HONORABLE JOSEPH YUN Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Dear Sir, As a Vietnamese American I deem it my moral obligation to thank you for your recent declaration of the U.S. Relations with Viet Nam AND to bring to your attention my frank and sincere thoughts in hopes of clarifying some controversial pieces of information presented in your speech. If I understood you correctly, your statement that "we have witnessed a very lively debate ... as Viet Nam amends its constitution" (1) either might suggest a false impression of the “lively debate” that was actually a smokescreen to cover up the serious human rights violations by the dictatorial totalitarian Vietnamese Communist party-in-power, (2) or might imply your awareness of the camouflaged situation that nonetheless required diplomatic language to promote our American interests in Viet Nam, this being understandable. In addition, when you said "we urge ... an environment in which Vietnamese from all walks of life can peacefully and freely express their political views and have them taken into account...", (1) either you simply recommended freedom of expression without any accompanying punitive measures against economic transactions in case of Vietnamese non-compliance with human rights regulations, (2) or you already knew the serious human rights violations in Viet Nam that could damage the American-Vietnamese economic partnership, this being beyond your control. To sum up, it seems to me you have unwittingly displayed our American weakness in the face of evil, this disappointing most people in Viet Nam because they expect our great USA to be the embodiment of liberty and democracy. However, the fact that I am sending you this letter without me being persecuted or imprisoned ─ as is common practice in Viet Nam ─ clearly illustrates our American freedom of expression. My best wishes to you and your family for good health and good luck. Sincerely, HAI LUU Former instructor, School of Languages Studies, U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. Former instructor, Quang Da Community College, Viet Nam [before 4/30/1975]
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 22:33:17 +0000
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