She is one of up to 20,000 who flock each day to the Chua Huong Pagodas southwest of Hanoi during the pilgrimage season. The government never stops usjust those who have bad practices. According to Zachary Abuza, a Vietnam expert at Simmonds College in the U.S., it is not individual faith that Hanoi opposes, but the prospect of a nationwide structure of authority that could topple the party's monopoly on power. Hanoi has thus appointed Vietnam's Catholic bishops since 1975, annoying the Vatican, which recently elevated an exiled Vietnamese bishop to cardinal. There are dissident priests in Vietnam, like Father Ly, but more troublesome are followers of the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, which won't allow state advisers.
Any deviance is dealt with harshly.
But not as harshly as before. U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson, who flew to Washington last week to lobby for the trade agreement, believes blocking the trade accord would send the wrong message. The Communist Party, for its part, seems to know that persecuting religions can actually make them more alluring. Even the party is realizing it's difficult to beat anyone fighting a holy war.