As soon as the "liberators" from the North invaded Long Xuyen and Chau Doc in May 1975, the Phu An Holy Site was plagued with hatred and enmity. Revenge raged throughout the region. Violence with assaults against fervent Hoa Hao was executed indiscriminately, regardless of whether they were young or old and no matter what they were --civilians, public servants, or the personnel of the military of the old Republic of Vietnam. In July 1975, the Communist authorities, under the pretext that they had found caches of arms and ammunition in the Hoa Hao community in An Giang Province, closed down two of the Hoa Hao Church's temples in the area. By Fall 1976, they confiscated all the Church's properties and facilities, annihilated the Church’s leadership, and dissolved all religious, social, educational, and cultural institutions and organizations. All forms of worship at the Holy See were restricted, and all religious services at the village preaching halls were forbidden. Religious practices at the Holy Site, convention centers, and temples were banned. The Church s faithful were not allowed to congregate at the Church’s establishments and facilities. Failures to comply with the interdictions were subject to detention. All religious services and practices were to be performed in private and at home. The adepts who ventured to pay visit to the Holy Site were subject to interrogation. Books of Scriptures by His Holiness Huynh Phu So were prohibited from circulation. The Communist administration executed strict measures to force the Hoa Hao Buddhists to abandon their Church.
The Office of Hoa Hoa Buddhism Overseas, on March 13, 1981, reported on the religious practices and activities at the Holy Site after the Communist takeover of South Vietnam, in its bulletin news Duoc Tu Bi (The Torch of Buddhism) as follows
"The Holy Site is the place where His Holiness Huynh was born. The authorities forbid any form of veneration even if a Hoa Hao Buddhist wishes to prostrate` himself or herself before Buddha at the Holy Temple. After the Master and the Lady Huynh --His Holiness Huynh's parents-- had passed away, their daughter Huynh Thi Kim Bien was in charge of the management at the Holy Temple and attended to the worship. After the Communist takeover of South Vietnam, the Holy Site and Holy Temple became desolated gloomy places. The Communists prohibited all assemblies and celebrations at the Holy Temple, including the religious celebration on the anniversary of the foundation of Hoa Hao Buddhism of May 18. Before 1975, every year, on this day, as many as 500,000 Hoa Hao Buddhists in crowds came to visit the Holy Site to attend the celebration. Nowadays, such spectacles no longer exist. In the old days, on this day, the roads from Long Xuyen and elsewhere to the Holy Site were crowded with assemblies of Hoa Hao followers, and boats with flowers and lamps streamed down the rivers to Long Xuyen. The Communist authorities also close down all preaching halls; prayers through the loudspeakers were no longer heard."
On June 19, 1975, the authorities, in a public announcement, ordered the dignitaries who were in charge at the Holy Temple to dissolve all executive boards of Hoa Hao Buddhism, all the executive boards of the Vietnam Social Democratic Party, the Office for the Propagation of Hoa Hao Religious Faith, and all institutions, organizations and associations, such as the Bao An (Security Guards), Tu Thien (Charitable Establishment), Cuu Chien Si (Veteran Soldiers), and Thanh Nien Hoa Hao (Hoa Hao Youth). Miss. Huynh Thi Kim Bien passed away due to illness on October 23 in the year Mau Ngo (1978). Mr. Lam Thanh Quang, the successor and guardian at the Holy Temple was arrested and imprisoned. The Holy Temple was under the authorities’ management.
The Holy Site and the Holy Temple, the Church symbols of Faith and Benevolence were no longer decent worship places. The Hoa Hao faithful still firmly believe that a beautiful day will come again. (Noi San Duoc Tu Bi, March 15, 1981)
The Measures
The authorities prohibited all forms of religious preaching at Phu An Holy Site and Hoa Hao Buddhist villages. The police kept strict control on the followers’ daily life. These common folks were followed wherever they came and went. They were threatened for unspecified reasons. They were arrested for any sign of protest. Repression persisted as time went by.
Hong Van Hoanh , a close disciple of the Prophet Huynh Phu So, noted that repression against the legitimate Hoa Hao ever increased. In August 1971, Tran Van Tu, a resident of Can Tho Province, who had spent ten years in prison for being a Hoa Hao Buddhist dignitary, and his friend, Hong Chen visited and paid service to Supreme Buddha at the Holy Site. On the way home, they were arrested and interrogated at Long Xuyen police headquarters on charges of political activities that they did not know.
"Nowadays, anyone who is seen with a Sam Giang (Book of Sacred Teachings) written by His Holiness Huynh is subject to interrogation and arrest. On the anniversary of May 18, the day commemorating the foundation of the Church when His Holiness Huynh professed the Enlightened Way of Hoa Hao Buddhism, the police tighten their control on almost every daily activities. They posit checkpoints at all bus stations and ferry landings and reinforce patrol operations on the roads and over the rivers to the Holy Site. Anyone with a ‘da’ tunic --a monk's robe-- or traditional ceremonial clothing is unquestionably arrested and interrogated." (Van Chuong, VHRW, 2 (October 1991)
The Persecution
Hoa Hao Buddhism has suffered tragic losses since 1975. The Hanoi administration imprisoned thousands of the Church’s prominent dignitaries and believers. Many were killed in secret. Others died in the prison and reeducation camps. Among them were the Chairman of the International Federation for Human and Civil Rights, Vietnam Chapter, Phan Ba Cam, General Lam Thanh Nguyen known as Ong Hai Ngoan, the Hoa Hao high dignitary Trinh Quoc Khanh known as Mr. Chin Le. A number of prestigious notables and members of the Church received the death sentence. Among them were Nguyen Van Lau, Nguyen Van Phung, Nguyen Van De known as Co De. Still, fervent Hoa Hao Buddhists were arrested on ungrounded charges. Among them were Nguyen Van Quan, Nguyen Van Nuong, Nguyen Van Bao, Nguyen Van Khiet, Nguyen van Thum, Nguyen Van Coi, Nguyen Van Ba, Nguyen Van Ut, To Ba Hao, and Nguyen Long Thanh Nam.
A large number of Hoa Hao Buddhists living in distant villages were abducted to unknown whereabouts. Among them were the members of the Executive Boards of Hoa Hao Buddhist Church in Long Xuyen Province. They were Nguyen Van Dau, Nguyen Van Hung known as Nhi, Le Van Dung, and Nguyen Van Chen. No one knows if they are alive or secretly executed.
The report on the situation of Hoa Hao Buddism inside Vietnam by the Office of Hoa Hao Buddhism Overseas published in the news bulletin Duoc Tu Bi in 1981 noted that "after the Communist takeover of South Vietnam all Hoa Hao religious officials were subject to "reeducation." They were all the members of the Church’s executive boards. Officials in the central boards were placed under resilience surveillance. Unyielding board members were executed. Nguyen Thanh Long, the Chairman of the Cai Rang District Executive Board, for instance, was executed, with his neck wrought. Not long before that, Huynh Van Lau had been executed in Chau Doc (1975)."
Confiscation of the Church's Properties
The authorities confiscated all properties of Hoa Hao Buddhism throughout the country, including preaching halls, offices, and religious, social, and cultural establishments. According to the Committee for the Struggle for Religious Freedom in Vietnam, immediately after April 30, 1975, "the Communist administration carried out a large-scale operation aiming to eradicate all the structures and organizations of the Church at all levels. They dissolved the Central Executive Committee, 28 Provincial Executive Committees, 82 District Executive Committees, 476 Village Executive Committees, and 3,100 Hamlet Executive Committees. They confiscated all the Church's facilities. These facilities included the Central Office at the Holy Site in Hoa Hao Village (Tan Chau District, Chau Doc Province), the Monastery, the Buddhist Temple, the Center for the Propagation of Hoa Hao Buddhist Faith, 4,168 lecture halls, 452 religious activities centers, and 2,876 offices. These occupied facilities were turned into government offices. None of them has been returned to the Church. Thirty-six thousand five hundred (36,500) executive members, two thousand seven hundred (2,700) faith promoters, and six thousand (6,000) instructors of religion were dismissed from religious positions and put under surveillance after serving their time in reeducation camps." (The Committee for the Struggle for Hunan Rights, 1993: 18).
The reports from witnesses noted that, "after the takeover of South Vietnam, the Communists executed harsh measures, applying strict control on it. The central institution center was occupied. All religious establishments, offices, libraries, schools, and facilities were transformed into police stations, military and administration headquarters, or store houses. Preaching halls were closed or transformed into the State hamlet offices or military posts. Graveyards were destroyed. The Binh Minh cemetery, for instance, was harrowed up and destroyed. The memorial tombs for the four Hoa Hao Buddhist Martyrs in Can Tho was enclosed with barbed wire fences, and any visit to the place was forbidden." (Nguyen Long Thanh Nam. Ibid; 635)
The report by the Office of Hoa Hao Buddhism Overseas (March 15, 1981) indicated that "... the Communists constrained with scrutiny on Hoa Hao Buddhist followers’ religious services. They destroy their prayer books and disembarrass their alters. They pressured them to renounce their faith or encouraged them to deny themselves loyalty to the Holy Master. However passive. The Communists the forbid them to circulate prayers books and religious materials of all kinds, thus alienating religious thinking from the mind. The reactions from the faithful proves to be the reverse. The demands for more prayer books have ever increased. People from every walk of life in Saigon have ever looked for the Sacred Book of Teachings by His Holiness Huynh for reading and contemplation. However, Hoa Hao Buddhists resist with resignation to this State control. "
A Hidden Scheme
The Communists target pure Hoa Hao Buddhists with violence. The Office of Hoa Hao Buddhism Overseas (March 15, 1981) attested that "... the Communists enticed repressive measures against the Church members of the older generation while forcing those of the younger ones to work for them. On the other hand, they infiltrated the organizations of the Church with their agents, maliciously dismantling the Church. This vile scheme has proven futile. Only a small fraction of people have cooperated with them. They are considered the betrayers to their faith. Their cooperation with the Communists have little impact on the Church’s two million loyal faithful.
The Communists have created a "legendary image" with which they thought could blind public opinion: "His Holy Master's Brother Muoi Tri." They played drums, praising with rhetoric this Binh Xuyen gangster as the best successor to the founder of Hoa Hao Buddhism. Muoi Tri was assigned by arrangement of the State cadres to the highest position in the State-created Hoa Hao Buddhist Church. This scheme failed to fool people. Every Hoa Hao Buddhist knows that Muoi Tri is never a Hoa Hao Buddhist. Every Hoa Hao adept knows very well that Muoi Tri is an old officer of the Binh Xuyen Paramilitary. He had served under His Holiness’s [Huynh Phu So] leadership in the Resistance War against the French. He was considered a 'brother' by His Holiness while they lived in a guerrilla base. Taking advantage of His Holiness’ kindness, Muoi Tri called himself "His Master's Brother." He even wore a "da" tunic. The Communists were intent on using Muoi Tri as an instrument with which they could control the Hoa Hao Buddhist faithful who nevertheless boycotted him.
Muoi Tri revealed himself a Communist agent at heart. The Communists organized for him numerous meetings in which Hoa Hao Buddhists were forced to participate. The faithful were coincidentally coerced into avowing their consent and support for "the revolutionary representative Muoi Tri." In the meetings that took place during July 29-30, 1975 held in Thot Not, An Giang Province, this Communists’ protégé was hailed as the new leader of Hoa Hao. Nevertheless, willing speech but unwilling heart, when coming home, the vast majority of participants unyieldingly kept up their faith, and vowed not to submit themselves to the Communists’ agent."
The Oppression
Oppressed, Hoa Hao Buddhists reacted. A string of protests took place in a show of indignation. France AFP office in Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, February 16, 1992, reported an unusual event. It occurred in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, and made the city population well agog at it. A male Vietnamese, clad in a "da" tunic of Hoa Hao Buddhism, climbed atop an automobile stationing in front of the well-known Saigon floating hotel at Bach Dang Wharf. The man calmly spread a yellow and three red stripes flag of the old Republic of South Vietnam and waved it in silence. Much surprised at the sight, hundreds of Vietnamese gathered around the car. Attracted by such an unprecedented sight, foreign reporters and newsmen who had already been on the floating hotel waiting to report a marathon contest rushed to the place and filmed the incident. Alarmed, armed city police dashed in, confiscated the reporters' film, and disbanded the crowd. The man on the car was pushed into a truck. No one knew what would happen to him.
As resistance to State oppression increased, retaliation against it became much hasher. On March 9, 1993, the People's Council of Cho Moi District, An Giang Province, ordered the Hoa Hao Buddhist priest Le Minh Triet to destroy his house. The religious was accused of " having violated the State's residence status and committing unlawful religious activities." The police said that Le used his house as a pagoda, and, thus, he practiced religion illegally. On March 16, 1993, the district People's Council forced Le Minh Triet to read a confession of his "illegal" religious activities, which text had been prepared beforehand by the council, before the public. Le then had to escape from his home, leaving behind his old mother and a blind sister. Angered at the local authorities' unjust decision, more than 50 residents of Cho Moi signed in a petition to the central government asking it not to remove Le' s home. However, the petition was returned to the District People's Council, and the police threatened to arrest those who would not withdraw their names from the petition.
On June 16, 1993, a group of 30 armed policemen broke into Le's home and ordered the young men in the area to destroy it. Those who resisted the order had to pay a fine of 60,000 $VN "dong" and were taken to the District People's Council headquarters. Le' s mother and his blind sister were beaten for resisting the police's order. Witnesses said, by forcing the people in the area to destroy Le's home, "officers the law," intent on evil purpose, had already created "evidences" in their to report to their superior authorities. They attributed the crime to the people: It was the people themselves who destroyed the pagoda "that Le Minh Triet had built "illegally." The priest is a respectable dignitary of Hoa Hao Buddhism in Cho Moi District, An Giang Province.
The State Reform of Hoa Hao Buddhism
The authorities show "pursued its hostile policy against all religions, executing furtive tactics to exterminate them. They established state-affiliated religious organs to work in their place. Legitimate religions institutions were obliterated and new ones were created to serve the State’s purposes. As a result, most religions, especially Hoa Hao Buddhism, suffered acute repression, and the faithful had to practice their faith in silence. Harassment, and violence against the members of pure Hoa Hao Buddhism were the authorities’ common practices. Denigration with calumny of the Founder of the Church were other generally used tactics. In January 1995, the faithful of the Four Good Graces of Hoa Hao Buddhism , unable to sustain wrath and anger, voiced in a mass assembly their indignation over the State’s scheme to denigrate the Church. The result was the State destroyed the worship place of the Hoa Hao Four Good Graces Sect. (Vo Quoc Thanh, Thoi Lun. October 5, 1991)
