New restrictions on religious freedom in Vietnam

January 03, 2013

Decree 92, issued by Vietnam’s Communist government in November, went into effect on January 1 and is raising concerns among the nation’s Christians and Buddhists – particularly after the vice president of the nation’s parliament said that “Vietnam will increasingly model itself on China in matters of religious policies.”

“Under the norm religious will be forced to undergo to an ‘educational program’ on the history of Vietnam and its legislation, sponsored and held by representatives of the ministries of Interior, Justice and Education,” explains Nguyen Hung of AsiaNews. “Members of the clergy are required to prepare a specific request in the case of foreign travel for conferences and ask authorities’ ‘permission’ in the case of transfers to a different area of the country.”

 

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Further information:

• Vietnam: CSW concerned about new decree restricting freedom of religion (Christian Solidarity Worldwide)
• Decree 92: Hanoi chooses Chinese model and clamps down on religious freedom (AsiaNews)