The Vietnam Briefing, which is released every Monday morning Vietnam time, looks at Vietnam’s social and political developments of the past week.

Family of Vietnamese land rights activists petitions the international community for the release of their detained members

• In a petition released on social media on April 30, family members of the detained land activists Can Thi Theu, Trinh Ba Phuong, and Trinh Ba Tu called on international human rights advocates and foreign embassies in Vietnam to pay attention to the detention of these activists and urge Hanoi to drop all charges against them.
• Theu and her two sons, Tu and Phuong, are land rights activists in Duong Noi Commune, Hanoi City. In 2021, Theu and Tu were each sentenced to eight years in prison while Phuong was sentenced to 10 years for their alleged activities involving “making, storing, and distributing propaganda and documents against the State.” They became land and human rights activists after the local authorities seized their farmland in 2008 without paying just compensation.
• Do Thi Thu, wife of Trinh Ba Phuong, who wrote the petition, said that although the Duong Noi farmers had peacefully and lawfully advocated for their legitimate rights to land usage over the years, the Vietnamese authorities had “repeatedly threatened, assaulted, detained, and imprisoned” them. Thu added that the arrests and detention of her family members violate international conventions on freedom of expression, which Vietnam has signed.
• The petition also highlighted the abuses and mistreatment by correctional officers against the detained activists. According to the petition, Trinh Ba Phuong was reportedly beaten while in custody while Trinh Ba Tu suffered kidney failure due to being tortured in prison; Can Thi Theu was kept in pretrial detention with  HIV-infected prisoners.
• Meanwhile, Trinh Ba Khiem, Theu’s husband, received a police summons on May 11 and May 12 because of his live-streaming on Facebook criticizing the Vietnamese government for the imprisonment of his wife and two sons. In an interview with RFA, Khiem said that the police threatened to arrest and prosecute him if he did not stop live-streaming his criticisms.
• Khiem also visited Trinh Ba Tu on May 9 and Can Thi Theu on May 12 in prison. Tu said that his health remains in good condition despite being previously tortured while in custody; he added that the police illegally cracked his phone’s password and accessed his personal accounts without the lawyer’s presence.
• Meanwhile, Can Thi Theu’s current imprisonment condition is much more preferable to her previous pretrial detention, according to Trinh Ba Khiem. Theu also said that she sent her gratitude to those who stood by her family’s activism over the past years.

The 88 Project’s latest report: Vietnam stepped up arrests in 2021

• In the latest report released on May 9, The 88 Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for the freedom of expression in Vietnam, highlighted the Vietnamese government’s increasing persecution and crackdown of media professionals and civil society leaders in Vietnam.
• According to The 88 Project’s database, Hanoi arrested 12 media professionals in 2021, a significant increase from just three arrests in 2019. The organization noted that this trend represented the government’s “desperate attempt to stamp out fledgling efforts to promote press freedom in [Vietnam.]”
• Another worrying issue is the Vietnamese government’s suppression of civil society with the detention and imprisonment of leaders of registered civil organizations. Civil society leaders such as Mai Phan Loi, Dang Dinh Bach, and Bach Hung Duong have been arrested and imprisoned on “tax evasion” charges. Earlier this year, environmental leader Nguy Thi Khanh was arrested under the same allegation.

Vietnamese Prime Minister arrives in Washington D.C. for the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

• On May 11, Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh arrived in Washington D.C. to attend the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit, an event hosted to mark the 45th anniversary of the bilateral relationship between the United States and other ASEAN countries, state media reported. The event took place from May 12 to 13.
• Chinh’s agenda during his official visit to Washington includes the promotion of U.S.-Vietnam cooperation in economic development, trade, national defense, healthcare, and energy. According to State media, the two countries are also expected to reaffirm their bilateral commitments to support “a strong, independent and prosperous Vietnam,” according to State media.
• During his speech at the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Pham Minh Chinh emphasized crucial elements such as sincerity, trust, and responsibility and their essential role in fostering healthy international relations. Chinh also promoted the need to strengthen international cooperation by “respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political institutions, and international law.”
• However, Vietnam’s public commitment to uphold international law and the UN Charter stood in contrast to its failure to publicly condemn Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Hanoi twice abstained from the United Nations’ resolution condemning the act of aggression and voted against the U.S.-led attempt to suspend Moscow’s membership in the UN Human Rights Council.
• Meanwhile, Vietnam’s social media exploded last week after a diplomatic scandal happened before Prime Minister Chinh met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington D.C. on May 13.
• In a video live-streamed on the State Department’s Youtube channel, Chinh and other members of the Vietnamese delegation to the summit were heard making imprudent comments regarding the two countries’ relationship and diplomatic affairs. The video is no longer accessible on Youtube.
• Many netizens have criticized the country’s leaders for their lack of courtesy while on diplomatic trips abroad. In November 2021, a video recording of Minister of Public Security To Lam’s luxurious meal in London at the restaurant of Nurset Gokce, popularly known as Salt Bae,  also attracted enormous public attention and widespread criticism.
• The video was later deleted from Salt Bae’s personal account, but netizens in Vietnam downloaded it and republished it on social media.

Human Rights Watch sends a letter to President Joe Biden to address human rights issues in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit

• On May 6, Elaine Pearson, acting Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW)  in an open letter called on U.S. President Joe Biden to “feature robust discussion” on human rights, democracy, and rule of law both among Southeast Asian countries and the United States in the U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit on May 12.
• The letter also urged the Biden administration not to ignore problematic human rights violations in many ASEAN countries as it seeks to shore up alliances with members amid China’s growing influence in the region. The worsening situation and severe human rights abuses in Southeast Asia “threaten to corrode US efforts to strengthen ties” with the region’s nations.
• HRW wrote that “Vietnam’s one-party authoritarian state has imprisoned more than 150 people for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly.” The country’s penal code also “criminalizes criticism of the government,” the rights advocate added.
• Hanoi on May 11 released Ho Duc Hoa, a Vietnamese journalist, and rights activist, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison, ahead of the special summit between the United States and ASEAN countries. Hoa was released after serving 11 years in jail, and he later boarded a plane to the United States with Tran Thi Thuy, another land rights activist who was sentenced to eight years in prison.
• According to RFA, Vietnam has previously released high-profile political prisoners ahead of diplomatic meetings with U.S. leaders. During Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Vietnam in August 2021, Hanoi also released detained Vietnamese-Americans Angel Phan and James Han Nguyen. Phan and Nguyen were convicted of allegedly attempting to overthrow the State in 2018 and were both sentenced to 14 years in prison.

Vietnam responds to the UN Commission on Human Rights’ mandate on the rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association

• On April 27, the permanent mission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the United Nations responded to the UN Special Rapporteurs’ mandates concerning the Vietnamese government’s restrictions on the freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
• Previously, the Special Rapporteurs in an open letter expressed their “serious concerns” over a number of the Vietnamese government’s amended decrees and decisions. According to the rapporteurs, these updated legislations are allegedly used to restrict the activities and funding of national and international nonprofit organizations (NGOs) and further control public meetings and seminars in Vietnam.
• In its response, Vietnam said that these regulations are used to “ensure transparent and effective operations” and do not “contain any provisions relating to restrictions on freedom of association and assembly.” “Vietnam always respects, protects, and ensures citizens’ rights to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and access to information according to the 2013 Constitution and laws,” the letter stated.
• However, the Vietnamese government’s latest suppression of registered NGOs and civil society leaders shows that Hanoi has zero-tolerance for anyone challenging its one-Party rule. According to The 88 Project, there are currently 206 activists in prison and another 334 at risk in Vietnam.

Imagery shows China still building on Subi Reef in the South China Sea

RFA: