IB
Union Calendar No. 117
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2368
[Report No. 107–199, Part I]
To promote freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 28, 2001
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey (for himself, Mr. TOM DAVIS of Virginia, Ms.
SANCHEZ, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. WOLF,
and Mr. GILMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees
on Financial Services, and Rules, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Additonal sponsors: Ms. LEE, Mr. CLAY, Mr. BURTON of Indiana, Mr.
SOUDER, Ms. MCKINNEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, and Ms.
MCCOLLUM
SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Reported from the Committee on International Relations with an amendment
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Referral to the Committees on Financial Services and Rules extended for a
period ending not later than September 5, 2001
SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
The Committees on Financial Services and Rules discharged; committed to the
Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered
to be printed
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 28, 2001]
A BILL
To promote freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Viet
Nam Human Rights Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purpose.
TITLE II—PROMOTION OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY IN VIET NAM
Subtitle A—Prohibition on Nonhumanitarian Assistance to the Government of
Viet Nam
Sec. 201. Bilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Sec. 202. Multilateral nonhumanitarian assistance.
Subtitle B—Assistance to Support Democracy in Viet Nam
Sec. 211. Assistance.
Subtitle C—United States Public Diplomacy
Sec. 221. Radio Free Asia transmissions to Viet Nam.
Sec. 222. United States educational and cultural exchange programs with Viet
Nam.
Subtitle D—United States Refugee Policy
Sec. 232. Refugee resettlement for nationals of Viet Nam.
Subtitle E—Annual Report on Progress Toward Freedom and Democracy in
Viet Nam
Sec. 241. Annual report.
TITLE I—GENERAL PROVISIONS
SEC. 101. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Viet Nam is a one-party state, ruled and
controlled by the Vietnamese Communist Party.
(2) The Government of Viet Nam denies the peo-
ple of Viet Nam the right to change their government
and prohibits independent political, social, and labor
organizations.
(3)(A) The Government of Viet Nam consistently
pursues a policy of harassment, discrimination, and
intimidation, and sometimes of imprisonment and
other forms of detention, against those who peacefully
express dissent from government or party policy.
(B) Recent victims of such mistreatment, which
violates the rights to freedom of expression and asso-
ciation recognized in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, include Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, Dr.
Nguyen Thanh Giang, General Tran Do, Most Vener-
able Thich Huyen Quang, Most Venerable Thich
Quang Do, Father Nguyen Van Ly, numerous leaders
of the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church and of independent
Protestant churches, and an undetermined number of
members of the Montagnard ethnic minority groups
who participated in peaceful demonstrations in the
Central Highlands of Viet Nam during February
2001.
(4) The Government of Viet Nam systematically
deprives its citizens of the fundamental right to free-
dom of religion. Although some freedom of worship is
permitted, believers are forbidden to participate in re-
ligious activities except under circumstances rigidly
defined and controlled by the government:
(A) In 1999 the Government issued a Decree
Concerning Religious Activities, which declared
in pertinent part that ‘‘[a]ll activities using reli-
gious belief in order to oppose the State of the
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, to prevent the
believers from carrying out civic responsibilities,
to sabotage the union of all the people, to against
the healthy culture of our nation, as well as su-
perstitious activities, will be punished in con-
formity with the law’’.
(B) The Unified Buddhist Church of Viet
Nam (UCBV), the largest religious denomination
in the country, has been declared illegal by the
Government, and over the last twenty-five years
its clergy have often been imprisoned and sub-
jected to other forms of persecution. The Patri-
arch of the Unified Buddhist Church, 83-year-old
Most Venerable Thich Huyen Quang, has been
detained for 21 years in a ruined temple in an
isolated area of central Viet Nam. Most Vener-
able Thich Quang Do, the Executive President of
the Unified Buddhist Church, has also been in
various forms of detention for many years, and
was recently rearrested and placed under house
arrest after he had proposed to bring Most Vener-
able Thich Huyen Quang to Saigon for medical
treatment.
(C) The Hoa Hao Buddhist Church was
also declared to be illegal until 1999, when the
Government established an organization which
purports to govern the Hoa Hao. According to
the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom, ‘‘[t]his organization is made
up almost entirely of Communist Party members
and apparently is not recognized as legitimate
by the vast majority of Hoa Haos . . .
[n]evertheless, [this government-sponsored orga-
nization] has sought to control all Hoa Hao reli-
gious activity, particularly at the Hoa Hao vil-
lage, which is the center of Hoa Hao religious
life’’. Hoa Hao believers who do not recognize the
legitimacy of the government organization are
denied the right to visit the Hoa Hao village, to
conduct traditional religious celebrations, or to
display Hoa Hao symbols. Many have been ar-
rested and subjected to administrative detention,
and several Hoa Hao have been sentenced to
prison terms for protesting these denials of reli-
gious freedom.
