Project88 Vietnam Newsletter No. 40/2024 – November 5-14

Greetings from Project88. We bring you news, analysis, and actions regarding human rights and civil society in Vietnam from Nov. 5-14.

Commemorating the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, Project88 has published an updated list of the 26 bloggers and journalists currently in prison in Vietnam. See the data, here.

The use of restrictive “tiger cage” cells that was the subject of a 21-day hunger strike in Prison No. 6 in Nghe An is now also being reported in An Diem Prison. Meanwhile, in Gia Trung Prison, a prisoner serving a 14-year sentence is severely ill with tuberculosis and reportedly could die soon without medical care. Three people were recently arrested, two for conducting “anti-state propaganda” and one for “abusing democratic freedoms.”

The result of the Trump re-election casts uncertainty over U.S.-Vietnam relations, as Trump is expected to crack down on international trade and slash U.S. funding for climate change projects. Lastly, a new decree regulating online activity takes effect on Dec. 9; the potential impacts remain unclear.

HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL SOCIETY

Trinh Ba Phuong

Land rights activist Trinh Ba Phuong‘s wife, Do Thi Thu, visited him at An Diem Prison in Quang Nam province on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 — a back-to-back two-day visit practiced by those who can’t visit imprisoned family members once a month due to the distance or cost (or both). Things went smoothly on the first day. But when Thu arrived on the morning of the second day, she was told by an official that Phuong could only receive visitors once every two months because he had been disciplined for 10 days in September 2023 (more than a year prior). The official added that it was also because the prison authorities “did not see any improvement in his behavior,” and so his visitation rights were reduced in accordance with the law.

They asked Thu to sign a form acknowledging this. Thu said she would not sign it without her husband’s knowledge and approval. It was only then that prison officers let Phuong come out to talk to her. Phuong told the official that he was “wrong about the law.” Phuong added that, “According to regulations, once a prisoner finishes his disciplinary punishment, he will be monitored for a period of six months for any potential violations. If violations occur, a new disciplinary order shall be issued. Otherwise the prisoner is considered to have made improvements. I have neither violated any rules since that time nor have any new disciplinary orders been issued. In order to save the little amount of time I have with my wife, I will file a complaint about this later.” Thu reported that she later did research on prison regulations regarding this matter (Article 23, Section 1, Order 133/2020/ND-CP) and found that her husband is correct. Thu says she will file a separate complaint against An Diem officials for their arbitrary and illegal application of the law.

Phan Cong Hai

Thu also reported that political prisoners at An Diem Prison are being kept in “tiger cages” 24 hours a day and are not allowed outside for exercise or activities. It is unclear how these “tiger cages” are similar to or different from those used at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An. Furthermore, Thu said that prisoner Phan Cong Hai‘s legs had been shackled for unknown disciplinary violations and that he had to sleep sitting up for an unknown number of days. This is not the first time Hai was reported to be shackled. He will be released on Nov. 19. Another prisoner, Nguyen Thai Binh, will be freed on Nov. 23.

Nguyen Thi Dao, wife of Nguyen Doan Quang Vien, received an emergency call from one of Vien’s cellmates, Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton, telling her that Vien was seriously ill and that “if he was not treated soon he might die.” Vien, 42, is serving a 14-year sentence for “attempting to overthrow the government” based on Article 109 of the Criminal Code. Dao immediately went to Gia Trung Prison on Nov. 6 to see her husband. She told Project88 that Vien has a severe case of tuberculosis and that if he was not sent to a hospital to get treatment soon, “he won’t last much longer.” She added that her husband, 5 feet, 11 inches (1.8 meters) tall, now weighs only 88 lbs (40kg). Vien told her that the cold weather is making it hard for him to breathe. “He told me his lungs feel like they’re frozen and he feels like being slowly asphyxiated,” Dao said. Vien also lost his dentures while in prison, making it very difficult for him to get the nourishment he badly needs. Dao has made a request to prison officials to let Vien get new dentures.

Jailed journalist Nguyen Tuong Thuy‘s wife, Pham Thi Lan, visited him on Oct. 20, on their 50th wedding anniversary, and reported that his blood pressure readings are fairly good but he has to take medications daily.

