Socialist Republic of Vietnam

By BRAD O'LEARY, USA Today columnist

One thing we must make clear is that the US State Department's report is an annual report on many countries in the world.

In the House of Representatives, Congressman Chris Smith made it sound as if it was focused on Vietnam, but it was not.

In my opinion, there is a repression of political thought. If someone in Congress read all the negative things and said "let's do something," there also has to be someone who says: "Wait a minute! What about all the good things that you are ignoring?"

Looking back into Vietnam's history, we can see that this country was denied freedom time and time again.

I believe that for the past 150 years, at no point of time has Vietnam been more free than now.

I was a constant visitor to Vietnam during the American War, so I am aware of how little freedom there was during that time in southern Vietnam.

Under Diem's regime, wherever I went there were roadblocks and security checks. Now it is a lot easier to move around. At that time, it was impossible to open a business without paying all kinds of bribes. Now, I am on the verge of opening five businesses of my own, and I do not have to pay a single dollar in bribery.

I have read the State Department's Report on Human Rights Progress, and I have to say that those congressmen who supported this are blind to what has been happening in Vietnam.

The National Assembly is playing an increasingly independent role as a forum for local and provincial concerns, and as a critic of local and national corruption and inefficiency.

The government amnesties thousands of prisoners each year. It has co-ordinated with the International Labour Organisation to improve implementation of the existing Labour Law.

The government continues to implement a family planning policy that urges all families to have no more than two children, without coercion.

The government allows access to the Internet and has allowed 4,000 cyber cafes to start up as independent businesses.

The government generally allows people to practice individual worship in the religion of their choice, and participation in religious activities throughout the country continues to grow significantly. The government officially recognises Buddhist, Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hoa Hao, Cao Dai and Muslim organisations.

One instance is the situation under the Diem's government. Diem used American finances to build up his military, using the military to repress the Buddhists, and the majority of other religions. The people who are saying that there is religious repression in Vietnam now must admit that the situation now is not similar at all.

Regarding the so-called "repression of religion, " I am Catholic and every time I come to Ho Chi Minh City I go to church at the Notre Damme. There are multiple masses, and I have to come early to get a seat.

Many Catholic organisations, from a group of nuns running an orphanage for sight-impaired children to small churches, have contacted me for help to widen their activities.

Religion is growing in Vietnam. In fact, in Vietnam I hardly meet anyone who is not ready to say that they are religious, that they have a shrine at home, whether it be to their ancestors or to Buddha.

And in terms of percentage, religious people in Vietnam account for more of the population than in France, Canada and the US.

While all religions are wonderful, they can also be abused by individuals. There are currently particular religious groups in the US that are in big trouble, as they have damaging practices.

The US, throughout the 20th century, also experienced religious and racial discrimination. Asians in California, if my memory serves me right, were not allowed to own property until as recently as 1954.

In respect to the number of street children and levels of prostitution and crime alleged in the report, my response is, show them the US figures.

While the report points out there are a number of homeless and street children in Vietnam, I believe many of the US Congressmen would be shocked if they were shown the figures for America.

After 25 years working in Washington DC, a lot of congressmen are my clients and friends. I will write to them, and follow that up with meetings with a selected few to show them the positive steps that the Vietnamese government has made. The last time this bill was introduced, there were 410 for-voters. This time, only 30 out of 410 showed support. While I am very pleased that fewer people supported it, I am outraged that I have to do something about it myself. If approved, this law could harm the relations between the two countries, and more importantly, it could make it worse for the people of Vietnam. Someone must step out and say this is a mistake.

In my letters, I will ask them to reject such one-sided reasoning. I will also contact businesses that are interested in investing here. (VNS)