(D) Independent Protestants, most of whom
are members of ethnic minority groups, are sub-
jected to particularly harsh treatment by the
Government of Viet Nam. According to the
United States Commission on International Re-
ligious Freedom, such treatment includes ‘‘police
raids on homes and house churches, detention,
imprisonment, confiscation of religious and per-
sonal property, physical and psychological abuse,
and fines for engaging in unapproved religious
activities (such as collective worship, public reli-
gious expression and distribution of religious lit-
erature, and performing baptisms, marriages, or
funeral services) . . . [i]n addition, it is reported
that ethnic Hmong Protestants have been forced
by local officials to agree to abandon their
faith’’.
(E) Other religious organizations, such as
the Catholic Church, are formally recognized by
the Government but are subjected to pervasive
regulation which violates the right to freedom of
religion. For instance, the Catholic Church is
forbidden to appoint its own bishops without
Government consent, which is frequently denied,
to accept seminarians without specific official
permission, and to profess Catholic doctrines
which are inconsistent with Government policy.
A Catholic priest, Father Nguyen Van Ly, was
arrested in March 2001 and remains in deten-
tion after submitting written testimony to the
United States Commission on International Re-
ligious Freedom.
(F) The Government has also confiscated
numerous churches, temples, and other properties
belonging to religious organizations. The vast
majority of these properties—even those belong-
ing to religious organizations formally recog-
nized by the Government—have never been re-
turned.
(5) Since 1975 the Government of Viet Nam has
persecuted veterans of the Army of the Republic of
Viet Nam and other Vietnamese who had opposed the
Viet Cong insurgency and the North Vietnamese inva-
sion of South Viet Nam. Such persecution typically
included substantial terms in ‘‘re-education camps’’,
where detainees were often subjected to torture and
other forms of physical abuse, and in which many
died. Re-education camp survivors and their families
were often forced into internal exile in ‘‘New Eco-
nomic Zones’’. Many of these former allies of the
United States, as well as members of their families,
continue until the present day to suffer various forms
of harassment and discrimination, including denial
of basic social benefits and exclusion from higher edu-
cation and employment.
(6)(A) The Government of Viet Nam has been
particularly harsh in its treatment of members of the
Montagnard ethnic minority groups of the Central
Highlands of Viet Nam, who were the first line in the
defense of South Viet Nam against invasion from the
North and who fought courageously beside members of
the Special Forces of the United States Army, suf-
fering disproportionately heavy casualties, and saving
the lives of many of their American and Vietnamese
comrades-in-arms.
(B) Since 1975 the Montagnard peoples have
been singled out for severe repression, in part because
of their past association with the United States and
in part because their strong commitment to their tra-
ditional way of life and to their Christian religion is
regarded as inconsistent with the absolute loyalty and
control demanded by the Communist system.
(C) 
In 
February 
2001 
several 
thousand
Montagnards participated in a series of peaceful dem-
onstrations throughout the Central Highlands, de-
manding religious freedom and restoration of their
confiscated lands, and the Government responded by
closing off the Central Highlands and sending in
military forces, tanks, and helicopter gunships.
(D) Credible reports by refugees who have es-
caped to Cambodia indicate that the Government has
executed some participants in the demonstrations and
has subjected others to imprisonment, torture, and
other forms of physical abuse.
(E) The Government of Viet Nam has also taken
steps to prevent further Montagnards from escaping,
and there are credible reports that Vietnamese secu-
rity forces in Cambodia are offering bounties for the
surrender of Montagnard asylum seekers.
(7) The Government of Viet Nam has also per-
secuted members of other ethnic minority groups, in-
cluding the Khmer Krom from the Mekong Delta,
many of whom fought alongside United States mili-
tary personnel during the Viet Nam war and whose
Hinayana Buddhist religion is not among those rec-
ognized by the Government.
(8) The Government of Viet Nam also engages in
or condones serious violations of the rights of workers.
In August 1997, the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) reported that child labor exploitation is on
the rise in Viet Nam with tens of thousands of chil-
dren under 15 years of age being subjected to such
exploitation. The government’s official labor export
program also has subjected workers, many of whom
are women, to involuntary servitude, debt bondage,
and other forms of abuse, and the reaction of govern-
ment officials to worker complaints of such abuse has
been to threaten the workers with punishment if they
do not desist in their complaints.
