Text: Lawmakers on Vietnamese Americans/Human Rights for Vietnam
(July 10 excerpts of debate on H. Con. Res. 322)Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, spoke with one voice on July 10 to honor the sacrifices of those Vietnamese who served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam, and to urge the communist regime in Vietnam to respect the human rights of its citizens.
In a debate on House Concurrent Resolution 322, lawmakers spanning a wide ideological spectrum rose to praise the sacrifices of Vietnamese who opposed communism in that country and to praise the efforts of Vietnamese Americans to focus international attention on human rights violations by the Hanoi regime.
House International Relations Committee Chairman Ben Gilman (Republican of New York) called on the Vietnamese government to do all in its power to assist in the return of all American POWs and MIAs "to American soil."
Following are excerpts from the debate from the Congressional Record:
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Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Madam Speaker, while Vietnam has made a bit of progress in the past few years in opening up its society, we need to maintain pressure on the Vietnamese government to move more aggressively towards democracy.
This resolution recognizes the important role that the more than 1 million Vietnamese Americans in our nation play in raising the awareness of the Vietnam human rights record.
The resolution also recognizes the sacrifices made by the armed forces of the United States and the former Republic of Vietnam in fighting to bring democracy and freedom to that nation. We are right to get the Congress on record on all of these issues.
I want to note also, Madam Speaker, the tremendous contributions 1 million Vietnamese Americans make to the betterment of our Nation becoming mainstream Americans. They are such an industrious people in education, business, and all walks of life. I want to commend the 1 million Vietnamese Americans that we have who are members of our Nation.
Yet with all this, I think we can also recognize that their hearts are still with the mother country, hopefully, in some way, and somehow that the greater sense of democracy will come about with the current administration of Vietnam in that country.
Madam Speaker, I do urge my colleagues to support this resolution. Again, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Bereuter) for managing this legislation on the floor.
Mr. BILBRAY. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Con. Res. 322. Madam Speaker, many of us from all over the country know about the problems and the trials and tribulations of individuals who immigrated to this country from the Republic of Vietnam.
I think that it's appropriate to repeat why so many Vietnamese fought and died for freedom and democracy in their country. Over 250,000 Vietnamese from the Republic of Vietnam died in this struggle. Let me say this sincerely, they not only died for themselves, but also in the struggle against tyrannies, against oppression.
Frankly, I think too often we talk about a lot of inconsequential issues, but we need to remember that there is a long black wall down at the other end of the Mall. Many Americans and Vietnamese Americans walk that wall and trace out names. I think too often that, when we talk about that long black wall, we think about it as something that is in the past, something that is over, something that somebody else did or another generation did.
Madam Speaker, I am here to remind us all that the war may be over; but the struggle for what that wall symbolizes, the struggle for what the Vietnamese people in the Republic of Vietnam were fighting for, the struggle for what American men and women fought and died for is still going on today.
There are still individuals in Vietnam who are being tagged as `hard core', and who are in reeducation facilities. Now I think we all know what kind of catch word `reeducation' means. It basically means, if one does not think like the government, the government will teach one how to rethink so one thinks only their way.
Madam Speaker, I think that, as we address this resolution today, we should commit ourselves to the fact that the men and women that are symbolized on our wall at the other end of the Mall and the men and women who died from the Republic of Vietnam will be remembered by our constant quest to make sure that this struggle for freedom does continue.
I want to say, though, too, I guess too often we talk about `hyphenated Americans', and maybe being a son of a so-called `hyphenated American', I am always reminded that we are really not talking about Vietnamese. We are talking about Americans who came from Vietnam. We are talking about people that have made, not only a great struggle in Vietnam fighting Communism, but also a great struggle and great success at becoming new Americans, at becoming what this country has always promised the rest of the world: that if one works hard, one studies hard, one strives to do their best, if one is willing to make a contribution to this free society, this free society will reward one through one's own sweat of one's own brow.
I think that we all need to remind ourselves that these immigrants who came from the Republic of Vietnam, and as an example to all of us no matter what our race, what our creed, what our gender, that there still is the opportunity for those who are willing to work hard, to strive, and to contribute.
