Vietnam’s Transnational Religious Repression Mirrors China’s Playbook

 

By Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh*

Phayul Newsdesk

April 22, 2025 

 

The shocking case of Tulku Hungkar Dorje, a renowned Tibetan lama, who was arrested in Saigon in a joint operation between Vietnamese police and Chinese intelligence agents and died under mysterious circumstances just three days later, raises a painful and urgent question: Who truly controls national security and sovereignty on Vietnamese soil—and why has Vietnam become a tool for China’s religious repression strategy?

This case is not an isolated incident. It vividly reflects a growing pattern of transnational suppression carried out through the collaboration of two communist-led states: Vietnam and China. Religious repression targeting independent individuals and organizations is now being conducted across borders, through close coordination between state power and state-controlled religious institutions.

One need not look to Tibet for an example. Right inside Vietnam, another case is unfolding: Minh Tue, a Vietnamese citizen and monk who practices the 13 austere ascetic practices (dhutangas), unrecognized by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (GHPGVN). Forced to leave Vietnam, he began a pilgrimage on foot to India from the Laos border to follow the Buddha’s path of practice. However, GHPGVN has obstructed him in various ways from Thailand to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore. Even after being compelled to fly to Sri Lanka, harassment from GHPGVN has continued.

More concerning is the recent action of Venerable Thich Nhat Tu, Head of the International Buddhist Affairs Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and a senior member of GHPGVN, who sent an official letter to Sri Lanka. The letter accused Minh Tue’s pilgrimage of “damaging the image of Vietnamese Buddhism” and requested Sri Lankan Buddhist authorities to monitor and prevent his activities. Most alarming is that a religious official like Thich Nhat Tu invoked a memorandum from Thailand’s National Office of Buddhism to pressure Sri Lanka to act against a Vietnamese citizen. According to Sri Lankan police cited by BBC Sinhala, official dispatch No. 12/2025/CV-BPGQT from the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha’s International Department, signed by Thich Nhat Tu on April 13, 2025, cited a February 13, 2025 memorandum from the Thai National Office of Buddhism which labeled Minh Tue as a “fake monk in disguise.”

This is no longer the language of religion. It is the language of power and political control—mirroring China’s model: using religious diplomacy to legitimize transnational persecution. This event shows that Vietnam is not only copying China’s playbook but is proactively deploying a model of multilateral religious control—a soft but highly effective form of repression.

The Death and the Silence

Returning to Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s case: he was not a Vietnamese citizen, had no criminal record, and was living in Vietnam in lawful asylum. He was arrested without a warrant, transferred between security agencies, and died within three days with no publicly available autopsy report. This has created a severe stain on Vietnam’s legal and ethical standing.

Matters became even more serious when Ju Tenkyong, spokesperson for the Tibetan exile community, confirmed that Vietnam was acting under direct pressure from the Chinese government in ordering the cremation of Tulku Dorje’s body. The cremation is scheduled to take place at Long Tho Cremation Center in Cu Chi, Ho Chi Minh City—a remote facility under tight information and ritual control.

China’s Script, Vietnam’s Stage

Both incidents—the death of Tulku Hungkar Dorje and the letter from Thich Nhat Tu—are manifestations of the same script: the consolidation of state power, the Fatherland Front, and state-sanctioned religious institutions to control belief and repress anyone who dares to step beyond the “approved framework.”

In Tulku Dorje’s case, Vietnam acted as a transit point for China’s transnational repression.
In Minh Tue’s case, Vietnam has directly adopted this model, using Buddhist diplomacy to interfere with a citizen’s personal spiritual journey—something unprecedented in the country’s modern history.

Most frightening of all: this persecution is being legitimized by saffron robes.

The Party, the Front, and GHPGVN: A Triangle of Faith Control
The Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (GHPGVN) is not an independent religious body. It is a component of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front, under the appointment and direction of the Communist Party. Through GHPGVN, the government can:
– Suppress and eliminate independent monks.
– Control teachings and public discourse.
– And as we are witnessing: export repression via international Buddhist relations.

From pressuring Tibetan monasteries to cancel memorials, to sending letters to Sri Lanka to halt Minh Tue’s pilgrimage, GHPGVN is acting less like a religious body and more like a political tool.

Vietnam Must Rethink Its “Friendly Nation” Image
As a country that fought wars to defend its sovereignty, Vietnam cannot turn a blind eye to foreign intelligence operations arresting individuals on its soil. Nor can it turn religion into a weapon to persecute peaceful citizens practicing in accordance with Buddhist teachings.

Without an independent investigation into Tulku Hungkar Dorje’s death, and without acknowledging the wrongful treatment of Minh Tue, Vietnam is walking headlong into a Chinese-style religious control regime—where the state governs faith, denies compassion, and expels those who seek enlightenment through their own path.

In the context of Vietnam hosting VESAK 2025 under the lofty theme “Solidarity and Tolerance for Human Dignity: Buddhist Wisdom for World Peace and Sustainable Development,” staying silent or complicit in such acts of religious persecution runs counter to the very spirit of Vesak. These are not acts of peace. They undermine Buddhism’s universal values and tarnish the image of a peaceful, friendly Vietnam on the global stage.

For democratic societies like Taiwan, where freedom of religion is a pillar of national identity and a key distinction from authoritarian neighbors, these cases are more than distant tragedies—they are warnings. Defending the right to spiritual expression, regardless of borders, is not only a matter of human dignity, but also a safeguard of democracy itself.

A nation seeking international respect cannot build its image on grand ceremonies while hiding the suffering of its people behind the sealed doors of political diplomacy.

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* Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh – Human rights activist living in exile in the United States and 2017 International Women of Courage Awardee (IWOC).