VOA慢速英语2014 Legality of Vietnamese Blogger’s Release Questioned

 

AS IT IS 2014-10-26 Legality of Vietnamese Blogger’s Release Questioned

This week, the Vietnamese government released one of the country’s best known political bloggers from prison. The government then sent the man, Nguyen Van Hai, to the United States. His release has been widely welcomed. But the legality of the move has raised questions.

A crowd of supporters welcomed Nguyen Van Hai as he arrived Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport in California. Vietnamese officials approved his early release from prison. Hai was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 2012 for directing “propaganda against the state.” Two other bloggers also received jail sentences at the trial.

Hai wrote under the name Dieu Cay. He reported on government corruption¹ and Vietnam’s territorial² dispute with China. And he established the “Free Journalist’s Club,” a group for citizen journalists.                     

Many Vietnamese have welcomed his release. But his lawyer says the government had no legal reason to expel him from the country. Ha Huy Son represented the blogger. He said under Vietnamese law, officials can release a person only after they have served more than half their sentence or admitted to a crime and asked for mercy. Neither was true in Hai’s case, he said.                                                                 

Pham Thu Hang works for Vietnam’s Ministry³ of Foreign Affairs. She said the government let him to fly to the United States for humanitarian⁴ reasons.

Nguyen Tri Dung is Hai’s son. He says the way the government deal with his father shows how officials can act when dealing⁵ with government critics.

“My father was put in jail illegal(ly).”

The son says Vietnamese officials did not give his father any papers explaining why he was in jail. He says they released him in much the same way. In his words, this shows what is happening in Vietnam right now. “People can be caught any time” the government wants “for any reason.”                     

Nguyen Van Hai was sentenced to two and one-half years in prison for failing to pay taxes. Government critics say the tax evasion⁶ charges were made for political reasons. After serving the sentence, he reportedly stayed in prison while Vietnamese officials carried out an investigation⁷.

The United States was among several foreign governments to call for his release. Reports say the temporary suspension of Hai’s sentence was a result of negotiations⁸ with U.S. officials over the partial lifting on the American arms ban on Vietnam.                                                  

On Tuesday, the State Department said Hai chose to go to the United States. However, his son says this is not exactly true.

“But if it’s not really a choice because if my father choose to be in Vietnam, he would have to stay in jail. They would not release him.”

Rights groups have welcomed the release. But an official with one such group warned it does not mean a change in Vietnamese policy.

Phil Robertson is the deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch. In his words, “Dieu Cay’s many readers will not read his blog from the U.S. But that doesn’t change the fact that other bloggers who take his place in Vietnam will still face the same systemic police harassment⁹ and abuses he did.”

Human Rights Watch estimates that Vietnam has between 150 and 200 political prisoners. Vietnam denies this.    

Words in this Story 

government – n. a system of governing; the organization of people that rules a country, city or area

questions – n. sentences or words used in asking for information; problems; issues to be discussed

release – n. freedom

sentenced – v. declared the punishment for a crime; sentence – n. the punishment for a crime

1 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

2 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

5 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

6 evasion   

n.逃避，偷漏(税)

参考例句：

• The movie star is in prison for tax evasion.那位影星因为逃税而坐牢。
• The act was passed as a safeguard against tax evasion.这项法案旨在防止逃税行为。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。