(View Vietnamese version)

Vietnam and China signed a land border accord at the end of 1999 followed by a sea boundary accord at the end of 2000. These accords had not been disclosed to the public since their inception, therefore, did not raise much public controversy, until both countries began placing the new border markers at the end of 2001.

Mr. Le Chi Quang, an attorney in Hanoi, and other dissidents in Vietnam brought up the issue publicly. They asserted that these accords were nothing more than a concession of territory by the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) and accused the VCP of acquiescence to China purely for its self-preserving interest.

In a response to controversial public opinion, Vietnam Foreign Ministry spoke on this issue but failed to clarify the matter. What the Foreign Ministry did acknowledge is that the Nam Quan border gate was now inside China territory.

On this issue, the Vietnamese Professionals Society (VPS) asserts that:

All Vietnamese territory belongs to the country and people of Vietnam, not to the government holding power. The government currently in power does not have any right to cede any territory of Vietnam to any other foreign country for its own self-interest.

The Vietnamese Professionals Society decries any action which is against the interest of the country and the people of Vietnam.

Facing the grave issues of Vietnam, Mr. Le Chi Quang bravely spoke up against the loss of Vietnamese territory. His actions were met with harassment by the security police in the so-called "working sessions".

Concerned with the safety and the well-being of all intellectuals, professionals, students, and people of Vietnam, the Vietnamese Professionals Society:

strongly protests all forms of harassment toward Vietnamese intellectuals and people, in an attempt to suppress them from voicing their concerns about Vietnam's issues.

calls for the government of Vietnam to cease all repression and persecution of such dissidents as Ha Si Phu, Nguyen Thanh Giang, Nguyen Dan Que, etc. and to respect their freedom of expression.

The Vietnamese Professionals Society calls on all Vietnamese intellectuals and professionals in Vietnam and abroad:

find out more information and research carefully all of the issues related to the Vietnam-China border accords and present this information to the people of Vietnam and the world.

put collective pressure on the Vietnamese government and to compel them to disclose all of the details of the Vietnam-China 1999 Land Border Accord and the 2000 Sea Boundary Accord.

Sincerely,