Hoang Thi Minh Hong
Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng
Detainment Type: Released - at risk
Other Names: Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng, Hong Hoang
Date of Birth: October 5, 1972
Gender: F
Ethnicity: Kinh
Occupation: NGO worker
Human Rights Defender: Y
Known Prison(s):
Gia Trung prison, Gia Lai province (September 28, 2023 - September 20, 2024)
Activist Focus:
- Policy
- Environment
Organizational/Political Party Affiliation:
Details
Immediate Concerns
Sept. 2024:
Hoang Thi Minh Hong and Tran Huynh Duy Thuc were both released early from prison on Sept. 20., synchronized with Secretary To Lam’s U.S. visit, where he was attending the UN Summit. The releases were secured during Undersecretary Zeya’s trip to Vietnam in August. Both releases are significant in that the two luminaries have been allowed to remain in country, contrary to most recent releases of high profile prisoners. Hong returned home to HCMC after a 12-hour bus ride. She was sentenced to three years in prison in Sep. 2023, and her expected release date was May 2026.
On Monday, To Lam spoke at Columbia University, which is where Hoang Thi Minh Hong studied as an Obama Foundation scholar. In a letter to the university’s president, U.S. Representative Michelle Steel had called for the event to be cancelled, saying that “Columbia cannot claim to foster a campus environment of free speech and expression while hosting one of the most prominent leaders of authoritarianism.”
Hong was the fifth climate activist to be jailed on false charges of tax evasion since 2021 in Vietnam. A report published by Project 88 in April 2023 documents clear evidence that these prosecutions are politically-driven and designed to criminalize climate activism. Project88 made the arrests of these five climate activists, as well as think tank director Ngo Thi To Nhien, a central part of advocacy efforts over the past two years. We led a campaign that resulted in 65 international human rights, free expression, and environmental organizations in issuing an open letter calling on former U.S. President Barack Obama to pressure Vietnam to release Hong. Our work also resulted in governments releasing statements on her behalf and in widespread media coverage of her arrest and trial in both English and Vietnamese.
July 2024:
Private sources reported to Project88 that Hoang Thi Minh Hong is healthy and doing relatively well after passing through the first few months in Gia Trung prison, where she was transferred in May. She is reportedly able to access food and clothes without many restrictions.
May 2024:
Environmental activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong has been transferred to Gia Trung Prison in Gia Lai Province, 550km from her home in Saigon.
March 2024:
Hoang Thi Minh Hong was moved to Bo La Detention Center in Binh Duong Province on Feb. 27. There have been no updates on her health or wellbeing.
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September 2023:
Environmental activist and Obama Foundation Scholar Hoang Thi Minh Hong was sentenced to three years in prison on tax evasion charges on September 28. She was also fined VND 100 million (approximately $4,000) and ordered to pay VND 6.7 Billion ($260,000) in back taxes. Her lawyer argued in court that the charges against his client were not applicable because the tax laws used against her organization are only meant for for-profit businesses.
Project 88’s Ben Swanton was quoted about the conviction in Reuters, The Guardian, CNN, and Al Jazeera, among others. “This is yet another example of the law being weaponised to persecute climate activists who are fighting to save the planet,” he said.
Many international organizations and governments have also condemned the conviction. From the U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller: “NGO leaders like Hoang Thi Minh Hong play a vital role in tackling global challenges, proposing sustainable solutions in the global fight against the climate crisis, and combating wildlife and timber trafficking.” For more international reactions to her trial, see the Take Action section in the arrest tab.
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The UN Special Rapporteurs published their Joint Allegation letter to Hanoi, penned in in July, raising concerns about her arrest. Hong is the sixth climate leader arrested in Vietnam since 2021. To learn more about her case, watch Now This News’s video: Why the Arrest of Activist Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng Highlights a Growing Problem in Vietnam and the same video done in Vietnamese by Project 88.
September 2023:
Hoang Thi Minh Hong had two visits from her lawyer last week, and she appeared to be well. The police seem to be giving her better treatment than before. She is now in a 25-person room. Her situation has improved, as there is more food to share and more things to do. The investigation report is finished, and the police stated that they will not prosecute the other individuals at CHANGE for now. They have forwarded the investigation’s conclusion to the Procuracy. The detention order has been extended to Sept 23. So far no other official paperwork has been sent to her family, but Hong’s lawyer has received a notice from the police saying the trial date has been set for Sept. 28.
June 2023:
As of mid June 2023, Hong had been transferred from Chi Hoa Detention Center to T30 Detention Center and had been allowed to see her lawyer.
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Must Watch: Why the Arrest of Activist Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng Highlights a Growing Problem in Vietnam
Same video done in Vietnamese by Project 88.
Background
Profile photo: CHANGE via RFA
History of Activism
Hoang Thi Minh Hong is an environmental activist and leader of the climate change movement in Vietnam. Hong was motivated to become an environmental advocate after a 1997 trip to Antarctica; she was the first Vietnamese national to achieve the feat.
In 2013, Hong founded the Center of Hands-on Action and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE), an organization that advocates for action on climate change, the environment, and wildlife protection. CHANGE is a member of the Vietnam Sustainable Energy Alliance, an advocacy coalition that was forcibly disbanded after four of its leaders were imprisoned on false charges of tax evasion between 2021-2022.
