U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte , left, greets with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, right, at the Government Office in Hanoi,Vietnam, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Chitose Suzuki)U.S. diplomat revisits a fast-changing Vietnam
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Associated Press
HANOI, Vietnam: The second-highest-ranking U.S. diplomat, back for the first time since the Vietnam War, said Friday that he was impressed by the pace of economic change in the country and its good will toward its former foe.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte urged Vietnam to increase political freedom and improve its legal system but said the two sides have developed a "close partnership" that the United States would like to deepen.
"I'm very optimistic about the future of our relationship," Negroponte said during a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday morning.
Negroponte worked at the U.S. embassy in the former Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, during the Vietnam War. This is his first trip back to Vietnam since 1973.
Even though the two sides fought a "bitter and difficult" war, Negroponte said, "on both sides, there seems to be a tremendous amount of good will."
He praised Vietnam's economic growth, which has averaged roughly 7 percent a year for the last decade, describing it as an "economic miracle" that had lifted millions of Vietnamese out of poverty.
Negroponte's is the most recent in a series of high-level visits between the two countries. U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Hanoi in 2006, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited Washington in June.
Negroponte met with Dung in Hanoi on Thursday, as well as the education minister, the foreign minister and various other officials. He is planning to meet Friday and Saturday with business leaders in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern business hub, before visiting neighboring Cambodia.
He said he had raised the issue of human rights in all his meetings, but did not raise specific cases.
Negroponte spoke just two days after Vietnam sentenced an Internet writer and activist to 30 months in prison for tax fraud.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement decrying the verdict against Nguyen Hoang Hai, calling it part of a "crackdown on democracy activists in Vietnam."
Hai, whose pen name is Dieu Cay, has criticized Vietnam's government for its handling of a dispute with China over the Spratly and Paracel islands, located in an area of the South China Sea believed to contain rich oil and gas reserves.
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte urged Vietnam to increase political freedom and improve its legal system but said the two sides have developed a "close partnership" that the United States would like to deepen.
"I'm very optimistic about the future of our relationship," Negroponte said during a press briefing in Hanoi on Friday morning.
Negroponte worked at the U.S. embassy in the former Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, during the Vietnam War. This is his first trip back to Vietnam since 1973.
Even though the two sides fought a "bitter and difficult" war, Negroponte said, "on both sides, there seems to be a tremendous amount of good will."
He praised Vietnam's economic growth, which has averaged roughly 7 percent a year for the last decade, describing it as an "economic miracle" that had lifted millions of Vietnamese out of poverty.
Negroponte's is the most recent in a series of high-level visits between the two countries. U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited Hanoi in 2006, and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited Washington in June.
Negroponte met with Dung in Hanoi on Thursday, as well as the education minister, the foreign minister and various other officials. He is planning to meet Friday and Saturday with business leaders in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's southern business hub, before visiting neighboring Cambodia.
He said he had raised the issue of human rights in all his meetings, but did not raise specific cases.
Negroponte spoke just two days after Vietnam sentenced an Internet writer and activist to 30 months in prison for tax fraud.
Human Rights Watch issued a statement decrying the verdict against Nguyen Hoang Hai, calling it part of a "crackdown on democracy activists in Vietnam."
Hai, whose pen name is Dieu Cay, has criticized Vietnam's government for its handling of a dispute with China over the Spratly and Paracel islands, located in an area of the South China Sea believed to contain rich oil and gas reserves.
13 comments:
YOU FUCKING VIETMINH SHIT!
Fuck the Việt-Nam Độc-Lập Đồng-Minh.
The US should have nuke the bastard Việt-Nam Độc-Lập Đồng-Minh during the Vietcong conflict.
Fuck Việt-Nam Độc-Lập Đồng-Minh!
This fucking Vietminh can't even look the guy in the eye, how the hell you expect to trust the Vietminh?
You fucking Vietminh!
Good Job, Vietnam!
U.S. only support and respect strong country like Vietnam that has strong army & Economy and large population, and unified country.
How much U.S. care about human right of Khmer Krom? Have Clinton or Bush visited Cambodia?
So, please try to make Cambodia stronger in order to get a little more respect.
I don't like the viet myself, but the above blog make a very good sense!!! We, Khmer, must try hard to gain recognition and respect from the world community--yet, profanity don't help.
Khmer in US.
Look at the picture of a guy on the right, you can tell that he is an untruthful person, I would think twice before I do a business this person. I hope that American had learned their lesson
yuon will be use ameria to defend her country as china plan to invade their north area that had oil field .
In My Truthfull Opinion:
From a battle field perspective Vietnam has nowhere else to go but turn toward the West for assistance. Vietnam has betrayed China in 1976 by joinning COMECON and united with the former Soviet Union and now since the Soviet Union is broken into smaller independence Nations, Vietnam has nothing else to gain from the Soviet, thus its only solution is to befriend with the nation to which it was once an enemy.
If China chooses to invade Vietnam now is the time, because after all, the Soviet is a paper tiger like China has predicted it to be.
Should China invade Vietname now no country will interviene to assist Vietnam, because Vietnam has also betrayed the Soviet and the US is still fresh to this founding new relationship with Vietnam. Therefore, I dont think the US would sacrifice its focus in supporting the country that was once battled to the end and have lost many lives. And because of this past experience I just dont think the US is ready to get involve with Vietnam or any other countries for that matter.
Vietnam will have to learn how to stand on its own two feet and not about conquering Southeast Asia and change it into the Indochina Federation.
I Thank You.
ST.
The two guys on the picture look gays.
We can see on their eyes that they are falling in love each other.
It's time to put the past behind us and reconstruct what was destroyed in our conflicts.
Oh! Poor Vietnam,
Do you think that U.S. can protect you from China?
U.S. is running out of money soon!
Also, U.S. are always afraid of difficulty and problems like the Royalists. Otherwise, they would not run away from Lon Nol regime?
Hey! now there is another place to dump Coca Cola, Malboro, and Holywood trash.
It's the economy stupid!
Good to see US-Vietnam friendship continues to improve.
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