Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A922-W602
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A922-W602
Release
Date: February 21, 2016
发布日：2016年2月21日
Topic:
Current Human Rights Situation in Vietnam With Emphasis on Internet Freedom,
Labor Rights and the TPP -- Dr. Quan Q. Nguyen
标题：关于越南人权现状，尤其是与互联网自由，劳工权利和加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”相关的评述 -- 阮医生（Dr. Quan Nguyen）
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Brief
Presentation of
Quan
Q. Nguyen, M.D., Chairman of Rallying For Democracy in Vietnam
Asia Alliance Seminar, Rayburn House
Office Building
February
11, 2016
"Current Human Rights Situation in
Vietnam
With
Emphasis on Internet Freedom, Labor Rights and the TPP"
_____________________________________________________________
Mr.
Wei Jingsheng, President of The Asia Democracy Alliance,
Dr.
Wenhe Lu and Mr. Sam Chin
Distinguished
guests,
Ladies
and gentlemen:
Thank
you for holding this seminar and allowing me to share with you some important
issues on human rights violations in Vietnam that I believe should be brought
to light.
First
of all, I would like to give you an
Overview
of the political situation in Vietnam:
At
the beginning of the 21st century, the Vietnamese people are still suffering
from a totalitarian regime. Vietnam is a one party system where there is no
separation of judiciary, administrative, and legislative branches. The Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP)
strictly controls the government at all levels, manipulates the National
Assembly, controls all mass media, and deprives the Vietnamese people of all
basic human rights. There are no
free and fair elections, and no independent unions to protect the millions of
Vietnamese workers. People who
disagree and express their own opinions in a peaceful way are imprisoned.
The
VCP and their cruel offspring have driven Vietnam to the brink of bankruptcy
through a centrally oriented economy and wasteful, inefficient
investments. Incredible wealth is
in the hands of corrupted apparatchiks, while the majority of people live in
poverty. The cost of living is
soaring; the price of electricity, water, and gasoline are rising day by day;
the Vietnamese "dong" is losing its value while wages and salaries
are stagnant. Workers have to toil
day and night, yet cannot make a decent living. The situation in Vietnam is ripe for transformation. The
people in Vietnam deserve support for their quest for freedom and democracy
from the international community, particularly the U.S.
And
now, I would like to emphasize on the two basic human rights that are
requirements for Vietnam joining the TPP:
Internet
freedom:
The
Vietnamese government strictly controls all mass media including the internet,
and censors all information to the people. According to 2014 Reporters Without
Borders' World Press Freedom Index, Vietnam ranks 174/180 countries. Last year, The Committee to Protect
Journalists ranked Vietnam among the 10 worst countries worldwide. Dissidents and human rights activists
have been harassed, arrested, and tried over the last 5 years on criminal
charges including espionage and other vague crimes against "national
security" for peaceful expression of their opinions on the internet.
Vietnam's authorities rely on a combination of restrictive laws, Internet
control, and outright repression to block the free flow of information. Vietnam
is second in the world only to China in the number of jailed netizens. Given
the economic impacts of a censored Internet, online censorship is not only a
human rights issue, but increasingly, a business issue. Therefore, the internet
freedom has become an important issue as the U.S. and Vietnamese governments
negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
Labor
Rights:
There
are no independent unions to protect the millions of workers in Vietnam. Vietnamese workers have no health
insurance, no worker compensation, no rights to go on strikes, nor collective
bargaining. Most of the workers have to resort to bribery to get jobs. They are required to work overtime
without pay, while frequently being subjected to abuse and maltreatment.
Although illegal without permission, about 300 hundred strikes, mainly related
to low salary, poor working conditions, and unemployment funds took place in
Vietnam last year.
The
unique Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (VGCL) is strictly controlled by
the Communist Party. It represents the party and employers, but not the
workers. Two prominent worker leaders, Doan Huy Chuong and Nguyen Hoang Quoc
Hung, who tried to form an independent union outside of the VGCL are currently
in jail. In short, Vietnam does
not meet the requirements on labor rights to become a member of the TPP and we
should not allow any waivers on these requirements.
Vietnam
Joining the TPP:
1.
Vietnam is suffering an ill economy, trade deficit, discontent, and anger from
the people, as well as serious threat from China. In that context, Hanoi is
looking to the TPP to save its tattered economy and sagging regime. However,
the current situation in Vietnam on human rights, labor rights, transparency,
intellectual property rights, etc. DO NOT meet the requirements of the TPP. To
participate, Vietnam needs to carry out fundamental reforms in these areas
first. We are looking to US Congress to make sure that those reforms become
reality before Vietnam is admitted to the TPP. There should be no waivers or
delays implementing the TPP requirements.
2.
Beyond written or verbal agreements with Vietnam, since the Vietnamese
communist leaders are known for breaking their commitment and promises, as
exhibited after entering the WTO, international monitors need to strictly
enforce treaty provisions.
