{"id":49842,"date":"2024-04-11T13:12:14","date_gmt":"2024-04-11T20:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/coalition-urges-apple-to-call-out-vietnams-persecution-of-climate-activists\/"},"modified":"2024-04-11T13:12:14","modified_gmt":"2024-04-11T20:12:14","slug":"coalition-urges-apple-to-call-out-vietnams-persecution-of-climate-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/coalition-urges-apple-to-call-out-vietnams-persecution-of-climate-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"Coalition urges Apple to call out Vietnam\u2019s persecution of climate activists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tech giant Apple Inc. has a duty to call out Vietnam\u2019s targeting of climate activists in line with its own policies after making the southeast Asian nation its primary manufacturing hub outside of China, a group of 61 environmental and human rights organizations said in an open letter on Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Apple must publicly condemn Hanoi\u2019s use of \u201cambiguous laws\u201d to arrest Vietnam\u2019s climate activists on \u201ctrumped-up\u201d tax evasion charges or risk \u201c<\/span>violating your own environmental and human rights policies and delegitimizing Apple\u2019s positive work in these areas<\/span>,\u201d said the letter from the <\/span>Members of the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition<\/span>, addressed to the company\u2019s leadership and board of directors.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201c<\/span>Since Vietnam is now Apple\u2019s most important production hub outside of China and you have committed to human rights and \u2018equity and justice in climate solutions,\u2019 we believe you have a responsibility to weigh in on the systematic persecution and imprisonment of climate leaders in the country,\u201d it said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

This handout photo released on October 24, 2023 by Hoang Vinh Nam shows his wife Vietnamese environment activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong posing with a motorbike in Lam Dong province on March 2, 2023. (Handout\/Hoang Vinh Nam\/AFP)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter referenced the imprisonment of <\/span>Nguy Thi Khanh, who served 16 months behind bars after working to reduce the government\u2019s coal expansion plans; environmental lawyer Dang Dinh Bach, who is serving a five-year sentence after representing communities impacted by pollution; and Hoang Thi Minh Hong, who is serving three years in prison after founding environmental group CHANGE Vietnam.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The group also called attention to authorities\u2019 recent arrest of Ngo Thi To Nhien, the former executive director of Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition, for \u201cappropriation of information or documents,\u201d which it said suggested efforts by the government to \u201ccriminalize access to information about Vietnam\u2019s clean energy transition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The 61 organizations said Apple had failed to uphold its commitment to equity and justice in climate solutions, as well as transitioning its suppliers to renewable energy and a net-zero carbon impact from all of its products by 2030 by building manufacturing capacity in Vietnam.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cIn Vietnam \u2026 those who would have facilitated net-zero carbon impact by supporting the transition to clean energy and other climate solutions are either in jail or have been silenced due to fear that they could be next,\u201d they said. \u201cEnvironmental organizations are shutting down, and there is currently no transparency or safe way for civil society to participate in this vital clean energy transition.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

The executive director of Green ID (Green Innovation and Development Centre), Nguy Thi Khanh, at the NGO’s headquarters in Hanoi, February 6, 2020. (Lillian Suwanrumpha\/AFP)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The letter urged Apple to publicly pressure Vietnam\u2019s government to release its imprisoned climate activists and ensure that civil society is free to participate in the country\u2019s transition to clean energy without fear of persecution.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

It noted that Apple\u2019s own commitment to human rights champions \u201can open society in which information flows freely\u201d and states \u201cthe best way we can continue to promote openness is to remain engaged, even where we may disagree with a country\u2019s laws.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Avoid \u2018same mistakes\u2019<\/p>\n\n

Ben Swanton, co-director of environmental watchdog Project88, among the letter\u2019s signatories, told RFA Vietnamese that Apple \u201cshould not make additional investments in intensive manufacturing in Vietnam while the country lacks clean energy sources and the government continues to imprison climate activists on false criminal charges.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Michael Caster, Asia digital program manager for ARTICLE 19, another of the signatories, said Apple has a corporate responsibility \u201cnot to make the same mistakes\u201d in Vietnam as it has in China, where he said \u201chuman rights abuses have been rampant, including with Apple\u2019s complicity in areas of censorship and surveillance.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThis requires robust human rights due diligence across its supply chain,\u201d he told RFA. \u201cAs part of this process, Apple should seriously take into account Vietnam’s persecution of climate activists, independent journalists, and others, and consider using its potential economic leverage to publicly condemn such actions.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Novelist Vo Thi Hao, right, marchs during a gathering to mark the 35th anniversary of the border war between Vietnam and China, in Hanoi, in a file photo. (Kham\/Reuters)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Members of the Vietnam Climate Defenders Coalition noted that it had written a letter outlining similar concerns to Apple on May 31, 2023, one day after which Hoang Thi Minh Hong was arrested and Dang Dinh Bach declared a hunger strike in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

It said it met virtually with members of Apple\u2019s staff to discuss the concerns in November, but has yet to receive a response regarding the company\u2019s next steps.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cApple, a company of growing significance to Vietnam\u2019s economy, is in a unique position to bring this issue to the forefront,\u201d the group said. \u201cSimply stating that you are in support of equitable and just climate solutions and human rights is not enough. Your commitments require action, and now is the time to take it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Responsibility \u2018wherever it operates\u2019<\/p>\n\n

Germany-based writer Vo Thi Hao, a frequent critic of Vietnam\u2019s persecution of environmental activists, called their arrests \u201cridiculous and unjustified\u201d in an interview with RFA.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cThese activists, who had been protecting the common environment for the entire country, including those who arrested them, are now facing unjust sentences,\u201d she said, calling for their immediate and unconditional release.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

She noted that Apple\u2019s ability to take action to protect activists in Vietnam \u201cwould be a challenge,\u201d as it would need to \u201cchoose between democracy and human rights values and economic benefits brought about by the Vietnamese market.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Activist Dang Dinh Bach in an undated image. (Provided by standwithbach.org)<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

But she called on the company to do more to protect freedom and democracy, not only in the United States, but \u201cwherever it operates.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch, said Apple and other major Western manufacturers \u201cwho are de-risking their supply chains\u201d by moving from China to Vietnam \u201cneed to realize just how bad the human rights situation is in Vietnam.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cClimate change activists and NGO leaders are in jail, workers are prohibited from forming independent unions, and the human rights and democracy movement has effectively been wiped out,\u201d he told RFA. \u201cIf Apple doesn’t speak out against this, then they are complicit and need to face repercussions from US and European consumers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Translated by Anna Vu. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tin t\u1eeb RFA Read More<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tech giant Apple Inc. has a duty to call out Vietnam\u2019s targeting of climate activists in line with its own policies after making the southeast Asian nation its primary manufacturing hub outside of China, a group of 61 environmental and human rights organizations said in an open letter on Thursday. Apple must publicly condemn Hanoi\u2019s …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":49843,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82,239],"tags":[246,251],"class_list":["post-49842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society","category-vietnam","tag-english","tag-rfa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49842"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49842\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49843"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietvalley.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}