Vietnamese activist interrogated for pro-democracy book in hiding after ‘miracle’ escape
Former journalist Pham Doan Trang said she was held for questioning for several hours on Saturday over her most recent work Politics for the Masses, which is outlawed in the country
A high-profile Vietnamese writer says she has gone into hiding after being interrogated about her banned book and placed under de facto house arrest by plain-clothes police, vowing Thursday to continue pressing for democracy in the one-party state.
Activist Pham Doan Trang said she was held for questioning by security officials for several hours on Saturday over her most recent book Politics for the Masses, which is outlawed in Vietnam and includes sections on democracy and political ideology.
Plain-clothes police surrounded her home in Hanoi after her release late on Saturday, she told AFP.
Vietnam’s Communist Party simply dislikes anyone who purports to be more legitimate than them, more worthy than them to hold power
“I escaped … which is a miracle,” she said from an undisclosed hideout in Vietnam, adding that she was targeted because of her 2017 book, which she called a political science textbook.
“Vietnam’s Communist Party simply dislikes anyone who purports to be more legitimate than them, more worthy than them to hold power,” she said.
The former journalist has previously been detained in Vietnam, which routinely locks up bloggers, lawyers and dissidents who are critical of the state.
Trang, 39, has long been a thorn in the side of the authorities with her pro-democracy writing and her work on an environmental disaster in central Vietnam in 2016 that prompted rare protests across the country.