LIBERATION FROM THE CHINESE YOKE OF SLAVERY

LIBERATION FROM THE CHINESE YOKE OF SLAVERY

Nguyễn Văn Thái, Ph.D.

Vietnamese overseas have been fighting for human rights in Vietnam — that are flagrantly and continually violated by the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP) — for the last 43 years under various forms such as (1) letters of protest, (2) demonstrations, and (3) mobilizations of free countries and international organizations to apply pressure upon the Vietnamese totalitarian communist regime to respect the basic fundamental rights of human beings. Inside Vietnam fighters for freedom and democracy and organizations of civil society have also been standing up for the basic human rights that Ho Chi Minh had incorporated in his September 2, 1945 Declaration of Independence. However, not only does the VCP not respect and comply with Ho Chi Minh’s Declaration of Independence, but also contradicts and violates it by incarcerating those human rights fighters, for vague or unknown reasons, for 5 to 20 years with several more years of house arrest, impinging upon the very communist nation’s constitution itself.

Oppression and economic exploitation of the people by the VCP and not respecting and complying with the terms of the September 2,1945 Declaration of Independence are indeed no peccadilloes, not in the least. But the most abominable and severe villainy committed by the VCP — in order to buy guarantee for its political position and power – isto sell Vietnam to communist China.

The VCP has offered up more than 800 square kilometers of the north border land and the Bản Giốc waterfall to communist China; rent out to Chinese investors for 50 years over 300 hectares of upper watershed forests, of which the deforestation willultimately destroy estuarial lower land; let China build the railroad connecting Hanoi to the Vietnamese-Chinese border at Lao Cai, which would facilitate the inpouring of Chinese soldiers to the northern provinces of Vietnam; allowed Cao Bằng, Mong Cáy, Nghệ An, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Nam, Kontum, Bình Định, Bình Dương, Lâm Đồng, Trà Vinh provinces to rent out nicely located lots of land to Chinese investors for 99 years while Vietnamese citizens are denied access to those lots; permitted Chinese to build large China towns in Bắc Ninh, Hạ Long, Hải Phòng, and Bình Dương; yielded Central Highland, the country’s military Achilles’ heel, to the ChineseBauxite enterprise, hazardous to the environment,and occupied by over 20 thousand workers that people believe to be disguised Chinese soldiers and even Vietnamese security agents aren’t allowed to enter the area; let China, via Taiwan as itsintermediary, establish Formosa, a steel manufacturing installation, at Vũng Áng, Hà Tĩnh Province, which has heavily polluted the seashores of the four northernmost central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Trị, Quảng Bình and Thừa Thiên, resulting in hundreds of tons of dead fish and the displacement of millions of fishermen, whose livelihood depends on the seashores for hundreds of years from generation to generation; allowed hundreds of thousands of Chinese to enter Vietnam as tourists without a visa and it may very well be expected that these people could stay over and settle down in Vietnam for good because they are not followed up and monitored. In the long run, no sooner than one realizes, the Chinese wouldn’t need anarmedconflict to conquer Vietnam, whichwould eventually become a province of China anyway, just like Tibet and Xinjiang. In addition to these territorial “gradual and silent encroachments” by the Chinese, the CVP – in order to secure its political power and position – signed a secret agreement with China in Chengdu, Sichuan, in 1990, permitting Vietnam to become a province of China. This secret agreement was revealed by General Hà Thanh Châu, who offered up secret documents from the communist Vietnamese Ministry of Defense to Foreign Policy Magazinein 2013 in exchange for political asylum in the United States¹. These documents exposed a scheme of turning Vietnam into a province of China in 3 cyclesof 20 years each:

In stark contradiction with the CVP’s current treasonous behavior, of all the former Vietnamese kings, throughout more than 2,000 years of history, although some did kowtow in front of the Chinese, not even a single one ever yielded one inch of Vietnamese land to China.

Hereinafter are Lý Thường Kiệt’s words (1077):

King Trần Nhân Tông (1258-1309) left behind the following testament²:

King Lê Thánh Tông (1442-1497) also maintained an unyieldingly definite attitude towards safeguarding ancestral territories: “How could it be possible for one to throw away a yard of our mountains, an inch our rivers? …If it should happen that anyone who offers up an inch of King Thái Tổ’s territories as a bribe to our enemy [the Chinese], that person and families must be executed.” (Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư [Complete History of Đại Việt Compendium]).

