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Demonstrators in O.C.’s Little Saigon call on Trump to address human rights issues in Vietnam

by in News

Hundreds of people marched and demonstrated in Westminster on Tuesday evening, hoping to bring attention to human rights issues in Vietnam as president Donald Trump visits that country.

“In this country, we have animal rights but over there, there’s not even human rights. We want democracy and freedom for Vietnam,” said Son Do, of Westminster, during the demonstration in the heart of Orange County’s Little Saigon.

Organizers included the Youth Coalition Demanding Human Rights and Democracy for Vietnam, in coordination with local Vietnamese-American organizations, said activist Adam Burgess.

  • Hundreds of supporters march down Bolsa Ave. during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Saigon Radio’s Hao Lee crosses Moran St. during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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  • Hundreds of supporters march down Bolsa Ave. during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Hai Phan, 50, of Fresno, drove four hours to participate in a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • A woman poses with a wooden cutout of Vietnam during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • An American flag is held aloft during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Hundreds of supporters march down Bolsa Ave. during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Speakers protest human rights abuses in Vietnam during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Garden Grove City Council member Patrick Phat Bui, President of the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education Lan Quoc Nguyen, Westminster Vice Mayor Kimberly Ho and Westminster Mayor Tri Ta speak during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Candles are held aloft during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

  • Performers sing on stage during a rally in Westminster on Tuesday, February 26, 2019. (Photo by Kevin Sullivan, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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“On behalf of the over 1 million Vietnamese‐Americans in the U.S., we urge you to address the critical issues of Human Rights, Democracy, and Political Prisoners of Conscience with the Vietnamese government during your upcoming trip to Hanoi,” Burgess and others said in a Feb. 18 letter to Trump.

“We are gravely concerned about the harassment, intimidation, assaults, and imprisonment of rights defenders, bloggers, and religious leaders,” the letter said.

Trump on Tuesday (U.S. time) was in Hanoi, the site of his second round of nuclear talks with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un.

Trump, who planned to meet with Vietnamese President Nguyen Phu Trong at the Presidential Palace, commented that Vietnam is thriving economically.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.