By YANG Jianli
May 11,2010
Good Afternoon. Senator Brownback, Dr. Binh Nguyen, and friends. I am pleased to be here today to observe with you the Sixteenth Commemoration of Vietnam Human Rights Day and to celebrate our common belief that freedom and human dignity will come to our respective homelands.
I have just returned from an extensive trip to Europe and Asia, where I had the honor to co-chair with Atebi of Iran, the committee on Internet Freedom at the Geneva Human Rights Summit and also lead a Han Chinese delegation to Dharamsala, India to visit with his Holiness the Dalai Lama during the 51st anniversary of the exile of his Holiness. I also was invited to address a Uyghur convention in Istanbul, Turkey. I returned here to the United States invigorated by the experience of a new sense of unity. A realization that our diverse cultures and histories no longer separate us from an unprecedented unity of purpose. A realization that mutual respect, understanding, and common action are necessary ingredients for the achievement of our common goals of freedom, justice, and dignity. As I spoke with his holiness the Dalai Lama, His freedom is my freedom, so I tell you today that your struggle for justice in Vietnam is also my struggle.
I would like to talk with you today about two aspects of Internet freedom. We are all united in belief that control of the Internet is vital for the rulers in Vietnam, Iran and China to maintain their authoritarian power. Over the past year we have worked together through letters to Secretary Clinton, with Senator Brownback, and concerned patriots like Michael Horowitz, to push funding for the quick expansion of proven protocols that will give uncensored and unmonitored Internet access to tens of millions of citizens in these closed societies. We must continue to work together on this initiative as there is no doubt that the electronic superhighway is the fast track to freedom in our respective countries. The delegates to the Geneva Human Rights Summit were unanimous in this belief and in their support for the Geneva Declaration of Internet Freedom which was drafted at the Summit. I call for a concerted effort among world concerned citizens, from closed societies and free ones alike, to push this document to UN so that UN will pass its version of World declaration of Internet Freedom. (Copies of this declaration are available at the information counter outside this room and also electronically at the Summit Website http://www.genevasummit.org/. )
I look forward to our collaboration on this important initiative.
The other aspect of Internet Freedom I want to share with you is equally important. On January 21, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a great speech on Internet freedom. In that speech she remarked that Internet censorship contributes to an imbalance of information that “increases both the likelihood of conflict and the probability that small disagreements could escalate.” This is a profound statement. Censorship causes conflict because it generates misinformation, incomplete information, and lies. We must consider that the Internet Firewalls constructed by China, Iran, and Vietnam control what people see and think on both sides of the wall. We in the West and in particular here in the United States are victims of the Great Firewall almost as much as the Chinese and Vietnamese people living behind these walls. We know what is going on in China and Vietnam. But most people see the China and Vietnam that these authoritarian governments want us to see. Their media control and censorship allows them to project a carefully fabricated picture that does not reflect the reality of life for citizens in Vietnam and China.
Time does permit me to elaborate, except to give you a very specific example of how we are victimized by Internet censorship and how this censorship affects our opinions and ultimately our policies.
On May first, the world’s largest international trade Exhibition opened in Shanghai. The Western media was full of articles praising what the New York Times called “a monumental” achievement. The New York Times article went on to detail the effort expended by the Chinese government to make the expo a reality. According to the Times this effort included “moving 18000 families and 270 factories employing 10,000 workers.” This effort was presented as a positive and significant achievement. The entire article reinforced the impression of China as a progressive, harmonious, and advanced society. Thousands of similar articles appeared in the western media.
What these articles overlooked in their praise of Chinese progress was the fact that “moving” 18000 families involved forced eviction, destruction of homes, and disruption of lives for tens of thousands of people. These people had no recourse for compensation or redress of their grievances. This is not an isolated instance, but a common practice in China and I am sure in Vietnam as well. These are countries that are not progressive or stable or harmonious. They are countries without the rule of law, without any system of checks and balances, without any process for citizens to redress their grievances. These homes are now entombed beneath three square miles of exhibits from international corporations and organizations, including the United Nations.
One of the victims of forced eviction in Shanghai, was Hu Yan, a young mother whose home was destroyed. She has waged a five year battle for justice. Earlier this year she came to the United States and has been camping out across the street from the UN in a tent called “The Hidden Shanghai Expo.” Last week she had a press conference across the street from UN headquarters in New York. Not one U.S. media showed up at the conference.
The information that people received on both sides of the wall was one of a China that is progressive and advanced. The other China, sad reality of Hu Yan and hundreds of millions of other citizens was a China without respect or care for its citizens.
This type of misinformation and incomplete information is repeated every day thousands of time. It becomes a source for decision making and policy making. Bad information makes bad policy and bad policy leads to misunderstanding and ultimately conflict.
As we fight for Internet freedom, we must fight for freedom and truth on both sides of wall of censorship. We must reach out to journalists and newspapers to push for balanced reporting and take them to task when they do not. We must make sure congressman and senators get complete information and facts in a timely manner. We must make sure that we do not give the governments of China, and Vietnam free passes to spread sugar coated information about life inside these regimes. If each of us work together to do this we can put these governments on the defensive. We may not have might on our side, but we have right. And as the famous proverb goes: You shall know the truth and truth shall make you free.
Thank you.