The US State Department should not have presented this year's International Women of Courage Award to someone who violated Vietnamese law like Ta Phong Tan, said Luong Thanh Nghi, the spokesman for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nghi said that the action could detriment the development of the two countries' relationship.
Tan, a former police officer and freelance blogger in southern Bac Lieu Province, was arrested in September 2011 for distorting the truth and denigrating the Party and the State. She was accused of creating anxiety among citizens and supporting schemes to overthrow the Vietnamese Government.
Vietnam protests over US courage award
The US State Department should not have presented this year's International Women of Courage Award to someone who violated Vietnamese law like Ta Phong Tan, said the spokesman for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Source: VNS
