A Vietnamese writer and political figure is scheduled to go on trial tomorrow on charges of spying. Among the charges against him, according to a joint statement from Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, is that he slandered the Vietnamese state by testifying to the American Congress about human rights abuses in Vietnam. Nguyen Vu Binh’s July 23, 2002, testimony to the Congressional Human Rights Caucus spoke of the arrest of other democracy activists and of a directive from the Ministry of Culture and Information authorizing a “search and destroy campaign of books written by democracy activists.” Mr. Binh, age 35, was a journalist at the official Communist Party of Vietnam journal, Communist Review, for almost 10 years before resigning in December 2000 to try to form an independent political party, the Liberal Democratic Party. The renewal of American diplomatic relations with Vietnam took place during the Clinton years with a great deal of political cover from those like Senator McCain who served honorably during the Vietnam War and suffered at the hands of the Vietnamese communists. Vietnam is now a fashionable travel destination for young Americans. It’ll be interesting to see whether the same kind of fanfare that attended the renewal of American relations with Vietnam attends the trial of Mr. Binh. It’s a reminder of what was at stake in the war.