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Vietnam

• International Church in Vietnam Closed

  New Life Fellowship Website Announcement; Windsor Plaza Hotel

  On August 27, Vietnamese police ordered the immediate closure of a 500-member international church that has been meeting for the past eight months in the Windsor Plaza Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City.  According to an August 30 report from Compass Direct, the New Life Fellowship was closed because they did not have a permit.  The church has, however, made concerted efforts to obtain such a permit since its inception eight years ago.  Pastor Eric Dooley believes the closure ordered originated with local officials and is not an action against the church by the federal government.

  The church will continue meeting in small groups.  The church's website, www.nlfvietnam.com, has posted the following message: "Due to police action, until further notice NLF will not hold corporate worship services. Church members should stay in contact with their Lifenet group leaders. Jesus is Lord! Please keep praying."

  Pray for the continued ministry of the New Life Fellowship in Ho Chi Minh City.  Pray for wisdom and direction for the church as they consider future plans.

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.

• Update: Vietnamese Pastor Offered Release

  Vietnamese prison officials have offered to release Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang as part of the yearly amnesty on September 2.  The only condition is that he confesses to the charges of "interfering with officers doing their duty" for which he is serving three years in prison (see links on Vietnam's country report for more details).  According to an August 15 report from Compass Direct, Pastor Quang maintains his innocence and will not change his position.

  Quang's wife, Le Thi Phu Dzung, has also filed a petition seeking redress destruction of part of her home and the Mennonite worship centre on July 19.  Click here for more details and photos of the destruction.

• Partially Destroyed Church Centre in Vietnam Raided Vietnamese authorities continue to pressure the Mennonite believers after the partial destruction of their centre on July 19 (click here for details).  According to a press release from the Vietnam Mennonite Church Central Church Office, fifteen believers had gathered for prayer in what remains of the Mennonite worship centre on July 24.  Just before 7:30 PM, thirty officials surrounded the building and broke up the meeting.  The area policeman, Nguyen Quang Trung, ordered the believers to stop praying and demanded that Le Thi Phu Dung (the wife of imprisoned Pastor Nguyen Hong Quang) dismiss the meeting.  Mrs. Dung was cited for "gathering a crowd and disturbing public order" and for "conducting illegal religious activities."  Two of those gathered for prayer were also taken to the police station but they released them later that evening.

  Le Thi Phu Dung

  Approximately an hour after the first raid, officials returned again, claiming that someone had reported a meeting going on.  When the police found no meeting, they began examining the registration papers for the motorcycles in the building.  Mrs. Dung objected to their investigation since they did not have a search warrant. The officials left after the workers signed declarations that they were operating their vehicles legally.

  Pray for endurance and strength for these believers facing this persecution from authorities.  Pray for wisdom for church leaders, as they determine the proper response to this harassment. 

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.  Earlier this year, VOMC released a video report on the persecution being suffered by members of Vietnam's Mennonite Church.  You can view this video (which includes an interview with Mrs. Dung) on www.vomcanada.com.

• VOMC Condemns Destruction of Mennonite Property in Vietnam

  The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada strongly condemns the destruction done to the building that serves as the main centre of the Vietnam Mennonite Church and the home of imprisoned Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang on July 19, 2005.  According to a press release by the Vietnam Mennonite Church General Office received by VOMC yesterday, some 200 District 2 officials cordoned off the area around the Mennonite Church center in Binh Khanh Ward in District 2 at 8:00 AM on July 19, 2005 in order to tear down the rear portion of the centre. 

  The press release reports that, with government video cameras rolling and pictures snapping, seventy government officials and hired hands used hammers and electric saws to destroy an 8 by 4.7 meter rear portion of the two-story home of Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and the main center of the Mennonite Church of Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City.  After four hours of destructive work, they left a pile of rubble including brick, wood and metal rebar.  In addition to the rear four meters of the building which they accused Pastor Quang of having illegally constructed several years ago, authorities also destroyed four meters of the church's meeting room where weekly worship services are held.  The space above the church’s meeting room is the home of the family of the Rev. Quang and was constructed in 1999.  Authorities charged that it had been built without a permit. This is a technicality that is rarely required in Vietnam. The Mennonite Church of Vietnam reports that they had petitioned officials many times, pointing out the irrational nature of the order, but the People’s Committee of District 2 refused to deal fairly with the issue. 

