Activist Christian Pastor Arrested In Vietnam

Public Security Police have busted up Mennonite services four times this year.

Christianity Today August 1, 2001
A pastor and lawyer who works to expose religious liberty abuses in Vietnam was arrested on August 17 along with his wife in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to local sources, the Rev. and Mrs. Nguyen Hong Quang and Truong Tri Hien have been on a hunger strike since their arrest. The couple had their identity cards confiscated in the arrest, and Quang was reportedly beaten.

A Mennonite pastor trained as a lawyer, Quang has been arrested and detained numerous times reportedly in connection with his work documenting attacks on the Vietnamese Protestant Mennonite community and for evangelistic activities. “I have a paper saying I should be expelled from my country,” he wrote in June.

Quang reported that already four times this year the Public Security Police have “burst into our house while we are worshipping God.” Twice, the services were stopped. Both times, the charges were written up against the church members, “throwing most of the congregation into a state of crisis and fear.”

Vietnamese authorities have waged a consistent campaign to crack down on the activities of unofficial house churches in Vietnam.

On August 16, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom named Vietnam as one of several countries where “grave violations of religious freedom persist.”

Copyright © 2001 Compass Direct.

Related Elsewhere

Read the U.S. State Department’s 2000 Report on International Religious Freedom section on Vietnam.

In May, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said “grave violations” of religious freedom persisted in India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, and urged the State Department to closely monitor these countries.

For more articles on Vietnam, see Yahoo’s full coverage area.

Previous Christianity Today articles about Vietnam include:

Vietnam Jams Hmong Christian Radio Broadcasts | Government tries to curb spread of Protestant Christianity along Chinese border. (Sept. 1, 2000)

Authorities Destroy ‘Church’ in Vietnam | Crude structure in Ho Chi Minh City slum had been erected only hours earlier. (July 27, 2000)

Napalm Victim Now Agent for Peace | Canadian Christian remembers tearing burning clothes from her flesh. (Feb. 8, 1999)

Jesus Can Still Mean Jail | The plight of Vietnam’s 700,000 evangelical Christians. (Nov. 11, 1998)

House Pastors Jailed in New Crackdown | Seven Vietnamese pastors imprisoned. (Jan. 6, 1997)

Our Latest

News

Ghana May Elect Its First Muslim President. Its Christian Majority Is Torn.

Church leaders weigh competency and faith background as the West African nation heads to the polls.

Shamanism in Indonesia

Can Christians practice ‘white knowledge’ to heal the sick and exorcize demons?

Shamanism in Japan

Christians in the country view pastors’ benedictions as powerful spiritual mantras.

Shamanism in Taiwan

In a land teeming with ghosts, is there room for the Holy Spirit to work?

Shamanism in Vietnam

Folk religion has shaped believers’ perceptions of God as a genie in a lamp.

Shamanism in the Philippines

Filipinos’ desire to connect with the supernatural shouldn’t be eradicated, but transformed and redirected toward Christ.

Shamanism in South Korea

Why Christians in the country hold onto trees while praying outdoors.

Shamanism in Thailand

When guardian spirits disrupt river baptisms, how can believers respond?

Apple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squareGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastRSSRSSSaveSaveSaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube