PRESS RELEASE
General To Lam’s Visit to the United States: An Affront to Peace Amid Escalating Transnational Repression by the Vietnamese Government
February 19, 2026
On the occasion of To Lam’s visit to the United States to attend the launch meeting of the Board of Peace, Viet Tan calls on governments not to legitimize the authoritarian consolidation underway in Vietnam.
Since assuming the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam has centralized power in the hands of the security apparatus, entrenching a police-state model marked by pervasive surveillance, criminalization of dissent, and the expansion of repression beyond Vietnam’s borders.
In December 2025, exiled Vietnamese activists Le Trung Khoa and Nguyen Van Dai were each sentenced in absentia to 17 years in prison. These convictions are part of a deliberate strategy to intimidate and silence critics living abroad.
More alarmingly, Vietnamese authorities formally requested that German law enforcement arrest and extradite both activists to Vietnam. Berlin refused, consistent with its obligations to protect fundamental rights and asylum seekers. This attempt illustrates the willingness of To Lam’s regime to project its repression into democratic jurisdictions.
Vietnam under To Lam has also intensified online censorship. Numerous Facebook pages providing independent reporting have been blocked for users inside Vietnam following demands on Meta from Vietnamese authorities.
Hanoi’s pressure on an American technology company to comply with censorship orders is part of a broader effort to suffocate independent civic space as well as undertake unfair trade practices. When a foreign government pressures Meta to remove political content, or have its entire platform affected, the Trump administration needs to take action.
General To Lam’s participation in an initiative branded as the Board of Peace stands in stark contrast to the realities in Vietnam: arbitrary arrests, political convictions, digital repression, and attempts to extradite peaceful activists from abroad.
True peace cannot be built on fear, censorship, and the criminalization of dissent. It rests on the rule of law, protection of fundamental freedoms, and accountability of those in power.
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