ORLANDO, Florida—Supporters held a reception and dinner for Thuong Nguyen "Cuc" Foshee at Embassy Suites Downtown in Orlando, welcoming her back to the U.S. following a 15-month term inside Ho Chi Minh City jail in Vietnam.
She was arrested by the Vietnamese government and held with six others. She was charged with intending to interrupt the airwaves and broadcast pro-democracy messages. She was visiting her home country to attend her nephews' wedding.
Foshee is an active member of Long Van Buddhist temple and associates with pro-democracy groups.
Foshee expressed overwhelming gratitude to more a hundred guests. Senator Mel Martinez, representatives of Congressman Ric Keller's office, Vietnamese media, friends and family attended. Foshee's daughter Liz McCausland thanked media companies from the Washington Post to the Orlando Weekly for their coverage of her mother's situation.
"I live in a warm and caring country," Foshee said and added, "I wouldn't be here if not for you," peering with tearful eyes at Senator Martinez, who proposed to block a bill to allow trade talks with Vietnam if Foshee wasn't released. She noted his tireless and honorable efforts in her case.
She spoke about her ordeal saying, "I was punished harshly in my own country for my beliefs." She challenged the Vietnamese government and companies who do business with them in the future, saying, "Raise to the standard of democracy and human rights. Then you can earn a place in that."
Several guests said that Foshee is an "inspiration" to the international community. One guest who asked not to be named said, "She taught us not to take our freedom for granted".
Foshee's fifteen-month ordeal recalls that of Dr. Charles Li, the Falun Gong practitioner and American citizen who was jailed for three years in China and released this past February. He had been charged with the same crime.
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