(VOVworld) - The US State Department has presented its 2012 International Women of Courage Award to Ta Phong Tan, who is serving a 10- year prison term for violating Vietnamese law. This action is an intervention into Vietnam’s internal affairs, which is detrimental to the development of the two countries’ relationship. VOV editor Thu Hoa comments.

Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Luong Thanh Nghi voices Vietnam's protest against the US State Department award to law violator

The US State Department’s International Women of Courage Award annually recognizes women around the globe who have shown exceptional courage and leadership in advocating for women’s rights and empowerment, often at great personal risk. A statement released by the US administration said that Ta Phong Tan was one of the first bloggers who commented on political events on the blog “Justice and Truth”. US Secretary of State John Kerry and First Lady Michelle Obama presented the award to Tan and others on International Women’s Day, on March 8.

In fact, Tan is neither a representative of outstanding Vietnamese women nor a leading advocate for the rights and power of Vietnamese women. Let’s find out more about her.

Ta Phong Tan was born in 1968 in Bac Lieu province. While she was working at Bac Lieu’s Department of Trade and Tourism, she sent BBC an article fabricating examinations and personal income tax issues. On the internet, Tan in her blog “Justice and Truth” showed her biased views distorting and fabricating Vietnamese Party guidelines and State policies”. On September 20, 2012, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Ta Phong Tan to 10 years in prison on the charge of “conducting propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam”.

According to court’s ruling, in April 2007, Ta Phong Tan left Bac Lieu for HCM City and joined the so-called “Free Journalists Club” which consists of opportunists and anti-state figures. With financial support from extremist Vietnamese organization overseas, this club used its “Free Journalists Club” website to distribute thousands of articles fabricating and distorting the situation in Vietnam. Tan was in charge of compiling documents defending the “Bach Dang Giang” group, a reactionary organization of the “Party for The People” in the US, members of the “8406” bloc, and the group of 8 trouble makers in Thai Ha diocese. In court, Tan admitted that she had several times written articles and answered foreign media interviews containing distortions about the Vietnamese state. In March 2009, Ta Phong Tan held interviews with Radio Hoa Mai of the “Party for The People in the US”, Sydney Radio and the New Horizon Radio of the Viet Tan Party. Tan said by May, 2009, she had written 864 stories on the blog “Justice and Truth” and more than 100 stories for BBC, RFI, and RFA. Tan was paid about 40 USD for each story and since 2007, she had received nearly 15,000 USD.

Before being jailed, Tan received money from extremist and reactionary Vietnamese groups for fabricating and distorting the political, economic, cultural and social situation in Vietnam. She is not and has never been a representative of truthful Vietnamese women, who are contributing their efforts for national development.

The US Department of State made a poor decision to honor Ta Phong Tan with the International Women of Courage Award 2012, because what she has done was only to serve her own interests without influencing other Vietnamese women inside and outside the country. This action by the US State Department runs counter to the development of the Vietnamese- US relationship.