6.4.2021
CSW is concerned by reports of criticisms and allegations by both state media and social media users against an independent church in Vietnam,
currently under criminal investigation for spreading COVID-19.
CSW calls on authorities to ensure any limitations to freedom of religion or belief on public health grounds are applied in a non-discriminatory
manner.
Morning Star News reports that Revival Ekklesia Mission (REM) is a church organization based in Ho Chi Minh City with other branches around
the country. The organization is locally registered with the authorities to carry out religious activities but reportedly not “legally recognized” as a
religious organization. Under Vietnamese law, official registration is required for a wide range of religious activities and official recognition takes
several years.
The Morning Star report states that on May 26 two people who attended a church meeting place in HCMC tested positive for COVID-19. By
June 1, the country’s tracing system found at least 211 positive cases connected with the REM center. The city has been put into lockdown and
gatherings of more than 10 people in public and all religious gatherings are prohibited.
The report adds that on May 30 authorities temporarily suspended REM’s registration. The following day police announced that the organization
is under criminal investigation for spreading COVID-19. The Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, who also serves as the chairman of the Government
Committee of Religious Affairs, stated that REM was not a church, and its leaders could not call themselves “reverend” or “pastor.” A GCRA bulletin
issued on May 28 required local authorities to “nearly single out house churches for inspection and education regarding COVID-19 regulations.”
Co-leaders of REM, who have themselves contracted Covid-19, have made a public apology. Nevertheless, the organization’s leaders and their
familes have faced intense criticism from state and social media. They have reportedly refuted allegations that they broke health regulations. Some
Christian leaders, including Archbishop Joseph Nguyen Nang of HCMC, have called for compassion for the church, pointing out that REM did not
willingly or carelessly spread the virus.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said, “In these exceptional times, governments and health services have a responsibility to investigate
the sources and spread of COVID outbreaks. However, this must be done in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. We are concerned by reports of
criticisms and allegations against the church and its leader both by state media and social media users, and particularly by reports of the "singling
out" of churches by authorities, apparently in connection with this outbreak. We call on the authorities to ensure that any limitations on public health
grounds are applied in a non-discriminatory manner, and that they are not instrumentalized to undermine the future enjoyment of fundamental rights
and freedoms. We further call on the authorities to ensure that any criminal investigations are carried out in line with international standards which
protect the rights of the persons involved, in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Vietnam is a party."
