美国副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯星期四说，她在与越南领导人的谈话中提出了侵犯人权和限制政治活动的问题越南这些领导人本周表示，但没有迹象表明这些会谈取得了成果。
“我们不会回避困难的对话。她周四在河内的一次新闻发布会上表示:“困难的对话通常必须与那些你可能与之有合作关系的人进行。
哈里斯说，她特别与越南领导人就释放持不同政见者进行了交谈，但没有描述这些谈话的结果。越南因限制言论自由和新闻自由以及镇压其认为的持不同政见者而面临批评。但当被问及美国为何批评中国类似的虐待行为时，哈里斯没有回应，而是寻求与越南建立更牢固的伙伴关系。
她的讲话结束了为期一周的东南亚之行，在此期间，她会见了新加坡和越南的高级官员，试图加强美国在该地区的参与，以对抗中国在该地区的影响力。哈里斯公布了一系列美国对两国的新协议和援助，包括与西贡的网络防御合作，以及对越南的冠状病毒援助，越南正在努力应对病毒的新一轮激增和疫苗接种率低的问题。
但周四，她将注意力转向了围绕越南公民自由和人权的问题。哈里斯和致力于同性恋、双性恋和变性者权利和气候变化的活动家一起参加了她的团队宣传的“变革者”活动。
她说:“如果我们要应对我们面临的挑战，我们必须以合作的方式来做，如果我们要最大限度地利用我们集体拥有的资源，我们必须赋予每个部门的领导人权力，当然包括政府，但也包括社区领导人、企业领导人和民间社会。
在新闻发布会上，哈里斯还回答了有关美国从阿富汗混乱撤离的问题，但当被问及美国将如何评估撤离任务的成功时，她没有直接回应。当美国官员警告说，试图通过喀布尔机场离开阿富汗的美国人可能会受到恐怖威胁时，哈里斯也忽略了一个问题，即既然美国已经离开阿富汗，美国人是否更安全。
在返回华盛顿的途中，哈里斯将在夏威夷的珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地停留，会见军人。她还计划在加州停留，与面临召回的民主党州长加文·纽瑟姆一起露面。但哈里斯的办公室宣布，她取消了那次行程，直接前往华盛顿。
白宫表示，她已经听取了喀布尔事态发展的简报，并将在返回华盛顿的途中继续了解最新情况。
尽管哈里斯强调，她对东南亚的访问旨在促进与该地区国家的积极关系，扩大美国的合作和参与，但她也加大了拜登政府对中国的措辞，多次警告北京停止在有争议的南海的侵略。
她周三表示:“坦率地说，我们需要找到方法向北京施压，提高压力，要求其遵守《联合国海洋法公约》，并挑战其恃强凌弱和过度的海洋主张。
哈里斯避免了未写讲稿的失言，这些失言给她今年春天的第一次国外之行蒙上了阴影，那次她去了危地马拉和墨西哥，在那里，她对移民的声明——“不要来”——以及她对拒绝访问边境的问题的轻率拒绝招致了共和党和民主党的批评。在那次旅行中，哈里斯在多个地点接受了记者的提问，并进行了长时间的有线新闻采访。
在亚洲，哈里斯一直专注于与官员的会晤和拜登政府关于中国的谈话要点。尽管围绕美国从阿富汗撤军的问题占据了她在新加坡的第一天，但哈里斯强调了美国总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)和他的助手传达的同样信息——美国必须继续专注于撤离，而不是指责哪里出了问题。
Harris says she urged Vietnam to free political dissidents
HANOI, Vietnam -- U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday she raised issues of human rights abuses and restrictions on political activism in her conversations withVietnamese leaders this week, but offered no indication those talks bore fruit.
“We’re not going to shy away from difficult conversations. Difficult conversations often must be had with the people that you otherwise may have a partnership with,” she said at a news conference in Hanoi on Thursday.
Harris said she spoke with Vietnamese leaders in particular about the release of political dissidents, but did not describe the outcome of those conversations. Vietnam has faced criticism for restrictions on freedom of expression and on the press and a crackdown on people it deems political dissidents. But Harris didn't respond when asked why the U.S. criticizes China for similar abuses, but is seeking a stronger partnership with Vietnam.
Her comments capped a weeklong trip to Southeast Asia during which she met with top officials in Singapore and Vietnam in a bid to strengthen U.S. engagement in the region to counter Chinese influence there. Harris unveiled a number of new U.S. agreements and aid for both countries in areas including cyberdefense cooperation with Saigon and coronavirus aid to Vietnam, which is struggling with a new surge in the virus and low vaccination rates.
But on Thursday, she turned her attention to issues surrounding civil liberties and human rights in Vietnam. Harris participated in what her team billed as a “changemakers” event with activists working on LGBTQ rights and climate change.
“It is critical that if we are to take on the challenges we face that we do it in a way that is collaborative, that we must empower leaders in every sector, including of course government but community leaders, business leaders, civic society, if we are to maximize the resources we collectively have,” she said.
In her news conference, Harris also fielded questions on the chaotic U.S. exit from Afghanistan, but did not respond directly when asked how the U.S. would evaluate success in the evacuation mission. At a time when U.S. officials have warned of possible terrorist threats against Americans attempting to leave the country through Kabul's airport, Harris also ignored a question on whether Americans are safer now that the U.S. has departed the country.
On her trip back to Washington, Harris will stop at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii to meet with servicemembers. She had planned also to stop in California to appear with Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is facing a recall attempt. But Harris scrapped that stop to head straight to Washington, her office announced.
She has been briefed on developments in Kabul and will continue to be updated as she makes her way back to Washington, the White House said.
While Harris has emphasized that her visit to Southeast Asia is intended to foster a positive relationship with countries in the region and expand U.S. cooperation and involvement, she also ramped up Biden administration rhetoric toward China, issuing repeated warnings to Beijing to end its aggression in the disputed South China Sea.
“We need to find ways to pressure and raise the pressure, frankly, on Beijing to abide by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and to challenge its bullying and excessive maritime claims,” she said Wednesday.
Harris avoided the unscripted gaffes that overshadowed her first foreign trip, to Guatemala and Mexico in the spring, where her declaration to migrants — “do not come” — and her flip dismissal of questions about her refusal to visit the border drew criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Harris took questions from reporters at multiple points that trip, and sat for an extended cable news interview.
In Asia, Harris stayed focused on her meetings with officials and Biden administration talking points on China. While questions surrounding the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan dominated her first day in Singapore, Harris emphasized the same message delivered by President Joe Biden and his aides — that the U.S. must remain focused on the evacuations, and not recriminations about what went wrong.
