Project88 Vietnam Newsletter No. 43/2024 — Dec. 9-18
Greetings from Project88. We bring you news, analysis, and actions regarding human rights and civil society in Vietnam from Dec. 9-18. This week, Project88 published a report on Decree 126, a new decree that greatly increases government oversight and regulations on associations.
On October 8, 2024, the Vietnamese government enacted Decree 126. Compared to Decree 45, which it replaces, the new decree makes it more difficult to establish an association and gives the government more power to control and monitor the activities and funding sources of associations once they are established. Most notably, Decree 126 grants the government the power to suspend and dissolve associations.
Decree 126 is the latest in a series of policy measures that are part of a new wave of repression in the country. On July 13, 2023, the Communist Party of Vietnam issued Directive 24, which frames foreign influence on Vietnamese civil society as a threat to national security and orders further restrictions on local organizations. In a communication to the prime minister, the Ministry of Home Affairs stated that Directive 24 helped outline the reasons why it was necessary to replace Decree 45. Decree 126 is the latest in a series of policies that, whatever their stated aims, will further suppress Vietnamese civil society.
In addition, Project88 published an article on the arrest and imprisonment of Duong Van Thai. We were able to access court documents from the case and revealed that that seven people, five of whom were state or party officials, were also sentenced to prison, and at least 60 people were criminally investigated as part of the case. Read the article in Vietnamese, here.
In other news this week, lawyer Tran Dinh Trien has been formally charged with “abusing democratic freedoms.” And the U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam said this week at an arms show that the U.S. aims to “ensure that Vietnam has what it needs to defend its interests at sea, in the air, on the ground and in cyberspace.” The statement comes just a week before Vietnam’s sweeping new regulations to further control online activities and information– Decree 147– goes into effect. A new report from Meta shows that Facebook alone censored over 3,200 posts in just the first six months of 2024.
HUMAN RIGHTS & CIVIL SOCIETY
Tran Dinh Trien, a lawyer and former deputy director of the Hanoi Bar Association arrested in early June along with author Truong Huy San, was charged on Dec. 12 with “abusing democratic freedoms” based on Article 331. Before his arrest, Trien had made several posts on his Facebook page about the chief justice of Vietnam’s Supreme Court, Nguyen Hoa Binh, whom he claims was a classmate of his in law school. Some of the posts were cited by prosecutors as evidence in the indictment. If convicted, Trien could face between 2-7 years in prison.
Trinh Ba Tu
Trinh Ba Tu‘s sister, Trinh Thi Thao, told Project88 that their father traveled over 500 km to visit Tu at Prison No. 6 in Nghe An on Dec. 10. He reported that after Tu’s 21-day hunger strike with several other prisoners in late September, the prisoners were slowly recovering physically. After their hunger strike ended, prison officials forbade them from having notebooks and pens for their nightly studies, which is a violation of prisoners’ rights. Tu also said that Nguyen Chi Tuyen (a.k.a. Anh Chi) had just been transferred to Prison No. 6 from Thuong Tin Prison on Dec. 6.
Hoang Duc Binh
Hoang Duc Binh‘s brother, Hoang Duc Nguyen, visited him at An Diem Prison on Dec. 7. Nguyen told Project88 that Binh’s health had worsened after his hunger strike to protest against having pens and paper taken away. Binh is also said to have kidney stones in his urine, some of which he tried to give to his brother as proof, but Nguyen reported they were crushed by the guards. Meanwhile, all political prisoners at An Diem are still isolated from the rest of the camp. For unknown reasons, Binh has been limited to only one family visit every two months. In recent weeks, he’s also been forbidden from tending his vegetable garden, and all his plants have reportedly been destroyed by prison guards.
Phan Van Bach
On Dec. 10, the wife of Phan Van Bach, Nguyen Thi Yeu (a.k.a. Nguyen Thi Lieu) and her family went to the detention center where Bach was being held to visit and bring him monthly supplies. However, they were told that Bach had been transferred to Prison Camp No. 5 in Thanh Hoa province on Dec. 5. No reason for the transfer was given.
