Vietnam rejects U.S. criticism

"Although recognizing Vietnam's positive progress, the US State Department's human rights report 2004 contains partial comments, which we totally reject," said Vietnamese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dzung. Dzung denied that there is religious repression, racial discrimination, or that anyone is jailed for their dissident political opinions. He said Vietnam is striving to improve its legal system. The comments were not surprising, as Vietnam annually denounces the U.S. State Department report on worldwide human rights practices, as well as other international human rights reports that include criticism of Vietnam. This year's response seemed milder than in previous years. (Thanh Nien, March 1).