Part 2: The tricks behind the 'award ceremonies'
As mentioned, the recipients of the "Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award" are mostly individuals serving prison sentences for crimes against the Vietnamese State, yet through these "award ceremonies," they are promoted by Viet Tan as "democrats" and "human rights activists"...
Most of the recipients of the "Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award" are individuals currently serving prison sentences for crimes against the Vietnamese State, yet through these "award ceremonies," they are promoted by Viet Tan as "democrats" and "human rights activists"...
Reporters' Team • October 2, 2024
*****
The Viet Tan's scheme to entice, incite, and create false hopes for opponents was evident in its first "Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award" in 2018. Viet Tan awarded the prize to Tran Thi Nga, who had been sentenced by the People's Court of Ha Nam province to 9 years in prison and 5 years of probation for "propagating against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." Before her sentencing, Nga used her personal blog, Facebook, and YouTube accounts to post videos distorting the policies of the Vietnamese Party and State, slandering the people's government, and propagating reactionary ideology. Viet Tan's actions in awarding the "human rights prize" and calling Tran Thi Nga a "democrat" were not only cunning but also provocative and slanderous, misrepresenting the human rights situation in Vietnam.
.png)
In 2019, Viet Tan awarded a prize to the "50k Group for Helping Prisoners of Conscience," led by Nguyen Thuy Hanh. According to official documents, this group is actually a small organization within the system of reactionary groups built by Viet Tan to seek and attract funding for subversive activities. Viet Tan's awarding this group is nothing more than self-praise, aiming to boost its prestige in order to receive financial support from organizations and individuals with anti-Vietnam sentiments.
In 2020, the "Le Dinh Luong Human Rights Award" was given to Phan Kim Khanh, who was sentenced to six years in prison by the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Court for "propagating against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." At the trial, Khanh admitted that he was young, naive, and lacked political and legal knowledge, leading him to be manipulated and incited by reactionary elements to violate the law; however, Viet Tan portrayed Khanh as a figure to "educate the younger generation" and justify his subversive actions against the country.
In 2021, when Vietnam had overcome the Covid-19 pandemic and stabilized its development, Viet Tan (Vietnam Reform Party) again incited and touted a human rights award with the theme "compatriot solidarity during the pandemic" to "honor" Father Dang Huu Nam, who had been suspended from his pastoral duties by the Vinh Diocese Bishopric on June 17, 2020, and prohibited from participating in pastoral activities. Prior to this, Dang Huu Nam had committed numerous wrongdoings in his pastoral work, inciting, instigating, and luring people to participate in activities against the people's government. However, Viet Tan touted this award as a way to "contribute further to the people-to-people movement."
In 2022, with the aim of inciting anti-China, pro-America sentiment, and exaggerating the "China threat" to disrupt the situation in Vietnam, Viet Tan chose the theme of the award as "Protecting Sovereignty Against the China Threat." The recipient of this award was Nguyen Nang Tinh, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for the crime of "Making, possessing, distributing, or disseminating information, documents, or items aimed at opposing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." Tinh was formerly a teacher at the Nghe An College of Culture and Arts. Using his cover as a music teacher, Tinh frequently propagated songs with provocative content, opposing the government, undermining ideology, distorting the policies of the Party and State, slandering the people's government, and distorting history through his personal Facebook page. They slandered the leader… But the terrorist organization Viet Tan "turned black into white," praising "Nguyen Nang Tinh as a patriotic teacher. For many years, he continuously opposed politics by supporting political prisoners, spreading news on Facebook about the Formosa disaster, expressing views against the Special Economic Zone Bill…", in order to award Tinh a prize.
In 2023, Viet Tan used the theme "75 Years of International Human Rights - Freedom, Equality, and Justice for Vietnam" to "award" a prize to Truong Van Dung, who had just been sentenced to 6 years in prison by the Hanoi High People's Court for "propagating against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam." During the livestream award ceremony, Viet Tan promoted the idea: "Mr. Truong Van Dung is known to the domestic and international public as a courageous and passionate human rights and democracy activist. The 6-year prison sentence has not eroded the spirit of this human rights activist. In prison, he continues to speak out against the human rights violations committed by prison guards alongside other prisoners of conscience."
Through "award ceremonies" livestreamed on social media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, and news sites of reactionary organizations, it is evident that Viet Tan continuously uses social media to spread false information about the human rights situation in Vietnam. They transform these "award ceremonies" into forums for incitement and slander regarding the human rights situation in Vietnam, attempting to create a media wave to criticize the Vietnamese government. The themes chosen for each "award ceremony" show that Viet Tan does not hesitate to exploit social and economic issues to incite riots and destabilize the situation.
A fundamental tactic of Viet Tan is to construct a completely contradictory image of reactionary elements. Instead of being seen as lawbreakers and threats to national security, these individuals are glorified as "human rights activists" and "victims of repression." This aims to change the international community's perception of the human rights situation in Vietnam, thereby attracting external support and putting pressure on the Vietnamese government.
Another dangerous plot by Viet Tan is to lure and incite disgruntled individuals, especially young people. By creating a "heroic" image for reactionary elements, Viet Tan hopes to attract those with anti-government sentiments, thereby creating a new force to continue its subversive activities. This is also one of the tactics Viet Tan uses to propagate its ideology, entice, and lure naive and greedy people in the country to follow and become its pawns.
The Viet Tan's tactics of awarding "Human Rights Prizes" are not only a distortion and misrepresentation of the truth, but also an act of incitement and slander regarding the human rights situation in Vietnam. Through this, they constantly seek to attract and incite opposition, creating a false image of the human rights situation in Vietnam to attract attention and financial support from organizations and individuals with subversive ideologies. Therefore, we must be vigilant and cautious against Viet Tan's tactics, and resolutely fight against the conspiracies and subversive actions of this organization to protect the stability and development of the country.
(To be continued)