IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 334 

Calling on the Government of Vietnam to release from prison, end the detention without trial, and cease the harassment and house arrest of the 

people who signed the Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam, and expressing the sense of Congress that the President should 

encourage Vietnam to release such people from prison and to direct 

the Secretary of State to establish a Countries of Particular Concern 

list to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in ‘‘particularly 

severe violations’’ of human rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 21, 2009 

Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California submitted the following resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Calling on the Government of Vietnam to release from prison, end the detention without trial, and cease the harassment and house arrest of the people who signed the 

Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam, and 

expressing the sense of Congress that the President 

should encourage Vietnam to release such people from 

prison and to direct the Secretary of State to establish 

a Countries of Particular Concern list to condemn countries like Vietnam, which engage in ‘‘particularly severe 

violations’’ of human rights. 


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•HRES 334 IH 

Whereas on April 8, 2006, 118 Vietnamese citizens signed a 

Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam, with 

the objective ‘‘to reestablish fundamental rights of the 

people’’ of Vietnam, ‘‘sacred rights of the Vietnamese nation [which] have been brutally trampled upon the moment the communist government was installed in Vietnam’’; 

Whereas these 118 Vietnamese citizens who signed the Manifesto are referred to as the Bloc 8406, based on date the 

Manifesto was signed, on the eighth day of April in the 

year 2006; 

Whereas the Manifesto calls on those inside and outside Vietnam to support peaceful, nonviolent action to bring democracy and basic human rights to the Vietnamese people; 

Whereas 13 of these brave supporters of democracy have 

since been sentenced to a total of 68 years in prison for 

signing the Manifesto; 

Whereas 11 of these democracy advocates have since been detained by the Government of Vietnam for 18 months or 

more, for signing their names to the Manifesto; 

Whereas at least five other signers of the peaceful, nonviolent 

Manifesto have been harassed and placed under house arrest by the Government of Vietnam; and 

Whereas in addition to the 118 signers of the Manifesto, the 

Government of Vietnam has continued to harass, arrest, 

and detain peaceful, nonviolent supporters of democracy: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That— 

2 (1) the House of Representatives— 


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•HRES 334 IH 

1 (A) calls on the Government of Vietnam to 

2 release those imprisoned for signing the Mani3 festo on Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam, 

4 including— 

5 (i) Father Nguyen Van Ly, sentenced 

6 to 8 years; 

7 (ii) Nguyen Phong, sentenced to 6 

8 years; 

9 (iii) Nguyen Binh Thanh, sentenced 

10 to 5 years; 

11 (iv) Nguyen Bac Truyen, jurist, sen12 tenced to 4 years; 

13 (v) Nguyen Van Dai, lawyer, sen14 tenced to 5 years; 

15 (vi) Le Thi Cong Nhan, lawyer, sen16 tenced to 4 years; 

17 (vii) Tran Quoc Hien, jurist, sen18 tenced to 5 years; 

19 (viii) Le Van Soc, Hoa Hao Buddhist, 

20 sentenced to 6 years; 

21 (ix) Hang Tan Phat, sentenced to 6 

22 years; 

23 (x) Truong Quoc Huy, sentenced to 6 

24 years; 


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•HRES 334 IH 

1 (xi) Truong Minh Duc, sentenced to 5 

2 years; 

3 (xii) Pastor Nguyen Thi Hong, sen4 tenced to 3 years; 

5 (xiii) Nguyen Van Hai, sentenced to 

6 2.5 years; 

7 (xiv) Luong Van Sinh, sentenced to 2 

8 years; 

9 (xv) Vu Hoang Hai, sentenced to 2 

10 years and 2 years probation; 

11 (xvi) Nguyen Ngoc Quang, sentenced 

12 to 3 years; 

13 (xvii) Nguyen Ngoc Quang, sentenced 

14 to 5 years; and 

15 (xviii) Doan Van Dien, sentenced to 

16 an unknown number of years; and 

17 (B) urges the Government of Vietnam to 

18 end its detention of those who are being held 

19 without a trial, for their signature to the Mani20 festo, including— 

21 (i) Le Ba Triet; 

22 (ii) Ho Thi Bich Khuong; 

23 (iii) Vu Van Hung; 

24 (iv) Dang Hung; 

25 (v) Pham Thanh Nghien; 


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•HRES 334 IH 

1 (vi) Pham Van Troi; 

2 (vii) Ngo Quynh; 

3 (viii) Vu Hung; 

4 (ix) Nguyen Van Tuc; 

5 (x) Nguyen Xuan Nghia; 

6 (xi) Tran Duc Thach; and 

7 (xii) Le Thi Kim Thu; and 

8 (C) insists that the Government of Viet9 nam cease harassment, police surveillance, and 

10 house arrest of those nonviolent democracy ad11 vocates who signed the Manifesto, including— 

12 (i) Do Nam Hai, co-founder of Bloc 

13 8406; 

14 (ii) Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, novelist; 

15 (iii) Hong Trung, Seventh-day Ad16 ventist pastor; 

17 (iv) Nguyen Hong Quang, Mennonite 

18 pastor; 

19 (v) Pham Ngoc Thach, Mennonite 

20 evangelist; 

21 (vi) Nguyen Tan Hoanh (aka Doan 

22 Huu Chuong), labor rights activist; 

23 (vii) Somsak Khunmi (aka Nguyen 

24 Quoc Hai); 

25 (viii) Nguyen The Vu; and 


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•HRES 334 IH 

1 (ix) Le Nguyen Sang, medical doctor; 

2 and 

3 (2) it is the sense of the House of Representa4 tives that— 

5 (A) the President should request that the 

6 President of Vietnam release all of these non7 violent, peaceful supporters of Democracy; and 

8 (B) the President should direct the Sec9 retary of State to establish a Countries of Par10 ticular Concern list to condemn countries like 

11 Vietnam, which engage in ‘‘particularly severe 

12 violations’’ of human rights, parallel in struc13 ture to the Countries of Particular Concern list 

14 for countries with ‘‘particularly severe violations 

15 of religious freedom,’’ as mandated under the 

16 International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 

17 and amended under Public Law 106–55. 

Æ 


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