ROYCE CALLS FOR VIGOROUS PROTESTS OF VIETNAM'S JAMMING OF RADIO FREE ASIA BROADCASTS

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA-40), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, released the text of a letter sent to the State Department requesting United States officials to vigorously protest Vietnamese jamming of U.S.-backed Radio Free Asia (RFA) broadcasts. The letter comes on the eve of Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill's planned visit to Vietnam.

"Since day one of RFA's broadcasts into Vietnam, Hanoi has jammed them. RFA must employ multiple frequencies to overcome this interference. I wonder what news the communist government is afraid of," asked Royce.

Radio Free Asia is a "surrogate" broadcasting service, acting as a free press for Vietnam, bringing accurate news and information. During a recent Congressional hearing, Royce brought the issue of Vietnamese jamming to the attention of a top State Department official, who committed to raising it with the Vietnamese government.

"We should be protesting loudly against this hostile assault on RFA's broadcasts. This can not continue to go unchallenged," commented Royce after the letter's release.

Below is the full text of Rep. Ed Royce's letter:

February 27, 2008

The Honorable Christopher R. Hill
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Ambassador Hill:

As you prepare to travel to Vietnam, I am writing to express my concern regarding the command over the media that the Vietnamese government exercises and U.S. efforts to counter that command.

Newspapers, television and radio stations are under strict government control. As longtime dissident Dr. Nguyen Dan Que correctly stated, "The state hopes to cling to power by brain-washing the Vietnamese people through stringent censorship and through its absolutist control over what information the public can receive."

To combat this censorship, I have been supportive of Radio Free Asia's broadcasts to Vietnam. As you know, Radio Free Asia is a "surrogate" broadcasting service, acting as a free press for Vietnamese. Unfortunately, Vietnam has a history of heavily jamming RFA, beginning on the first day of its broadcasts in February, 1997. In order to overcome this jamming, RFA employs six times the frequencies than it does for non-jamming countries. While still effective, I regret the fact that additional resources must be put to use.

I think you will agree that we should not let Vietnamese government interference with such accurate news and information go unchallenged. If relations between our two countries are truly improving, as the Administration states, this should not be an issue. Yet, to my knowledge, no official complaint has been lodged with the Vietnamese government over its hostile assault on RFA's broadcasts. During a recent hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight, Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel committed to looking into this issue and to raising it with Vietnamese officials during future trips to the region. Any information you can provide me in this respect upon your return from Vietnam would be most appreciated.

Sincerely,

 

EDWARD R. ROYCE