VZCZCXRO5484
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHNH
DE RUEHHM #0034/01 0131124
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131124Z JAN 09
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5307
INFO RUEHHI/AMEMBASSY HANOI PRIORITY 3528
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY PRIORITY 5543

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HO CHI MINH CITY 000034 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/AWH AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PGOV VM
SUBJECT: CHRISTMAS SERVICES GO SMOOTHLY FOR MAJORITY OF CHURCHES IN 
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN VIETNAM 
 
REF: A: 08 HCMC 1054    B: 08 HCMC  134 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000034  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The majority of Catholic and Protestant 
congregations in Southern Vietnam reported smooth sailing during 
their 2008 Christmas celebrations, though Protestant church 
leaders noted they scaled back events due to the downturn in the 
economy.  State press reported official GVN participation in a 
number of Protestant and Catholic celebrations and ran colorful 
pictures of large public gatherings in Can Tho, the Central 
Highlands province of Kontum and Hue.  As in 2007, a small 
number of primarily Protestant house church congregations 
reported they were not allowed to celebrate Christmas by local 
authorities, but several pushed back and were able to carry out 
services in the end.  Several Protestant groups claimed no 
significant improvements in small municipalities where officials 
were unfamiliar with national religious policy and hostile to 
new religious groups, highlighting the continued need for 
improved governance and training for officials at the district 
and commune levels.  End summary. 
 
Christmas As Usual for Southern Catholics 
----------------------------------------- 
¶2. (U) In the Ho Chi Minh City diocese, Catholics reported 
large-scale celebrations that were well-attended by GVN and 
Party officials.  HCMC Party Secretary Le Thanh Hai paid a call 
on Cardinal Pham Minh Manh at the HCMC cathedral and People's 
Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan led another delegation for a 
visit to the Committee for Catholic Solidarity in the lead up to 
Christmas. 
 
3 (SBU) In the Central Highlands province of Kontum, home to 
127,000 approximately Catholics and 14,000 Protestants, local 
officials also attended church and passed out gifts.  Bishop 
Michael Hoang Duc Oanh said though services went smoothly, he 
complained to officials regarding the required attendance of 
Christian school children on Christmas day, calling it a form of 
"governmental prejudice."  In neighboring Dak Lak province, one 
Catholic priest asked students to observe the holiday instead of 
going to school.  Since four-fifths of the community is 
Catholic, classes were empty and exams had to be rescheduled. 
Father Le Quang of the HCMC Redemptorist Church led Mass for 
5,000 followers at a church in Hang Village, Krong Pak District. 
 Father Quang said police demanded a list of visiting priests 
and called on the church's head priest to ask about the 
celebrations, but remained outside the church on Christmas Day 
and did not interfere with services. 
 
GVN-Recognized Protestants Hold Celebrations for Thousands 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
¶4. (SBU) As in 2007, the Southern Evangelical Church of Vietnam 
(SECV) held a large Christmas event spanning two days at a large 
stadium in Ho Chi Minh City, attracting 5,000 to 6,000 followers 
with 1,200 new converts.  Pastor Le Van Thien said they received 
permission from the HCMC Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA) 
with no difficulties, and then used the ticket sales to cover 
the cost of the stadium rental.  In the Central Highlands, 
Pastor Siu Y Kim of SECV Gia Lai said Christmas celebrations 
went smoothly except for two small congregations in the Sa Thay 
district of Kontum who were denied permission to gather by local 
authorities.  Both congregations held services anyway--one 
experienced no issues while local police at the second church 
threatened to invite followers to "working sessions," but have 
not done so to date. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Nationally-recognized Presbyterians, Mennonites, 
Seventh Day Adventists and Southern Baptists all reported 
widespread success in holding their Christmas celebrations after 
notifying authorities in advance.  While some churches decided 
to scale back their celebrations because of the economic 
downturn, the Southern Baptists held a bigger event than last 
year and reported 1,200 new conversions nationwide.  When one 
Southern Baptist congregation in Can Tho reported problems with 
local authorities granting permission for Christmas services, 
SBC leader Pastor Thong "clarified the misunderstanding" and 
services were held successfully. 
 
VCIF in Tra Vinh Report Beating by Locals 
----------------------------------------- 
¶6. (SBU) The stand-out case among sanctioned denominations was 
one Vietnam Inter-Christian Fellowship Church (VCIF) 
congregation in troubled Tra Vinh province (ref A).  On December 
23, Pastor Nguyen Thanh Tung, who is in charge of VCIF 
congregations in Bac Lieu and Tra Vinh provinces, reported that 
a group of ten local officials headed by the Ngai Xuyen Commune 
People's Committee Vice Chair in Tra Cu District asked the 
pastor and others gathering for Christmas celebrations to leave 
the house or they couldn't be responsible for the group's 
safety.  About half an hour later, followers reported that four 
drunken Khmer local residents came and started beating church 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000034  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
members.  Local policemen witnessed the attacks but failed to 
prevent the beatings.  After leaving the house, the church group 
was then attacked by four young men with bamboo sticks and 
helmets before being rescued by passers-by. 
 
