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Religious Freedom2020 Report on International
Religious FreedomVietnam
2020 Report on International Religious Freedom:
Vietnam
OFFICE
OF INTERNATIONAL RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
MAY 12, 2021
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Executive
Summary
The constitution states
that all individuals have the right to freedom of belief and religion. The law
provides for significant government control over religious practices and
includes vague provisions that permit restrictions on religious freedom in the
stated interest of national security and social unity. The Law on Belief and
Religion (LBR) maintains a multistage registration and recognition process for
religious groups, without which groups’ activities are strictly limited. Some
religious leaders, particularly those representing groups that either did not
request or receive official recognition or certificates of registration
reported various forms of government harassment – including physical assaults,
arrests, prosecutions, monitoring, travel restrictions, and property seizure –
and denials or no response to requests for registration and other permissions.
Authorities did not recognize any new religious organizations during the year.
Religious leaders across the country reported some improving conditions
compared with prior years, such as better relations between unregistered
religious groups and local authorities, while also reporting incidents of
harassment, including police questioning and brief periods of detention.
Members of recognized groups or those with certificates of registration said
they were generally more able to practice their beliefs with less government
interference, although some recognized groups, including the Evangelical Church
of Vietnam (North) (ECVN), reported harassment in gathering in certain
provinces, including Quang Binh, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, and Ha Giang. While the
United Presbyterian Church reported harassment in some provinces, the Vietnam
Baptist Convention (VBC) stated it worked with the Government Committee for
Religious Affairs (GCRA) to register more than 20 local congregations and
places of worship (known locally as “meeting points”) in a number of northern
provinces. Members of some religious groups continued to report that some local
and provincial authorities used noncompliance with the required registration
procedures to slow, delegitimize, and suppress religious activities of groups
that resisted close government management of their leadership, training
programs, assemblies, and other activities.
There were reports of
conflicts, at times violent, between members of unregistered and registered or
recognized religious groups or between believers and nonbelievers. Religious
activists blamed authorities for manipulating recognized religious groups and
accused their agents or proxies of causing conflicts to suppress the activities
of unregistered groups. On September 11 and 13, for example, members of the
recognized Cao Dai Sect (Cao Dai 1997) disrupted the rite of unregistered Cao
Dai members (Cao Dai 1926) at a private residence in Ben Cau District, Tay Ninh
Province.
The U.S. Ambassador and
other senior embassy and consulate general officials regularly urged
authorities to allow all religious groups to operate freely. They sought
reduced levels of government intervention in the affairs of the recognized and
registered religious groups and urged an end to restrictions on and harassment
of groups without recognition or registration. The Ambassador, Consul General
in Ho Chi Minh City, and other senior U.S. government and embassy officers
advocated religious freedom in visits across the country, including to the
Northern and Northwest Highlands, the Central Highlands, the North Central
region, and Central Coast. Embassy and consulate general officials raised
specific cases of abuses as well as government harassment against Catholics,
Protestant groups, the United Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), independent
Hoa Hao groups, and ethnic minority house churches with the GCRA, the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, and provincial and local authorities. U.S. government
officials called for the increased registration of church congregations around
the country and for improvement in registration policies by making them more
uniform and transparent. U.S. government officials urged the government to
peacefully resolve outstanding land rights disputes with religious groups.
Section I. Religious Demography
The U.S. government
estimates the total population at 98.7 million (midyear 2020 estimate). The
government’s 2019 National Population and Housing Census reported approximately
13 million religious adherents, accounting for 14 percent of the total population.
The census noted Catholics represented the largest number of adherents, with
six million followers, accounting for 45 percent of the total number of
believers nationwide and six percent of the overall population. The census
recorded Buddhists as the second largest religious group, accounting for five
million followers or 35 percent of the total number of religious adherents
nationwide and five percent of the overall population. Protestants were the
third largest group with nearly one million followers, accounting for seven
percent of the total number of believers nationwide and one percent of the
overall population. The census results contrast with January 2018 statistics
released by the GCRA in which 26 percent of the population is categorized as
religious believers participating in registered activities, with 15 percent of
the population Buddhist, seven percent Roman Catholic, two percent Hoa Hao
Buddhist, one percent Cao Dai, and one percent Protestant. GCRA officials,
however, also estimate 90 percent of the population follows some sort of faith
tradition, registered or otherwise. According to observers, many religious
adherents choose not to make their religious affiliation public for fear of
adverse consequences, resulting in substantial discrepancies among various
estimates.
According to government statistics, the total number of
religious adherents reportedly decreased by roughly 2.5 million and the ratio
of religious adherents dropped from more than 18 percent to 14 percent of the
total population between the 2009 and 2019 censuses. Catholics and Protestants
saw increases in membership, while Buddhists and religious groups based on
local traditions saw a declining number of adherents, according to census data.
Anecdotal reporting from provincial Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS), Catholic,
and Protestant leaders, however, indicates membership in all religious
traditions continues to grow.
According to census data,
VBS membership decreased from more than nearly seven million in 2009 to
approximately five million in 2019. The GCRA estimates that the number of
Buddhist followers is more than 10 million. The VBS notes that this number only
counts those officially registered to sanghas (community of monks and nuns) and does not account
for potentially tens of millions of others who believe in and observe Buddhist
practices to various degrees without formal participation in a registered
Buddhist religious group.
Within the Buddhist community, Mahayana Buddhism is the
dominant affiliation of the Kinh (Viet) ethnic majority, while approximately 1
percent of the total population, almost all from the ethnic minority Khmer
group, practices Theravada Buddhism.
Smaller religious groups combined constitute less than
0.16 percent of the population and include Hindus (mostly an estimated 70,000
ethnic Cham in the south-central coastal area); approximately 80,000 Muslims
scattered throughout the country (approximately 40 percent are Sunnis; the
remaining 60 percent practice Bani Islam); an estimated 3,000 members of the
Baha’i Faith; and approximately 1,000 members of The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints (Church of Jesus Christ). Religious groups originating in the
country (Buu Son Ky Huong, Tu An Hieu Nghia, Minh Su Dao, Minh Ly Dao, Tinh Do
Cu Si Phat Hoi, and Phat Giao Hieu Nghia Ta Lon) comprise a total of 0.34
percent of the population. A small, mostly foreign, Jewish population resides
in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. National statistics on religious adherents from
the GCRA and the Vietnam Fatherland Front are considered less comprehensive, as
they do not account for members of unregistered religious groups.
