Hòa Hảo
The Hòa Hảo have faced some restrictions on their religious and political activities since 1975, in part because of lingering Communist Party suspicions stemming from the Hòa Hảo's armed opposition to communist forces dating back to French colonial rule. After 1975, all administrative offices, places of worship, and social and cultural institutions connected to the Hòa Hảo faith were closed. Believers continued to practice their religion at home, but the lack of access to public gathering places contributed to the Hòa Hảo community's isolation and fragmentation. In 1999, a new official Hòa Hảo body, the Hòa Hảo Administrative Council, was formed. In the spring of 2005, the Hòa Hảo Administrative Council was expanded and renamed the Executive Committee of Hòa Hảo Buddhism. Several leaders of the Hòa Hảo community, including several pre-1975 leaders, openly criticized the Committee. They claimed that the committee was subservient to the government and demanded official recognition, instead, of their own Hòa Hảo body, the Hòa Hảo Central Buddhist Church (HHCBC). Although still unregistered, on May 4, 2005, the HHCBC held an organizational meeting that was attended by 126 delegates from across the southern part of the country. However, its members faced significant official repression.