Vietnam Free Expression Newsletter No. 30/2024 – July 30-August 7
Greetings from Project88. We bring you news, analysis, and actions regarding human rights and civil society in Vietnam from July 30-August 7. The U.S. Commerce Department announced last Friday it will continue to classify Vietnam as a non-market economy country. In their decision, the Commerce Department credited Project88’s revelations about Directive 24 with helping reach that decision. The Commerce Department stated:
‘The described alignment of the VGCL with the CPV’s policies exemplifies the Vietnamese government’s resistance to the formation of independent unions. Another illustrative example is “Directive 24”, an internal CPV document issued by the CPV’s central committee in July 2023.122 Commerce cannot independently confirm the authenticity of this document.123 However, if authentic in part or in whole, it should be noted that “Directive 24” explicitly prohibits the existence of independent unions and reinforces government and party control over labor organizations. It also suggests an ongoing effort by the CPV to maintain tight control over labor unions.”
The full Commerce Department decision can be found here. The Vietnamese government will try again for the upgrade in the near future.
In other news this week, To Lam is now officially Vietnam’s top leader and has pledged to lead a “relentless” campaign against corruption. Blogger Nguyen Chi Tuyen will be tried next week on August 15. Several other activists await trial. The matriarch at the center of the Bong Lai temple case has died. Human rights lawyers who have worked on the case continue to face harassment even after fleeing the country. Two more people have been arrested for “abusing democratic freedoms.”
HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL SOCIETY
Political Persecution
Nguyen Chi Tuyen
Democracy activist Nguyen Chi Tuyen will be put on trial in Hanoi on August 15. Tuyen, a.k.a. blogger Anh Chi, has been indicted for engaging in “anti-state propaganda” based on Article 117, Title 1, Sections b & c. The trial will allegedly be open and will take place at The People’s Court in Hoang Mai District. Tuyen faces up to 12 years in prison and will be represented by lawyer Nguyen Ha Luan. He was arrested on Feb. 29, 2024, on the same day that Nguyen Vu Binh, a blogger who worked with RFA, was also arrested. Binh’s trial date has not been announced yet.
Phan Van Bach
Also still awaiting trial is former Chấn hưng Việt Nam TV (CHTV) journalist Phan Van Bach. July 29 marked the seventh month since his arrest. His wife, Nguyen Thi Yeu, told Project88 that the family still has not heard anything from the government regarding Bach other than that he has been charged with engaging in “anti-state propaganda” under Article 117.
Le Thu Van (b.1957), a co-defendant in the Bong Lai Temple case, has died from “a serious illness,” according to state-run media. Van was the mother of three defendants — Le Thanh Hoan Nguyen (1990), Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen (1991), and Le Thanh Nhi Nguyen (1998). She was sentenced to three years in prison for “abusing democratic freedoms,” but due to her illness was allowed to serve her sentence at the temple in order to receive medical care. The highly controversial case centered around 92-year-old Le Tung Van, head of the temple who the government, without publicly presenting evidence, alleged was committing incest. Several lawyers working on the case have had to flee the country. Van passed away on July 28; the circumstances of her death are under police investigation.
Four days earlier, Dao Kim Lan, a lawyer who represented defendants in the Bong Lai Temple case, was expelled from the HCMC Lawyers Association even though he had emigrated to the U.S. in June 2023 along with two other human rights lawyers who also worked on the case — Dang Dinh Manh and Nguyen Van Mieng. Manh and Mieng also were expelled in April this year. Before they fled the country, all three lawyers were harassed by police and threatened with arrest.
Nguyen Van Mieng and Dang Dinh Manh upon arrival to the U.S. in June 2023, Source: RFA
One day after Le Thu Van’s death, the law office of human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Mieng was inspected by investigators from the Bureau of Justice of Thu Duc City, which is just outside Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Mieng told RFA that he suspected that the authorities wanted to verify whether his law firm was still in operation and to put pressure on other lawyers involved in the case who are still in Vietnam.
Pham Van Troi
Pham Van Troi, a former member of the Brotherhood for Democracy, was released from prison on July 30 after serving a seven-year sentence for “attempting to overthrow the government” in accordance with Article 79 of the 1999 Criminal Code. In 2012, Troi was also sentenced to four years in prison for spreading “anti-state propaganda” under Article 88 of the 1999 Criminal Code.
Pham Thanh‘s wife, Nghiem, told Project88 that Thanh is suffering from severe hemorrhoids and requested to be taken to the hospital. However, prison officials denied his request, saying that his condition had to be worse before he could be treated at the hospital. It is not known when Thanh made his request; Project88 will verify this information with Nghiem after her next visit. Thanh was arrested during the protests against the cybersecurity bill in 2018 and sentenced to 11 years in prison, allegedly for “destroying public property,” in accordance with Article 178 of the Criminal Code, as well as four years and six months for “disturbing the public order” under Article 318. He did not have a lawyer at trial.
Huynh Minh Tam
In a letter home, Huynh Minh Tam told his sister, Huynh Thi To Nga, a former political prisoner herself, that conditions inside the K5 camp at Gia Trung Prison in Gia Lai province have improved somewhat since his petitions two years ago. For example, prisoners can now have hot water from the new 180-liter pressure boiler. Further, Tam said he could now grow roses and strawberries “to while away the time” because prisoners are now allowed to go outside earlier during the day than before and in the afternoon. Nga was sentenced to five years in prison but was released early in 2023. Her brother Tam was sentenced to nine years under Article 117.
In other news, Nguyen Dinh Trung, a citizen from Da Nang, has been arrested and charged with “abusing democratic freedoms.” The police did not specify what exactly he is accused of doing. Nguyen Van Nhon, in Quang Binh province, was also arrested on Aug. 3 under the same charge for his participation in two public meetings. Project88 is still investigating these arrests.
Also, in Long An Province, Nguyen Van Trung was arrested on July 31 and charged with “attempting to overthrow the government.” Police accuse Trung of joining the US-based fringe group “Provisional Government of Vietnam,” led by its self-appointed leader Dao Minh Quan.
VIETNAM IN THE WORLD
U.S. keeps Vietnam as non-market economy, despite efforts to woo Hanoi. Reuters; 2024-08-02. The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Friday it will continue to classify Vietnam as a non-market economy country, a decision disappointing to Hanoi, which the U.S. has been wooing in its efforts to push back against China. Vietnam has long sought an upgrade, which would have reduced the punitive anti-dumping duties levied on non-market economies marked by heavy state influence. Only 12 other economies are labeled as non-market by Washington, including China, Russia, North Korea and Azerbaijan.
With Nguyen Phu Trong gone, are EU-Vietnam ties at risk? DW; 2024-07-31. Vietnam’s new leaders, including recently installed President To Lam, have little interest in breaking with Hanoi’s tried-and-tested foreign policy of finding a balance between all powers, analysts say. But their lack of experience in international diplomacy, and their likely escalation of human rights violations, could trigger an overdue debate within Europe about ties with the economically booming but politically repressive one-party state of Vietnam.
US lawmakers back Vietnamese activist held in Thailand. Bangkok Post; 2024-07-30. Members of US Congress have submitted a written letter to Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, requesting the release of a Vietnamese activist and help for him to resettle in a third country instead of being extradited, according to Kannavee Suebsang, a list-MP for the Fair Party. A letter signed by Michelle Steel, Luis Correa, John Moolenaar and Chris Smith on July 26 was addressed to the premier regarding the arrest in Bangkok last month of Y Quynh Bdap, 32. Mr Bdap founded Montagnards Stand for Justice, an organization that pushes for freedom of religion for ethnic minorities and indigenous people in Vietnam’s Central Highlands.
Why Vietnam’s Israel Policy Reveals the Limits of Its Foreign Policy. The Vietnamese; 2024-08-02. Historically, the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) has been supportive of Palestine and its quest for Palestinian statehood. However, its modern relations with Israel and lack of supportive actions towards Palestine call into question the sincerity of Hanoi’s support, as well as its “bamboo diplomacy” policy.
ADDITIONAL NEWS AND ANALYSIS: TO LAM’S CONFIRMATION
To Lam Confirmed as Vietnam’s Top Leader Until at Least 2026. New York Times; 2024-08-02. President To Lam of Vietnam, best known for implementing a sweeping anticorruption drive, will become the country’s next Communist Party general secretary, the government’s Politburo announced on Saturday. General secretary is the top job in Vietnam’s political system of collective leadership, and Mr. Lam was named to the post temporarily in July, after the death of Nguyen Phu Trong, who had been general secretary since 2011. The appointment gives Mr. Lam the chance to consolidate his position within the party before it holds its congress in 2026 to select the country’s top leaders for the following five years.
Vietnam President To Lam gets top job as Communist Party chief. Al Jazeera; 2024-08-03. Vietnamese President To Lam has been formally named as the new chief of the Communist Party, the country’s top position, two weeks after the death of the previous general secretary. Nguyen Phu Trong died on July 19 after having dominated Vietnamese politics since becoming party chief in 2011. In his first speech as chief on Saturday, Lam promised to inherit and promote Trong’s legacy, make no changes to foreign policy, focus on achieving Vietnam’s socioeconomic development goals and continue a campaign against corruption.
Nguyen Phu Trong and Vietnam: The Loss of Ideological Cover. Fulcrum; 2024-08-01. The passing of Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), marks the end of an era for the party. Trong, the CPV’s chief theorist, passed on without an apparent ideological heir. This will also make it challenging for the party to maintain a cohesive ideological core that has underpinned Vietnam’s resilience as it became more integrated into the global order.
Vietnam’s corruption fight to be ‘relentless’: Party leader To Lam. VN Express; 2024-08-03. New Party General Secretary To Lam said the corruption fight will be “relentless” and sparing no one. At a Saturday conference of the 13th Party Central Committee, President To Lam was elected the Party General Secretary for the 2021-2026 term. He chaired a press conference in Hanoi right after the meeting, answering questions from among hundreds of domestic and international journalists.
No pause in Vietnam elite political jockeying for Nguyen Phu Trong’s funeral. Zachary Abuza in RFA; 2024-08-06. Even before the funeral, Lam was working to strengthen his position. He quickly maneuvered to place two of his deputies from the Ministry of Public Security in critically important positions. Luong Tam Quang became his successor as the Minister of Public Security. Quang is not just from Lam’s home province of Hung Yen, but is deeply tied to Lam through family: Quang’s father served as Lam’s father’s personal body guard in the south during the war against the Americans. The second deputy, Nguyen Duy Ngoc, who also hails from Hung Yen province, is now the head of the Central Committee Office, which is critically important in terms of organizing meetings and agenda setting.
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