  Only Mrs. Nguyen Hong Quang and two of her small children were at home when the area was cordoned off and the destruction of part of the building took place.  Other Mennonite workers and students who normally resided at the house had been expelled from the centre at the end of 2004.  Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang himself, who has recently suffered a serious decline in his health, has been incarcerated since June 8, 2004 and is currently held in the infamous Dac Trung prison in Dak Lak Province. 

  While government authorities were tearing down the building, they blocked the mobile phone of Mrs. Quang so she could not communicate with anyone.  Mrs. Quang urgently requested the authorities to respect the law and not tear down parts of the building that were not included in the dispute.  They ignored her and continued to order those they had hired for the job to destroy part of the church’s meeting room not included in the order.  Those hired to do the dirty work asked Mrs. Quang to please "sympathize with us. We are only hired hands and are doing this because we need food on our tables; we don't want to destroy the church and we will be very careful not to destroy the church's property." Mrs. Quang and her two small children could only watch and pray in anguish as they witnessed the destruction going on. 

  Local Christians who learned of the incident were kept away from the site until after the officials left at 12:40 PM.  Upon their departure, a steady stream of Christians came to visit and comfort Mrs. Quang and her two small children, and helped her tidy up the awful mess left by the destruction. 

  In their July 19 press release, the Vietnam Mennonite Church General Office wrote, "We call on the worldwide community of Mennonites and Christian communities to continue to pray and to do all in your power to encourage and support the family of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang and the Vietnam Mennonite Church during this time of heavy repression. We call on international human rights organizations, mass media organizations and governments who care about human rights to please do everything within your power to raise your voices to support us."

  The Voice of the Martyrs urges believers from around the world to pray for Mrs. Quang and her family during this time.  You may write a letter of encouragement to them at:

  Ba Le Thi Phu Dung
  C5/1H Tran Nao, Khu Pho 1
  Phuong Binh Khanh, Quan 2
  Ho Chi Minh City
  Vietnam

  Letters of protest to the Vietnamese embassy in Canada can be sent to:

  Her Excellency Thi Hoi Nguyen, Ambassador
  Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
  470 Wilbrod Street
  Ottawa, ON K1N 6M8
  Canada

  Addresses to Vietnamese embassies in other countries may be found through our links page.

    Earlier this year, VOMC released a video report containing an interview with Mrs Quang and other Mennonite church workers and their families who have suffered from almost continual persecution from Vietnamese authorities.  This report can be viewed on VOMC's multimedia website, www.vomcanada.com.

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.

• Interview with Dr. Hoang Trong Tam

  On June 1 2005, on their Vietnamese language program, Radio Free Asia (RFA) interviewed Doctor Hoang Trong Tam who has been treating brother Than Van Truong for the last eight months in Dong Nai mental hospital. Dr. Tam: If I was asked I would say, in my opinion, Mr. Truong has a mental attitude that is excessive. He is fanatical and over the limits about his beliefs. RFA: When the police transferred him to the mental hospital, what did they say to the hospital about his case? Dr. Tam: They said this case is receiving "the obligatory treatment" because he has broken the law and has all the indications of a mental problem. The police transferred him here. But with me, on a professional level I can say he is fanatical. Extremely fanatical. He has an extreme belief in God. Normal Christians do not behave like him. RFA: Who determined that brother Truong has a mental problem? Dr. Tam: It wasn't me. I didn't say he was mental. The expert Medical Council made that determination. RFA: Which medicine did you inject or give to him to take? Dr. Tam: The kind of medicine that acts as a strong tranquillizer, such as haloperidol. RFA: What is your personal opinion about Mr. Truong? Dr. Tam: After the eight months I have treated him he is fanatical. Extremely fanatical. He is somewhere between normal and mental. It is not pathological, but very close to a pathological condition. He is an extreme believer. He is fanatical but with HOPE. RFA: How is he in recent times - how is his health in general? Dr. Tam: In recent days, he is all right, and his health is normal. He is nearly recovered and he is not receiving any medicine or injections.

