Vietnamese churches standing up to abuses

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — In an unprecedented shift, Vietnamese church leaders are now petitioning authorities more openly and internationally. In a country that sentenced Nguyen Van Ly to 15 years in prison for writing to a U.S. government agency about religious rights violations, leaders of one of Vietnam’s recognized churches have openly copied their petition against such abuses not only to U.S. and European Union officials but also to foreign media organizations.

Since Oct. 5, Phung Quang Huyen and Au Quang Vinh, president and general secretary, respectively, of the Evangelical Church of Vietnam (North), have copied foreign governments and media on petitions they have written on behalf of persecuted Hmong Christians.