One of Vietnam’s most prominent pro-democracy dissidents has been detained after calling for a revolution to overthrow the Communist government, state-controlled media reported yesterday.
Nguyen Dan Que last week posted an appeal on the Internet calling for the masses to launch an uprising to make a “clean sweep of Communist dictatorship and build a new, free, democratic, humane and progressive Vietnam.”
Tuoi Tre newspaper reported yesterday that the 69-year-old Que was being held by police in Ho Chi Minh City for allegedly acting to overthrow the government.
It said his house was searched on Saturday and police found 60,000 documents on his computer calling for a revolution.
The authorities declined to comment.
Que told police he authored many documents and also distributed them to anti-communist organizations or individuals in Vietnam and abroad, the newspaper said.
It quoted deputy administrator of Ho Chi Minh City police Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Sy Quang, as saying “Que’s act is very dangerous, directly violating the stability and strength of the people’s government.”
Vietnam does not tolerate any challenge to its one-party rule, and often uses vague national security laws to imprison anyone considered a threat. Hanoi maintains that only lawbreakers are punished.
Que is a doctor who also heads the Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights in Vietnam. He has been jailed three times since 1978, serving a total of 20 years behind bars for promoting democracy and human rights. Vietnam considers his actions a threat to national security.
On Saturday, The Washington Post ran an opinion piece authored by Que criticizing Vietnamese police for manhandling a US Embassy diplomat as he tried to visit another well-known dissident and Catholic priest, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly, last month in central Hue.
If Washington is looking to Vietnam for a long-term partner for peace and regional stability, America would do well to recognize publicly that only a Vietnam that is free and democratic can provide one,” it said.
The call for a revolution comes as neighboring China works to stifle protests organized over the Internet in response to democratic movements across the Middle East.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese