"Who is the enemy of the Vietnamese Communist regime? It is freedom, it is democracy" stated Mr. Bengt Braun, President of the World Association of Newspapers (WAN), at its world conference on June 1, 1998 in Kobe, Japan. This 51st WAN Conference was attended by Japan's Crown Prince and Princess Naruhito and more than 800 representatives of newspapers from 40 nations.

Mr. Bengt Braun presented the reasons of the Association decision on November 4, 1997 in Istanbul, Turkey, to bestow this year honor on Prof. Doan Viet Hoat: "He is a man of courage, daring to voice constructive ideas for his country... through his pen despite threats and harassment from anywhere."

After the introduction of Prof. Hoat's biography, a video of the Thanh Cam prison camp, filmed by a daring French television crew led by journalist Patrick D'Arvor, was shown. In the film, the prison guard refused to answer when the journalist showed him a photo of Prof. Hoat and asked for his whereabouts.

Mr. Braun urged the press representatives to ask the Hanoi's Deputy Minister Nguyen Cong Tan, who would lead a trade delegation to Tokyo at the end of that week, about the fate of Prof. Hoat and other political prisoners in Vietnam.

Afterwards, Mr. Jame Sitrosky, Chairman of WAN, presented the award to Mrs. Doan Viet Hoat, who received the honor on behalf of her imprisoned husband.

In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Hoat moved the audience with her life story. For the 32 years of their marriage, the couple lived only nine and a half years together. For the rest of the time, various prison camps have physically claimed her husband.

"My husband has been moved from one (prison) camp to another across Vietnam only because he dared to suggest necessary political reforms to help Vietnam escape poverty and backwardness..."

On her last visit with her husband at a remote prison camp near the Vietnam-Lao border, Prof. Hoat encouraged his wife and children to tell the world:

"Keep up hope. People of conscience will eventually bring out the truth. Sooner or later, the just cause will prevail. Our ancestors have shown us we are civilized people. Other civilized people of the world also have to overcome many disasters in this century. Go toward the light and bring with you the aspiration of all prisoners of conscience, who are languishing in remote, hidden places across Vietnam; and tell conscientious people everywhere. The world of Great Peace is before us. Soon, we'll join in a life filled with love from a peaceful civilization."

Other Vietnamese present at the event were representatives of the Free Vietnam Alliance, the Vietnamese Community in Japan, and the Vietnamese Buddhist Association in Japan.

The event was well reported by the Japanese media. The Sankei, one of Japan's major newspapers, described the ceremony under the title "Release those who asked for Freedom of Speech".