In closing, in San Diego County, we have a very large population of individuals who emigrated from the Republic of Vietnam, and their children now are as American as anyone who has been here for 200, 300 years. I am very proud that, when I go to review ROTC units, when we see the military young men and women lining up in San Diego, we will see the sons and the daughters of men and women who fought for their homeland and emigrated from the Republic of Vietnam in the worst of circumstances, but have learned the best of lessons both from their country of the past and their newly adopted country of the future.
Mr. ROYCE. Madam Speaker, the gentleman from Nebraska (Chairman Bereuter) is the author of this particular legislation, of this approach, of which I am a cosponsor. I want to thank him for introducing this bill.
It is important that we honor those in the Armed Forces in the United States and in the armed forces of the Republic of Vietnam who fought together. These brave individuals risked their lives for liberty, and their actions should be honored 25 years now after the fall of Saigon. We must remember their deeds while working for increased political and economic freedom in the socialist Republic of Vietnam.
I recently visited Vietnam. During my trip there, I paid a visit to the Venerable Thich Quang Do, who is the 72-year-old leader of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam.
Because of his peaceful protests, those protests that he engaged in in support of political freedom and religious freedom, Thich Quang Do has been imprisoned and exiled. Even though he was under surveillance, Thich Quang Do welcomed my visit.
My private visits to him and Le Quang Liem, another dissident, were quickly denounced by the government. It is obvious the Vietnamese government is sensitive to international criticism. This obligates the United States to speak out constantly against the Vietnamese government's human rights violations. We may not always realize it, but protests by the American government and by the American people do help the cause of freedom in Vietnam. Silence is no alternative.
This international criticism has come about in large part due to the tireless work of the Vietnamese-American communities. Their efforts to raise awareness about human rights and about the violations of basic freedoms of Vietnam have a critical, critical effect.
It is imperative that we continue pressuring for increased openness in Vietnam. A two-track policy of engaging the Vietnamese government on economic reform on one hand while pressuring it on its political and religious repression, that approach requires diplomatic finesse. But if done right, it promises to bring long-sought freedom to the Vietnamese people, freedom for which many Americans have sacrificed.
I want to commend the gentleman from Nebraska (Chairman Bereuter) for his authorship of this two-pronged approach. We all hope that it is successful in engaging and changing Vietnam.
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this resolution commending the Vietnamese American Community for its work in bringing democratic principles and practices to the people of Vietnam. Social equality is the backbone of the American government and a fundamental principle in every democratic government.
As the leading democratic country in the world, the United States should take care to applaud the efforts of all people who have worked to spread democracy throughout the earth including the contributions of the Vietnamese American people.
After the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam's government punished those Vietnamese who had allied with the U.S. North Vietnam forces placed hundreds of thousands of southerners in prisons, re-education camps and economic zones in efforts to remove subversion and to consolidate the country.
The Communists created a society of suspicion that hounded prisoners even after their release. The men were treated as second class citizens. Families were deprived of employment and their children could not attend college. Police interrogated families if ex-prisoners were not seen for more than a day.
Prisoners were considered expendable, worked to death and forced to walk in rows down old minefields to find out where they were. Daughters of South Vietnamese military men were sometimes forced by destitution to become prostitutes.
The re-education camps remained the predominant devise of social control in the late 1980s. Considered to be institutions where rehabilitation was accomplished through education and socially constructive labor, the camps were used to incarcerate members of certain social classes in order to coerce them to accept and conform to the new social norms.
Sources say that up to 200,000 South Vietnamese spent at least a year in the camps, which range from model institutions visited by foreigners to remote jungle shacks were inmates died of malnutrition and disease. As late as 1987, Vietnamese officials stated that about 7,000 people remained in re-education camps.
The first wave of refugees, in 1975, had no established Vietnamese American communities to rely upon for help. Assistance came from government programs, private individuals, nonprofit organizations and churches. Vietnamese men who held high positions in their homeland took whatever jobs they could get. Vietnamese woman became full-time wage earners, often for the first time.
Most refugees in the first wave were young, well-educated urban elites, professionals and people with technical training. Despite the fact that many first wave arrivals were from privileged backgrounds, few were well prepared to take up new life in America. The majority did not speak English and all found themselves in the midst of a strange culture.
The refugees who arrived in the US often suffered traumatic experiences while escaping Vietnam by sea. Those caught escaping after the fall of Saigon, including children, were jailed. Almost every Vietnamese American family has a member who arrived as a refugee or who died en route.