• Doctor Speaks Out About Vietnamese Pastor

  On June 1, Radio Free Asia interviewed Doctor Hoang Trong Tam who has been treating lay pastor Than Van Truong.  Brother Truong has spent the last eight months in Dong Nai Mental Hospital reportedly because of his strong dedication to Christ.  According to Doctor Tam, Truong is "fanatical" with "an extreme belief in God" which authorities believe warrants treatment.  Click here for an English translation of the interview.

  The Voice of the Martyrs is launching a postcard campaign on behalf of Brother Troung.  While supplies last, you can receive up to five postcards for free. Each postcard is preprinted with an encouraging message for Brother Troung.  All you need to do is place the appropriate postage on the card, sign it with your first name and drop it in the mail as soon as possible. You can invite your friends to use the other cards. 

  The greeting on the card reads: "Dear Br. Truong, Warmest greetings in Christ from your friends around the world. Your Christian testimony has inspired us and we pray that you will be released from this unjust treatment and returned to your family. We pray that the Bible verse will be a comfort and a strength for you. May God bless you richly."

  To request up to five postcards, please visit our website (no longer available).  Sorry, the offer is only available to residents of Canada.

  For more information on the persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.

• Vietnamese Christian Leader Released

  Seventeen days before his eleven-year prison term for spreading religion was to end, Vietnamese Hmong Christian leader Sung Seo Pao was released from prison on May 3.  According to VOM sources in Vietnam, Seo Pao looked well and was strong in his faith.

  Seo Pao was first arrested in 1990.  He served eight months in prison and was released on the condition that he would not preach the gospel.  Unable to meet such a condition, he was arrested again in May 1995.

  Praise God that Seo Pao has been released.  Pray for him as he continues to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ in Vietnam.  Pray that promised religious reforms in Vietnam will truly result in increased freedom of religion. Pray for strength for others presently suffering for their faith in Vietnamese prisons.

  For more information on the continuing persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.

• Church Meeting Broken Up with Arrests

  Le Thi Hong Lien as she was being released from hospital

  Only two days after being released from a mental hospital, Le Thi Hong Lien was arrested, together with twelve others, for attending an evening Bible study and prayer meeting in the home of imprisoned pastor Nguyen Hong Quang on Sunday, May 1. Pastor Quang's home in District 2, Ho Chi Minh City also serves as a meeting place of the Vietnam Mennonite Church. According to a May 3 report from Compass Direct, the Mennonites planned to spend time during this meeting thanking God for the release of Lien on April 29.

  Before all of the Christians had even arrived for the meeting, approximately thirty police officers pushed their way into the house at approximately 7:45 p.m. They stopped the meeting and ordered all who had gathered to go to the police station for interrogation.  They were held for almost three hours and subjected to threats and verbal abuse before finally being released. One drunken police officer reportedly said that he had orders to harass the Christians until they stopped using Quang's house for worship.

  Following the raid, Lien was reportedly exhausted and terrified.  She remained silent throughout the interrogation, despite threats of violence.  Her father, Le Quang Du, was pressured to sign a confession of guilt for an "administrative infraction," which he refused to sign.  The day before his daughter's release, Du had been warned against his daughter attending meetings at the Quang home. At the time, he had resolutely affirmed that his family would continue to worship God and participate in the activities of their church.  Nguyen Thanh Nhan, another evangelist recently released from prison, was threatened with physical torture during the interrogation.

  Nguyen Thanh Nhan

  Continue to pray for spiritual, emotional and physical strength for these Christians in Vietnam who are suffering this continued harassment.  Pray for healing for Le Thi Hong Lien.  Pray that this recent ordeal will not impede the recovery process.  Praise God for the courage of these brothers and sisters who refuse to be intimidated.

  For more information on the continued persecution of Christians in Vietnam,click here.  The Voice of the Martyrs recently released a video report on the "Mennonite Six," which includes interviews with Lien's father, Pastor Quang's wife and Nguyen Thanh Nhan.  To view this video report, go to our multimedia website at www.vomcanada.com.

• Le Thi Hong Lien Released The Voice of the Martyrs is pleased to announce that at 11:45 am today (April 29, 2005), a delegation of 15 people from the Vietnam Mennonite Church led by Mrs. Nguyen Hong Quang went to Center II at Bien Hoa Mental Hospital to pick up Ms. Le Thi Hong Lien.  Lien had been in detention for ten months.  During her incarceration, Ms Lien was beaten, abused and tortured to the point that she suffered a mental breakdown.  Even at the time of her trial and in the Chi Hoa Prison, she continued to be beaten in spite of being mentally ill.

  According to VOM sources, just before her release, both Ms. Lien and her father refused to sign an amnesty paper that would have required Lien to serve house arrest for the remaining two months of her sentence. Her father courageously insisted that she either be completely freed or returned to the hospital.

  A press release from the office of the General Secretary of the Vietnam Mennonite Church said that when Le Quang Du, Lien's father, was invited to the police station of the Security Police of the District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City yesterday to tell him of his daughter's pending release, authorities strongly advised him that Ms. Lien should not go to the home of Mrs. Nguyen Hong Quang after her release, thereby avoiding causing "any difficulties for the local government authorities." The Quang home also serves as the Mennonite church meeting place. Ms. Lien's father resolutely affirmed that his family would continue to worship God and participate in the activities of their church.

  The Vietnam Mennonite Church believes the release of Ms. Lien before the end of her sentence came because the considerable attention paid to her case by many foreign governments, human rights organizations, international media and Christian believers, both Mennonites and many others around the world. In their release they state: "Our church would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest gratitude to all who have prayed for and with us and to all donors who have contributed toward the needs of the prisoners and their families."

  Upon her release, Lien reportedly exhibited joy at seeing her family and church committee who had come to meet her at her release.  Her jaw, which was broken in the beatings she received while in prison, remains very painful because it did not receive proper medical attention.

  The Voice of the Martyrs in Canada joins the Vietnamese Mennonite Church in calling for the release of the remaining two prisoners who have been in detention since 2004; the Rev. Nguyen Quang and Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach.

  Praise God for the safe release of Lien.  Photos of her release may be viewed online.  Pray for her complete physical and mental healing.  Pray for the release of the Rev. Nguyen Quang and Evangelist Pham Ngoc Thach.

• Pastor Continues to Languish in Mental Hospital

  Just as Le Thi Hong Lien is to be released from the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital, the plight of another Vietnamese prisoner of conscience who is in the same mental hospital has come to light. Rev. Than Van Truong of the Baptist General Conference of Vietnam, an unregistered church group, has been imprisoned since May 27, 2003, accused of "counterrevolutionary propaganda against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam."  On September 9, 2004, he was forcibly transferred for treatment for "hysteria and delirium" to the forensic medicine ward, in Center II of the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital.

  He recently sent an appeal to the UN Human Rights Commission saying that he fears for his life following his protests that he is not mentally ill and his petition to be returned to prison to fight the false charges against him.  After his protest and petition, Rev. Truong claims that his medication was changed to that which would be debilitating and potentially life threatening.

  Please remember Rev. Than Van Truong in your prayers as he languishes in the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital. Pray that he will remain safe from attempts to silence him.

  VOM's Prisoner Alert website offers an innovative way to write a letter of encouragement to Rev. Truong. Go to www.prisoneralert.com for more information. For more information on Vietnam and the persecution of Christians there,click here.