Bui Tuan Lam
Noodle seller Bui Tuan Lam was finally allowed to see his wife and daughters on Dec. 12. As previously reported, Lam was shackled for 10 days in November, allegedly for fighting with another prisoner, and forbidden from having visitors. Lam’s wife, Le Thanh Lam, told Project88 she learned that the person with whom her husband was accused of attacking was Nguyen Minh Tan, a non-political prisoner with a long sentence. According to Nguyen Ngoc Anh, recently released from the same prison, Tan is suspected by many fellow prisoners of being planted among the political prisoners to gather information about them and report to prison officials.
Attorney Trinh Vinh Phuc and his wife successfully emigrated from Vietnam and arrived safely in the U.S. on Dec. 4. Phuc was one of five lawyers defending the monks at Bong Lai Temple. Phuc wrote a letter addressed to the Lawyers Association of Vietnam before he left. In it, he described the harassment he had been subjected to by Long An police and security forces in the past two years that eventually resulted in a formal charge against him for “abusing democratic freedoms” based on Article 331. Phuc said he finally realized that he would never be able to “reason against those who have guns, handcuffs and prisons,” and should he become a defendant, the only possible outcome is that “I would become a prisoner myself because one cannot expect justice from Vietnam’s judicial system.” Phuc is the fourth attorney from the group to have fled to the U.S. to avoid arrest.
Huynh Truong Ca, an intellectual who signed a petition circulated by academics and writers, was questioned for three hours by Dong Thap provincial police on Dec. 6. The petition was addressed to Secretary General To Lam and called for modernization of the political system. Ca told Project88 he tried to explain to investigators that he was only doing what the new party boss had earlier said Vietnam really needed, namely, reforming the country’s political structure.
INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY
Vietnam: Repeal Harmful Internet Laws. Human Rights Watch; 2024-12-11. The Vietnamese government should repeal a draconian new decree tightening control of internet use and the 2018 Law on Cybersecurity, Human Rights Watch said today. The regulation, which undermines access to information and freedom of expression in Vietnam, goes into effect on December 25, 2024.
Y Krec Bya
Imprisoned member of persecuted church wins Vietnam human rights award. Radio Free Asia; 2024-12-09. A missionary from a Christian church in Vietnam’s Central Highlands who was arrested last year on charges of “undermining the national unity policy” was named as the winner of the annual Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award. Y Krec Bya belongs to the Central Highlands Evangelical Church of Christ, which has been targeted by authorities in Dak Lak province who have sought to force members to abandon prayer meetings or leave the church.
Le Huu Minh Tuan
Writer and prisoner of conscience Le Huu Minh Tuan receives DFP sponsorship. Pen America; 2024-12-12. PEN America is profoundly grateful to Rep. Michelle Steel for sponsoring Vietnamese writer and prisoner of conscience Le Huu Minh Tuan as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s Defending Freedoms Project (DFP). Tuan is serving an unjust 11-year prison sentence for his writings on human rights. He has been denied access to proper medical care despite his health rapidly deteriorating.
VIETNAM IN THE WORLD
Vietnam announces candidacy for next-term UN Human Rights Council. Vietnam News; 2024-12-13. Vietnam has officially announced its candidacy for re-election to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 tenure. The announcement was made at a ceremony held by the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the UN in New York on December 12 on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, drawing a large number of diplomats and representatives from various UN missions.
Vietnam-UAE’s CEPA: A Strategic Gateway Between ASEAN and the Gulf. The Diplomat; 2024-12-11. In a period of shifting global dynamics, the signing of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) between Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on October 28, 2024, signals both nations’ intent to deepen their partnerships beyond traditional alliances. For Vietnam, the UAE represents a pathway to diversifying trade partners and enhancing economic resilience by establishing ties with a region it has not traditionally engaged deeply.