Other individuals have no religious affiliation or
practice animism or the veneration of ancestors, tutelary and protective
saints, national heroes, or local, respected persons. Many individuals blend
traditional practices with religious teachings, particularly Buddhism and
Christianity. Research institutions, including the Vietnam Academy of Social
Sciences, estimate there are approximately 100 “new religions,” mostly in the
North and Central Highlands.
Ethnic minorities constitute approximately 14 percent of
the population. Based on adherents’ estimates, two-thirds of Protestants are
members of ethnic minorities, including groups in the Northwest Highlands
(H’mong, Dzao, Thai, and others) and in the Central Highlands (Ede, Jarai,
Sedang, and M’nong, among others). The Khmer Krom ethnic group overwhelmingly
practices Theravada Buddhism.
Section
II. Status of Government Respect for Religious Freedom
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The constitution states
that all individuals have the right to freedom of belief and religion,
including the freedom to follow no religion. The constitution acknowledges the
right to freedom of religion or belief of those whose rights are limited,
including inmates or any foreigners and stateless persons. It states all
religions are equal before the law, and the state must respect and protect
freedom of belief and religion. The constitution prohibits citizens from
violating the freedom of belief and religion or taking advantage of a belief or
religion to violate the law.
The LBR and implementing
Decree 162 serve as the primary documents governing religious groups and their activities.
At year’s end, the government did not promulgate a decree prescribing penalties
for noncompliance with the 2018 law. The GCRA has stated, however, that the
decree prescribing penalties is not vital, as at least 11 other laws and
decrees mandate civil compliance with national law. The LBR reiterates
citizens’ rights to freedom of belief and religion and states that individuals
may not use the right of belief and religious freedom to undermine peace,
national independence, and unification; incite violence or propagate wars;
proselytize in contravention of the state’s laws and policies; divide people,
nationalities, or religions; cause public disorder; infringe upon the life,
health, dignity, honor or property of others; impede the exercise of civic
rights and performance of civic obligations; or conduct “superstitious
activities” or otherwise violate the law.
The government recognizes
38 religious organizations that affiliate with 16 distinct religious
“traditions,” as defined by the government: Buddhism, Islam, the Baha’i Faith,
Catholicism, Protestantism, Church of Jesus Christ, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Cao Dai,
Buu Son Ky Huong, Tinh Do Cu Si Phat Hoi, Tu An Hieu Nghia, Phat Duong Nam Tong
Minh Su Dao, Minh Ly Dao Tam Tong Mieu, Cham Brahmanism, Hieu Nghia Ta Lon
Buddhism, and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Distinct denominations within
these religious traditions must seek their own registration and/or recognition.
Four additional groups – the Assemblies of God, Ta Lon Dutiful and Loyal
Buddhism, Vietnam Full Gospel Church, and Vietnam United Gospel Outreach Church
– have “registrations for religious operation” but are not recognized as
official organizations.
The law specifies that
recognized religious organizations and their affiliates are noncommercial legal
entities. The law also stipulates that religious organizations are allowed to
conduct educational, health, social protection, charitable, and humanitarian
activities in accordance with relevant laws. The government does not allow
unauthorized organizations to raise funds or distribute aid without seeking
approval and registration from authorities.
The GCRA, one of 18
“ministerial units” under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), is responsible
for implementing religious laws and decrees; it maintains offices at the
central, provincial, and, in some areas, district levels. The law lays out
specific responsibilities for central-, provincial-, and local-level GCRA
offices and delegates certain religion-related management tasks to provincial-
and local-level people’s committees (i.e., local leaders). The central-level
GCRA is charged with disseminating information to authorities and assuring
uniform compliance with the legal framework on religion at the provincial,
district, commune, and village levels.
By law, forcing others to
follow or renounce a religion or belief is prohibited.
Military conscription is
universal and mandatory for males between 18 and 25 years of age, although
there are exceptions. None of the exceptions is related to religious belief.
The law requires
believers to register religious activities with communal authorities where the
“lawful premises for the religious practice is based” and prescribes two stages
of institutionalization for religious organizations seeking to gather at a specified
location to “practice worship rituals, pray, or express their religious faith.”
The first stage is “registration for religious operation” with the provincial-
or national-level GCRA, depending on the geographic extent of the group’s
activities. Registration for religious operation allows a group to organize
religious ceremonies and religious practice; preach and conduct religious
classes at approved locations; elect, appoint, or designate officials; repair
or renovate the headquarters; engage in charitable or humanitarian activities;
and organize congresses to approve its charter. To obtain registration, the
group must submit a detailed application with information about its doctrine,
history, bylaws, leaders, and members as well as proof it has a legal meeting
location. The relevant provincial GCRA office or the MHA – depending on whether
the group in question is operating in one or more provinces – is responsible
for approving a valid application for registration within 60 days of receipt.
The relevant provincial GCRA office or the MHA is required to provide any
rejection in writing.
The second stage of
institutionalization is recognition. A religious group may apply for
recognition after it has operated continuously for at least five years
following the date it received approval of its “registration for religious
operation.” A religious group is required to have a legal charter and bylaws,
leaders in good standing without criminal records, and to have managed assets
and conducted transactions autonomously. To obtain recognition, a group must
submit a detailed application to the provincial- or national-level GCRA,
depending on the geographic extent of the organization. The application must
include a written request specifying the group’s structure, membership,
geographical scope of operation and headquarters location; a summary of its history,
dogmas, canon laws, and rites; a list and the resumes, judicial records, and
summaries of the religious activities of the organization’s representative and
tentative leaders; the group’s charter; a declaration of the organization’s
lawful assets; and proof of lawful premises to serve as a headquarters. The
relevant provincial people’s committee or the MHA is responsible for approving
a valid application for recognition within 60 days of receipt. The relevant
provincial people’s committee or MHA is required to provide any rejection in
writing. Recognition allows the religious group to conduct religious activities
in accordance with the organization’s charter; organize religious practice;
publish religious texts, books, and other publications; produce, export, and
import religious cultural products and religious articles; renovate, upgrade,
or construct new religious establishments; and receive lawful donations from
domestic and foreign sources, among other rights.
The law states religious
organizations and their affiliates, clergy, and believers may file complaints
or civil and administrative lawsuits against government officials or agencies
under the relevant laws and decrees. The law also states organizations and
individuals have the right to bring civil lawsuits in court regarding the
actions of religious groups or believers. There were no analogous provisions in
previous laws.
Under the law, a
religious organization is defined as “a religious group that has received legal
recognition” by authorities. The law provides a separate process for
unregistered, unrecognized religious groups to receive permission for specific
religious activities by applying to the commune-level people’s committee.
Regulations require the people’s committee to respond in writing to an
application within 20 working days of receipt. The law specifies that a wide
variety of religious activities require advance approval or registration from
authorities at the central and/or local levels. These activities include
“belief activities” (defined as traditional communal practices of ancestor,
hero, or folk worship); “belief festivals” held for the first time; the establishment,
division, or merger of religious affiliates; the ordination, appointment, or
assignment of religious administrators (or clergy with administrative
authority); establishment of a religious training facility; conducting
religious training classes; holding major religious congresses; organizing
religious events, preaching or evangelizing outside of approved locations;
traveling abroad to conduct religious activities or training; and joining a
foreign religious organization.
Certain religious
activities do not need advance approval but instead require notification to the
appropriate authorities. Activities requiring notification include recurring or
periodic “belief festivals;” dismissal of clergy; conducting fundraising activities;
reporting enrollment figures at a seminary or religious school; the repair or
renovation of religious facilities not considered cultural-historical relics;
ordination, appointment, or assignment of religious clergy (such as monks);
transfers or dismissals of religious administrators (or clergy with
administrative authority); conducting operations at an approved religious
training facility; routine religious activities (defined as “religious
preaching, practicing religious tenets and rites, and management of a religious
organization”); and internal conferences of a religious organization.
The law provides
prisoners access to religious counsel as well as religious materials, with
conditions, while in detention. It reserves authority for the government to
restrict the “assurance” of that right. Decree 162 states detainees may use
religious documents that are legally published and circulated, in line with
legal provisions on custody, detention, prison, and other types of confinement.
Prisoner access to religious counsel and materials must not, however, affect
the rights of others to freedom of religion and belief or nonbelief or
contravene other relevant laws. The decree states the Ministries of Public
Security, Defense, and Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shall be responsible
for providing guidelines on the management of religious documents and the time
and venue for the use of these documents.
The law specifies that
religious organizations must follow numerous other laws for certain activities.
Religious organizations are allowed to conduct educational, health, charitable,
and humanitarian activities in accordance with the law, but the law does not
provide clarification as to which activities are permitted. In addition,
construction or renovation of religious facilities must occur in accordance
with laws and regulations on construction, and foreigners participating in
religious activities must abide by immigration laws.
Publishing, producing,
exporting, or importing religious texts must occur in accordance with laws and
regulations related to publishing. Legislation requires all publishers be
licensed public entities or state-owned enterprises. Publishers must receive prior
government approval to publish all documents, including religious texts. By
decree, only the Religious Publishing House may publish religious books. Any
bookstore may sell legally published religious texts and other religious
materials.
The constitution states
the government owns and manages all land on behalf of the people. According to
the law, land use by religious organizations must conform to the land law and
its related decrees. The land law recognizes that licensed religious institutions
and schools may acquire land-use rights and be allocated or leased land. The
law specifies religious institutions are eligible for state compensation if
their land is seized under eminent domain. The law allows provincial-level
people’s committees to seize land via eminent domain to facilitate the
construction of religious facilities.
Under the law,
provincial-level people’s committees may grant land use certificates for a
“long and stable term” to religious institutions if they have permission to
operate, the land is dispute-free, and the land was not acquired via transfer
or donation after July 1, 2004. Religious institutions are not permitted to
exchange, transfer, lease, donate, or mortgage their land-use rights. In land
disputes involving a religious institution, the chairperson of the
provincial-level people’s committee has authority to settle disputes. Parties
may dispute the chairperson’s decision by appealing to the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Environment or filing a lawsuit in court.
In practice, if a
religious organization has not obtained recognition, members of the
congregation may acquire a land-use title individually.
The renovation or upgrade
of facilities owned by religious groups requires notification to authorities,
although it does not necessarily require a permit, depending on the extent of
the renovation.
The government does not
permit religious instruction in public and private schools. This prohibition
extends to private schools run by religious organizations.
There are separate
provisions of the law that permit foreigners legally residing in the country to
request permission to conduct religious activities, teach, attend local
religious training, or preach in local religious institutions. The law requires
religious organizations or citizens to receive government permission in advance
of hosting or conducting any religious activities involving foreign
organizations, foreign individuals, or travel abroad. Regulations also contain
requirements for foreigners conducting religious activities within the country,
including those involved in religious training, ordination, and leadership, to
seek permission for their activities.
The country is a party to
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
GOVERNMENT PRACTICES
During the year,
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reported cases of government officials
physically abusing individuals from religious minority groups, particularly
ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands, although it was not clear the
reported cases were related to religious affiliation. Government officials in
different parts of the country reportedly continued to monitor, interrogate,
arbitrarily detain, and discriminate against some individuals, at least in
part, because of their religious beliefs or affiliation. The majority of the
victims of the reported incidents were members of unregistered groups engaged
in political or human rights advocacy activities or with ties to overseas
individuals and organizations that were outspoken and critical of authorities.
Because religion, ethnicity, and politics are often closely linked, it was
difficult to categorize many incidents of harassment as being solely based on
religious identity.
Local authorities in some
parts of the Central Highlands reportedly intimidated and threatened violence
against members of certain unregistered Protestant groups that had reported
human rights violations to international bodies or attempted to force these
groups’ members to recant their faith or join a registered religious
organization. According to Boat People SOS (BPSOS), a U.S.-based NGO,
authorities in the Central Highlands threatened to kill church leaders and
members for reporting incidents of abuse to foreign diplomatic missions and
accused them of belonging to separatist groups. In July, BPSOS reported
authorities in Dak Lak Province threatened to kill church elders from the
unregistered Evangelical Church of Christ in Buon Ma Thuot City and Good News
Mission Church in Cu Kuin District during interrogations conducted following
meetings between the elders and diplomats in June. Authorities reportedly
pressured the church elders to recant their faith, stop their activities, and
join the registered Evangelical Church of Vietnam. Dak Lak Province police
reportedly threatened to kill a member of the Good News Mission Church unless
he revealed what he reported to U.S. diplomats. In August, Krong Ana District
police, Dak Lak Province, interrogated a Good News Mission Church pastor and
threatened him for suspicion of association with the long-defunct separatist
organization United Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, known by its
French acronym FULRO. The government considered the group an insurgent militia.