Only 16 people from the CVP’s politburo and scores of ministers and vice-ministers from various government ministries – simply to secure their power and privileges – have deigned to allow 95 million Vietnamese people to be slaves to our communist Chinese enemies. Vietnamese non-communist patriots overseas as well as those in Vietnam along with Vietnamese communist patriots, all would unanimously stand against communist Chinese infiltrations into and encroachments on Vietnamese land and sea territories with the ultimate scheme of invading entire Vietnam. As a matter of fact, there does currently exist no communist theory being applied in Vietnam;communismremains only as a pretext for the CVP– a mafia-likedespoticpolicestate — to control, oppress, and economically exploit the people. Everysingle thingthe CVP is carrying out currentlyruns in direct contradiction to what would be prescribed by the communist theory, a false and dated theory that has been dropped like a bad habit all over the world. There does exist, however, only a small group of people, a tiny minority, on the top echelon of the CVP, who tenaciously hang on to power in order to oppress or maltreat the majority of the people, communist or not,whose voicesare being repressed for the purpose of economic exploitation, corruption, and debauchery. Among this majority are elements including military officers of the rank of colonel and below, soldiers, civil servants, teachers at all levels, intellectuals, press correspondents, factory workers, peasants, small businessmen, and other common citizens. Of the small minority, there probably aresome people who love the country and are against Chinese invasion; however, these people cannot resist the larger number of traitors who are being staunchly supported by the Chinese secret services.  They are waiting for the opportune time to act on behalf of the good cause. On the other hand, of the majority of the people – except for a few who are misinformed and cheated – almost all people including military officers of the rank of colonel and below, second-class soldiers, civil servants, teachers at all levels, other intellectuals, press correspondents, factory workers, farmers, peasants, small business people, and other common citizens, allsee the danger of communist Chinese invasion clearly and all are ready to fight for the country.

So, how can we liberate ourselves from the slavery yoke of the communist Chinese?

There are two solutions:

Solution I: A free and independent nation with leadership freely elected by the people – under international supervision – for the three separate and independent branches of government, the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. A government with leadership selected by the CPV, then elected by the people cannot represent the people. The same must apply for the CPV, which is heretofore self-selected and elected and cannot acquire legality as a government in the international community. Once a free and independent nation of Vietnam has been legally established with leadership freely elected by the people, Vietnam is no longer subservient to China, but is completely free to choose any bilateral ormultilateral relations — on an equal basis – with all countries in the world, with her right to the 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the 12 nautical miles of territorial sea around the Paracel and Spratley Islands, which legally belong to the Vietnamese EEZ. As a free, democratic and independent nation, Vietnam’s position with regard to the EEZ rights of 200 nautical miles and territorial sea rights of 12 nautical miles must be legally respected and supported, and its national integrity and security, defended by free nations, especially by the free nations that have commercial interests in the South China Sea [Eastern Sea], among which is the United States, whose international commercial interests share around 23% of the world investment value (i.e., $1.2 trillionover $5.3 trillion).

The entire Vietnamese people are ready: The CVP may elect to replace its selfish, treacherous position of slavery to China with a sincere commitment to establishing a free, democratic and independent nation. Those leaders who are clean, righteous, patriotic and truly willing to serve the people still have the chance to run for leadership positions. If leaders of the CVP are unwilling to save the country with this solution, then the progressive elements of the country such as the military officers, soldiers, teachers, other intellectuals, press correspondents, smallbusiness people, factory workers, farmers, peasants, and other common citizens, along with organizations of civil society will rise up and plan for non-violent struggles that will overthrow the recalcitrant regime in order to establish a free, democratic, and independent nation, whose ultimate goal is to truly serve the people.Meanwhile, the fate of those despotic and intransigent leaders willlikelyend up like that of Nicolae Ceaușescu of Romania, with their names smeared on the pages of future Vietnam historybooks.

Solution II: Implementing the January 27, 1973 Paris Peace Accords. The Agreements were signed by four parties: Ambassador William P. Rogers (US), Ambassador Trần Văn Lắm (RVN), Ambassador Nguyễn Duy Trinh (DSRVN), and Ambassador Nguyễn Thị Bình (PRG).

