00 02I was investigating allegations of religious persecution, but in Communist Vietnam its tough to film what the government doesnt want you to see.
Its getting more and more difficult to work here as time goes by. We feel sure weve been followed at least on a few occasions, we cannot trust our phones either our local mobiles or the phones in our hotel rooms. Whenever we get a chance we make snatch calls from phones boxes.
00 26 Thirty years ago Vietnam defeated America on the battlefield.
00 33 Now its rulers say theyre fighting a new invasion evangelical protestants who want to convert the Vietnamese to Christianity and American values. Nat Sound amen, amen, amen
01 00 We were on the Reunification Express. It takes you right through the old front line between what was the Communist North and the American controlled South.
01 17 With us was a government minder, Mr Dinh Linh. It was his job to decide what we could and couldnt film..
01 27 There may be no freedom of the press here, but the Communist party has made its peace with capitalism.
01 35 Vietnam has flung open its doors to foreign companies, and foreign investment.
01 41 After China, this is the fastest expanding economy in Asia. This man is from Hanoi. He said he and fourteen friends and colleagues are going to Saigon to work as builders. They can earn better money there and there is a demand for labour.
01 59 Vietnams communist rulers fought America to keep capitalism at bay. Now they rely on it. The prosperity its bringing helps keep them in power.
02 14 If you want to see how the Communist Party has adopted the American ideology it fought to defeat, try some war tourism.
02 24 Our minder, Linh, took us to the Cu Chi tunnels, one of the bloodiest battlefields of the war.
02 31 First stop, the souvenir shop aimed at American tourists. For a couple of dollars, you can buy a replica lighter engraved with a motto popular among American GIs of the time.
Sync: Sandra: Death is my business and business has been good
02 48 Below the ground are nearly 200 miles of tunnels, from where Viet Cong guerrillas would launch operations.
02 56 Colonel Chao Lam was one of them.
03 06 For a dollar a bullet, you can even fire a viet cong Kalashnikov.
03 10 Colonel Chao said the tunnels had been widened to accommodate American tourists.
Sync: Sandra: I see what he means. He said the Americans used to try to come into the tunnels. Not only was it too dangerous for them, they used to get killed, but their soldiers were simply too big to fit in there, their soldiers were huge compared to the Vietnamese.
03 30 The tunnels have become a major tourist attraction.
Sandra: He said when the US veterans came back here first they were hesitant, but that was natural because they were the soldiers from the losing side. He said we expressed hospitality to them, we shook hands, we saluted each other as soldiers, so we look forward instead of looking back.
03 55 Looking forward has turned this battlefield into a theme park for American tourists.
04 01 Yet the thousands of fighters who died here did so for communism. 04 06Vietnams rulers have to decide how much more western ideology can be allowed before the war is seen as pointless and their authority threatened.
04 17 Its no idle debate. Millions of Vietnamese died in the war.
04 24 Its legacy cant be washed away. Although US companies dispute it, most Vietnamese believe that thousands were born disabled because of Americans heavy use of the defoliant agent orange.
Hello. My name Hoa.
04 34 Hoa is 20, her sister Hoainhon 29.
04 39 Their father worries about who will look after them when he dies. Sandra Do you understand why you and your sister were born this way?
She said she doesnt understand why they were born like this except what people told her. Her father served in the army and it may be that he was affected by agent orange and passed it on to them.
05 15 To its people this is Saigon, capital of the old South Vietnam.
05 19 To the authorities its Ho Chi Minh city, named after the war time communist leader.The communist party is drawing the line against western ideology above all the growing popularity of American style evangelical Christianity
5 37 I slipped away from our minder to meet an undercover western missionary
05 43 He said religious persecution was growing.
The authorities in this country are able to say that American lost the war with guns and bullets and bombs, but America still wants to overthrow our system and the weapons of peaceful revolution are democracy, human rights and religion. So religion is seen as a tool to still interrupt and even overthrow the communist system over here.
06 27 Our official tour took us to Hanoi, Vietnams capital .
06 33Its centre is dominated by the vast edifice of Ho Chi Minhs tomb.
06 40 Id seen leaked government documents portraying evangelical Christianity as a plot to destroy Ho Chi Minhs legacy.
06 48 But Mr Linh insisted there was religious freedom. He reluctantly agreed to take us to the only government-approved Protestant Church in Hanoi..
07 07 Government approved churches, catholic and protestant, are strictly controlled to ensure they dont threaten the communist partys authority.Clergy are trained in state seminaries. Sermons monitored.
07 25 Constitution guarantees of religious freedom are worthless because the security services can detain anyone they consider to be acting against the interests of the state.
07 38 For Christians its dangerous to speak out.
07 41 But to our minders SHOCK thats exactly what someone did.Sync: Huyen: They will answer only if I am the translator. Im sorry but they ask only that. Sandra: Thats OK Linh, isnt it? Since you are here?
07 52 A young woman called Huyen took me over to some men from the countryside who said they were being persecuted for their faith.
08 00 They said they were were Xao tribesmen from the far north, that where they lived there were no approved protestant churches, so they worshipped in illegal house churches.
They have house church, they come in the house and worship together.
08 13 They said when they held their private services the authorities shut them down. They have not followed procedure..
08 22 Mr Linh said they had not made the proper applications to have their churches approved.
08 28 I got the impression Huyen and the men had heard this speech before.
08 33 They listened politely. Then the men said it would make no difference.
08 39. Christians would still be beaten and jailed
Huyen: If they ask for permission, they have no permission
08 47 Mr Linh asked for the interview to end.
Thank you..
08 53 Our interview had put them at risk. But they said they wanted people to know the truth, Tell them if theres any trouble..
09 07 In the car afterwards Mr Linh was unhappy.
Sandra: So what should we do next to investigate this further? These people are saying one thing, youre saying something else. So how do we get to the bottom of it.
09 22 Mr Linhs job was to stop us finding out more. Sync: Sandra. Can we visit one of their house churches?
09 33 There was no response.
09 37 We were worried our video tapes from the church might be confiscated.
09 41 We made copies and arranged for them to be smuggled out of Vietnam.
09 46 It was just as well. Before we left Vietnam, the tapes from the church were indeed confiscated.
09 58 A few weeks before, a news report on state run television had announced the arrest of an Evangelical Minister, Nguyen Hong Quang.
10 08 Traitors outside Vietnam, said the report, had portrayed Quangs arrest as an act against religious freedom.
10 17 But the truth was Quang and his 14,000 followers in the Mennonite church had been controlled from America, and were working against Vietnam.
10 26 Just before his arrest Quang published internet articles criticising the government for jailing religious dissidents.
10 36 In Hanoi I pushed to see if I could find out more about Reverend Quang and perhaps even interview him in prison.
10 42 Eventually I was told there was good news Finally have an interview with the government committee of religious affairs Hello Xin Ciao
10 56 This government body has the job of making sure the churches keep to the party lineSync: Sandra: Hello, Xin Ciao, Xin Ciao.
11 04 In theory its officials are also meant to protect the religious freedoms that are allowed. Sync: Xin Ciao! Thank you very much for seeing us, its very good of you.
11 14 Ling couldnt join us so we were given a Government translator.
The Mennonite Pastor Rev Quang of Ho Chi Minh City. Could you explain what is going on?
11 28 They said theyd never heard of him they wondered if Id been misinformed
But hes a pastor, a reverend of the Mennonite church, thats a religious organisation.They said theyd never heard of this well- known evangelical church.
I persisted. Rev Quang, a Mennonite pastor from District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.
12 01 They said he must be a criminal. And so it had nothing to do with the committee for religious affairs.
Translator: He said we are the committee for religious affairs so we are not interested in this issue.
12 17 Groups across the world had protested against the Reverend Qaungs arrest. But the committee for religious affairs denied even knowing who he was.
12 30 Our relationship with the authorities was growing frostierThe longer we stay here the more uncomfortable I feel doing this story. Ever since we broached the subject of religion the whole atmosphere of this trip has changed. Weve put in many requests, everything is very very difficult, were being refused most things we ask for. Were going to have to find another way or we wont be able to tell this story.
12 57 Using public call boxes we arranged a series of clandestine meetings with church workers. Each led us closer to tracking down the Reverend Quangs wife.
13 10 One night, after Linh had left us for the day, I slipped out and hired a passing motorbike taxi on the street.
13 25 Once I was confident I hadnt been followed I was finally able to meet with QUANGS WIFE.
13 33 A mother of three young children, Le Thi Phu Dung knows if her husband is charged with crimes against the state he may face a 20 year jail sentence
13 45 She WAS still waiting to find out exactly what he would be charged with. She feared the delay meant evidence was being fabricated.
Sandra: She said she doesnt know where her husband is, she hasnt had a phone call from him since he was arrested. She said she went in person to see the police in District 2 and they said they were still processing her husbands case and for that reason she probably wont get to hear from him for three months.
14 08 Her desperation to speak to her husband was balanced by her terror of visiting the police.
Sandra: She said one of her husbands colleagues was arrested almost five months ago. His three colleagues went to the police station to find out what had happened to him. They were all taken into custody. The next morning the sister of one of the assistant pastors came to the station to find her brother. She saw one of the pastors and he told her the night before all four of them had been badly beaten, one of them so badly he was almost killed.
Sandra: Why is the govt. so afraid of your husband? Why would they go to such great lengths to jail him and then lie about why they jailed him?
14 51 The answer was simple: the communist partys fear of rival sources of authority
Sandra: She said the government is worried about her husband because he is a leader in his community and people could rally behind him.
15 08 We were given some video of the Reverend Quang assisting in the building of a church.
15 13 It was being constructed without Government permission.
15 16 Quangs American-style evangelism champions individualism. Vietnams rulers see his followers as subversives trying to win for America the victory against communism the US military could not.Amen. Amen.
COMM: Back on the official tour, Mr Linh took us to a buddhist temple. Half the Vietnamese follow Buddhism. Mr Linh said a prayer for the success of our project.One tenth of the population are Roman Catholics. Protestants are a tiny 2 per cent but their numbers have increased tenfold in the last decade.
16 14 Wed learned of one unapproved Christian community that the authorities hadnt shut down. It had applied for legal status 8 years ago but hadnt heard back.
Weve come to a hotel in Hanoi where theres a service for Christians every Sunday morning, the International Hanoi Fellowship. Only foreigners allowed to come here. And this is not a church, because its not approved to be a chuch. The have activities here and thats allowed.
16 47 Such is the sensitivity about religion here we had to be careful about filming faces.
17 01 Rusty Veary had agreed to be filmed. He cares for people with AIDs, funded by Christians in America.
17 10 The authorities need his HELP. But his religion comes as part of the package.
Sandra: What difference does it make if someone with a terminal illness does accept Jesus?
Rusty: Its just overwhelming to them to know that even though they are going to die, the second they die they will be in the arms of Jesus and that they will have eternal life with him.
Sandra: But what about people with terminal illness who are not Christians?
Rusty: Well, unfortunately for theose people that die that are not Christians wont got for eternal life. They will be separated from God. And thats a very sad thing. And a lot of time its for hard for Christians to see that happen. But we hold out for the last minute that they will change in that last second, in that last breath they take that they will cry out for God and accept Jesus.
Sandra: What percentage of patients you work with do accept Christ?
Rusty: Probably about ninety per cent do accept Christ.
18 31 And so do some of their family members. Exactly what the communist authorities dont want to hear.
18 41 We went to meet Madame TON NU THI Ninh, a spokeswoman for External Affairs. I wanted to ask: wasnt American style religion a price Vietnam had to pay for opening up to capitalism.
Hello. Madame Ninh?Im Sandra. Lovely to meet you.
18 58 She felt Vietnam had quite enough religion.
Some of these churches think that its their moral duty and that the time is ripe and the conditions favourable for them to come and spread the faith. Now if you ask me my personal opinion, I find it makes me uneasy. It seems to me that if I saw a Vietnamese citizen proselytising I would think, well, he can try, maybe he will succeed, maybe not. But I would feel its free from interference and pressure. But this is the 21st Century. Thats not the kind of transfer of know-how, or knowledge or wisdom we need. We need other things, not that. We have enough religion here. Were not in a religion deficit situation.
19 57 SOME Christians will continue to be locked up to preserve the authority of the communist party.
20 03 Once again we were without our minder.
Sandra on phone: Hello? OK, fine, brilliant. So well keep going.
20 11 We wanted to visit one of the most revered figures in the Christian Community. But it needed to be done discretely.
Were not sure if were being followed or not. We have to be as vigilant as possible. But at the same time, there are so many people, it could be anyone following us. We know weve been followed before by people on scooters, we managed to give them the slip that time.
20 33 We arrived at the Roman Catholic Church of the Redeemer.
30 38 Wed been given instructions as to where Fr Chan Tin would be waiting.
20 42 Hes 84 years old, and has spent years under "village arrest," a form of internal exile.
20 52 His long struggle with the communist party means hes respected by all denominations.
Priest: He said theres an evolution going on in society, not an armed movement, its a development of thought. People want liberty. They see economic progress but they dont see the same progress in human rights.
Sync: Sandra: He said he fights for Vietnam, but for the individual, not for a dictatorial Communist state.
Sync: Sandra: Are you allowed to say that?
Sandra: He said according to the state what Ive just said is not legal, but I believe its true because I see the state commit human rights abuses on a daily basis so I should say it.
22 08 Wed been invited to the July 4th celebrations at an American club in Hanoi.
22 16 The communists invited in capitalism because they needed the prosperity it brought to stay in power.
22 23 The USA is now Vietnams largest trading partner. The ambassador RAYMOND BURGHARDT believes if the religious crackdown continues, America could exploit this dependence.
SJ: What are the implications for Vietnam if the continue to repress Christians.
US Ambassador: It could lead to slower pace in normalisation with us and possibly other countries also. High level visits could end up being delayed, it could be seen as something that wasnt desirable to do to have that kind of high level dialogue. You could start to see, and eventually it could even lead to various forms of economic sanctions
23 01 The Communist party is desperately fighting to hold its ground.
23 11 American economic power and the attraction of American ideology is slowly managing to achieve what military power never could.
Its getting more and more difficult to work here as time goes by. We feel sure weve been followed at least on a few occasions, we cannot trust our phones either our local mobiles or the phones in our hotel rooms. Whenever we get a chance we make snatch calls from phones boxes.
00 26 Thirty years ago Vietnam defeated America on the battlefield.
00 33 Now its rulers say theyre fighting a new invasion evangelical protestants who want to convert the Vietnamese to Christianity and American values. Nat Sound amen, amen, amen
01 00 We were on the Reunification Express. It takes you right through the old front line between what was the Communist North and the American controlled South.
01 17 With us was a government minder, Mr Dinh Linh. It was his job to decide what we could and couldnt film..
01 27 There may be no freedom of the press here, but the Communist party has made its peace with capitalism.
01 35 Vietnam has flung open its doors to foreign companies, and foreign investment.
01 41 After China, this is the fastest expanding economy in Asia. This man is from Hanoi. He said he and fourteen friends and colleagues are going to Saigon to work as builders. They can earn better money there and there is a demand for labour.
01 59 Vietnams communist rulers fought America to keep capitalism at bay. Now they rely on it. The prosperity its bringing helps keep them in power.
02 14 If you want to see how the Communist Party has adopted the American ideology it fought to defeat, try some war tourism.
02 24 Our minder, Linh, took us to the Cu Chi tunnels, one of the bloodiest battlefields of the war.
02 31 First stop, the souvenir shop aimed at American tourists. For a couple of dollars, you can buy a replica lighter engraved with a motto popular among American GIs of the time.
Sync: Sandra: Death is my business and business has been good
02 48 Below the ground are nearly 200 miles of tunnels, from where Viet Cong guerrillas would launch operations.
02 56 Colonel Chao Lam was one of them.
03 06 For a dollar a bullet, you can even fire a viet cong Kalashnikov.
03 10 Colonel Chao said the tunnels had been widened to accommodate American tourists.
Sync: Sandra: I see what he means. He said the Americans used to try to come into the tunnels. Not only was it too dangerous for them, they used to get killed, but their soldiers were simply too big to fit in there, their soldiers were huge compared to the Vietnamese.
03 30 The tunnels have become a major tourist attraction.
Sandra: He said when the US veterans came back here first they were hesitant, but that was natural because they were the soldiers from the losing side. He said we expressed hospitality to them, we shook hands, we saluted each other as soldiers, so we look forward instead of looking back.
03 55 Looking forward has turned this battlefield into a theme park for American tourists.
04 01 Yet the thousands of fighters who died here did so for communism. 04 06Vietnams rulers have to decide how much more western ideology can be allowed before the war is seen as pointless and their authority threatened.
04 17 Its no idle debate. Millions of Vietnamese died in the war.
04 24 Its legacy cant be washed away. Although US companies dispute it, most Vietnamese believe that thousands were born disabled because of Americans heavy use of the defoliant agent orange.
Hello. My name Hoa.
04 34 Hoa is 20, her sister Hoainhon 29.
04 39 Their father worries about who will look after them when he dies. Sandra Do you understand why you and your sister were born this way?
She said she doesnt understand why they were born like this except what people told her. Her father served in the army and it may be that he was affected by agent orange and passed it on to them.
05 15 To its people this is Saigon, capital of the old South Vietnam.
05 19 To the authorities its Ho Chi Minh city, named after the war time communist leader.The communist party is drawing the line against western ideology above all the growing popularity of American style evangelical Christianity
5 37 I slipped away from our minder to meet an undercover western missionary
05 43 He said religious persecution was growing.
The authorities in this country are able to say that American lost the war with guns and bullets and bombs, but America still wants to overthrow our system and the weapons of peaceful revolution are democracy, human rights and religion. So religion is seen as a tool to still interrupt and even overthrow the communist system over here.
06 27 Our official tour took us to Hanoi, Vietnams capital .
06 33Its centre is dominated by the vast edifice of Ho Chi Minhs tomb.
06 40 Id seen leaked government documents portraying evangelical Christianity as a plot to destroy Ho Chi Minhs legacy.
06 48 But Mr Linh insisted there was religious freedom. He reluctantly agreed to take us to the only government-approved Protestant Church in Hanoi..
07 07 Government approved churches, catholic and protestant, are strictly controlled to ensure they dont threaten the communist partys authority.Clergy are trained in state seminaries. Sermons monitored.
07 25 Constitution guarantees of religious freedom are worthless because the security services can detain anyone they consider to be acting against the interests of the state.
07 38 For Christians its dangerous to speak out.
07 41 But to our minders SHOCK thats exactly what someone did.Sync: Huyen: They will answer only if I am the translator. Im sorry but they ask only that. Sandra: Thats OK Linh, isnt it? Since you are here?
07 52 A young woman called Huyen took me over to some men from the countryside who said they were being persecuted for their faith.
08 00 They said they were were Xao tribesmen from the far north, that where they lived there were no approved protestant churches, so they worshipped in illegal house churches.
They have house church, they come in the house and worship together.
08 13 They said when they held their private services the authorities shut them down. They have not followed procedure..
08 22 Mr Linh said they had not made the proper applications to have their churches approved.
08 28 I got the impression Huyen and the men had heard this speech before.
08 33 They listened politely. Then the men said it would make no difference.
08 39. Christians would still be beaten and jailed
Huyen: If they ask for permission, they have no permission
08 47 Mr Linh asked for the interview to end.
Thank you..
08 53 Our interview had put them at risk. But they said they wanted people to know the truth, Tell them if theres any trouble..
09 07 In the car afterwards Mr Linh was unhappy.
Sandra: So what should we do next to investigate this further? These people are saying one thing, youre saying something else. So how do we get to the bottom of it.
09 22 Mr Linhs job was to stop us finding out more. Sync: Sandra. Can we visit one of their house churches?
09 33 There was no response.
09 37 We were worried our video tapes from the church might be confiscated.
09 41 We made copies and arranged for them to be smuggled out of Vietnam.
09 46 It was just as well. Before we left Vietnam, the tapes from the church were indeed confiscated.
09 58 A few weeks before, a news report on state run television had announced the arrest of an Evangelical Minister, Nguyen Hong Quang.
10 08 Traitors outside Vietnam, said the report, had portrayed Quangs arrest as an act against religious freedom.
10 17 But the truth was Quang and his 14,000 followers in the Mennonite church had been controlled from America, and were working against Vietnam.
10 26 Just before his arrest Quang published internet articles criticising the government for jailing religious dissidents.
10 36 In Hanoi I pushed to see if I could find out more about Reverend Quang and perhaps even interview him in prison.
10 42 Eventually I was told there was good news Finally have an interview with the government committee of religious affairs Hello Xin Ciao
10 56 This government body has the job of making sure the churches keep to the party lineSync: Sandra: Hello, Xin Ciao, Xin Ciao.
11 04 In theory its officials are also meant to protect the religious freedoms that are allowed. Sync: Xin Ciao! Thank you very much for seeing us, its very good of you.
11 14 Ling couldnt join us so we were given a Government translator.
The Mennonite Pastor Rev Quang of Ho Chi Minh City. Could you explain what is going on?
11 28 They said theyd never heard of him they wondered if Id been misinformed
But hes a pastor, a reverend of the Mennonite church, thats a religious organisation.They said theyd never heard of this well- known evangelical church.
I persisted. Rev Quang, a Mennonite pastor from District 2 in Ho Chi Minh City.
12 01 They said he must be a criminal. And so it had nothing to do with the committee for religious affairs.
Translator: He said we are the committee for religious affairs so we are not interested in this issue.
12 17 Groups across the world had protested against the Reverend Qaungs arrest. But the committee for religious affairs denied even knowing who he was.
12 30 Our relationship with the authorities was growing frostierThe longer we stay here the more uncomfortable I feel doing this story. Ever since we broached the subject of religion the whole atmosphere of this trip has changed. Weve put in many requests, everything is very very difficult, were being refused most things we ask for. Were going to have to find another way or we wont be able to tell this story.
12 57 Using public call boxes we arranged a series of clandestine meetings with church workers. Each led us closer to tracking down the Reverend Quangs wife.
13 10 One night, after Linh had left us for the day, I slipped out and hired a passing motorbike taxi on the street.
13 25 Once I was confident I hadnt been followed I was finally able to meet with QUANGS WIFE.
13 33 A mother of three young children, Le Thi Phu Dung knows if her husband is charged with crimes against the state he may face a 20 year jail sentence
13 45 She WAS still waiting to find out exactly what he would be charged with. She feared the delay meant evidence was being fabricated.
Sandra: She said she doesnt know where her husband is, she hasnt had a phone call from him since he was arrested. She said she went in person to see the police in District 2 and they said they were still processing her husbands case and for that reason she probably wont get to hear from him for three months.
14 08 Her desperation to speak to her husband was balanced by her terror of visiting the police.
Sandra: She said one of her husbands colleagues was arrested almost five months ago. His three colleagues went to the police station to find out what had happened to him. They were all taken into custody. The next morning the sister of one of the assistant pastors came to the station to find her brother. She saw one of the pastors and he told her the night before all four of them had been badly beaten, one of them so badly he was almost killed.
Sandra: Why is the govt. so afraid of your husband? Why would they go to such great lengths to jail him and then lie about why they jailed him?
14 51 The answer was simple: the communist partys fear of rival sources of authority
Sandra: She said the government is worried about her husband because he is a leader in his community and people could rally behind him.
15 08 We were given some video of the Reverend Quang assisting in the building of a church.
15 13 It was being constructed without Government permission.
15 16 Quangs American-style evangelism champions individualism. Vietnams rulers see his followers as subversives trying to win for America the victory against communism the US military could not.Amen. Amen.
COMM: Back on the official tour, Mr Linh took us to a buddhist temple. Half the Vietnamese follow Buddhism. Mr Linh said a prayer for the success of our project.One tenth of the population are Roman Catholics. Protestants are a tiny 2 per cent but their numbers have increased tenfold in the last decade.
16 14 Wed learned of one unapproved Christian community that the authorities hadnt shut down. It had applied for legal status 8 years ago but hadnt heard back.
Weve come to a hotel in Hanoi where theres a service for Christians every Sunday morning, the International Hanoi Fellowship. Only foreigners allowed to come here. And this is not a church, because its not approved to be a chuch. The have activities here and thats allowed.
16 47 Such is the sensitivity about religion here we had to be careful about filming faces.
17 01 Rusty Veary had agreed to be filmed. He cares for people with AIDs, funded by Christians in America.
17 10 The authorities need his HELP. But his religion comes as part of the package.
Sandra: What difference does it make if someone with a terminal illness does accept Jesus?
Rusty: Its just overwhelming to them to know that even though they are going to die, the second they die they will be in the arms of Jesus and that they will have eternal life with him.
Sandra: But what about people with terminal illness who are not Christians?
Rusty: Well, unfortunately for theose people that die that are not Christians wont got for eternal life. They will be separated from God. And thats a very sad thing. And a lot of time its for hard for Christians to see that happen. But we hold out for the last minute that they will change in that last second, in that last breath they take that they will cry out for God and accept Jesus.
Sandra: What percentage of patients you work with do accept Christ?
Rusty: Probably about ninety per cent do accept Christ.
18 31 And so do some of their family members. Exactly what the communist authorities dont want to hear.
18 41 We went to meet Madame TON NU THI Ninh, a spokeswoman for External Affairs. I wanted to ask: wasnt American style religion a price Vietnam had to pay for opening up to capitalism.
Hello. Madame Ninh?Im Sandra. Lovely to meet you.
18 58 She felt Vietnam had quite enough religion.
Some of these churches think that its their moral duty and that the time is ripe and the conditions favourable for them to come and spread the faith. Now if you ask me my personal opinion, I find it makes me uneasy. It seems to me that if I saw a Vietnamese citizen proselytising I would think, well, he can try, maybe he will succeed, maybe not. But I would feel its free from interference and pressure. But this is the 21st Century. Thats not the kind of transfer of know-how, or knowledge or wisdom we need. We need other things, not that. We have enough religion here. Were not in a religion deficit situation.
19 57 SOME Christians will continue to be locked up to preserve the authority of the communist party.
20 03 Once again we were without our minder.
Sandra on phone: Hello? OK, fine, brilliant. So well keep going.
20 11 We wanted to visit one of the most revered figures in the Christian Community. But it needed to be done discretely.
Were not sure if were being followed or not. We have to be as vigilant as possible. But at the same time, there are so many people, it could be anyone following us. We know weve been followed before by people on scooters, we managed to give them the slip that time.
20 33 We arrived at the Roman Catholic Church of the Redeemer.
30 38 Wed been given instructions as to where Fr Chan Tin would be waiting.
20 42 Hes 84 years old, and has spent years under "village arrest," a form of internal exile.
20 52 His long struggle with the communist party means hes respected by all denominations.
Priest: He said theres an evolution going on in society, not an armed movement, its a development of thought. People want liberty. They see economic progress but they dont see the same progress in human rights.
Sync: Sandra: He said he fights for Vietnam, but for the individual, not for a dictatorial Communist state.
Sync: Sandra: Are you allowed to say that?
Sandra: He said according to the state what Ive just said is not legal, but I believe its true because I see the state commit human rights abuses on a daily basis so I should say it.
22 08 Wed been invited to the July 4th celebrations at an American club in Hanoi.
22 16 The communists invited in capitalism because they needed the prosperity it brought to stay in power.
22 23 The USA is now Vietnams largest trading partner. The ambassador RAYMOND BURGHARDT believes if the religious crackdown continues, America could exploit this dependence.
SJ: What are the implications for Vietnam if the continue to repress Christians.
US Ambassador: It could lead to slower pace in normalisation with us and possibly other countries also. High level visits could end up being delayed, it could be seen as something that wasnt desirable to do to have that kind of high level dialogue. You could start to see, and eventually it could even lead to various forms of economic sanctions
23 01 The Communist party is desperately fighting to hold its ground.
23 11 American economic power and the attraction of American ideology is slowly managing to achieve what military power never could.