According to Degar Christian groups, authorities repeatedly accused them of
belonging to FULRO, which they denied.
According to BPSOS
reports, during the year local police in Dak Lak and Phu Yen Provinces
questioned at least 30 members of the unregistered Evangelical Church of
Christ, Good News Mission Church, and International Degar Church at local
police stations or their residences. In some cases, local police coerced
individuals to report to local police stations and then interrogated them for
hours before releasing them without charges. Authorities reportedly demanded
they cease affiliation with unregistered religious groups and refrain from
providing “negative” reports to international organizations. Local police in
some cases demanded some religious adherents request permission from
authorities prior to traveling outside of their communes. According to members
of a house church in Chu Se District, Gia Lai Province, Bo Ngoong Commune
police in December confiscated from the church 300 million dong ($13,000) in
Christmas funds, Bibles, and other property, and said if the villagers carried
on with Christmas celebrations they would be fined or arrested.
In May, according to
observers, local police of Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province, “invited” a
number of Catholic converts who were baptized by Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc to
local police stations, threatening to withhold their social benefits and
preventing them from attending Easter masses. Religious activists stated,
however, authorities did not carry out these threats. The converts were
harassed reportedly because of their connection to Thuc, who, according to
human rights organizations, had been harassed for many years due to his human
rights advocacy efforts, particularly for helping victims of Formosa toxic
spills and supporting human rights activists.
On March 19, state media
reported that Gia Lai police, in association with the Ministry of Public
Security, detained Kunh, Lup, and Jur who were ethnic minorities belonging to
the Catholic “Ha Mon” group founded in Kon Tum in 1999. Authorities had labeled
the Ha Mon group an “evil-way religion” due to its alleged association with
FULRO. All three were released in June.
According to reports from
BPSOS, on August 27, local authorities of Hoa Thang Commune, Buon Ma Thuot
City, Dak Lak Province, questioned church member Y Nguyet Bkrong about pictures
on his Facebook page showing local police officers at his residence during
religious services of the unregistered Evangelical Church of Christ. The local
officials threatened to punish him if he did not remove the pictures and
ordered him to stop hosting gatherings of unregistered religious groups. On
January 14, according to BPSOS, local authorities of Krong Buk District, Dak
Lak Province questioned Y Khiu Nie and Y Blon Nie, members of the unregistered
Good News Mission Church, about their sharing reports critical of the
government internationally and pressured them to stop accessing and posting
negative reports on human rights websites and Facebook pages. BPSOS reported
other similar incidents in Dak Lak Province during the year.
On September 18,
authorities released Pastor A Dao of the Montagnard Evangelical Church of
Christ from prison 11 months earlier than his expected release date of August
18, 2021. He was arrested in 2016 and charged with “organizing for individuals
to flee abroad” under Article 275 of the 1999 penal code.
Nineteen members of the
An Dan Dai Dao Buddhist group remained in prison on sentences ranging from 10
years to life on 2013 convictions of “activities aimed at overthrowing the
government.” On October 8 and November 13, respectively, authorities released
An Dan Dai Dao Buddhists Phan Thanh Tuong 16 months earlier than his expected
release date and Do Thi Hong four years earlier than her expected release date.
There were multiple
reports of government discrimination against individual religious believers and
religious groups across the country. Members of some religious groups whose
members were poor or ethnic minorities said authorities denied some of the legal
benefits to which the members were entitled.
The VBC, an unregistered
group, reported that authorities stopped disrupting its gatherings but harassed
its congregants in different ways. For example, according to BPSOS, local
authorities of Thach Loi Commune, Thach Thanh District, Thanh Hoa Province,
denied state financial assistance for COVID-19 to Church members.
In June, a crowd of
approximately 60 members of the government-organized Cao Dai 1997, supported by
Phu Yen provincial authorities, confronted members of the unregistered Hieu
Xuong Cao Dai (1926) Temple and attempted to breach the building to force the congregants
out of the temple and take control of the property. Hieu Xuong Cao Dai members
reported they were able to prevent the mob from occupying the temple but that
the crowd threatened to return and try again.
BPSOS reported
authorities continued to harass UBCV communities in an effort to seize their
temples and facilities and force the UBCV to join the government-sanctioned
Vietnam Buddhist Church.
There were no clear
regulations for religious expression in the military, leaving individual unit
commanders to exercise significant discretion. According to religious leaders
of multiple faiths, the government did not permit members of the military to practice
religious rites at any time while on active duty; military members were
required to take personal leave to do so. State-run media, however, reported
military officials praying for peace and happiness while visiting pagodas.
Khmer Krom Buddhists,
whose males traditionally enter the monastery for a period of training lasting
at least one month before the age of 20, reported that mandatory conscription
into the military with no possibility of alternative service hampered their
traditional religious rite of passage.
According to family
members of some imprisoned individuals, authorities continued to deny some
prisoners and detainees the right to religious practice. Detention officers
continued to deny visits by priests to Catholic prisoners, including Ho Duc
Hoa, Le Dinh Luong, and Nguyen Nang Tinh, who were detained in Nam Ha, Ba Sao,
and Nghi Kim Prisons, respectively. Prison authorities stated this was due to
the lack of appropriate facilities inside the prisons for Catholic services. In
a number of cases, prison authorities restricted or hindered religious
prisoners’ access to religious texts, despite provisions in the law for
providing such access. According to BPSOS, independent Hoa Hao adherent Bui Van
Trung was able to have a censored version of the Hoa Hao scripture in prison.
Protestant and Catholic
groups continued to say that legal restrictions and lack of legal clarity on
operating faith-based medical and educational facilities made them wary of
attempting to open hospitals or parochial schools, despite government statements
welcoming religious groups expanding their participation in health, education,
and charitable activities. Catholic representatives said the government refused
to return hospitals, clinics, and schools it seized in 1954 and 1975.
