US pushing Vietnam to free prisoners as trade pact looms

[WorldNews]

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Washington is pushing Vietnam to take tangible steps to boost human rights in the coming weeks, including freeing political prisoners, as it eyes joining an emerging Pacific trade pact. "It is obviously a very critical moment in the relationship and human rights is at the heart of what we are trying to achieve," Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Tom Malinowski said Friday. Malinowski has just returned from a weeklong visit to the Southeast Asian nation during which he met with top Vietnamese leaders as well as civil society actors, including religious minority community leaders. Some "fragile progress" has been made in boosting human rights in the communist-run country in the past year, but "we've got absolutely no illusions about the nature of the challenge," he stressed.

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