3.
Last year, most Vietnamese people inside the country are very encouraged to
know that Vietnam has finally concluded talks to join TPP. They believe that in
order for the US Congress to ratify the agreement, Vietnam must improve its
human rights records, stop harassing, intimidating, and imprisoning innocent
people. Vietnam must respect internet freedom, and also allow Vietnamese
workers to form independent unions to protect their rights. However, they are
wrong. Ignoring all the requirements by TPP, the Vietnamese government
continues to intimidate, harass, attack, arrest, and put people in jails
without any justification. The arrest and imprisonment of prominent human rights
lawyer Nguyen Van Dai in December of 2015 just 2 months after the TPP
conclusion talk is a good example.
2
weeks ago, the XII party Congress re-elected the hard liner Secretary General
Nguyen Phu Trong and the Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang as the next
President of Vietnam signaling that there are no changes in the direction of
the Party and the human rights situation in Vietnam is not improving, but
getting worse.
At
present, Vietnam does not qualify to become a member of TPP. We solemnly
request that the US Congress will not rush to ratify the TPP with Vietnam until
it proves otherwise.
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
I
have been lucky to live in a free society like America where I can express my
own opinions without being intimidated or harassed. Therefore, I believe that
it is my responsibility to speak for my compatriots back home who do not have
these privileges. Thank you Mr. Wei and thank you all for giving me the
opportunity to do so today.
Quan
Nguyen, M.D.
Chairman,
Rallying For Democracy in Vietnam
Photo
of Dr. Quan Nguyen speaking at the ADA seminar (photo credit: Nelly Ngoc):
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2016/newsletters2016-1/NguyenQspeaking160211atADAseminar-c.jpg
Photo
of Dr. Quan Nguyen with Wei Jingsheng at Human Rights Without Border exhibition
(photo credit: Nelly Ngoc):
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2016/newsletters2016-1/NguyenQwithWeiJS160211atHRWBinCongress-c.jpg
A
slideshow of Dr. Quan Nguyen on Feb. 11, 2016 (credit: Nelly Ngoc):
http://www.weijingsheng.org/interviews/interviews2016/BernsteinRspeech160211WJSprize.mp3
(The
Wei Jingsheng Foundation is grateful to Yi Shi for his translation of this
report into Chinese and his other contributions to this Foundation.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
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中文版
Wei
Jingsheng Foundation News and Article Release Issue: A922-W602
魏京生基金会新闻与文章发布号：A922-W602
Release
Date: February 21, 2016
发布日：2016年2月21日
Topic:
Current Human Rights Situation in Vietnam With Emphasis on Internet Freedom,
Labor Rights and the TPP - Dr. Quan Q. Nguyen
标题：关于越南人权现状，尤其是与互联网自由，劳工权利和加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”相关的评述 -- 阮医生（Dr. Quan Nguyen）
Original
Language Version: English (Chinese version at the end)
此号以英文为准（英文在前，中文在后）
如有中文乱码问题，请与我们联系或访问:
