FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TORRANCE, CA-May 22, 2016-A mass fish kill has devastated over 200 miles of Vietnam’s coastline. International observers agree the responsible party is Taiwanese-owned Formosa Ha Tinh Steel, a unit of Formosa Plastics Group. Since early April, Formosa has released toxic wastewater into the ocean off Ha Tinh province. The Vietnamese government has covered up for Formosa and violently suppressed public protest. The U.S.-based Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association urges the world’s nations to demand transparency from the Vietnamese government and support the right of Vietnamese people to peacefully protest this threat to their health and livelihood.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of dead marine creatures choke the waters off the central coast of Vietnam, from Ha Tinh to Da Nang. The kill includes rare species typically found miles offshore in deep waters. Many Vietnamese have been sickened by eating toxic fish. Thousands of fishermen and tourist industry workers are out of work. Citizens from Hanoi to Saigon have attempted to peacefully protest Formosa’s negligence. The Vietnamese government has responded by harassing and abusing protestors, including woman and children. Violent attacks on demonstrators have been documented.

We, the Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association of America, issue the following four statements and demands:

1)  The Formosa company has committed an egregious crime of environmental ruin. It has destroyed not just sea life but also the lives of Vietnamese citizens who rely on the sea for their subsistence. Formosa should immediately halt the release of untreated wastewater. If the pollution cannot be stopped at once, the plant should shut down permanently. Formosa should issue the Vietnamese people a formal apology.

2) The Vietnamese government has been complicit with Formosa and has failed to safeguard the health of its people and environment. We demand transparency, including expedited testing of the seawater to determine the contaminants and extent of the damage. The government should promptly initiate legal proceedings against Formosa.

3) The Vietnamese government has repressed citizens holding peaceful protests. Such protests are legal and protected by the Vietnamese constitution. The people should be neither oppressed nor ignored, but listened to and respected.

4) We believe that public attention, both within and outside Vietnam, can help persuade the Vietnamese government to address the pollution crisis and treat its citizens justly. We encourage intellectuals, artists and journalists in Vietnam and abroad to support each other and speak out. We especially encourage our counterparts in Vietnam—students and young Buddhists—to speak out against persecution and government-sanctioned terrorism. Young people are the power and future of Vietnam.

TORRANCE, California, U.S. May 22, 2016

Vietnamese Buddhist Youth Association of America