According to the GCRA, in
northern mountainous provinces, local authorities granted registration for
nearly 800 local congregations known as “meeting-points,” and recognized 14
local congregations, out of more than 1,600 Protestant local congregations. The
registrations and recognitions impacted approximately 250,000 members in total
(of which 95 percent were ethnic minorities, mostly H’Mong). In the Central
Highlands, local authorities granted registration to more than 1,400 local
congregations and recognized 311 local congregations, together impacting nearly
584,000 members.
The Ministry of Public
Security estimated there were approximately 70 Protestant groups with nearly
200,000 members operating outside of the legal framework mandated by the LBR.
These groups neither sought nor received registration certificates or recognition.
Authorities did not
recognize any new religious organizations during the year. The GCRA registered
approximately 70 local congregations during the year to include four Protestant
local congregations, approximately 50 Catholic parishes, and 12 Cao Dai local
congregations. The VBC stated it worked with the GCRA to register more than 20
local congregations and “meeting points” in a number of northern provinces.
Registered and unregistered religious groups continued to state that government
agencies sometimes did not respond to registration applications or approval
requests for religious activities within the stipulated time period, if at all,
and often did not specify reasons for refusals as required by law. In other
cases, religious groups were unaware they had been granted local registration
of religious activities. Some local authorities reportedly requested documents
or information beyond what was stipulated by law. Several religious leaders
said authorities sometimes solicited bribes to facilitate approvals.
Authorities attributed the delays and denials to the applicants’ failure to
complete forms correctly or provide complete information. Religious groups said
the process of registering groups or notifying authorities of activities in new
or remote locations was particularly difficult. Some religious groups reported
that authorities urged them to register as affiliates of recognized religious
groups.
Although the GCRA
recognized Chieu Minh Tam Thanh Vo Vi Cao Dai Dharma Practice in 2009, during
the year, the GCRA downgraded its status from recognized to registered. In
2019, the GCRA upgraded the registration status of the Church of Jesus Christ
from registration of the church’s representative committee to the more formal
“registration of religious operation.”
GCRA officials stated
that government officials assisted unregistered religious groups with
navigating the bureaucratic procedures required for registration. In 2019, the
GCRA created a website with an interactive portal to provide access to forms
required for registration of religious activities. By the end of the year, 62
religious organizations had established accounts on the website. The portal
also allowed religious organizations to track the status of their document
submissions. The GCRA, however, acknowledged the web portal designed to
expedite this process did not prove useful for remote religious groups that
often lacked the technical skills to utilize the digital forms provided by the
government. The GCRA continued to provide provincial-level training to
facilitate local registration.
Local authorities
continued obstructing the assignment and transfer of religious leaders to
unregistered local congregations, particularly those who were from other
localities. In several cases, local authorities harassed members of these
unregistered local congregations. The ECVN also reported the recognition of its
local congregations was still time consuming, although many of them had been
operating stably for many years and, from their perspective, fully met the
registration requirements. According to the ECVN, authorities recognized 23
local congregations and granted registration to approximately 500 out of 1,200
local congregations and houses of worship (meeting points). The ECVN reported
that it continued to experience difficulties obtaining registration of its
meeting points with local authorities in Quang Binh and Nghe An Provinces.
The VBC said it tested a
new approach to achieve local registrations of congregations, in coordination
with the GCRA. Unlike earlier applications, in which representatives of local
congregations completed the relevant paperwork for local authorities in relative
isolation, the VBC chief pastor completed multiple registration packages under
his name for submission to the GCRA. By year’s end, the VBC registered meeting
points in Phu Yen District, Son La Province, and Nam Po District, Dien Bien
Province. Local authorities previously denied registration packages for these
local congregations. According to the VBC, the GCRA worked with local
authorities to advance these registrations.
Authorities required
most, if not all, applicants for registration of religious operation or
recognition to include in their applications language stating the religious
organization would be in harmony with the nation and serve the Vietnamese
people. For example, the Catholic Church used the slogan “live the gospel
amidst the nation” while the VBC used “dharma, nation, and socialism.”
According to local
religious leaders, authorities continued to impose a rigid upper management
structure on religious organizations. According to religious community
representatives, authorities preferred a two-level, top-down hierarchy to
better control the religious organization and its affiliates through the
religious group’s internal administrative structure.
According to several
Catholic bishops, parishes in remote areas or with majority ethnic minority
populations continued to face difficulty registering with provincial
authorities due to their inconsistent application of national laws. Catholic
leaders reported that the most problematic regions were in the Central
Highlands (Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Kon Tum, and Lam Dong Provinces), and
the Northwest Highlands, including Son La Lao Cai and Yen Bai Provinces. In
August, Lai Chau authorities approved the establishment of Lai Chau Parish. The
recognition reportedly came after more than 13 years of paperwork and
discussions between the authorities and church leaders.
According to local
religious leaders, Protestant groups also experienced authorities’ inconsistent
interpretation and enforcement of the law when attempting to register their
local congregations. Local authorities in Dien Bien Province, for example, continued
to deny the registration applications of an independent Pentecostal
congregation at Noong Luong Commune, Dien Bien District, Dien Bien Province,
stating that the congregation was affiliated with an unrecognized religious
group. The Pentecostal group’s religious leader, however, said the law did not
require a local congregation to be affiliated with a recognized organization to
receive registration. The leader also noted that members had practiced their
faith at the local congregation for nearly 30 years and had begun filing
registration applications in April 2017. Dien Bien authorities also denied
registration of a group called Assembly of God of Vietnamese People (Hoi Thanh
Phuc Am Ngu Tuan Nguoi Viet), reasoning that the applicant’s dogma was indistinguishable
from that of the recognized Assembly of God of Vietnam (Giao hoi Phuc Am Ngu
Tuan Viet Nam).
During the year,
authorities continued monitoring, preventing, or disrupting the gatherings of
some unregistered groups and harassed their members in different ways. In most
cases, members of these religious groups were also involved in human rights
advocacy activities or had links to individuals and organizations that were
critical of the government. Religious leaders in urban areas and among
ethnic-majority Kinh adherents largely reported the ability to practice without
significant restrictions, so long as they acted transparently to official
oversight. This remained true for both officially registered and unregistered
religious groups. Unrecognized religious denominations operating in the Central
and Northwest Highlands and in certain parts of the Mekong Delta – especially
those that had a predominantly ethnic minority following – were more likely to
report harassment from government officials. Recognized religious denominations
in these areas reported rapid growth and generally fewer problems with officials.
On March 15 and 29, BPSOS
reported that local police in Hoa Thang Commune, Buon Ma Thuot City, Dak Lak
Province disrupted the gathering of dozens of adherents at a house church of
the Evangelical Church of Christ due to Church members’ political activities.
According to BPSOS, many members of the Church attended a civil society
training session in Thailand and met with representatives of UN agencies and
foreign diplomats, to whom they expressed concern about the human rights
situation in Vietnam. Police also accused them of having links to human rights
activists in exile.
According to local
religious leaders, authorities harassed members of recognized and
well-established religious organizations, such as the Catholic Church, the
ECVN, and the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam (SECV), for their
engagement in human rights advocacy activities or land disputes. On January 7,
Ho Chi Minh City police threatened to disrupt a Catholic Mass if Father Nguyen
Dinh Thuc led the service. In June, the Vinh Diocese suspended Father Dang Huu
Nam from doing pastoral work. Both Thuc and Nam have faced persistent
harassment for many years for their roles in supporting victims of the 2016
Formosa toxic spill and their advocacy on human rights conditions across the
country.
On June 17, public
security officials of Dak Lak Province prevented Pastor Yjol Bkrong of the
Evangelical Church of Christ of Vietnam from meeting with diplomatic officials,
forcibly turning him away when he approached the meeting point.
Some religious leaders
faced external travel restrictions, and leaders and followers of certain
religious groups faced other restrictions on their movements by government
authorities. The Catholic Redemptorist Order stated authorities still held
passports confiscated in 2018 of at least two priests of the order. Some
pastors who were outspoken and critical of authorities expressed concerns about
traveling abroad for fear of being stopped at the border or being detained upon
return to the country. In May, authorities denied the passport renewal request
of Redemptorist Father Nguyen Van Toan, citing his conduct of “activities
against the state.”
According to various
reports, the government allowed Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s potential
successors from Thailand and some European countries to enter the country and
gather with the Zen master on his Continuation Day at Tu Hieu pagoda in Thua
Thien in Hue Province.
Multiple civil society
organizations expressed concern about possible government interference in the
Catholic Church’s decisions regarding the assignment or reassignment of priests
who had been particularly outspoken on a variety of human rights issues. Among
controversial cases during the year were the transfers of Father Nguyen Dinh
Thuc and Father Dang Huu Nam, both from the Vinh Diocese, following a June
announcement that Father Dang would be restricted from pastoral work in the
diocese. Both priests were well known for their support of victims of the 2016
Formosa toxic waste spill as well as a variety of human rights advocacy
activities. In October, the Xuan Loc Diocese in Dong Nai Province reassigned
outspoken priest Nguyen Duy Tan, suspending him from pastoral work. Tan began
criticizing human rights conditions in Vietnam following the 2016 Formosa toxic
waste spill. According to the monks of Thien An Monastery in Thua Thien in Hue
Province, authorities continue to prevent Father Nguyen Van Duc, the monastery’s
head abbot-elect, from returning to assume his role after seeking medical
treatment abroad.
Many ordained pastors
conducted pastoral work, despite not having completed the paperwork mandated by
law to be recognized as clergy by the government. For example, the ECVN
reported only approximately one-fifth of its pastors had applied to be
officially recognized by the government.
Some pastors of
unregistered groups stated that authorities did not interfere with their
clerical training, despite their lack of legal authorization.
Leaders of some
unregistered groups reported that government officials urged unregistered
groups to affiliate with registered or recognized organizations. Some stated
authorities did so, knowing that unregistered groups would never accept
affiliation, while others said authorities sought increased control over the
groups through affiliation with other organizations.
Media sources continued
to report tension and disputes between Catholics and authorities in the Vinh
and Ha Tinh Dioceses in the central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, mostly
over land disputes or relating to human and environmental rights advocacy activities.
BPSOS reported that on March 22, local authorities of Binh Loc Commune, Loc Ha
District, Ha Tinh Province prevented My Loc parishioners from building a fence
separating a statue of Jesus from a communal compound and public space.
According to nongovernmental sources, the construction was on parish-owned
land. Understanding that local authorities were planning a “new rural area,”
the parishioners reportedly sought an explanation for the authorities’ refusal
to permit fence construction but failed to get a clear response in writing.
Progovernment websites blamed parishioners for obstructing local authorities
from building public works, including a community center and a sports field,
and for occupying public land for use by the parish
According to a local NGO,
Phu Yen authorities requested the executive board of the SECV reassign Pastor
Luong Manh Ha from Phu Yen Province, given his outspokenness against the
government during a land dispute between Tuy Hoa Evangelical Church and authorities.
The GCRA reported that on September 10, the Tuy Hoa City People’s Committee,
Phu Yen Province and the SECV resolved the property dispute.
Leaders
of the unregistered Protestant Duong Van Minh group reported local authorities
allowed the construction of a small number of Nha
Don structures
for storing funeral-related items. Authorities had demolished 13 of the
structures in 2019. The group, which the government considers an “evil-way”
religion, reported local authorities monitored key members, stating that local
police officials “visited” their residences from time to time or “invited” them
to local authorities’ headquarters. Those who refused such “invitations,”
however, said they were not subjected to reprisals. An NGO reported Tuyen Quang
authorities destroyed as many as 30 Nha Don structures during the year,
accounting for all but one example of structure destruction for the year.
Provincial and local
authorities continued to exercise eminent domain over land belonging to
individuals and religious organizations in the name of social and economic
development projects. Authorities continued many such projects that required
the revocation of land rights and demolition of properties of religious
organizations or individuals across the country. Authorities also reportedly
did not intervene effectively in many land disputes that involved religious
organizations or believers, and in most of these cases, the religious
organizations or believers were unsuccessful in retaining land use rights. Such
actions resulted in land disputes involving both recognized, registered, and
unregistered religious organizations.
State media and
progovernment websites alleged that Catholic priests in many parishes occupied
– or urged their parishioners to use or illegally occupy – land legally used by
nonbelievers or authorities. There were also cases in which Catholics were alleged
to have “misused” their land, for example, by turning an agricultural plot into
a soccer field without the approval of the proper authorities. In June, local
authorities of Son Tien Commune, Huong District, Ha Tinh Province, accused Ke
Dong parishioners of the Ha Tinh Diocese of illegal construction on
agricultural land. Catholic priests in turn pointed to examples of land
confiscated from the Catholic Church by the government in 1954 or 1975 being
subdivided and sold for commercial purposes.
From June to October,
independent Hoa Hao followers in An Giang reported that local authorities and
state-recognized Hoa Hao Buddhist groups in Phu Tan District, An Giang Province
advocated tearing down the 100-year-old An Hoa Tu Pagoda, one of the first
independent Hoa Hao pagodas built by Prophet Huynh Phu So, founder of the Hoa
Hao religious tradition, citing a need to build a new pagoda. Independent Hoa
Hao followers opposed the pagoda’s demolition due to its religious importance
and proposed it be renovated instead. Plainclothes police reportedly assaulted
independent Hoa Hao Buddhists who tried to prevent the pagoda’s demolition. The
government temporarily halted demolition of the pagoda, and it remained intact
at year’s end.
State-run
media and progovernment blogs continued to accuse religious leaders and members
who were vocal in their opposition to the government of exploiting religion for
personal gain or “colluding with hostile forces with the purpose of inciting
public disorder and acting against the Communist Party and State.”
Progovernment blogs and at times state-run media continued publishing stories
stating that some in the ranks of the Catholic clergy led a depraved life and
misappropriated donations for personal use. On April 6, the People’s
Police Newspaper,
a publication of the Ministry of Public Security, published an article
criticizing members of the Vietnam Interfaith Council, whose members included
leaders of five unregistered religious denominations, specifically unregistered
Protestant and Catholic churches, the UBCV, Cao Dai 1926, and independent Hoa
Hao Buddhists. In June, the progovernment website Dau Truong Dan Chu (Democracy
Battlefield) accused outspoken priest Father Dang Huu Nam of having a child and
accused Fathers Nguyen Dinh Thuc and Nguyen Duy Tan of “living a luxurious
life” with “fancy” villas, vehicles, and parties.
State-run media and
progovernment websites sometimes equated particular Christian denominations and
other religious groups, often ones associated with ethnic groups such as the
Vang Chu H’Mong in the Northwest Highlands, Ha Mon Catholics and Degar Montagnard
Protestants in the Central Highlands, and Khmers Krom in the southwestern
region, with separatist movements, blaming them for political, economic, and
social problems.
State media reported
local and provincial authorities in the northern mountainous provinces,
including Cao Bang, Tuyen Quang, Bac Can, and Thai Nguyen, continued to call
the Duong Van Minh religious group a threat to national security, political
stability, and social order. State media and progovernment websites continued
referring to the group as “an evil-way religion” or “an illegal religious
group.”
The GCRA website and
several provincial government websites, including those of Hung Yen, Dak Lak,
and Binh Thuan Provinces, referred to Falun Gong as an “evil-way religion” or
an “extremist religious group.” Many progovernment websites associated Falun Gong
with acts against the Communist Party and the state and other hostile political
agendas. Some accused Falun Gong of doing harm to traditional culture and
disrupting the social order and public safety. According to state-run media, in
July, a court in Binh Duong stated there were links to Falun Gong when it
sentenced Pham Thi Thien Ha to death and sentenced three others to prison
sentences of between 13 and 22 years for murder. State-run media and
progovernment websites portrayed the defendants as fanatic Falun Gong
practitioners who killed other practitioners over disputes relating to
practicing their beliefs.
In April, Ha Tinh
authorities imposed a fine of 42 million dong ($1,880) on Pham Hung Cuong for
possessing approximately 600 Falun Gong-related masks and nearly 600
publications. He was charged with “storing publications without evidence for
their legal origin.” In a number of cases, state officials received punishment
for practicing or supporting Falun Gong. In June, the People’s Committee of
Vinh Linh District, Quang Tri Province, dismissed Tran Huu Duc, rector of Cua
Tung High School, from all his Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) positions for
distributing Falun Gong texts and hosting Falun Gong gatherings at his
residence.
From August 10 to August
12, approximately 40 protesters demonstrated at the Catholic Thien An Monastery
in Thua Thien in Hue Province, requesting the monastery to “give back their land,”
according to various sources and social media. The dispute over Thien An’s land
extended back more than 20 years. The group, described in Catholic media as
“land grabbers” sponsored by the provincial government, reportedly fenced the
claimed area with wire on August 13. Some of the online videos showed the
protesters wearing masks and shouting at the Benedictine monks, who were
praying in front of the remains of a cross they said was torn down by
individuals affiliated with the local government. The monastery had set up a
stone slab that depicted the history of the cross, including when it was
removed by the government in 2017.
On August 17, a Thua
Thien television station in Hue reportedly broadcast a video in which it
accused priests from the Thien An Monastery of illegally occupying 265 acres of
land and reporting “distorted truths” on social media regarding the land
dispute. The Thien An Monastery protested the video, stating the television
station had defamed and insulted priests of the monastery.
The government continued
efforts to deepen knowledge about the 2018 LBR among government officials and
religious adherents. Some religious groups also reported that they could engage
in charitable activities, particularly in response to severe flooding during
the year in Central Vietnam. According to the UBCV and some Catholic and VBS
groups, however, authorities prevented religious organizations from
distributing humanitarian aid to those affected by flooding in Central Vietnam
in October and November.
According to the UBCV,
authorities in Thua Thien in Hue Province reportedly confiscated relief
vouchers and prevented flood victims from coming to UBCV temples to receive
aid. According to other UBCV temples, humanitarian missions to deliver flood
relief were conducted successfully with minimal interference from authorities.
In several other cases in
a growing trend, local authorities permitted religious organizations to operate
social services and to gather for training. For example, in Hanoi and
surrounding areas, city officials continued to allow Protestant house churches
to operate drug rehabilitation centers.
Most representatives of
religious groups continued to report anecdotally that adherence to a registered
religious group generally did not seriously disadvantage individuals in
nongovernmental, civil, economic, and secular life, but that adherence to an unregistered
group was more disadvantageous. Religious leaders said that actual religious
belief was not a cause of official discrimination, but rather it was the
implication of being affiliated with any type of extralegal group that could
attract additional scrutiny from authorities. Practitioners of various
registered religious groups served in local and provincial government positions
and were represented in the National Assembly. Many nationally recognized
religious organizations, such as the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha as well as other
clergy and religious followers, were members of the Vietnam Fatherland Front,
an umbrella group for government-affiliated organizations under the guidance of
the CPV. High-ranking government officials sent greetings and visited churches
during Christmas and Easter and attended Vesak activities commemorating the
birth of the Buddha. The official resumes of the top three CPV leaders stated
they followed no religion; however, while many senior CPV leaders were reported
to hold strong religious beliefs, particularly Buddhist, they generally did not
publicly discuss their religious affiliation.
During calendar year 2019
and the first nine months of 2020, the GCRA conducted 46 training sessions
nationwide, in which more than 8,800 state officials and religious leaders
participated, to assist with the continued implementation of the LBR. Local GCRAs,
in association with local authorities, also conducted hundreds of similar
training sessions for local officials, religious leaders, and believers. During
the year, the GCRA conducted inspections in Ho Chi Minh City, Nghe An, Quang
Ninh, and Thanh Hoa Provinces to monitor implementation of the law and trained
provincial government officials to conduct their own local inspections. The
National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescence and
Children and the Vietnam Fatherland Front also met with local authorities and
leaders of religious organizations to oversee implementation of the law.
Although the law
prohibits publishing all materials, including religious materials, without
government approval, some private, unlicensed publishing houses continued to
unofficially print and distribute religious texts without active government
interference. Other licensed publishers printed books on religion. Publishers
had permission to print the Bible in Vietnamese and other languages, including
Chinese, Ede, Jarai, Banar, M’nong, H’mong, C’ho, and English. Other published
texts included works pertaining to ancestor worship, Buddhism, Christianity,
Islam, and Cao Dai.
The Church of Jesus
Christ continued to report authorities permitted it to import sufficient copies
of the Book of Mormon, although the church was still working with the GCRA to
import additional faith-based periodicals.
Authorities permitted
Catholic, Protestant, Muslim, Baha’i, and Buddhist groups to provide religious
education to adherents in their own facilities, and religious leaders noted
increased enrollment in these education programs in recent years. Students continued
to participate in training sessions on fundamental Buddhist philosophy
organized at pagodas nationwide during summer holidays.
Section
III. Status of Societal Respect for Religious Freedom
There
were reports of conflicts, at times violent, between members of unregistered
and registered or recognized religious groups or between religious adherents
and nonbelievers. Religious activists blamed the authorities for manipulating
members of recognized religious groups and accused their agents in disguise and
proxies of causing these conflicts to intimidate or suppress the activities of
unregistered groups. On September 11 and 13, for example, members of the
recognized Cao Dai Sect (Cao Dai 1997) disrupted a gathering of unregistered
Cao Dai members (Cao Dai 1926) at a private residence in Ben Cau District, Tay
Ninh Province.
Individuals who converted
to another faith outside of their family faced ostracism and societal stigma
for their conversions.
Section
IV. U.S. Government Policy and Engagement
Representatives
of the embassy and the consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City regularly raised
concerns about religious freedom with a wide range of government officials and
CPV leaders, including the President, Prime Minister, and senior officials in
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the GCRA, and
other offices in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and various provinces and cities.
They stressed to government officials that progress on religious freedom and
human rights was critical to an improved bilateral relationship.
The Ambassador and other
embassy and consulate general officials urged authorities to allow all
religious groups to operate freely, including the UBCV, Protestant and Catholic
house churches, and independent Cao Dai and Hoa Hao groups; sought greater freedom
for recognized and registered religious groups; advocated for access to
religious materials and clergy for persons who were incarcerated; and urged an
end to restrictions on unregistered groups. Embassy and consulate general
officials raised specific cases of abuses as well as government harassment
against Catholics, Protestant groups, the UBCV, independent Hoa Hao groups,
independent Cao Dai, and ethnic minority house churches with the GCRA, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and provincial and local authorities. U.S.
government officials called for increased registration of church congregations
around the country and for improvement in registration policies to make them
more uniform and transparent. In addition, U.S. officials urged the government
to peacefully resolve outstanding land rights disputes with religious groups.
The Ambassador at Large
for International Religious Freedom raised these issues during the annual
U.S.-Vietnam Human Rights Dialogue in October, held virtually due to COVID-19
restrictions, and raised specific concerns about implementation of the LBR, the
status of religious believers detained or imprisoned, property issues involving
religious groups, and the situation of ethnic religious minority groups.
In September, embassy
officials met with government officials of the Ministry of Public Security, the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the GCRA as well as with registered and
unregistered religious groups to discuss implementation of the LBR and advocate
for increased religious freedom, including allowing both registered and
unregistered groups to exercise their rights freely, seeking accountability for
reports of government harassment, and resolving lands rights issues.
The Ambassador and other
embassy and consulate general officials met with religious leaders of both
registered and unregistered religious groups and attended religious ceremonies
to demonstrate support for religious freedom. On February 24, the Consul General
in Ho Chi Minh City paid respects at the funeral of the late Patriarch of UBCV
Thich Quang Do and on June 1, offered incense on the 100th day of the Passing
of the Patriarch at Tu Hieu UBCV Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City. On June 11, the
Consul General hosted an event with leaders of registered and unregistered
Protestant and Baptist groups to learn about the impact of COVID-19 on these
religious groups and how they responded to the government’s policies combating
theCOVID-19 pandemic. On October 27, the Consul General hosted an event with
Muslim leaders from southern Vietnam that aimed to advance religious freedom
goals among this important minority religious group. In September, the
Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom had telephone discussions
with registered and unregistered religious organizations about religious
freedom in the country.
On October 9, the
Ambassador sent a congratulatory letter to Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh on his
94th Continuation Day.
Embassy and consulate
general officials at every level traveled throughout the country, including to
the Northwest and Central Highlands, to monitor religious liberty and meet with
religious leaders. Representatives of the embassy and consulate general maintained
frequent contact with leaders of numerous religious communities, including
recognized, registered, and unregistered organizations. In June, embassy
officials met with more than 150 individuals on a visit to Gia Lai and Dak Lak
Provinces and with 100 individuals on a subsequent visit to Dien Bien Province
to examine issues of religious freedom and ethnic minorities in remote areas.
TAGS
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific AffairsOffice of International Religious FreedomReligious
FreedomVietnam
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