Hong Vo (born 1957) is a

Vietnamese Australian }) are Australians of Vietnamese ancestry. Vietnamese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Vietnamese diaspora. At the 2021 census, 334,781 people stated that they had Vietnamese ancestry (whether alone or in combination w ...

social worker from the

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and member of pro-democracy organization

Viet Tan The Vietnamese people ( vi, người Việt, lit=Viet people) or Kinh people ( vi, người Kinh) are a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to modern-day Northern Vietnam and Southern China (Jing Islands, Dongxing, Guangxi). The native lan ...

who was arrested in Ho Chi Minh City in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

on October 10, 2010 for participating in a peaceful political demonstration in

Hanoi, Vietnam Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly islands. She is being held under Article 84 of Vietnam's penal code, which is often used to charge and convict pro-democracy activists.

Background

Vo came to Australia in 1982 and is currently a social worker for the

City of Yarra The City of Yarra is a local government area (LGA) in Victoria, Australia in the inner eastern and northern suburbs of Melbourne. It is the second smallest LGA in the state with an area of , and in June 2018 it had a population of 98,521, ma ...

. She is a single mother of two, and has been active in the Vietnamese community.

Arrest

Vo assisted in organising a peaceful demonstration on October 9, 2010 in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

to affirm Vietnamese sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands. During the rally which was attended by approximately 70 people, she passed out leaflets, T-shirts, and hats in relation to the Paracel and Spratly Islands dispute. She was then arrested in the evening of October 10, 2010. The arrest occurred at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City, as Mrs. Vo was boarding a plan to

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

. Her son was on a phone call with her, when the call ended abruptly. She was then put into detainment without access to a lawyer. While Vietnam has alerted the international community on her arrest already on October 11, 2010, authorities in Vietnam did not confirm the arrest until October 12, 2010. She was held under Article 84 of Vietnam's penal code, which is often used to charge and convict pro-democracy activists. During her arrest, her exact whereabouts are unknown, and other than a confirmation that she has been arrested, no further information has been provided by the government. In a later interview, Vo described that she shared a cell with another prisoner, and was completely isolated from the world. Vo received a visit from the Australian consulate on October 18, 2010

Release

After the Australian consulate in Vietnam intervened in the case, Hong Vo was released from prison on October 21, 2010 and immediately expelled from the country without the possibility for her to ever return. She returned to Australia after a total of ten days of detainment. From her experience, she comments that "she will struggle to return to the country of her birth after spending 10 terrifying days in a Vietnamese jail."

International Response

State Labor MP

Luke Donnellan Luke Anthony Donnellan (born 26 March 1966) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly between 2002 and his retirement in 2022, representing Narre Warren North. He was the Minister for ...

, who personally knows Ms Vo well from her community work, promised to file a protest with the Vietnamese Embassy. He comments, "I will tell them how annoyed I am that they have arrested an Australian citizen and incarcerated her. It's totally inappropriate. Especially since we're talking about people handing out leaflets in relation to democracy, not actually any criminal acts". A

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

fan page has been created, as well as an online petition to ask for Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's assistance in releasing Ms Vo has been created. Upon her release Viet Tan spokesman Duy Hoang comments that "By releasing her now, the Hanoi government admits that it unjustly detained Hong Vo and that what it labels 'terrorism' is in fact peaceful demands for democracy. Viet Tan will continue to demand the release of the many other democracy activists and bloggers arbitrarily detained in Vietnam."

Legacies

* Inducted into the

Victorian Honour Roll of Women The Victorian Honour Roll of Women was established in 2001 to recognise the achievements of women from the Australian state of Victoria. The Honour Roll was established as part of the celebrations of Victoria's Centenary of Federation. Public no ...

in 2001.

External links

Online petition to Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard to appeal for her release

Free Them Now - Official website of Viet Tan

Free Hong Vo Now Facebook Page

News broadcast by SBS Australia on October 13 2010

Radio broadcast by SBS Australia on October 21 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vo, Hong Vietnamese democracy activists Living people Victims of human rights abuses Vietnamese dissidents Political repression in Vietnam Politics of Vietnam Prisoners and detainees of Vietnam Việt Tân politicians 1957 births Vietnamese emigrants to Australia