IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 20 
Calling on the State Department to list the Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
as a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ with respect to religious freedom. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2009 
Mr. ROYCE (for himself, Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Mr. ROHR-
ABACHER, Ms. ZOE LOFGREN of California, Mr. CAO, Mr. BURTON of In-
diana, and Mr. WOLF) submitted the following resolution; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
RESOLUTION 
Calling on the State Department to list the Socialist Republic 
of Vietnam as a ‘‘Country of Particular Concern’’ with 
respect to religious freedom. 
Whereas the Secretary of State, under the International Reli-
gious Freedom Act of 1998 (IRFA) and its amendment 
in 1999, and under authority delegated by the President, 
designates nations found guilty of ‘‘particularly severe 
violations of religious freedom as ‘Countries of Particular 
Concern’ ’’ (CPC); 
Whereas when the United States designates a nation as a 
CPC, the intent is to place protection and promotion of 
religious freedom as a diplomatic priority in bilateral re-
lations, including taking actions specified in section 405 
(a)(b)(c) of the IRFA; 
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•HRES 20 IH 
Whereas in November 2006, the State Department an-
nounced that the CPC designation was lifted from the 
Socialist Republic of Vietnam; 
Whereas in explaining the lifting of the designation, State 
Department officials have stated that Vietnam ‘‘has 
turned a corner . . . and has what looks like religious 
freedom’’ and that Vietnam ‘‘does not meet the criteria 
for a severe violator of religious freedom’’ under terms 
set by the IRFA; 
Whereas the criteria for designating countries as a CPC, as 
set forth in section 3(11) of the IRFA, are for ‘‘system-
atic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious free-
dom including violations, such as—A) torture or cruel, 
inhuman, or degrading treatment of punishment; B) pro-
longed detention without charges; C) causing the dis-
appearance of persons by the abduction or clandestine de-
tention of those persons; and D) other flagrant denial of 
the right of life, liberty, or the security of persons.’’; 
Whereas in 2004, the Vietnamese National Assembly issued 
Directive 21/2004/PL–UBTVQH11 to regulate religious 
activities; 
Whereas this directive contains several articles that seriously 
interfere with religious freedom and impose heavy govern-
ment control on religious activities; 
Whereas, on September 15, 2004, the State Department 
added Vietnam to the CPC list and Ambassador at Large 
for International Religious Freedom, John Hanford, stat-
ed, ‘‘at least 45 religious believers remain imprisoned 
. . . Protestants have been pressured by authorities to 
renounce their faith, and some have been subjected to 
physical abuse.’’; 
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•HRES 20 IH 
Whereas to avoid possible sanctions or other ‘‘commensurate 
actions’’ recommended by section 405 (a)(b) of the 
IRFA, in May 2005 the United States and Vietnam 
reached a ‘‘binding agreement’’ consistent with section 
405 (c) of the IRFA; 
Whereas although the terms of that ‘‘binding agreement’’ 
have never been fully publicized, the United States Com-
mission on International Religious Freedom 2006 Annual 
Report stated that the United States agreed to lift the 
CPC designation if the Government of Vietnam fully im-
plemented legislation on religious freedom and rendered 
previous contradictory regulations obsolete, instructed 
local authorities strictly and completely to adhere to the 
new legislation to ensure compliance, facilitated the proc-
ess by which religious congregations are able to open 
houses of worship, and gave special consideration to pris-
oners and cases of concern raised by the United States 
during the granting of prisoner amnesties; 
Whereas the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam (UBCV), 
the Hoa Hao Buddhists, and the Cao Dai groups con-
tinue to face unwarranted abuses because of their at-
tempts to organize independently of the Vietnamese Gov-
ernment, including the detention and imprisonment of in-
dividual members of these religious communities; 
Whereas over the last 3 years, 18 Hoa Hao Buddhists have 
been arrested for distributing sacred texts or publically 
protesting the religious restrictions placed on them by the 
Vietnamese Government, at least 12 remain in prison, in-
cluding 4 sentenced in 2007 for staging a peaceful hun-
ger strike; 
Whereas five members of the Cao Dai religious community 
remain in prison for distributing materials in Cambodia 
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•HRES 20 IH 
critical of the Vietnamese Government’s restrictions on 
Cao Dai religious practice, for this action they were sen-
tenced to up to 13 years imprisonment; 
Whereas five Khmer Buddhists were arrested in February 
2007 for organizing peaceful demonstrations opposing 
the restriction of language training and ordination cere-
monies for Khmer Buddhist monks; 
Whereas Protestants continue to face beatings and other ill- 
treatment, harassment, fines, threats, and forced renunci-
ations of faith; 
Whereas 
according 
to 
Human 
Rights 
Watch, 
355 
Montagnard Protestants remain in prison, arrested after 
2001 and 2004 demonstrations for land rights and reli-
gious freedom in the Central Highlands; 
Whereas according to the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom, there are reports that 
some Montagnard Protestants were imprisoned because 
of their religious affiliation or activities or because reli-
gious leaders failed to inform on members of their reli-
gious community who allegedly participated in dem-
onstrations; 
Whereas according to the United States Commission on 
International Religious Freedom 2008 Annual Report, re-
ligious freedom advocates and human rights defenders 
Nguyen Van Dai, Le Thi Cong Nhan, and Fr. Thaddeus 
Nguyen Van Ly are in prison under Article 88 of the 
Criminal Code and Fr. Nguyen Van Loi is being held 
without official detention orders under house arrest; 
Whereas at least 15 individuals are being detained in long 
term house arrest for reasons related to their faith, in-
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•HRES 20 IH 
cluding the most venerable Thich Quang Do and most of 
the leadership of the UBCV; 
Whereas according to United States Commission on Inter-
national Religious Freedom 2008 Annual Report, there 
are still too many abuses of and restrictions on religious 
freedom; 
Whereas UBCV monks and youth groups leaders are har-
assed and detained and charitable activities are denied, 
Vietnamese officials discriminate against ethnic minority 
Protestants denying medical, housing, and education ben-
efits to children and families, an ethnic minority Protes-
tant was beaten to death for refusing to recant his faith, 
over 600 Hmong Protestant churches are refused legal 
recognition or affiliation, leading to harassment, deten-
tions, and home destructions, and a government hand-
book on religion instructs government officials to control 
existing religious practice, halt ‘‘enemy forces’’ from 
‘‘abusing religion’’ to undermine the Vietnamese Govern-
ment, and ‘‘overcome the extraordinary growth of Prot-
estantism.’’; 
Whereas since August 2008, the Vietnamese Government has 
arrested and sentenced at least eight individuals and 
beaten, tear-gassed, harassed, publicly slandered, and 
threatened Catholics engaged in peaceful activities seek-
ing the return of Catholic Church properties confiscated 
by the Vietnamese Government after 1954 in Hanoi, in-
cluding in the Thai Ha parish; 
Whereas in September 2008, immediately preceding a visit by 
Deputy Secretary of State, John Negroponte, Vietnam 
arrested five journalists and human rights defenders, in-
cluding two journalists and bloggers reportedly covering 
the prayer vigils held by Catholics in Hanoi; and 
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•HRES 20 IH 
Whereas the United States Commission on International Reli-
gious Freedom, prominent nongovernmental organiza-
tions, and representative associations of Vietnamese- 
American, Montagnard-American, and Khmer-American 
organizations have called for the redesignation of Viet-
nam as a CPC: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) strongly encourages the Department of 
State to place Vietnam on the list of ‘‘Countries of 
Particular Concern’’ for particularly severe violations 
of religious freedom; 
(2) strongly condemns the ongoing and egre-
gious violations of religious freedom in Vietnam, in-
cluding the detention of religious leaders and the 
long-term imprisonment of individuals engaged in 
peaceful advocacy; and 
(3) calls on Vietnam to lift restrictions on reli-
gious freedom and implement necessary legal and 
political reforms to protect religious freedom. 
Æ 
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