Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Sir, as we have said, the communication and information system is completely under the control of the government, so it is impossible to print or distribute news not approved by the government. We have to depend mainly on what we call the social network and also the cyber-network.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Sir, I think we could request that the Parliament of Canada pass a resolution asking for the release of all prisoners of conscience, especially in the case of Ms. Ta Phong Tan. Her case is special because she was my fellow activist, and the things we did were very similar. She has been in prison for a long time, and in her cause her mother has committed suicide by self-immolation in protest of the government's action.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  During all the time I was imprisoned, twice, and was under trial, they imposed a lot of obstacles on me accessing my counsel, my lawyer. Even when the trial was taking place, I could not even access the help of a lawyer.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  I think this is due mainly to the victory of the campaign, the world campaigns, the members of Parliament, and the international organizations that fight for the freedom of the prisoners. I think that if we continue, even when we may not have an immediate result, your voice and your concern do lend more strength to the people who are still in prison.

Subcommittee on International Human Rights committee  Thank you for giving me the honour of addressing the Subcommittee on International Human Rights about the human rights situation in Vietnam today. On the day I left Vietnam on October 21, 2014, as the plane took off I looked back at my own country, where I had spent so many days of hardship in communist prison and where many of my friends still continued their constant search for the freedom of my country, and I knew that I still had to continue the fight for many years so that I could one day return to my free and democratic native land.