Many Vietnamese Americans still refuse to accept the current communist government of their former homeland. For many, the pain, anger and hatred felt toward the communist regime that forced them into exile remains fresh. Fiercely proud of their heritage, yet left without a homeland, many Vietnamese Americans have vowed never to acknowledge that Vietnam is now one communist country.
The story of Le Van Me and wife Sen is a typical one of many refugees. Me was a lieutenant colonel in the South Vietnamese Army when they came to the U.S. They spent time in a refugee camp in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, until the government found a church in Warsaw, Missouri, to sponsor them. In the small rural town, Me worked as a janitor for the church and all the parishioners helped the family in any way they could--giving them clothes, canned preserves, even working together to renovate a house where the family could live.
Me took classes at the community college. After 11 months, the family moved to California, drawn by the jobs rumored to be there. Me got a job as an electronic technician and started attending a neighborhood community college again. Sen was determined not to use food stamps for longer than two weeks. Within three years, they bought a three bedroom house in north San Jose. As Me explained `You really don't know what freedom is until you nearly die fighting for it.'
Saigon fell 25 years ago, but the memories are still raw for many Vietnamese people. The exodus from Vietnam since 1975 has created a generation of exiles. The efforts of everyone, especially Vietnamese-Americans, to bring democracy must be recognized. We should hesitate no longer to make it known that the United States Congress proudly recognizes these efforts.
Mr. Speaker, I urge each of my colleagues to support this Resolution.
Mr. GILMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 322 expressing the sense of Congress regarding the sacrifices of individuals who served in the Armed Forces of the former Republic of Vietnam.
I want to thank the gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Davis, for introducing this resolution and for his continuing commitment to human rights and democracy in Vietnam.
I want to thank the chairman of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee, Mr. Bereuter, for his work in crafting the final language in this measure.
Madam Speaker, it is unfortunate that 10 years after the end of the cold war, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is still a one-party state ruled and controlled by a Communist Party which represses political and religious freedoms and commits numerous human rights abuses.
It is appropriate that we recognize those who fought to oppose this tyranny which has fallen across Vietnam and those who continue the vigil of struggling for freedom and democracy there today.
Accordingly, I urge Hanoi to cease its violations of human rights and to undertake the long-overdue liberalization of its moribund and stifling political and economic system. The people of Vietnam clearly deserve better.
Finally, I call upon the Vietnamese government to do all it can--unilaterally--to assist in bringing our POW/MIAs home to American soil.
I want to praise this resolution for pointing out the injustice that tragically exists in Vietnam today and those who have--and are--still opposing it.
Once again I want to commend Mr. Davis for introducing this resolution and his abiding dedication to improving the lives of the people of Vietnam.
I am proud to be a cosponsor of this measure and I strongly urge my colleagues to support it and send a strong signal to Hanoi that it is time to free the minds and spirits of the Vietnamese people.
Ms. LOFGREN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of House Concurrent Resolution 322, which honors the wonderful contributions of our nation's Vietnamese-Americans in raising awareness of human rights abuses in Vietnam. I thank my colleagues Mr. Davis and Ms. Sanchez for their hard work on this issue. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this important resolution, and urge my colleagues' overwhelming support today.
I represent San Jose, California, a community greatly enriched by the presence of immigrants. Quite a few of my constituents came to San Jose as refugees, escaping the brutal and oppressive political regime in Hanoi. I worked with those refugees as a Santa Clara County Supervisor, and many of those people have become my friends throughout the years. I believe that they have a unique perspective on the state of our country's relationship with Vietnam that is of immense value.
A quarter century after the fall of Saigon, the Communist government continues to oppress its citizens and violate their basic human rights. Stories of political repression, religious persecutions and extra-judicial detentions are all too common. Many Vietnamese-Americans have worked tirelessly to bring these violations to light, here in the United States and to the international community. As a result of their extraordinary dedication, awareness of the abuses of the Vietnamese government is growing exponentially.
I applaud their continued effort to bring democratic ideals and practices to Vietnam. This resolution is a small token of our gratitude for the hard work of the 1 million Vietnamese-Americans living in our country. I am proud to support it.
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