President Bush hopes to go to Vietnam next month bearing a gift -- passage of a bill to create the closest trade relations between the two countries since the end of the Vietnam War. But the plight of an ailing 58-year-old Florida woman who has been held in a Vietnamese prison for more than a year on terrorism suspicions is threatening to derail the president's plans.
The case against Thong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee highlights both Vietnam's human rights record and the lingering passions of former refugees for the country they fled three decades ago. It also exposes the tension between the administration's dual efforts to promote business and foster democracy.
Foshee, a prominent Republican supporter of Bush from Orlando, was seized by Vietnamese authorities in September 2005, a day after she arrived to attend the wedding of a nephew, according to her family. Vietnamese officials have alleged that she, two other American women and an American man -- who were all arrested about the same time -- were plotting to take over radio stations and undermine the Vietnamese government, U.S. officials said. Foshee, a Vietnamese immigrant who became a U.S. citizen in 1972, had visited Vietnam several times previously.
Some Bush administration officials suggest that the Vietnamese government may have evidence against Foshee, but they fault its failure to bring formal charges.
Fast-growing market
Vietnam is the fastest-growing market for U.S. products in Asia, with exports growing by 150 percent since 2001, according to the U.S.-Vietnam Trade Council. After 12 years of negotiations, Vietnam yesterday cleared the last hurdle to becoming the 150th member of the World Trade Organization before the end of the year.
A bill granting Vietnam permanent normal trade relations is necessary for U.S. companies to benefit from the low tariffs that Vietnam will introduce as a WTO member, opening up a market considered the economic tiger of Asia. Executives from at least 200 companies will join Bush on his visit to Hanoi.
But Sen. Mel Martinez (R-Fla.) has blocked the bill from coming to the Senate floor until Foshee's case is resolved, forcing the administration to raise the case at senior levels. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to her Vietnamese counterpart three weeks ago, seeking Foshee's release. Martinez, a Cabinet official in Bush's first term, buttonholed the president about the matter as they flew back from a campaign event earlier this week.
In a letter to Rice dated Oct. 13, Martinez wrote: "I feel strongly that substantive progress must be made that will lead to Mrs. Foshee's release before I can lift the hold I have placed on the legislation."
The Senate will not be back in session until Nov. 13, and Bush is to leave Nov. 15 for Vietnam. The president, who has never visited the country, will attend the annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, which the Vietnamese government hopes will showcase the country's emergence.
U.S. officials also must deal with retailers' concerns about a deal struck with U.S. textile manufacturers just before Congress went on recess.
Foshee has actively demonstrated against the Vietnamese government and has been associated with the Government of Free Vietnam, a virulently anti-government group that maintains a military base on the Vietnamese-Cambodian border. Her daughter, Elizabeth McCausland, 37, a lawyer, said that she does not know whether her mother is a member of the group but that her mother helped train members of the group in public speaking and in education about democracy.
The Government of Free Vietnam, based in Garden Grove, Calif., says it aims to "save the nation to terminate the dictatorship of the current communist government." Nguyen Van Don, secretary general of the group, issued a statement saying Foshee was in Vietnam for "personal and family reasons" and has never "undertaken any projects for the party."
McCausland said her mother "was very vocal about her wish that Vietnam become a democracy." She said Foshee demonstrated in Washington during Bush's meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai in June 2005, and a photograph of her holding a sign demanding religious freedom in Vietnam was printed in newspapers. But she scoffs at the idea that her mother -- who she said is barely over five feet tall, has high blood pressure and was overweight when arrested -- knew anything about radio equipment or taking over radio stations.
"It's entirely ridiculous," McCausland said. "I truly believe what she is being punished for is her speaking out for democracy here in the United States."
In another recent case, the family of Cong Thanh Do, a San Jose resident, was surprised to learn that he secretly oversaw a network of anti-communist dissidents from his laptop. His activities came to light after he was arrested on a trip to Vietnam with his wife and 9-year-old son in mid-August. He was released after being held for 38 days.
Foshee, who owns a landscaping business, served as Asian coalition regional chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004 and contributed $2,000 to the Republican National Committee in 2001, campaign records show. She also contributed $10,000 in 2000 to the successful Senate campaign of Democrat Bill Nelson, who as a House member helped bring her brother to the United States.
U.S. officials declined to discuss details of the case. Frederick Jones, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council, said the White House is aware of Foshee's detention and Martinez's action. "We have urged the government of Vietnam to abide by international legal standards and not to hold her indefinitely without due process," Jones said.
The case is "an obstacle to getting the trade package forward," said a senior State Department official. Rice has received assurances from Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem that he understands how important the case is and will work to resolve it, the official said.
Martinez declined to comment. Spokeswoman Kerry Feehery would only say that Martinez "is doing everything in his power as a U.S. senator to get Mrs. Foshee home to Florida."
The Vietnamese Embassy did not return phone calls.