OP-ED: On Human Rights Day, UNDP welcomes Vietnam’s commitment to int’l cooperation. Vietnam Plus; 2024-12-13. Sabina Stein, Head of Governance & Participation, UNDP in Vietnam, has recently penned an article, lauding Vietnam’s engagement in international human rights instruments and cooperation.
The Fruit Is Ripe: Vatican-Vietnam Diplomatic Relations After 35 Years. National Catholic Register; 2024-12-10. On Sept. 22, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, met at the United Nations with then-President To Lam. They affirmed diplomatic progress and discussed a visit to Vietnam by Pope Francis, the first ever by a pope. The fruit is ripe: Vietnam and the Holy See are sure to sign a bilateral agreement soon, which will pave the way for an apostolic visit that Vietnamese Catholics discuss frequently because they expect it would galvanize the nation.
ADDITIONAL NEWS AND ANALYSIS
New decree keeps associations under control of Vietnam’s Communist Party: Project 88. Radio Free Asia; 2024-12-16. A recently decree that increases restrictions on associations in Vietnam is aimed at ensuring they stay under the control and do not threaten the absolute power of the ruling Communist Party, a new report said Monday.
5 Vietnamese Communist Party officials jailed for helping abducted blogger: report. Radio Free Asia; 2024-12-11. Vietnam has jailed five party members for feeding information to Duong Van Thai, a blogger who is believed to have been abducted in Thailand last year and resurfaced in Vietnamese custody, the human rights group Project88 reported, citing sources inside the government. The report sheds new light on the case of Thai, who fled Vietnam in 2019 fearing political persecution for his many YouTube and Facebook posts criticizing the government of corruption and over its policies.
This story was also reported on by BBC Tieng Viet.
US ambassador to Vietnam says US arms manufacturers could help boost Vietnam’s military capabilities. AP; 2024-12-19. U.S. weapons manufacturers could work with Vietnamese counterparts to help build up Vietnam’s armed forces, the U.S. ambassador to the southeast Asian country said on Thursday. “Our goal is to ensure that Vietnam has what it needs to defend its interests at sea, in the air, on the ground and in cyberspace,” U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper said at an international arms expo in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi.
Facebook blocks post on alleged sex assault by Vietnamese officials on NZ trip. Radio Free Asia; 2024-12-17. Meta, the company that owns Facebook, blocked more than 3,200 pieces of content from being viewed in Vietnam in the first half of 2024, it said Tuesday, including a report on Vietnamese officials being accused of sexual assault during a trip to New Zealand. In a report posted to its “Transparency Center,” Meta said it had restricted access to the content — which included 3,160 posts and 119 comments — after receiving requests from Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications’ Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information and Ministry of Public Security.
Vietnam Issues Disciplinary ‘Warning’ to Ex-President Over Graft. Bloomberg; 2024-12-13. Vietnam’s Politburo has issued a disciplinary “warning” to former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc for violating anti-corruption regulations, the latest step in a sweeping anti-graft campaign that has ensnared hundreds of officials and business executives. Phuc, 70, violated regulations related to anti-corruption work and rules governing the behavior of party members while prime minister, causing “serious” consequences and damaging the party and the state’s reputation, according to a statement on the government’s website.
Fewer Voices, More Control: Vietnam Reshapes Its Media. Fulcrum; 2024-12-17. In early December, under the banner of sweeping administrative reform spearheaded by Communist Party chief To Lam, the one-party state unveiled its most radical media restructuring yet. The plan goes beyond an ongoing initiative to consolidate 180 of 820 press organizations through mergers or closures, and to cut 8,000 jobs primarily affecting editors and reporters by 2025. Under the scheme, Vietnam Television (VTV) will absorb several smaller state-run broadcasters, becoming the sole national television channel with specialized programming aligned with the Party’s strategic goals.
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