(9)(A) United States refugee resettlement pro-
grams for Vietnamese nationals, including the Or-
derly Departure Program (ODP), the Resettlement
Opportunities for Returning Vietnamese (ROVR) pro-
gram, and resettlement of boat people from refugee
camps throughout Southeast Asia, were authorized by
law in order to rescue Vietnamese nationals who have
suffered persecution on account of their wartime asso-
ciations with the United States, as well as those who
currently have a well-founded fear of persecution on
account of race, religion, nationality, political opin-
ion, or membership in a particular social group.
(B) In general, these programs have served their
purpose well. However, many refugees who were eligi-
ble for these programs were unfairly denied or ex-
cluded, in some cases by vindictive or corrupt Com-
munist officials who controlled access to the programs,
and in others by United States personnel who im-
posed unduly restrictive interpretations of program
criteria. These unfairly excluded refugees include some
of those with the most compelling cases, including
many Montagnard combat veterans and their fami-
lies.
(10) The Government of Viet Nam systematically
jams broadcasts by Radio Free Asia, an independent
broadcast service funded by the United States in
order to provide news and entertainment to the people
of countries in Asia whose governments deny the right
to freedom of expression and of the press.
(11) In 1995 the Governments of the United
States and Viet Nam announced the ‘‘normalization’’
of diplomatic relations. In 1998 then-President Clin-
ton waived the application of section 402 of the Trade
Act of 1974 (commonly known as the ‘‘Jackson-Vanik
Amendment’’), which restricts economic assistance to
countries with non-market economies whose govern-
ments also restrict freedom of emigration. In 1999 the
Governments of the United States and Viet Nam an-
nounced ‘‘agreement in principle’’ on a bilateral
trade agreement. This agreement was signed in 2000
and has been presented to Congress for approval or
disapproval.
(12) The Congress and the American people are
united in their determination that the extension or
expansion of trade relations with a country whose
government engages in serious and systematic viola-
tions of fundamental human rights must not be con-
strued as a statement of approval or complacency
about such practices. The promotion of freedom and
democracy around the world—and particularly for
people who have suffered in large part because of their
past associations with the United States and because
they share our values—is and must continue to be a
central objective of United States foreign policy.
SEC. 102. PURPOSE.
The purpose of this Act is to promote the development
of freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.
TITLE II—PROMOTION OF FREE-
DOM 
AND 
DEMOCRACY 
IN
VIET NAM
Subtitle A—Prohibition on Non-
humanitarian Assistance to the
Government of Viet Nam
SEC. 201. BILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
(a) ASSISTANCE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
section (b), United States nonhumanitarian assist-
ance may not be provided to the Government of Viet
Nam—
(A) for fiscal year 2002 unless not later
than 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act the President determines and certifies to
Congress that the requirements of subparagraphs
(A) through (D) of paragraph (2) have been met
during the 12-month period ending on the date
of the certification; and
(B) for each subsequent fiscal year unless
the President determines and certifies to Con-
gress in the most recent annual report submitted
pursuant to section 241 that the requirements of
subparagraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2)
have been met during the 12-month period cov-
ered by the report.
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements of this
paragraph are that—
(A) the Government of Viet Nam has made
substantial progress toward releasing all polit-
ical and religious prisoners from imprisonment,
house arrest, and other forms of detention;
(B) the Government of Viet Nam has made
substantial progress toward respecting the right
to freedom of religion, including the right to par-
ticipate in religious activities and institutions
without interference by or involvement of the
Government;
(C) the Government of Viet Nam has made
substantial 
progress 
toward 
respecting 
the
human rights of members of ethnic minority
groups in the Central Highlands or elsewhere in
Viet Nam; and
(D)(i) neither any official of the Govern-
ment of Viet Nam nor any agency or entity
wholly or partly owned by the Government of
Viet Nam was complicit in a severe form of traf-
ficking in persons; or
(ii) the Government of Viet Nam took all
appropriate steps to end any such complicity
and hold such official, agency, or entity fully ac-
countable for its conduct.
(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply for
any fiscal year with respect to the provision of United
States nonhumanitarian assistance for any program or ac-
tivity for which such assistance was provided to the Govern-
ment of Viet Nam for fiscal year 2001 in an amount not
to exceed the amount so provided for fiscal year 2001.
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) SEVERE
FORM
OF
TRAFFICKING
IN
PER-
SONS.—The term ‘‘severe form of trafficking in per-
sons’’ means any activity described in section 103(8)
of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(Public Law 106–386 (114 Stat. 1470); 22 U.S.C.
7102(8)).
