Tags

Vietnam

• State Officials Interrupt Worship Service

  

  Worshippers at a Catholic church in Vu Ban, a rural district in northwestern Vietnam, were shocked when two governing officials rushed into the sanctuary on February 20th, interrupting a Sunday Mass being celebrated by the archbishop from Hanoi. Wearing helmets, the officials shouted loudly before taking the microphone and demanding that everyone disperse immediately, or "appropriate measures" would be taken. One of the officials was identified by witnesses as the head of the local branch of the Communist Party.

• Christians Ordered to Cease Worship

  

  On March 6th, a large mob forced their way into the Mercy Gate Chapel in Amalgama, Sri Lanka, demanding that all religious activities cease immediately. Thankfully, police were able to disperse the crowd without further incident, though Buddhist monks continued to declare that the place of worship was not a legitimate church. (See this page for more details.)

• COVID-19 Outbreak Leads to Opposition

  

  For more than 20 years, Phuong Van Tan and Vo Xuan Loan have served at the Revival Ekklesia Mission Church in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. However, in recent months, they became the targets of major opposition and a potential criminal investigation after a COVID-19 outbreak was blamed on the church.

• Church Leadership Assembly Forced to Cancel

  

  Vietnam's largest evangelical church group has called off its assembly to elect new leaders after the Vietnamese government denied permission to hold the meeting. The Evangelical Church of Vietnam (South) announced on November 25th that the gathering scheduled for early February was being postponed. That same day, the government's Bureau of Religious Affairs released a statement urging the ECVN(S) to observe Article 34 of the Law on Belief and Religion in order to hold the assembly.

• Pastor Released After Four Years in Prison

  

  On September 18th, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom announced that Pastor A. Dao had been released from prison after being incarcerated for over four years. This decision came 11 months before his expected release.

• Christians Repeatedly Beaten and Arrested

  

  For many years, Christians living in the highlands of Vietnam have faced persecution and harassment from both government agents and fellow citizens. In this communist country, where Christianity is considered a threat to the regime, Hmong Christians face frequent discrimination -- to the point of imprisonment and torture.

  In the village of Phá Lóm, a group of 33 Protestant believers have experienced ongoing harassment from authorities during recent months. According to their pastor, Hoang Van Pa, they have been told to renounce their faith or suffer the consequences. When the believers refused, the raids took place repeatedly. In addition, four of the believers were arrested and beaten.

• Church Faces Shutdown Order

  

  As believers met for worship on the morning of October 7th in Cuor Dang Commune, Daklak Province, local authorities entered the home where they were meeting, demanding that they stop all religious activities. Those present refused to leave, saying that any action would have to wait until after they were finished. Because the home was crowded, the officials were forced to wait outside.

• Christian Attorney Released and Exiled
  
  Photo: Facebook / Nguyen Van Dai

  Christian attorney and human rights activist Nguyen Van Dai has faced persecution several times over the years because of his defence of human rights. Arrested in March 2007 for "propagandizing against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam," he received a sentence of five years in prison, followed by four years of house arrest. Although he had been released from prison in March 2011 after serving four years, he was still required to serve the following four years of house arrest. For more details, click here.

• Sentences Upheld
  

  A 12-year sentence against Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton was upheld under appeal on June 4th, along with the sentences of three other human rights defenders. He was previously imprisoned in 2011 on charges of "anti-state propaganda," and had been kidnapped and beaten in February 2017 (see this page).

  Arrested again on July 30th, 2017, Pastor Nguyen was convicted in April 2018 of "carrying out activities aimed at overthrowing the government." As part of a group called The Brotherhood for Democracy, he had been involved in supporting prisoners and their families, as well as advocating for democracy.

• New Religion Law Poses Increased Concerns

  

  Vietnam's Law on Belief and Religion, which came into force on January 1st, has alarmed Christians because it insists religious groups must be registered and approved by the government. They also believe that the law's vague wording could be exploited to limit church activities.

  Despite some improvement in religious freedoms during recent years, some Christians continue to face intense pressure, especially those who speak out against corruption and human rights abuses. Christian lawyer Nguyen Van Dai and Pastor Nguyen Trung Ton are both still in custody since their arrests in December 2015 and July 2017, respectively, because they have called for greater religious freedom. They have also been barred from meeting with their lawyers.