The reunification of Viet-Nam shall be carried out step by step through peaceful means on the basis of discussions and agreements between North and South Viet-Nam, without coercion or annexation by either party, and without foreign interference. The time for reunification will be agreed upon by North and South Viet-Nam-

Pending reunification:

(a) The military demarcation line between the two zones at the 17th parallel is only provisional and not a political or territorial boundary, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the Final Declaration of the 1954 Geneva Conference.

 (b) North and South Viet-Nam shall respect the Demilitarized Zone on either side of the Provisional Military Demarcation Line.

 Article 19

The parties agree on the convening of an International Conference within thirty days of the signing of this Agreement to acknowledge the signed agreements; to guarantee the ending of the war, the maintenance of peace in Viet-Nam, the respect of the Vietnamese people’s fundamental national rights, and the South Vietnamese people’s right to self-determination; and to contribute to and guarantee peace in Indochina.

 The United States and the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, on behalf of the parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam will propose to the following parties that they participate in this International Conference: the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of France, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the United Kingdom, the four countries of the International Commission of Control and Supervision, and the Secretary General of the United Nations, together with the parties participating in the Paris Conference on Viet-Nam”³.

“The International Conference on Vietnam convened in Paris on February 26, 1973. Foreign Ministers from Canada, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, France, Hung[a]ry, Indonesia, Poland, the People’s Republic of China, the Provisional Revolutionary Government, the Republic of Vietnam, the Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and the United States attended the meeting….”⁴

“On March 2, the representatives formally pledged to respect the “aspirations and fundamental national rights of the Vietnamese people,”and “strictly respect and scrupulously implement” the January accords, monitor and support ICCS efforts, and undertake consultations necessary to uphold the peace.”⁵

Having solemnly pledged to “strictly respect and scrupulously implement”the January agreements of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the Democratic Socialist Republic of Vietnam nevertheless invaded South Vietnam by force, flagrantly violating the Accords. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Lê Đức Thọ of North Vietnam were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on October 16, 1973, and Lê Đức Thọ refused to accept it. This is ample evidence that North Vietnam had planned the invasion of South Vietnam way ahead of time.

Of the four parties attending the Conference, only the United States and the Democratic [Socialist] Republic of Vietnam remain. The National Liberation Front (NLF), since it’s,as a matter of fact,only an extension of the Communist North, was immediately dissolved as soon as the Communist North occupied the Free South. The South was defeated and the Republic of Vietnam, as a consequence, ceased to exists. However, the officials who used to work for the Republic of Vietnam Government and all the freedom loving people of Vietnam are still available, ready and willing to testify to the flagrant violation of the Paris Peace Accords of 1973 by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and to mobilize international organizations and communities, and the free countries of the world to apply pressure on the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to comply with and implement the agreements of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords.

On the part of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, leadership of the CVP would have to sensibly realize that, in the presence of the China threat, this solution will diffuse the pressure of the Chinese by way of returning the South to an independent government, freely elected by the people in order for this future government to be free of the Chinese domination and to claim its Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles encompassing the Paracel and Spratley Islands with their 12 nautical miles of territorial sea in accordance with the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III). Leaders of the CVP would still be able to govern North Vietnam with the political model of Marxist-Leninist type of governance that they have been pursuing for 73 years while South Vietnam can depend on self-determination with regard to its choice of an independent, free, and democratic model of governance. Reunification can still be “be carried out step by step through peaceful means on the basis of discussions and agreements between North and South Viet-Nam, without coercion or annexation by either party, and without foreign interference. The time for reunification will be agreed upon by North and South Viet-Nam.”If it should happen that leaders of the CVP don’t see or are unwilling to accept this solution to save our country, a natural cascade of imminent events dictated by historicity will push young military officers, soldiers of the People’s Army, teachers, other intellectuals, civil servants, small business people, factory workers, farmers, peasants, and other common citizens, organizations of civil society into exerting pressure on the leaders of the CVP so forcefully they will have to comply.

On the part of the United States, people would have previously distanced themselves as much as they could from the topic of involvement in the Vietnam conflict because it brought back shameful as well as painful recollections, of which they were not very proud. But when China started to expand its military and economic power towards South-East Asia, The United States had established normal relations with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in order firstly, to exchange trade and secondly, to indirectly block the China expansion. Therefore, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam may wish to cooperate with the United States to opt for either Solution I or Solution II.