Luu Van Vinh‘s wife, Le Thi Thap, told Project88 that during her visit on Nov. 11, Vinh told her that two officials from the Ministry of Public Security had come to see him a few days earlier and warned him that if she kept “causing trouble” on Facebook, Thap might end up in prison herself. This really surprised her because, as she reported to Project88, she only posts about the personal burdens and hardships she has to bear, but never anything about the party or the government.

Bui Thanh Hieu

Blogger Bui Thanh Hieu was released by the police after being detained for several days after he came back from Germany to see his aging mother. On his Facebook page, Hieu is seen in a photo sitting with his mother at her house and walking around the neighborhood. He did not disclose any information on why he was detained or what happened during that time. However, he posted the letter he had written to the goverment asking for permission to enter Vietnam, explaining that he was willing to abide by all the rules and would not talk to any activist or write about anything political while there. Hieu told the government that he only wanted to fulfill his filial duty and was ready to accept any consequences that might result from his return.

On Nov. 4, Bui Van Tuan, 41, was arrested by Thanh Hoa provincial police and charged with “abusing democratic freedoms” based on Article 331. State media said Tuan is accused of making untrue statements about government officials in his Facebook livestreams.

On Nov. 9, state media announced that Tran Khac Duc, 29, had been arrested in Ho Chi Minh City and charged with engaging in “anti-state propaganda” based on Article 117. Duc allegedly had joined the Paris-based Assembly for Democracy and Pluralism (Tập Hợp Dân Chủ Đa Nguyên) and “served as admin of reactionary websites, wrote and posted articles which discredit historical figures and national heroes.” According to VOA, Duc was actually detained in September, but his arrest was not made public until now.

Police in Quang Nam on Nov. 5 announced they had arrested Le Manh, 73, and charged him with engaging in “anti-state propaganda” between 2018 and 2024. The police accused him of making more than 300 posts that allegedly discredited party leaders and state officials.

Democracy activist Nguyen Hong Hai (Harry) has left Vietnam and safely arrived in the U.S. According to Facebook account Hoang Dung, Hong Hai “was under severe pressure from public security agents for a long time, including harassment, beating and threats to his physical safety. Hai is a quiet activist who prefers to work behind the scenes, making him relatively unknown to many in the human rights community.” This is a developing story.

INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY

Lawyers Nguyen Van Mieng and Dang Dinh Manh (R) after arriving in the U.S. in June 2023, Source: RFA

Reply of Vietnam to the OHCHR’s Joint Communication concerning Dang Dinh Manh. Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN in Geneva; 2024-11-01. Vietnam rejects the accusation that Vietnamese authorities conducted a criminal investigation as retaliation against Dang Dinh Manh. The claim that Dang Dinh Manh fears being arrested if he meets with authorities is unfounded, according to Vietnamese authorities

Reply of Vietnam to the OHCHR’s Joint Communication concerning Hoang Thi Minh Hong. Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN in Geneva; 2024-11-01. Vietnam dismisses allegations that the government is cracking down on environmental activists and civil society organizations working on climate change. Vietnam asserts that the arrest of Hoang Thi Minh Hong is not related to activities involving the exercise of freedom of speech, freedom of expression, environmental protection, or combating climate change.

Pham Doan Trang

Day of the Imprisoned Writer 2024: Writing as a Political Act. PEN America; 2024-11-14. As an author, online commentator, and journalist whose political dissent has made her a target of the state, [Pham Doan] Trang’s moral clarity around the personal risks she’s assumed—including her own imprisonment—is part of what drives her impact. Her friend Vi described her as “the freest person in Vietnam because she liberates her mind.”

VIETNAM IN THE WORLD

Vietnam says party leader and Trump discussed economic ties. Reuters; 2024-11-12. Vietnam’s Communist Party head To Lam has congratulated Donald Trump on his U.S. presidential election victory in a phone call and the two discussed ways their countries could boost economic ties, the communist party said on Tuesday. The United States is Vietnam’s largest export market, and in September last year the two countries upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership, the highest level in Vietnam’s ranking.

Uncertainty prevails as top exporter Vietnam braces for volatility with Trump. Reuters; 2024-11-07. Vietnam faces trade volatility with a new Trump presidency, officials and supply chain experts told Reuters, as the country could benefit from increased U.S.-China trade tensions but may also become “collateral damage” of U.S. protectionist measures. The Southeast Asian industrial hub is a major exporter to the United States and had a $90 billion trade surplus with Washington as of September, the fourth largest after China, the European Union and Mexico.

Vietnam faces Trump era with awkward trade surplus with the US. Radio Free Asia; 2024-11-08. While the Vietnamese public watched the U.S. election with curiosity, the leadership in Hanoi probably looked at the results with trepidation. While Hanoi’s “bamboo diplomacy” of building balanced strategic relationships with major global powers gives it a measure of comfort, Vietnam is far more vulnerable to changes in U.S. economic and trade policies, not to mention security policy, than almost any other country in Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s chronic and growing trade surpluses with the United States are now likely to be at the forefront of the bilateral relationship.

2024 US election live updates: Reactions from Asia to Trump’s win. Radio Free Asia; 2024-11-06. In the last 24 hours, “live coverage of US presidential election” was the top search on Google Vietnam with more than 100,000 people looking to watch it. Nguyen Binh, a farmer in the southern province of Dong Nai, expressed surprise that Americans were free to talk openly about elections. He recalled that a number of independent candidates in Vietnam’s 2016 National Assembly election are in prison. Independent journalist Nam Viet said he believed that the interest shown by Vietnamese demonstrates their thirst for democracy.

ADDITIONAL NEWS AND ANALYSIS

New Cybersecurity Decree Imposes More Stringent Control Over Online Activities. The Vietnamese; 2024-11-14. The Vietnamese government has passed cybersecurity decree Decree No. 147/2024 on managing, providing and using the internet and online information. This decree, which replaces Decree 72/2013 on the regulation of online activities, was approved on Nov. 9 and will take effect on Dec. 25, 2024. Decree No. 147/2024 contains several notable provisions on the regulation of cyber activities and the privacy rights of Vietnamese internet users. Article 23 of this legal document stipulates that cross-border social media platforms, which include Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok, must store users’ personal data, such as names, dates of birth, and phone numbers, if they register their accounts from Vietnam.

Vietnam Orders Social Media Companies to Provide User Identities. Bloomberg; 2024-11-12. Vietnam is ordering foreign social media platforms to verify the accounts of users and provide their identifies to authorities on demand, a move to tighten the Communist government’s control of social networks. Foreign social media platforms with an average of 100,000 or more visits a month must abide by the new rules, according to a new decree issued Nov. 9. It goes into effect Dec. 25. Foreign companies providing cross-border information services to Vietnam will have 90 days to comply, Dan Tri news website reported.

Vietnamese official accused of abuse was released and will not be able to enter Chile for two years. Cooperativa; 2024-11-12. The Vietnamese official who had been arrested for alleged sexual abuse must immediately leave Chile and will not be able to enter the country for two years, the Public Prosecutor’s Office announced on Monday. Lai Dac Tuan, a member of President Luong Cuong’s security team, had been arrested last night after being accused of the sexual crime that, according to reports, he committed in the hotel where the Vietnamese delegation was staying.

Vietnam expands chip packaging footprint as investors reduce China links. Reuters; 2024-11-12. Foreign companies are expanding capacity in Vietnam for testing and packaging chips while domestic firms are eyeing investments, as a shifting of industrial activity away from China gathers pace due to trade tensions with the West, executives said. The semiconductor back-end manufacturing sector, which is less capital-intensive than more strategic front-end chipmaking in foundries, is currently dominated by China and Taiwan, but Vietnam is among the fastest-growing countries in the $95 billion segment.

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.

Vietnam Looks To Restart Nuclear Power Projects. Barron’s (AFP); 2024-11-13. Vietnam wants to restart nuclear power plans to meet its rapidly expanding energy needs, the government has said, after it scrapped two multibillion-dollar projects in 2016. Rapidly industrialising Vietnam, with a population of 100 million people, relies mostly on coal and hydropower to power its fast-growing economy. Despite its dependence on fossil fuels, the communist nation has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, supported by a Just Energy Transition Partnership — under which wealthier nations help developing countries switch to clean energy faster.

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