Chris Smith

The President's trip cannot be a replay of his trip to Havana. We have to have these issues addressed.

If the United States and Vietnam are to build a stronger relationship, the Vietnamese Government must honor the basic human rights of Vietnamese people with respect to freedom of speech, religion, and assembly.

Sadly, Nguyen Van Dai's treatment is far from an isolated incident.

Vietnam remains a one party Communist state with significant human rights abuses.

The Communist party is not Vietnam's future. That future lies with Nguyen Van Dai and many other advocates of political reform and human rights.

The American people should not have to subsidize torture or underwrite the jailing of journalists, religious leaders, labor activists, or advocates of democracy.

One way to send an important message about U.S. policy priorities is to pass the Vietnam Human Rights Act, H.R. 2140.

The administration should demand additional protections for human rights, Internet freedom, and the rule of law as a condition of U.S. assistance.

The Communist leadership in Hanoi will take our benefits, our trade benefits, our security commitments, and continue repressing those seeking political reform and universal freedoms.

The administration should also make clear to the Communist leaders in Hanoi that the further expansion of trade and security partnerships, the lifting of the arms embargo is unacceptable until there are significant, verifiable, and…

I appeal, this subcommittee appeals, to the President to demand the immediate and unconditional freedom and release of Nguyen Van Dai and the others.

The unconditional release of Nguyen Van Dai and other prisoners of conscience should be a precondition of the President's visit.

Thank you for your very eloquent and very strong statement and consistent support for the human rights advocates in Vietnam.

Vietnam now ranks, in the world, 175th out of 180 countries for press freedom.

President Xi is on a tear, crushing civil society with his new draft law and crushing religious freedom.

He needs to be released immediately to let his wounds heal from the beatings that he has suffered at the hands of the Vietnamese Government.

It sells out the trafficking victims in those countries and those who are hurt by those countries' governments.

I thank her for providing the subcommittee with that.

I will never forget when the FMLN and President Duarte even in the height of their conflict in El Salvador had days of tranquility in order to vaccinate the children.

With regards to child survival, are children getting the vaccinations that they absolutely need to survive and to prosper?

CPC designations need to be made annually.

Boko Haram, ISIS, al-Shabaab, and others need to be focused upon for their nefarious deeds and individuals held to account to the greatest extent practicable for their horrible deeds.

The world is experiencing an unprecedented crisis of international religious freedom, a crisis that continues to create millions of victims.

Amendment in the nature of a substitute to H.R. 1150 offered by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey.

The deal makes it only a matter of time before the mullahs in Tehran develop a nuclear weapon.