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PRESS RELEASE

On the morning of June 10, 2018, the people of Vietnam took to the streets in several major cities, including Hanoi, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Hochiminh City, Da Nang, Nha Trang, My Tho, Can Tho, Tay Ninh, Rach Gia – Kien Giang, Phan Rang and Phan Ri. They protested the Vietnam Communist Party’s attempt to forcefully set up three Special Economic Zones, ignoring our people’s concern that these SEZs would illegally allow China the opportunity to expand its influence and domination in our country.

Our people’s demonstration was lawful and peaceful. However, it was met with violent crackdowns by the government’s armed and plain clothes police. Hundreds of us were brutally beaten, tear-gassed and jailed. In the province of Binh Thuan, after fierce confrontation between the protestors and the police, both the police and protestors went peacefully back to their respective homes after they had reached an agreement that the SEZs are unconstitutional. However, the central government has since quarantined Binh Thuan with blackouts of electricity and communications, interruption of food and water distribution and prevention of any international oversights. We know that they sent in special security forces and the military to arrest and brutalize the people of Binh Thuan.

On 6/12/2018, the Vietnamese National Assembly passed a contentious cybersecurity law, which further constricts freedom of expression. The law requires companies like Facebook and Google to store data in Vietnam and allow the government total access to personal information, as well as to remove any “offending” contents, a ridiculously broad standard.

Forty years ago, in a commencement address at Harvard University on June 8, 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn said, “socialism of any type leads to a total destruction of the human spirit and to a leveling of mankind into death.”

Today, we stand on this land that we inherit and assert that:

We have the right to peaceful protests.
We are entitled to freedom of expression.
The organized violence aimed at unarmed people by institutions of the state is abominable.
We are endowed with irrefutable right to defend ourselves against illegal and barbarous attacks.

This weekend, we will again take to the streets to peacefully protest against the SEZs and the government’s serious infringements on our freedom of expression. We firmly believe that giving our land to China is treason of the highest order. This is a fight that we did not wage but we will overcome.

Our bodies may be broken but not our love for country and people. History will pass judgement on us for our commitment and determination. We will not fail our ancestors and our descendants.

Doing anything less is unacceptable.