Vietnam: Christians Raise Concerns About Country’s New President

Christian advocates have expressed concern that the August 3 election of communist President To Lam as Vietnam’s new leader will make life more difficult for Vietnamese believers. Even before Lam’s election, Communist-ruled Buddhist-majority Vietnam ranked 35 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

Vietnam: Christians Face New Hurdles In Establishing Churches

Christians in Vietnam now face new hurdles in planting churches as the government has issued Decree 95, a law which requires religious groups to submit financial records and allows officials to close down religious activities for unspecified “serious violations,” Christianity Today reports.

Vietnam: Evangelical Pastor Found Dead After Encounter With Police

A Vietnamese evangelical pastor whose body was found hanging in a cemetery in Vietnam’s Dak Lak Province is believed by local Christians to have been killed by government authorities who had forced him to renounce his faith in Christ and leave his church, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Vietnamese Christian Refugees Facing Arrest and Harassment in Thailand

Worryingly, Christian refugees from the Vietnamese Hmong and Montagnard minority groups are now facing arrests and harassment from officials in Thailand, where they have come seeking refuge from persecution in Vietnam, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

Vietnam Christians face severe persecution

Hmong Christians in the Nghe An province of Vietnam are suffering intense persecution as officials work to create “Christian-free zones,” Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Christians make up 8.5% of the population in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, where many identify with animism and with ethnic Vietnamese Folk religion.

Vietnam: Pastors interrogated over false accusation they started COVID-19 outbreak

A pastoral couple and 11 members of their church have been interrogated by Vietnamese police officials in regard to false accusations that the Christians maliciously started a significant COVID-19 outbreak in Ho Chi Minh City in May, Morning Star News (MSN) reports. Local Christian leaders believe the interrogation and accusations are part of an effort to defame and shame Vietnamese evangelicals.

US officials condemn Vietnam raid on churches

Vietnam has come under fire from US government officials and international human rights advocates after Vietnamese authorities raided two churches and arrested over 20 Christians, almost all of whom belong to the persecuted Montagnard ethnic group, in May, International Christian Concern (ICC) reports.

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