Vu Gian Thao

Mr. Vu Gian Thao, a member of Hmong ethnic minority, is from the Huoi Xua Hamlet in Muong Muong Village in Lai Chau Province. Authorities previously arrested and imprisoned Mr. Vu from September 1993 to September 1996 as a result of activities related to his faith. After his release from prison, Mr. Vu resumed his religious activities, but authorities re-arrested him. In July of 1997, Mr. Vu was sentenced to three years imprisonment in the Dien Bien Phu Prison.

Other Christians, also members of the Hmong ethnic minority, imprisoned in Dien Bien Phu Prison under similar charges of illegal propogation of religion, include the following:

Sung Seo Chinh of Chu Ba Hamlet, arrested in August 1997 and sentenced to three and one half years in prison

Thao A Lia of Huoi Xua Hamlet, arrested in November 1997 and sentenced to three years in prison

Sung Phai Dia of Huoi Xua Hamlet, arrested and imprisoned since March 25, 1998

Christians of Vietnam's ethnic minorities face increased harassment and persecution from the Vietnamese government. Reports reflect that the Dien Bien region appears to be the center of a new anti-Christian campaign by Vietnamese officials. Vietnamese government documents support these reports. One particular document describes a "pilot project" aimed at preventing the growth of Christianity throughout the country. In certain regions, government officials "encourage" villagers to attend seminars to learn about the government's attitude toward Christianity. Villagers are required to sign a statment promising that they will not study the Christian religion or take part in any Christian activities (such as Bible reading or worship services), will actively tell others not to participate in the Christian religion, will inform the government of anyone else who follows Christianity or engages in Christian activities, and will want the government to hold them accountable should they somehow not uphold the statements on the signed document. Individuals who refuse to sign the statement often are detained and imprisoned for "illegally propagating religion" or causing social unrest. In certain instances, reports reveal that authorities have beaten or withheld food and water in order to force people to sign the government document. Officials also allegedly have forced some individuals to sacrifice animals as a sign of their "true" rejection of Christianity and their return to traditional religion.

Source: Information supplied by World Evangelical Fellowship's Religious Liberty Commission and other sources.

To help the Panchen Lama, please write letters to Chinese government officials listed here using the text below as a model. 

Vietnamese Officials

President:

His Excellency
Tran Duc Luong
President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Hanoi
Vietnam

Dear Mr. President:

Ambassador:

His Excellency Nguyen Tam Chien
Ambassador of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
1233 20th Street, N.W., Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20036

Dear Mr. Ambassador:

Sample Letter

I write today as a friend of the Vietnamese people and as an American citizen wishing to express my deep concern about the arrest and imprisonment of Mr. Vu Gian Thao and other minority religious believers. I am very concerned about reports of continuing harassment, arrests, and imprisonment committed by the government of Vietnam against minority religious believers, including Christians.

Mr. Vu Gian Thao is from the Huoi Xua Hamlet in Lai Chau Province. Vietnamese government authorities previously arrested and imprisoned Mr. Vu from September 1993 to September 1996 because of his religious beliefs. After his release from prison, Mr. Vu resumed religious activities related to his faith, and authorities re-arrested him. In July of 1997, officials sentenced Mr. Vu to three years' imprisonment in the Dien Bien Phu Prison. Other Christians imprisoned in Dien Bien Phu Prison under similar charges of illegal propagation of religion include the following: Sung Seo Chinh, Thao A Lia, and Sung Phai Dia.

It appears that Christians in Vietnam face increasing harassment and persecution from their government. Reliable reports suggest the formation of a new anti-Christian campaign by government officials against the Vietnamese people. Authorities allegedly give seminars so that villagers can learn about their government's attitude towards Christianity. Attendees of the seminars often are required to sign a statement promising that they will not participate in the Christian religion and activities stemming from that religious belief.

Mr. President, I respectfully request that you intervene on behalf of Mr. Vu Gian Thao, Sung Seo Chinh, Thao A Lia, and Sung Phai Dia, and allow them to return to their work of peacefully caring for the Vietnamese people according to their personal faith convictions. It would be considered a significant gesture of good will to the American people to release them as soon as possible.

Thank you for your attention to this serious matter.

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