A significant event has never been seen in Hanoi, occurred recently during the last two weeks. The parishioners of the Thai Ha parish and the priests of the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi have formally request the government of the Social Republic of Vietnam (SRV) to return a block of land consists of around 16,362m2 to the right owner. This parcel of land was owned by the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi and was confiscated by the Social Republic of Vietnam some 50 years ago. Currently, the land is being used illegally with the permission from the Social Republic of Vietnam by a clothing manufacturer, Chien Thang Company.
Ignoring the rightful request, the local council government, the Dong Da district, together with an army of the police force have provide security for Chien Thang to continue with their building of a factory on this parcel of land. The land, 61,455m2 in total, was purchased by the Archbishop Francois Chaize at the time and is now rightfully owned by the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi.
In the last half of the century, a large number of private owned lands have been confiscated by the Social Republic of Vietnam. This undemocratic action has outraged the public, especially the people in the northern part of Vietnam. A notorious example is the so-called "Land Reform Policy" which occurred in 1956 [1].
As the result of the brutally action conducted by the Social Republic of Vietnam, the people in the northern of VN has suffered tremendously, in terms of physically and mentally, however, they dare not to raise any concern toward the Social Republic of Vietnam. The action of land confiscated by the Social Republic of Vietnam clearly demonstrate the Social Republic of Vietnam's ignorance of the basic rights contained in the Human Right Declaration, to which Vietnam is a member of the United Nations.
After seizing power in the northern part of VN, the Social Republic of Vietnam sent troops to invade South VN and they took-over the South VN in April 1975. Since 1975, the Social Republic of Vietnam has applied wickedly cruel and savage deeds toward its people. Although, the Social Republic of Vietnam's constitution recognises the basic human rights, in practice, no such thing exist in VN. The constitutional recognition of human right is mainly for the purpose of impressing the outside world that VN is democratic country. In deed, it is just an act of deceiving the outside world. You do not need to go far, just ask any one in VN, they would tell you that, in Vietnam, "People is the master of the country, the State is managing the country and the Party is holding the leadership role". In the nutshell, "democratic" means the country affairs is in controlled by the State, people have to "ask to receive", furthermore, the Party has every right to run the country. The people have to follow the Party's policy and decision. If you dare raise your concern about a particular policy you will be considered to have committed an unlawful action toward the Party and the State, and the only solution is for you to go to jail. You will be released from jail, once you are deemed to have gone through a certain state of "re-education" and have become a truly "socialist person".
Facing such wickedly cruel and savage actions, no one in VN dares to oppose the Party's policy. They reluctantly hide themselves in their shell in order to survive in such a repressive regime, and that becomes a familiar way of living in VN. They fall into the habit of obeying the Party. Like a well-behaved child, they accept and do whatever the Party tells them to do. As a matter of fact, the Party leaders consider that they have every right to abuse their power. They can do whatever they want to do and for whatever reasons. They have no regard for the welfare of the people. In the eyes of the Party leaders, people have no right to question them. Even government officers and police officers have no respect for the civilians. People are scared of facing them and avoid having to deal with the government and the police officers. Nevertheless, everywhere in VN, one would see a propaganda banner with words saying that the police officer is a friend of the people.
Living in such a brutal and repressive regime, no one dares to speak out, knowing that such action would achieve nothing, and that the government would not pay attention to such a complaint. A notorious example is the request from various land owners, including religious bodies, such as the Buddhist Federation in Vietnam, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and the Catholic church, for the Social Republic of Vietnam to return the land that had been confiscated by the Government. The State has continued to ignore these rightful requests. The Government has no intention of meeting these requests. Any request would be set aside by the State and people would get tired of continuing to make requests. What a wonderful way of resolving the dispute! You would never achieve a desirable result, if you failed to keep trying and gave up lodging requests with the government to resolve the dispute. Nowadays, people in VN have learnt a lesson. They persist in requesting the government to listen to their cause, until matters have been resolved satisfactorily.
We feel sorry for the people in VN. They have no right to speak up, and if they dare to, no one would listen to them. Sadly, such things happen in our mother land. The Social Republic of China (SRC), with their strong defence force, have invaded VN. They illegally occupied Truong Sa and Hoang Sa’s archipelago.