(2) UNITED STATES NONHUMANITARIAN ASSIST-
ANCE.—The term ‘‘United States nonhumanitarian
assistance’’ means—
(A) any assistance under the Foreign As-
sistance Act of 1961 (including programs under
title IV of chapter 2 of part I of that Act, relat-
ing to the Overseas Private Investment Corpora-
tion), other than—
(i) disaster relief assistance, including
any assistance under chapter 9 of part I of
that Act;
(ii) assistance which involves the pro-
vision of food (including monetization of
food) or medicine; and
(iii) assistance for refugees;
(B) sales, or financing on any terms, under
the Arms Export Control Act; and
(C) financing under the Export-Import
Bank Act of 1945.
SEC. 202. MULTILATERAL NONHUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United
States Executive Director of each multilateral development
bank and of the International Monetary Fund to use the
voice, vote, and influence of the United States to deny any
loan or other utilization of the funds of such bank or insti-
tution (other than for humanitarian assistance) to Viet
Nam for fiscal year 2002 and each subsequent fiscal year
unless the President determines and certifies to Congress for
such fiscal year that the requirements of subparagraphs (A)
through (D) of section 201(a)(2) have been met.
Subtitle B—Assistance to Support
Democracy in Viet Nam
SEC. 211. ASSISTANCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized to pro-
vide assistance, through appropriate nongovernmental or-
ganizations, for the support of individuals and organiza-
tions to promote human rights and nonviolent democratic
change in Viet Nam.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated to the President to carry out
subsection (a) $2,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002
and 2003.
Subtitle C—United States Public
Diplomacy
SEC. 221. RADIO FREE ASIA TRANSMISSIONS TO VIET NAM.
(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the policy
of the United States to take such measures as are necessary
to overcome the jamming of Radio Free Asia by the Govern-
ment of Viet Nam.
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi-
tion to such amounts as are otherwise authorized to be ap-
propriated for the Broadcasting Board of Governors, there
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the policy
under subsection (a) $9,100,000 for the fiscal year 2002 and
$1,100,000 for the fiscal year 2003.
SEC. 222. UNITED STATES EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL
EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH VIET NAM.
It is the policy of the United States that programs of
educational and cultural exchange with Viet Nam should
actively promote progress toward freedom and democracy
in Viet Nam by providing opportunities to Vietnamese na-
tionals from a wide range of occupations and perspectives
to see freedom and democracy in action and, also, by ensur-
ing that Vietnamese nationals who have already dem-
onstrated a commitment to these values are included in such
programs.
Subtitle D—United States Refugee
Policy
SEC. 232. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT FOR NATIONALS OF
VIET NAM.
(a) POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES.—It is the policy
of the United States to offer refugee resettlement to nation-
als of Viet Nam (including members of the Montagnard eth-
nic minority groups) who were eligible for the Orderly De-
parture Program or any other United States refugee pro-
gram and who were deemed ineligible due to administrative
error or who for reasons beyond the control of such individ-
uals (including the inability to pay bribes demanded by
officials of the Government of Viet Nam) were unable to
apply for such programs in compliance with deadlines im-
posed by the Department of State.
(b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITY.—Of the amounts author-
ized to be appropriated to the Department of State for Mi-
gration and Refugee Assistance for each of the fiscal years
2001, 2002, and 2003, such sums as may be necessary are
authorized to be made available for the protection (includ-
ing resettlement in appropriate cases) of Vietnamese refu-
gees and asylum seekers, including Montagnards in Cam-
bodia.
Subtitle 
E—Annual 
Report 
on
Progress Toward Freedom and
Democracy in Viet Nam
SEC. 241. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than May 31 of each year, the Secretary of
State shall submit to Congress a report for the 12-month
period ending on the date of submission of the report, on
the following:
(1) The determination and certification of the
President that the requirements of subparagraphs (A)
through (D) of section 201(a)(2) have been met, if ap-
plicable.
(2) Efforts by the United States Government to
secure transmission sites for Radio Free Asia in
countries in close geographical proximity to Viet Nam
in accordance with section 221(a).
(3) Efforts to ensure that programs with Viet
Nam promote the policy set forth in section 222 and
with section 102 of the Human Rights, Refugee, and
Other Foreign Policy Provisions Act of 1996 regard-
ing participation in programs of educational and
cultural exchange.
(4) Steps taken to carry out the policy under sec-
tion 232(a).
Union Calendar No. 117
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2368
[Report No. 107–199, Part I]
A BILL
To promote freedom and democracy in Viet Nam.
SEPTEMBER 5, 2001
Reported from the Committee on International Relations
with an amendment
Referral to the Committees on Financial Services and
Rules extended for a period ending not later than Sep-
tember 5, 2001
The Committees on Financial Services and Rules dis-
charged; committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union and ordered to be
printed