Mixed Success for Unrecognized Protestant Groups 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
¶7. (SBU) In 2007, the Southern Baptist Church joined with the 
unrecognized Presbyterian, Assembly of God, United Gospel 
Outreach Church and Full Gospel Church to hold a joint 
celebration at Tao Dan Stadium with about 10,000 attendees. 
This year, while the groups reported no issues with HCMC CRA, 
they failed to get support from HCMC's Department of Public 
Security to hold a similar event.  Some pastors speculated that 
the police were concerned crowds would be even larger than last 
year, and were uncomfortable with the idea of a large-scale 
celebration demonstrating the continued expansion and popularity 
of house church Protestant groups. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The majority of unrecognized house churches, including 
the United Baptist Church, the Vietnam Baptist Convention, the 
Vietnam Methodist Church and the Assembly of God reported few 
problems for congregations holding Christmas celebrations 
throughout the south.  Problems persisted in some areas of 
Central Vietnam, including last year's problem province, Binh 
Phuoc, and the Central Highlands.  A small Vietnam Good News 
Mission congregation in the Krong Bong district of Dak Lak 
province did not have a gathering place this Christmas after 
local authorities pulled down an illegally-constructed prayer 
house in December 2008, just weeks before Christmas.  District 
and commune officials informed the congregation in early 
November that the prayer house would have to be torn down 
because it was built without a license on land the group did not 
own.  The head of the Good News Mission received reports from 
followers that several congregants were injured by authorities 
when they tried to prevent workers from tearing down the prayer 
house.  The Good News Mission is now petitioning provincial 
public security authorities to allow the congregation to build a 
new structure, register the congregation and provide assistance 
to the injured followers who were forcibly removed from the site 
when they protested the destruction of the temporary prayer 
house. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The Community Gospel Church of Vietnam reported that 
one meeting point in the Binh Long district of Binh Phuoc 
province was unable to obtain permission to hold Christmas 
services, despite having applied two weeks in advance and 
holding services in previous years.  The head pastor blamed 
authorities' lack of approval on the congregation's plan to 
invite followers from other meeting points.  The pastor talked 
to a public security officer who agreed to raise the case with 
local authorities, but a few days prior to Christmas, the Binh 
Phuoc CRA turned down the application and warned the pastor not 
to hold the celebrations.  On Dec 25, police surrounded the 
meeting point and searched the house.  A congregation headed by 
United Baptist Church evangelist Phan Van Xe in Quang Ngai 
Province reported continued harassment from authorities and did 
not hold Christmas services this year and a Vietnam Methodist 
Church congregation in Danang said they were not allowed to hold 
services though they have been operating in the area for over 
ten years.  The head pastor said when their former leader 
resettled in the United States, police began harassing the 
group, leading the church to hold "secret" Christmas 
celebrations on December 21. 
 
Pastors Push Back Successfully 
------------------------------ 
¶10. (SBU) Several Protestant pastors from unrecognized churches 
reported eventual success in negotiating with authorities after 
initially receiving negative responses to their plans for 
Christmas celebrations.  Pastor Duong Thanh Lam of the Assembly 
of God Church reported issues with small congregations in Tien 
Giang, Ben Tre, Vinh Long and Binh Thuan province, as well as 
one church in the outlying HCMC district of Can Gio.  When 
authorities asked for lists of participants, the congregations 
refused to provide them and persisted in requesting permission 
for Christmas services.  Eventually, Pastor Lam said, 
authorities gave in.  Another congregation in the Thang Binh 
District of Quang Nam Province were celebrating Christmas at a 
local restaurant when the town's People's Committee Chairman, 
two policemen and one plainclothes officer holding a police club 
came in and tried to stop the celebration by disconnecting the 
microphones.  The officials took photos and told followers they 
were violating the law. The pastor in charge reasoned with the 
officials and they later allowed the celebration to continue 
without the use of microphones. 
 
Comment 
 
HO CHI MIN 00000034  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
------- 
¶11. (SBU) As was the case in previous years, large and colorful 
Christmas celebrations for Vietnam's Christians was the norm in 
¶2008.  In addition, continued patience and persistence paid off 
for many religious leaders intent on conducting Christmas 
celebrations despite initial resistance from local authorities. 
An increasing number of pastors are also reporting greater 
success in negotiating with local authorities, which post 
attributes to their increasing knowledge of Vietnam's national 
legal framework on religion and growing confidence based on the 
expansion of religious practice over the past few years. 
Problems still remain, especially in Central Vietnam, where 
retrograde commune and district officials lack training and 
remain suspicious of "outside influences."  In addition to 
training by the national CRA on religious policy regulations, 
rule of law improvements are needed to protect Vietnam's 
faithful as they test their right to worship freely. 
 
¶12. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. 
FAIRFAX