The Jan. 7 issue of Christianity Today reports that the government of Vietnam, while seeking more trade benefits and international loans, continues to conduct state terrorism against those of its people who insist on thinking for themselves and adhering to their own religious beliefs.
The report points out that "underground leaders tell of police raids, church closings and tortureThe government usually reserves torture, harassment and church closings for ethnic Christians living in remote villages, such as Hmong, according to Freedom House." That human- rights organization has obtained "four official documents showing that the government intends to eliminate Protestant Christianity in a district of Lao Cai province."
Last year's Amnesty International survey of Vietnam noted that "political dissidents and religious critics of the government were subjected to surveillance, harassment and denial of basic freedoms, including freedoms of expression."
Although more than 54 percent of the Vietnamese are Buddhist, Christianity Today reveals that "the government has band the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam for refusing to submit to state controls."
The same unremitting persecution of Catholic churches that will not convert to official government "religious" institutions continues in China — our permanent trading partner, thanks to Congress and the president, all of whom, of course, ardently believe in free exercise of religion.
Among people of stubborn faith in Vietnamese prisons who still, surprisingly, believe that free people somewhere in the world will come to their aid is Nguyen Hong Quang.
Arrested many times for keeping a record of government insistence on crushing Protestantism, this pastor of a Mennonite church in Ho Chi Minh City — before being placed in a cell again last August — urged Christians in the West to "raise their voices and pray and protest the actions" of the government.
Why should only Christians raise their voices?
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom tells Vietnam to "uphold its international human rights and religious freedom commitments." The same message was sent to the Chinese government, which has been rewarded with trade advantages and the Olympic Games for doing exactly what Vietnam is doing.
Will our president, occupied with our war against international terrorism, answer Nguyen Hong Quang? Are any of our clergy preaching on Sundays about the war on religion in Vietnam? What about newspaper editorial writers?
Amid the silence, how about sending letters to H.E. Nguyen Tam Chien, ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the USA, 1233 20th St. NW, Suite 400, Washington, D.C. 20036. The fax is (202) 861-0917.
Were all those lives, on both sides, lost in Vietnam for this?
In October, Vietnam's government sentenced Roman Catholic priest Rev. Thaddeus Nguyen Van Ly to 15 years in prison for "undermining national unity." His crime: giving written testimony to the American Congress about religious persecution in Vietnam. He was also charged with the "public slandering" of the Vietnamese Communist Party.
Nat Hentoff is a columnist for The Washington Times. His column runs on Mondays.