Vietnam: Control remains top priority

As reported by Asia News on 27 July 2023, Vietnam has allowed the Vatican to have a resident representative in Hanoi. The agreement comes almost 50 years after the Vatican representative’s expulsion in 1975. The press release states:

Both sides expressed their confidence that the Resident Papal Representative will fulfill the role and mandate given in the Agreement, provide support to the Vietnamese Catholic community in their undertakings in the spirit of the law and, always inspired by the Magisterium of the Church, to fulfill the vocation of ‘accompanying the nation’ and to be ‘good Catholics and good citizens’, and contribute to the development of the country, while the Representative will be a bridge to advance relations between Viet Nam and the Holy See.

World Watch Research analyst Thomas Muller explains: “While this agreement is, on the whole, a welcome and positive development and will facilitate dialogue on religious and diplomatic issues, it is not clear if it will be able to improve religious freedom conditions for the more than seven million Catholics on the ground, especially in rural provinces. Consequently, first comments are very critical, even going as far as saying that the agreement resembles the one the Vatican has with China and highlighting that it even does not give the right to send a nuncio to Hanoi (UCA News, 25 July 2023). Vietnam’s general approach to rights of freedom is better reflected in a recent law proposal by the Ministry of Information (The Diplomat, 20 July 2023): According to this proposal, people violating the country’s strict cybersecurity laws should be cut off from accessing the Internet. This will not just apply to forms of cyber-fraud and other crimes, but also to all forms of real or perceived political dissent, including any criticism coming from religious minorities.”