http://www.weijingsheng.org/report/report2016/report2016-02/NguyenQspeech160221atADAseminarA922-W602.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------
关于越南人权现状，尤其是与互联网自由，劳工权利和加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”相关的评述
-- 在“亚洲民主联盟”研讨会暨成立10周年的庆祝活动上的发言
争取越南民主主席：阮医生（Quan Nguyen）
2016年2月11日
于美国国会众议院雷伯恩办公楼
亚洲民主同盟主席魏京生，
陆文禾博士和秦新民先生，
尊敬的来宾，女士们，先生们，
非常感谢大家组织这次座谈让我能与大家分享一些我认为应该被曝光的越南的侵犯人权的问题。
首先，我想给大家介绍一下越南的政治现状：
在21世纪刚开始的时候，越南人民还在遭受集权政权的压迫。越南的一党专制没有行政、司法和立法的分立。越南共产党牢牢地控制了各个级别的政府，掌控国民代表大会，控制所有公共媒体，剥夺越南人民的所有基本人权。在越南，没有任何自由和公正的选举，没有独立的工会来保护千百万越南工人。用和平的方式表达不同意见和自己观点的人被关押。
越共及其爪牙们通过一个集中控制的经济体制和浪费且低效率的投资，让越南走到了破产的边缘。当绝大部分人生活于贫困中时，共产官僚的手中却掌握着极端的财富。生活成本快速飞升；电、水和汽油的价格日益增长；越南盾在贬值的同时工资却没有增长。工人们即使彻夜工作也没法过上像样的生活。越南转型的条件已经成熟。越南人民对自由和民主的诉求值得国际社会，特别是美国的支持。
现在，我想强调两条作为越南加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”（TPP）的前提条件的基本人权：
互联网自由：
越南政府严格控制着所有的公共媒体，包括互联网，而且审查所有民众接受到的信息。根据2014年由“无国界记者”提供的世界媒体自由度指数，越南在180个国家中排名第174位。去年，“保护记者委员会”把越南列为全世界十个新闻自由最糟糕的国家之一。在过去的5年里，在互联网上和平地表达自己观点的异议者与人权活动家因为被按上各种包括“间谍”的刑事罪名和其它含糊如“威胁国家安全”的罪名而被骚扰、被逮捕和被审判。越南当局通过一套严格的法律，互联网控制和公开压制的组合运作来限制信息的自由流通。越南是人数上仅次于中国的将其网民送入大狱的国家。考虑到被审查的互联网对经济的影响，互联网审查不仅仅是人权问题，而且是一个越来越明显的商业问题。所以，互联网自由已成为越南和美国两国政府关于“跨太平洋伙伴关系”会谈中的一个重要议题。
工人权利：
越南没有一个独立的工会来保护数百万工人的权益。越南的工人没有医疗保险和工伤保障机制，也没有罢工和集体协商的权利。大部分工人为了工作必须行贿。他们经常被迫进行没有薪水的加班，而且经常有可能遭遇虐待和不公平对待。虽然不经过批准的罢工是非法的，但去年仍有300次主要是因为低工资、恶劣工作环境和失业金的原因而进行的罢工。
那个特别的“越南联合工会”被牢牢地控制在共产党的手里。它代表着越共和雇主的利益，却不代表工人的利益。两位工人领袖段辉彰（Doan Huy Chuong）和阮黄国雄（Nguyen
Hoang Quoc Hung）因为尝试组织在“越南联合工会”之外的独立工会，至今还在监狱里。简短的说，越南不符合加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”的劳工权利标准，而且我们不应该允许任何对于这些标准的豁免。
关于越南加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”：
1.在越南正遭受经济困境、贸易赤字、来自人民的不满和愤怒，以及来自中国的严重威胁时，河内希望依靠“跨太平洋伙伴关系”来拯救已破碎的经济和堕落的政权。然而，目前越南的人权、劳工权利、透明度，及知识产权等都未达到加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”的要求。想要参加，越南首先需要在这些领域进行根本改革。我们希望美国国会能确保这些改革在越南加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”之前成为现实。我们不应该在实施“跨太平洋伙伴关系”要求上有豁免与延误。
2.众所周知，越南共产党领导人习惯打破自己承诺，比如他们在加入世界贸易组织后的作为。所以除了与越南的书面或口头协议，国际观察员必须严格执行条约的规定。
3.去年，大多数境内的越南人在得知越南最后成功地结束了加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”的谈判后，都感到欢欣鼓舞。他们相信，为了使美国国会批准该协议，越南必然改善其人权纪录，停止骚扰、恐吓和监禁无辜的人；越南必然尊重网络自由，并容许越南工人形成独立的工会来保护自己的权利。然而，他们错了。在无视“跨太平洋伙伴关系”的所有要求下，越南政府继续没有任何正当理由地恐吓、骚扰、攻击和逮捕人民。“跨太平洋伙伴关系”谈话结束后才短短两个月，著名人权律师阮文岱（Nguyen
Van Dai）就在2015年12月被监禁。
两周前，第十二届党代会又选出强硬派的阮富仲（Nguyen Phu Trong）为总书记和公安部部长陈大光（Tran Dai Quang）为越南总统。这意味着越共的方向没有变化，越南人权情况不仅没得到改善，而且每况愈下。
目前的越南没有资格成为“跨太平洋伙伴关系”的成员。在越南能证明它符合条件前，我们严正要求美国国会不要急于批准越南加入“跨太平洋伙伴关系”。
女士们先生们，我一直觉得很幸运可以生活在一个像美国一样自由的社会。在这里我可以自由地表达我的意见，而不受到恐吓或骚扰。因此，我认为我有责任为我的家乡里那些没权说话的同胞们申诉。谢谢魏先生，感谢大家今天给这样一个我机会。
争取越南民主主席：阮医生（Quan Nguyen）
阮医生演讲的照片(拍摄：Nelly Ngoc)：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2016/newsletters2016-1/NguyenQspeaking160211atADAseminar-c.jpg
阮医生与魏京生在第二届“人权无疆界”展（拍摄：Nelly Ngoc）：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/pic/newsletters/newsletters2016/newsletters2016-1/NguyenQwithWeiJS160211atHRWBinCongress-c.jpg
阮医生2016年2月11日在美国国会活动的幻灯片（拍摄：Nelly Ngoc）：
http://www.weijingsheng.org/interviews/interviews2016/BernsteinRspeech160211WJSprize.mp3
（魏京生基金会感谢施毅翻译这篇文章以及他对本基金会做出的其它贡献。）
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