People in VN, as well as the overseas Vietnamese, have opposed this illegal act of the Social Republic of China. We all know that the islands of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa belonged to VN and this is recognised throughout the world. On the legal ground, and in terms of international relations law, the Social Republic of China has occupied Truong Sa and Hoang Sa illegally and thus Social Republic of China should be condemned. History has shown that the Vietnamese people fought bravely to defend their right to own these islands and thus we would oppose the Social Republic of China illegally occupying Truong Sa and Hoang Sa.
One would see that the act of the Social Republic of China in invading and occupying Truong Sa and Hoang Sa is illegal because they do not own these two islands. They legally belong to VN. The Vietnamese people are very indignant at what they regard as an illegal use of force by the Social Republic of China to invade and occupied Truong Sa and Hoang Sa. Ironically, Social Republic of China was once termed by the Social Republic of Vietnam as "a comrade of VN".
One would understand the feeling of the Vietnamese people, especially the parishioners of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi and the surrounding parishes when they expressed their discontent to the Social Republic of Vietnam. Facing the un-justice policy conducted by the Social Republic of Vietnam, we would be in agreement with the people in VN for their legitimate actions in requesting the Government to return the land, which was confiscated by the State, to the rightful owners.
We could see that in the last few decades, the Vietnamese people have surrendered to the unjust of Vietnam's policy. They do what is expected by the Party and rarely defy any order. They dare not question the Party's policy or raise any legitimate concern with the State for fear of persecution. They dare not oppose or hold demonstrations, or raise their voice. However, witnessing the recent events that have occurred in Hanoi, since mid-December 2007, one would see that the general attitude of the Vietnamese people has changed in term of dealing with issues related to the State affairs. The people from the north to the south of VN, from Hanoi to Saigon, have bravely started to fight for justice and basic principles. They stand up for their rights, and seek justice by requesting the State to return to them the lands that were once legally owned by them and had been confiscated by the State, including the lands owned by various religious bodies.
The most recent event is the petition put to the State by the parishioners of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. The petition calls on the State to return the land to the rightful owner, the Archdiocese of Hanoi. Facing such a strong momentum and resistance from the people in Hanoi, the Prime Minister, Mr Nguyen Tan Dung, paid a visit to the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi and held a brief discussion with the Archbishop of Hanoi, Most Rev. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet. The people were quite happy to see this event take place. There was news that the State was considering resolving this matter and would return the lands in dispute to the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. However, in doing this there is a need to obtain the approval of the local council government, the Hoan Kiem district, and also from the Hanoi People's Committee.
In the last few days, news about this event has been sent from VN to other countries and has been circulated on various websites, the website that contains the most up-to-date news is www.vietcatholic.net
A number of newspapers and broadcasting radio stations in a number of countries have also published articles and broadcasted news that the Social Republic of Vietnam has confiscated the lands owned by the Catholic church and lands owned by the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi. For example, ABC Radio Australia – Asia Pacific mentioned the following in its daily news on Friday 10 Jan 2008:
“Hundreds of Vietnamese Catholics have been holding prayer vigils over the past week, seeking the return from the government of Catholic-owned properties. They include land owned by the Thai Ha parish, and an office that once belonged to an Apostolic delegate - both located in Hanoi. Many in the Catholic community are furious at a government refusal to hand the properties back, despite earlier promises from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to resolve the disputes during a meeting with the Archbishop of Hanoi last month.” [2]
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s2136100.htm
I was quite moved when witnessing the prayer session organised by the Redemptorist Community in Saigon, 38 Ky Dong Street on Friday 11 Jan 2008. The prayer session commenced at 7pm and concluded at 9pm. There were more than 4000 people; a number of people had to stand outside the church during the ceremony. Images of the people gathering outside the former Apostolic Nuncio’s Office in Hanoi, were seen on the big screen.
There were elderly people, over 70 years of age attending the rally; people camped outside overnight. They afraid that the Chien Thang company at night would secretly take possession of the lands owned by the Redemptorists in Hanoi. I admire the elderly. Despite their old age and poor health, they have shown their determination in demanding the State to return the lands to the Catholic church. They could be compared to the soldiers who sacrificed themselves in defending our motherland. It is indeed an act of bravery. This act of heroism is an example for the younger generations to follow.
[1] For more information about this bloody event you can read a book written by VU Thu Hien, entitled Dem Giua Ban Ngay. (Night During the Daytime).
[2] ABC Radio Australia - Asia Pacific - VIETNAM: Catholics demand return of church properties – Friday 10/01/2008.
Ignoring the rightful request, the local council government, the Dong Da district, together with an army of the police force have provide security for Chien Thang to continue with their building of a factory on this parcel of land. The land, 61,455m2 in total, was purchased by the Archbishop Francois Chaize at the time and is now rightfully owned by the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi.
In the last half of the century, a large number of private owned lands have been confiscated by the Social Republic of Vietnam. This undemocratic action has outraged the public, especially the people in the northern part of Vietnam. A notorious example is the so-called "Land Reform Policy" which occurred in 1956 [1].
As the result of the brutally action conducted by the Social Republic of Vietnam, the people in the northern of VN has suffered tremendously, in terms of physically and mentally, however, they dare not to raise any concern toward the Social Republic of Vietnam. The action of land confiscated by the Social Republic of Vietnam clearly demonstrate the Social Republic of Vietnam's ignorance of the basic rights contained in the Human Right Declaration, to which Vietnam is a member of the United Nations.
After seizing power in the northern part of VN, the Social Republic of Vietnam sent troops to invade South VN and they took-over the South VN in April 1975. Since 1975, the Social Republic of Vietnam has applied wickedly cruel and savage deeds toward its people. Although, the Social Republic of Vietnam's constitution recognises the basic human rights, in practice, no such thing exist in VN. The constitutional recognition of human right is mainly for the purpose of impressing the outside world that VN is democratic country. In deed, it is just an act of deceiving the outside world. You do not need to go far, just ask any one in VN, they would tell you that, in Vietnam, "People is the master of the country, the State is managing the country and the Party is holding the leadership role". In the nutshell, "democratic" means the country affairs is in controlled by the State, people have to "ask to receive", furthermore, the Party has every right to run the country. The people have to follow the Party's policy and decision. If you dare raise your concern about a particular policy you will be considered to have committed an unlawful action toward the Party and the State, and the only solution is for you to go to jail. You will be released from jail, once you are deemed to have gone through a certain state of "re-education" and have become a truly "socialist person".
Facing such wickedly cruel and savage actions, no one in VN dares to oppose the Party's policy. They reluctantly hide themselves in their shell in order to survive in such a repressive regime, and that becomes a familiar way of living in VN. They fall into the habit of obeying the Party. Like a well-behaved child, they accept and do whatever the Party tells them to do. As a matter of fact, the Party leaders consider that they have every right to abuse their power. They can do whatever they want to do and for whatever reasons. They have no regard for the welfare of the people. In the eyes of the Party leaders, people have no right to question them. Even government officers and police officers have no respect for the civilians. People are scared of facing them and avoid having to deal with the government and the police officers. Nevertheless, everywhere in VN, one would see a propaganda banner with words saying that the police officer is a friend of the people.
Living in such a brutal and repressive regime, no one dares to speak out, knowing that such action would achieve nothing, and that the government would not pay attention to such a complaint. A notorious example is the request from various land owners, including religious bodies, such as the Buddhist Federation in Vietnam, Cao Dai, Hoa Hao and the Catholic church, for the Social Republic of Vietnam to return the land that had been confiscated by the Government. The State has continued to ignore these rightful requests. The Government has no intention of meeting these requests. Any request would be set aside by the State and people would get tired of continuing to make requests. What a wonderful way of resolving the dispute! You would never achieve a desirable result, if you failed to keep trying and gave up lodging requests with the government to resolve the dispute. Nowadays, people in VN have learnt a lesson. They persist in requesting the government to listen to their cause, until matters have been resolved satisfactorily.
We feel sorry for the people in VN. They have no right to speak up, and if they dare to, no one would listen to them. Sadly, such things happen in our mother land. The Social Republic of China (SRC), with their strong defence force, have invaded VN. They illegally occupied Truong Sa and Hoang Sa’s archipelago.
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| Parishioners read news on the dispute |
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| and see pictures of the fight for justice in Thai Ha |
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| Praying for justice to triumph |
One would see that the act of the Social Republic of China in invading and occupying Truong Sa and Hoang Sa is illegal because they do not own these two islands. They legally belong to VN. The Vietnamese people are very indignant at what they regard as an illegal use of force by the Social Republic of China to invade and occupied Truong Sa and Hoang Sa. Ironically, Social Republic of China was once termed by the Social Republic of Vietnam as "a comrade of VN".
One would understand the feeling of the Vietnamese people, especially the parishioners of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi and the surrounding parishes when they expressed their discontent to the Social Republic of Vietnam. Facing the un-justice policy conducted by the Social Republic of Vietnam, we would be in agreement with the people in VN for their legitimate actions in requesting the Government to return the land, which was confiscated by the State, to the rightful owners.
We could see that in the last few decades, the Vietnamese people have surrendered to the unjust of Vietnam's policy. They do what is expected by the Party and rarely defy any order. They dare not question the Party's policy or raise any legitimate concern with the State for fear of persecution. They dare not oppose or hold demonstrations, or raise their voice. However, witnessing the recent events that have occurred in Hanoi, since mid-December 2007, one would see that the general attitude of the Vietnamese people has changed in term of dealing with issues related to the State affairs. The people from the north to the south of VN, from Hanoi to Saigon, have bravely started to fight for justice and basic principles. They stand up for their rights, and seek justice by requesting the State to return to them the lands that were once legally owned by them and had been confiscated by the State, including the lands owned by various religious bodies.
The most recent event is the petition put to the State by the parishioners of the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. The petition calls on the State to return the land to the rightful owner, the Archdiocese of Hanoi. Facing such a strong momentum and resistance from the people in Hanoi, the Prime Minister, Mr Nguyen Tan Dung, paid a visit to the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi and held a brief discussion with the Archbishop of Hanoi, Most Rev. Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet. The people were quite happy to see this event take place. There was news that the State was considering resolving this matter and would return the lands in dispute to the Catholic Archdiocese of Hanoi. However, in doing this there is a need to obtain the approval of the local council government, the Hoan Kiem district, and also from the Hanoi People's Committee.
In the last few days, news about this event has been sent from VN to other countries and has been circulated on various websites, the website that contains the most up-to-date news is www.vietcatholic.net
A number of newspapers and broadcasting radio stations in a number of countries have also published articles and broadcasted news that the Social Republic of Vietnam has confiscated the lands owned by the Catholic church and lands owned by the Redemptorist Community in Hanoi. For example, ABC Radio Australia – Asia Pacific mentioned the following in its daily news on Friday 10 Jan 2008:
“Hundreds of Vietnamese Catholics have been holding prayer vigils over the past week, seeking the return from the government of Catholic-owned properties. They include land owned by the Thai Ha parish, and an office that once belonged to an Apostolic delegate - both located in Hanoi. Many in the Catholic community are furious at a government refusal to hand the properties back, despite earlier promises from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to resolve the disputes during a meeting with the Archbishop of Hanoi last month.” [2]
http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/programs/s2136100.htm
I was quite moved when witnessing the prayer session organised by the Redemptorist Community in Saigon, 38 Ky Dong Street on Friday 11 Jan 2008. The prayer session commenced at 7pm and concluded at 9pm. There were more than 4000 people; a number of people had to stand outside the church during the ceremony. Images of the people gathering outside the former Apostolic Nuncio’s Office in Hanoi, were seen on the big screen.
There were elderly people, over 70 years of age attending the rally; people camped outside overnight. They afraid that the Chien Thang company at night would secretly take possession of the lands owned by the Redemptorists in Hanoi. I admire the elderly. Despite their old age and poor health, they have shown their determination in demanding the State to return the lands to the Catholic church. They could be compared to the soldiers who sacrificed themselves in defending our motherland. It is indeed an act of bravery. This act of heroism is an example for the younger generations to follow.
[1] For more information about this bloody event you can read a book written by VU Thu Hien, entitled Dem Giua Ban Ngay. (Night During the Daytime).
[2] ABC Radio Australia - Asia Pacific - VIETNAM: Catholics demand return of church properties – Friday 10/01/2008.