CHANGE took an activist approach to its work on climate change, educating the public about the harmful effects of coal and mobilizing communities to stop the construction and financing of new coal-fired power plants. In 2017, for example, the organization spearheaded a petition to stop the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Vietnam’s Long An province, which gained over 15,000 signatures and was widely shared on social media. Work on the petition, however, was forced to stop after the police intervened. Hong said that “the signatures were planned to be sent to South Korean owners and investors, and the Vietnamese government leaders, but due to police suppression during that time, we decided not to send the petition.” CHANGE’s activism made the organization an enemy of the coal industry. Hong made no secret of this and in an article published in Vietnamese state media, she is quoted as saying the “coal industry is immoral”.
Hong was also part of the inaugural Obama Foundation Scholars cohort in 2018 at Columbia University in New York City.
Hong is the fifth climate activist to be jailed on false charges of tax evasion in the past two years in Vietnam. A report published by Project 88 in April 2023 documents clear evidence that these prosecutions are politically-driven and designed to criminalize climate activism using false charges of tax evasion.
Before her arrest, Hong reported administrative harassment in the form of irregular audits of her organization, spurious inquiries about “money laundering” from her bank, and delays in the approval of CHANGE’s projects. After four of her colleagues were prosecuted and imprisoned for tax evasion between 2021-2, Hong (along with the rest of the NGO community in Vietnam) suddenly learned that local NGOs are, in certain circumstances, liable for paying corporate taxes, even on income that is used for non-profit development projects.
Concerned that she was next in line to be prosecuted, on March 7, 2022, Hong wrote to the tax office seeking guidance. The tax office responded on April 8 with an official interpretation of the law which stated that Hong’s organization was eligible for tax exemption. However, the office also noted that in the event that the organization uses grant money for incorrect purposes, then it would be liable for paying corporate tax. To avoid arrest, in 2022 Hong resigned as the director of CHANGE. After hearing rumors that “my resignation is not enough,” on August 23 she wrote to the state regulator, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), and asked for official permission to close CHANGE. VUSTA, however, denied Hong’s request, and she was unable to formally close CHANGE.
Family Situation
Hong is married. Her husband was originally detained with her but later released.
Sentenced to 3 years in prison under Art. 200 (2015 Code). Released September 20, 2024.
September 28, 2023 - Date of trial
3 years in prison
May 31, 2026
September 20, 2024
Details of Imprisonment
Hong was detained on orders from Ho Chi Minh City police in Ho Chi Minh City on May 31 and questioned by the Police Division for Economic Crimes. Her husband and 15 former and current colleagues were also detained but later released. Police searched her office as well. On June 1, Hong was forced to confess to tax evasion and was formally charged under Article 200 of the 2015 Criminal Code. She faces between 2-7 years in prison if convicted. While Hong's husband and colleagues were released, Hong remains in pre-trial incommunicado detention.
On June 20, Ho Chi Minh City police announced they are charging Hong with allegedly evading over 5 billion VND in taxes. To put this in perspective, Dang Dinh Bach was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly evading 1.4 billing VND.
Actions Taken
Several foreign governments and many international organizations have urged Vietnam to release Hong. Project 88 led a campaign that resulted in 65 international human rights, free expression, and environmental organizations in issuing an open letter calling on former U.S. President Barack Obama to pressure Vietnam to release her.
The UN reacted swiftly to news of Hong's arrest and issued a statement. The US Department of State also quickly condemned her arrest.
The UN OHCHR also released a video statement calling on Vietnam to review domestic laws to “ensure their full compliance with international human rights standards” and to “promptly release all those arbitrarily detained.” You can watch the video statement in English, paired with Vietnamese subtitles from Project 88, here.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the UK issued a statement regarding Hong's arrest, as did the German government and the UN Environment Programme.
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Regarding the trial and conviction of Hoang Thi Minh Hong on Sept. 28, 2023:
Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Jeremy Laurence: “Arrests of environmental human rights defenders are taking place amid Viet Nam’s implementation of the Just Energy Transition Partnership.”
France Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs: “France was already alarmed by her arrest on May 31. We will raise her case during upcoming discussions with the Vietnamese authorities.”
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has released a statement on the sentencing.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) issued an urgent appeal on behalf of Hoang Thi Minh Hong.
Resources
Project 88 interviews
Foreign ministry's remarks on detainment of high-profile environmentalist, Viet Nam News, June 1, 2023
On the Detention of Leaders and Staff of Vietnamese Environmental Civil Society Organization CHANGE, U.S. Department of State, June 2, 2023
Viet Nam – Detention of environmental human rights defender Hoang Thi Minh Hong, UN Office of the High Comissioner for Human Rights, June 2, 2023
Công an TPHCM khởi tố bà Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng về tội "Trốn thuế", Cong An Online, June 20, 2023
Open Letter to former President Obama from 65 Organizations, June 20, 2023
Tuyên phạt bị cáo Hoàng Thị Minh Hồng 3 năm tù vì tội trốn thuế, Than Nhien, Sept. 28, 2023
Vietnam jails leading climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong for tax evasion, The Guardian, Sept, 28. 2023
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
Profile last updated: 2024-11-17 00:21:05