The United States should inherently be ready and willing to cooperate for the following reasons:

Firstly, the core interest of the United States in South-East Asia is the commercial sea lines of communication (SLOC) from Oceania and the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Malacca through the South China Sea [Eastern Sea], which is believed to be responsible for goods transits worth $5.3 trillion of international trade value from the United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, India, Italy, and Canada;with $1.2 trillion shared by the United States.

Additionally, “…A conservative 1993/1994 US Geological Survey (USGS) report estimated the sum total of discovered reserves and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea at 28 billion barrels – yet, this estimate, for its part, seems particularly low. Furthermore, the 1993/1994 USGS estimate states that natural gas is actually more abundant in the area than oil. According to the USGS, about 60 percent-70 percent of the area’s hydrocarbon resources are gas while the sum total of discovered reserves and undiscovered resources in the offshore basins of the South China Sea [Eastern Sea] is estimated at 266 trillion cubic feet (tcf)”⁶, [1 cubic foot= 28316.8 cubic cm].

Secondly, The United States and the Republic of the Philippines signed “the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in 2014, a ten-year deal that allows a strengthened U.S. military presence in the Philippines.…” and “Obama administration officials have publicly described the U.S. commitment to the Philippines as “ironclad.”⁷Furthermore, “The Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) is a framework to enable U.S. forces to access Philippine bases and facilities, as well as pre-position materiel for warfighting and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) missions⁸.

Thirdly, China’s military and economic expansion from the Eastern Sea, to all South-East Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Africa, even South America in competition with the United States appears to be prevailing.

Fourthly, even though the United States may anticipate disturbances by China with regard to the international sea lines of communication, it would not, however, accept the fact that China has the opportunity to exhibit aggressive behaviors such as blocking maritime trade lanes. Recently, on April 22, 2018, Worldreported that in the previous week’s congressional hearing, Admiral David S. Davidson, chief of US Fleet Forces Command, said, “The island fortresses are built. The airfields are ready. The harbours are open…. All China needs do now is move in the warships and combat jets…Beijing has built up enough military infrastructure in the South China Sea to completely control the disputed waterway…. Once occupied, China will be able to extend its influence thousands of miles to the south and project power deep into Oceania…. The PLA will be able to use these bases to challenge US presence in the region, and any forces deployed to the islands would easily overwhelm the military forces of any other South China Sea-claimants…In short, China is now capable of controlling the South China Sea[Eastern Sea] in all scenarios short of war with the United States….Admiral Davidson has been nominated to take over the United States’ Pacific Command, responsible for coordinating army, navy and air force actions in that region. He says only an armed conflict could now stop Beijing from closing the South China Sea’s international sea lanes…. He told politicians this was why it was vital to recapture the technological advantage US forces held for five decades after World War II.”⁹

However, logic would tell us that before deciding to engage itself in an armed conflict with China, the United States would welcome any peaceful means that could bring about results that satisfy its interests in the Eastern Sea. And the probability for the United States to cooperate in such a solution would be very high. The Socialist Republic of Vietnam may wish to make the decision to place national security interest above self-interest and cooperate with the United States to proceed with the option of either Solution I or Solution II as mentioned above.

In the meanwhile, to guarantee the national sacrosanct rights of Vietnam, the non-communist patriots overseas and in Vietnam would do everything possible to support the realization of Solution I. However, in order to proceed with Solution II – in case the goals of Solution I for some reason are unattainable – the non-communist patriots shall mobilize the United States in the implementation of the January 27, 1973 Paris Peace Accords and the countries attending the February 26, 1973International Conference in Paris, in which all participants including the Democratic [Socialist] Republic of Vietnam formally pledged to respect the “aspirations and fundamental national rights of the Vietnamese people,”and “strictly respect and scrupulously implement” the January accords,….”⁵These countries, due to their mission and responsibility to uphold peace and guarantee the implementation of the agreements of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, shall exert pressure on the United States and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to carry out the articles of the Accords.

