Exposing BPSOS's "Vietnam Religious Survey" Tricks

One of the tricks being used by hostile forces and reactionary organizations in exile is to connect and associate with international non-governmental organizations to set up projects on democracy, human rights , and religious freedom with the aim of defaming, creating a bad image and public opinion to lower the reputation of the Party and State of Vietnam in the international arena, while at the same time using the excuse of inciting extremist and fanatic elements in the country to sabotage and complicate security and order.

Revealing the true nature

In recent times, the overseas organization “Board for Relief of Boat People” (BPSOS), chaired by Nguyen Dinh Thang, has regularly conducted activities to collect information related to the field of beliefs and religions in Vietnam; organized seminars and discussion forums on social networks with the theme of “religious freedom in Vietnam”. Participants are individuals who have committed crimes, violated the law and have been prosecuted, and individual representatives in religious organizations that are not recognized by law, and are even being removed by the government due to their involvement in superstitions and profiteering, causing negative impacts on social life. Recently, the BPSOS organization has established the so-called “Vietnam Civil Rights Project”, launched the “Vietnam Religious Survey Project”, and posted on Facebook “Vietnam Religious Roundtable” to serve the purpose of opposing the Vietnamese government on cyberspace.

On December 28, 2023, the BPSOS organization announced the so-called "International Project Targeting Religious Organizations Used as Tools of Religious Repression". The purpose of the project is described by this organization as: "Comprehensive research and assessment of the harmful effects of state-run religious organizations used by the Vietnamese government as tools to attack religious organizations and independent believers". The sponsor of the project is the organization "United State Commission on International Religious Freedom" (USCIRF), which is often the focal point for advising the US Congress, the Secretary of State and the US President on foreign policy on global religious freedom. For Vietnam, the USCIRF organization annually sends religious freedom survey teams to Vietnam to meet with extremist opposition dignitaries such as priest Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong, priest Dang Huu Nam (Catholic), Hua Phi (Cao Dai), Thich Khong Tanh (Unified Vietnamese Buddhism), continuously pressuring the US Congress and the US State Department to put Vietnam on the list of countries of particular concern regarding religious freedom (CPC), most recently the list of "religious freedom watchlist" (SWL). Due to the sponsorship of the USCIRF organization, Nguyen Dinh Thang's BPSOS "won the bid" for the so-called "International Project targeting religious organizations used as tools of religious repression" to conduct a survey on religious freedom in Vietnam, starting from January 2024.

The survey subjects of the “Vietnam Religious Survey Project”, BPSOS targeted 6 organizations selected for research: Cao Dai Sect 1997, Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, Vietnam Evangelical Church - South, Vietnam Evangelical Church - North, Hoa Hao Buddhist Executive Committee, Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee. These are religious organizations and religious groups that are actively operating in Vietnam, recognized and protected by law. To survey religions, BPSOS has given itself the right to judge and reconstruct information about religious organizations, described as: “The history of formation and state-dependent nature, how the state uses it as a tool to implement or cover up its policy of religious repression and the harm caused to independent religious communities or groups; make a list of religious establishments that have been confiscated, destroyed, or handed over to the above-mentioned organizations by the state”… They promote that the proposed survey content is aimed at prestigious and influential mainstream religious organizations and religious groups in the country, with a direction of operation in line with the nation, with organizational stability, and contributing to the development of the country in the current period. Sources of information collection related to the "Vietnam Religious Survey Project", BPSOS said that it collected information through sources, interviews with witnesses, people knowledgeable about organizations, documents and materials of the Vietnamese government... However, the truth is completely different. Looking at the faces selected for interviews, which they called "witnesses", conducted over 2 months, they all focused on individuals who opposed, criminals or had other illegal acts such as some subjects related to the terrorist incident that occurred on June 11 in Dak Lak , some dignitaries and Hmong Protestants who had wrong views to spread and condemn the Vietnamese government for "suppressing Protestantism"; interviewing some individuals who opposed the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam - an organization not recognized by law in Vietnam.

