{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400716", "Smith Leads Bipartisan Letter to President on Human Rights in Vietnam", "2017-11-08", "2017", "2017-11", "Republican", "House", "NJ", "Christopher Smith", "S000522", "chrissmith.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "As President Trump begins a two-day visit to Vietnam on Friday, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) today released a letter urging the President to address Vietnam\u2019s \u201cdismal human rights record\u201d by making any expansion of U.S. economic and strategic cooperation contingent upon concrete improvements in human rights. The bipartisan letter was signed by 20 Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.\r\n          share:\r\n          f \r\n          t \r\n        \r\n      \r\n      As President Trump begins a two-day visit to Vietnam on Friday, Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) today released a letter urging the President to address Vietnam\u2019s \u201cdismal human rights record\u201d by making any expansion of U.S. economic and strategic cooperation contingent upon concrete improvements in human rights. The bipartisan letter was signed by 20 Republican and Democratic members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.\r\n\u201cFor too long Vietnam has gotten a free pass on human rights,\u201d said Smith, chairman of the House panel on global human rights. \u201cDiplomats are so focused on the fact that Vietnam is \u2018not China\u2019 that this oppressive police state is granted trade and security benefits without condition.\u201d  \r\n\r\n\u201cPresident Trump has a real opportunity to bring about tangible reforms in Vietnam if he links better U.S.-Vietnam relations to tangible human rights improvements. This will be warmly welcomed by the Vietnamese people who want the U.S. to be a voice for freedom\u2014because their voice is silenced,\u201d Smith said.  \r\n\r\nThe letter included a list of 105 known religious and political prisoners and urged the President to raise specific cases, such as those of human rights lawyer Nguyen Van Dai, Buddhist leader Thich Quang Do, blogger Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh and others from Vietnam\u2019s diverse religious and ethnic communities\u2014Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Khmer Krom, Montagnard, Hmong, Hoa Hao and Cao Dai. Read the letter here.  \r\n\r\nSmith raised the case of Nguyen Van Dai and other political prisoners with the White House before the scheduled trip.\u00a0  \r\n\r\nLast year, Smith held a hearing with Vu Minh Khanh, Nguyen Van Dai\u2019s wife, who urged the then-Obama Administration to raise the case of her husband.\u00a0Nguyen Van Dai is one of the most courageous advocates for religious freedom and human rights in Vietnam; he has been beaten and detained now without charge for too long.\u00a0 He should be immediately released. \u00a0Smith first met with Nguyen Van Dai on a trip to Vietnam in 2005.  \r\n\r\nU.S. interests in a better business climate, fairer trade, a free internet, investor confidence, and civil society development are all directly related to improving Vietnam\u2019s dismal human rights record and improvements in the rule of law.\u00a0 Failing to press for real and concrete improvements in these areas underestimates U.S. leverage in discussions, and will disappoint the Vietnamese youth.\u00a0 It should be clear by now that Vietnam needs the U.S. markets and security commitments much more than the U.S. needs Vietnam\u2019s markets and security cooperation.\u201d  \r\n\r\nSmith is the co-chair of the bipartisan Vietnam Human Rights Caucus.\u00a0 He has chaired over a dozen hearings on human rights and rule of law conditions in Vietnam.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=400716"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2518430594354868, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}