The US on Friday said it was deeply concerned by the sentencing this week of a Vietnamese dissident to 20 years in prison, calling a trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful activism troubling.
A US Department of State statement on the sentencing on Thursday of Le Dinh Luong after a one-day trial called on Vietnam to immediately release all prisoners of conscience.
Luong, 53, was arrested last year after encouraging people to boycott a National Assembly election, writing Facebook posts that expressed views against the ruling Communist Party and state, and inciting protests against a Taiwanese steel firm.
He was charged with attempting to overthrow the state.
“The trend of increased arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful activists in Vietnam is troubling,” the State Department said. “The United States calls on Vietnam to release all prisoners of conscience immediately and to allow all individuals in Vietnam to express their views freely and assemble peacefully without fear of retribution.”
Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness to social change, Vietnam’s Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.
The US has developed close ties with Vietnam in recent years, seeing it as an important regional partner in the face of China’s rapid rise, but Washington has remained critical of Hanoi over human rights.
It has also criticized Hanoi over a cybersecurity law that tightens control of the Internet and global technology companies operating in the country, raising fears of economic harm and a further crackdown on dissent.
Vietnamese state media cited police as saying that Luong was a “dangerous” member of Viet Tan, a US-based human rights group that Vietnam regards as a “terrorist” body.
‘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