To conduct the survey, the BPSOS organization established the so-called "coordination board" of the project to conduct research and manage project data, focusing on members of organizations, individuals and religious dignitaries not recognized by law such as the Unified Vietnamese Buddhist Group, Cao Dai Chon Truyen 1926 and Independent Hoa Hao Buddhism (all of which are groups and organizations with historical origins that are not recognized by law, many followers and dignitaries of those groups and organizations have activities against the people's government). Therefore, in essence, the "Vietnam Religious Survey Project" is a tool for hostile forces and reactionary organizations in exile to carry out plots against the government.

Conspiracy and activities of BPSOS in the field of beliefs and religions in Vietnam

This is an organization under the name of "fighting for democracy and human rights in Vietnam" chaired by Nguyen Dinh Thang. This organization has established an "Executive Board" consisting of 3 levels: Board of Directors, executive team, management of branches, scope of operations in the US and some neighboring countries of Vietnam; connecting and recruiting staff and volunteers in some countries. Initially, this organization mainly operated in the fields of "rescue of sailors", "refugees", "anti-human trafficking" in Vietnam to other countries. However, over the years, BPSOS has been supported by some Western organizations and politicians with ill will towards Vietnam, turning this organization into a terrorist organization, encroaching on many different fields, including the field of beliefs and religions in Vietnam.

Nguyen Dinh Thang led and assigned tasks to key members of the organization to conduct seminars and discussions on social networks, propagate distortions about the situation of religious freedom in the country, regularly interview foreign congressmen and officials about religious freedom in Vietnam; send delegates to attend discussions and hearings of the US and Western Congresses. Notably, in January 2024, when the US organized the International Religious Freedom Summit, BPSOS sent representatives to speak and denounce Vietnam for "violating freedom of belief and religion", livestreamed the conference; organized conferences and discussions on the sidelines of the US-organized Conference to lobby Western politicians to continue to put pressure on Vietnam, and pressured the US State Department to put Vietnam on the list of countries of particular concern regarding religion (CPC).

From the activities of BPSOS with the so-called “Vietnam Religious Survey Project” it shows that:

Firstly, hostile forces have never given up their goal of interfering in Vietnam's internal affairs, especially in sensitive areas such as beliefs and religions. In reality, they have always taken advantage of the card of religious freedom to nurture and tolerate reactionary organizations in exile, and support domestic opposition elements in seeking to influence and distort the situation of beliefs and religions in Vietnam in order to put pressure on and lower Vietnam's reputation in the international arena. They rely on false reports to distort the actual situation of beliefs and religions in the country, directly interfering in the handling of subjects who take advantage of religion to sabotage Vietnam.

Second, the nature of BPSOS is to disguise itself as a non-governmental organization operating with the purpose of "charity, assisting refugees", but in essence, BPSOS is also a reactionary exile organization that always seeks to sabotage the cause of building and protecting the Fatherland of Vietnam. BPSOS has set a goal of attracting and gathering domestic forces to form about 1,000 "communities" (in fact, associations and civil society groups) with diverse components (ethnicities, religions, workers, civil servants, intellectuals, etc.), carrying out activities against Vietnam in order to transform the political system and eliminate the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Up to now, with the "Vietnam Religious Survey Project", BPSOS has further shown its determination to sabotage the Party and State of Vietnam through the field of beliefs and religions to gather forces from within with the support and encouragement of hostile forces outside.

Third, the key point of the "Vietnam Religious Survey Project" is that in order to be widely deployed, the BPSOS organization must consult and survey information from individuals and religious organizations in the country. BPSOS has set up social networking accounts and gmail accounts so that dignitaries and followers can send images and information, which are then collected into "reports" and molded into "evidence" as a basis for the US State Department to use. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly understand the plot and intention of the BPSOS organization regarding the "Vietnam Religious Survey Project" so that people in the country can "resist", not provide false and unfounded information related to beliefs and religions to organizations and individuals with bad intentions; condemn and criticize the nature of BPSOS with its tricks and intentions to take advantage of religion to sabotage the Party, the State and our people under the so-called "Vietnam Religious Survey Project" as mentioned above.

Unity of beliefs and religions is a tradition that religions in our country have preserved and promoted, creating strength in building and defending the Fatherland and contributing to protecting the cultural values of the nation. The plots and activities of BPSOS with the so-called "Vietnam Religious Survey Project" further exposed the ambition to destroy the great unity of beliefs and religions in Vietnam, causing political instability in the country, creating opportunities for hostile forces from outside to intervene.

Ta Ngoc (According to cand.vn)

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