In order to proceed with this mobilization task, the non-communist patriots must be unified under one organization representing the illegally deceased Republic of Vietnam, including those people who used to work for the first and second republic governments, and representatives from the nationalist political parties, different religious groups,etc.…

The Organization should possess three capabilities: (1) Excellent communication skills in different languages needed for interacting with high officials of countries to be mobilized, (2) Strong knowledge of political science and law, and professional expertise in different fields of specialty, and (3) Financial resources to, if needed, send negotiators to different countries and to defray the costs of organization. And the Organization should be charged with two missions: (1) mobilizing international organizations and free countries for the implementation of the agreements of the January 27, 1973 Paris Peace Accords, and (2) Establishing a model for a free and independent government for South Vietnam with (a) preparation for the election of a provisional government and a constitutional convention leading to (b) the establishment of a permanent, freely elected government of South Vietnam with three separate and independent government branches, the Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary.

Setting up the Organization representing the formerRepublic of Vietnam would demand the work of a starting core group to formulate a recruitment plan for the Organization. The recruitment plan should be based on the criterion of the three capabilities and the missions required for the Organization as suggested above.

With obvious shortcomings due to limited knowledge, the author of this article provisionallyrecommends the following elements to volunteer for the setting up of the core group:

1. Representatives for the Republic of Vietnam
2. Representatives of the Vietnamese Veterans
3. Representatives of the Association of Prisoners of Conscience
4. Representatives of the Association of Former Political Prisoners
5. Representatives of People for the Protection of Human Rights
6. Representatives of The Vietnamese People Unified
7. Representatives of the Freedom and Democracy Bloc 8406
8. Representatives of the Association of Vietnamese Professionals
9. Representatives of the overseas Vietnamese communities
10. Representatives of the overseas Vietnamese Buddhist Church
11. Representatives of the overseas Vietnamese Catholic Church
12. Representatives of the overseas Vietnamese Protestant Church
13. Representatives of the Cao ĐàiChurch
14. Representatives of the Hoà HảoChurch
15. Representatives of Vietnamese national political parties
16. Representatives of the Association of Vietnamese American Lawyers
17. Representatives of Vietnamese organizations of Civil Society
18. And so on and so forth….

As mentioned earlier, shortcomings due to limited knowledge in these provisional recommendations are likely to occur, the author is sincerely seeking forgiveness for any unintended consequences thereof. The recommended list only carries the value of suggestions. Obviously, the size and composition of the core group can be expanded or reduced in accordance with the judicial judgment of those who first start the group, before they proceed to formulate the recruitment plan for the Organization. The essential issue is there must be somebody available to startthe project.  Among the elements in the suggested list or from some other elements in the larger Vietnamese communities, there should be someone who is fully aware of the critically dangerous situation of our beloved country and would volunteer for the demanding task of setting up the core group.

The most extremely vital issue, however,with regard to the establishment of the Organization entails problems of sabotage and division. This issue is endemic to almost all overseas Vietnamese organizations. Sabotage and division may probably be caused by communist infiltrations, by envious rivalry, or by “maliciously labeling” someone communist without evidence. Reports by overseas Vietnamese communication media as well international media on this issue usually deprive Vietnamese organizations of confidence and support of international organizations and free countries in the world. Evidently, Vietnamese don’t have the appropriate means to vet those who join the Organization in order to figure out whether sabotage and division are engineered by communist infiltrators, by envious competitors, or by false “labelers”. Nevertheless, in order to solve the problem of sabotage and division, it is essential that the process of conducting the recruitment campaign for the Organization compel constituent members to unanimously agree to strictly adhere to the capabilities required and the missions demanded by the Organization as the criteria for recruitment and operation, then if it happens that any member should go against those criteria, he or she must be dismissed, based on the majority (50%+1) votes of at least 2/3 of the total number of members present. And obviously, the capabilities and missions of the Organization must have been discussed, deliberated, and ratified by 100% of the members of the core group.

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REFERENCES:

¹Mật ước Thành Đô [The Chengdu Secret Agreements]: http://www.vnfa.com/an14s1/1402_062.html

²According to Giòng Bách Việt

³Wikisource, the Paris Peace Accords, Chapter V, Article 15 and Article 19. 

⁴Department of State Bulletin, March 26, 1973, pages 337–339.

⁵The New York Times, March 3, 1973.

⁶https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/How-Oil-Drives-The-South-China-Sea-Conflict.html

⁷https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-philippines-defense-alliance

⁸https://news.usni.org/2014/04/29/new-defense-agreement-philippines-u-s-basics

⁹World, “US Admiral warns: Only war can now stop Beijing controlling the South China Sea”, Apr.22, 1973.https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=12037384