Vietnam. Asia Times; 2024-10-24. Yet at this critical juncture, one of Vietnam’s most prominent climate defenders, Dang Dinh Bach, is two weeks into a hunger strike – not from the frontlines of the climate struggle, but from behind prison bars.

VIETNAM IN THE WORLD

Thailand: Court ruling puts human rights defender in danger if extradited to Viet Nam, say experts. OHCHR; 2024-10-16.  Independent human rights experts said today they were deeply troubled by a Bangkok Criminal Court decision to extradite refugee and human rights defender Y Quynh Bdap to Viet Nam and urged that the case be reconsidered.

Mobilizing the German Parliament to “revive” the Trinh Xuan Thanh kidnapping case. Mach Song Media; 2024-10-13. On October 10, in his closing remarks at the Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom, Congressman Monsignor Frank Schwabe said he might convene a hearing on transnational repression by some governments, including Vietnam.

Vietnam tycoon Lan gets life sentence; already has death sentence from separate trial. Reuters; 2024-10-17. A court in Vietnam on Thursday handed a life sentence to real estate tycoon Truong My Lan on financial fraud charges, after she was sentenced to death in April in a separate trial.

Note: As this trial was taking place, European Human Rights Ambassadors made a statement condemningVietnam’s use of the death penalty.

Stigmatising activists creates criminalisation and repression and cost lives worldwide: UN expert. OHCHR; 2024-10-18. The Special Rapporteur said broad counterterrorism and violent extremis measures have been used to persecute and criminalise peace activists and environmental defenders among others, while human rights activists are being labelled as ‘foreign agents’ and subjected to undue restrictions.

On May 16, a group of UN independent human rights experts wrote a letter to Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation (Formosa Steel), a subsidiary of Formosa Plastics Corporation of Taiwan, saying they had received information concerning the alleged prolonged adverse human rights impacts of the release of hazardous substances in 2016 in Vietnam by Formosa Steel. In particular, they highlighted the continued lack of access to effective remedy by those affected by the toxic discharge. In response, Formosa Steel wrote a letter dated September 30, 2024, in which they claimed that the environmental disaster was an isolated incident, that the environment had fully returned to normal by 2018, and that the company had made investments to ensure that no similar incident would occur in the future. Activists have dismissed Formosa Steel’s claims.

ADDITIONAL NEWS AND ANALYSIS

Vietnam Revives Power-Sharing Arrangement With New President. New York Times; 2024-10-21. Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a new president on Monday, restoring a power-sharing arrangement among four high-level leaders that has defined the country’s approach to Communist government for decades. The assembly’s announcement that Luong Cuong, a Vietnamese Army general, would be president calms speculation about the country’s top leader, To Lam, and whether he would try to retain the presidency after rising to become general secretary of the Communist Party in August.

New President Luong Cuong is considered a ‘special case’. BBC Tieng Viet; 2024-10-21. According to Regulation 214-QD/TW of the Politburo on the standard framework for positions, to become president, an individual must have participated in the Politburo for a full term or more and “have experienced and successfully completed the tasks in the position of provincial or municipal party secretary or head of a central department, ministry or branch”. The current Politburo is the first term Mr. Cuong has participated in, so he has not met the requirement of “a full term of the Politburo or more” and according to Dr. Le Hong Hiep, he has never been a provincial leader or minister.

Ignoring the risks, Vietnamese leave home in droves. Radio Free Asia; 2024-10-22. Five years ago, the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the UK shocked the world. But it didn’t deter many. Many of those leaving Vietnam hail from Nghe An, the country’s largest province, and neighboring Ha Tinh. Of the 39 victims in the Essex incident, almost all were from those provinces.

New York Times opens Vietnam bureau amid claims of media repression. VOA; 2024-10-18. Vietnam is anxious for international media to tell its story, but a restrictive environment makes accurate and impactful coverage difficult, say media analysts. That conflict of interests will be tested by the decision of The New York Times to open a bureau in the Southeast Asian country, where limited options exist for local independent journalism.

The Ministry of Public Security issued Circular 46/2024/TT-BCA on September 30, 2024. Circular 46 limits the ability of Vietnamese citizens to film traffic police

Environmental News

Germany’s PNE seeks Vietnam approval for $4.6 bln offshore wind project. Reuters; 2024-10-23. Germany’s PNE is seeking approval from the Vietnamese government to develop a $4.6 bln offshore wind farm in the Southeast Asian country, local authorities said on Wednesday.

Vietnam to amend national power plan to include nuclear energy. Reuters; 2024-10-21. Vietnam will amend its national power development plan, known as PDP8, to include options for nuclear energy and hydrogen, the Minister of Industry and Trade said on Monday.

Southeast Asia deepening dependence on fossil fuels, report warns. Al Jazeera; 2024-10-22. The 10 nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met the entirety of the region’s 3.6 percent rise in electricity demand last year through fossil fuels, the United Kingdom-based think tank Ember said in a report released on Tuesday. Top coal polluters included Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines, while Singapore and Thailand’s emissions mostly came from natural gas, according to the report.

How Vietnam Can Realize Its Semiconductor Ambitions. The Diplomat; 2024-10-16. Vietnam recently unveiled its national strategy for developing the semiconductor industry, signaling its ambition to build a robust semiconductor sector by 2030. This is part of the country’s broader national plan to become a critical player in high-tech industries.

Note: Vietnam’s dependency on coal is likely to be exacerbated by foreign investment in energy intensive industries, such as semiconductor production, as the U.S. seeks to move supply chains away from China.

© 2024 The 88 Project