Ed Royce: “Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has one job, and that is to monitor religious…”

“Mr. Speaker, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has one job, and that is to monitor religious freedom around the world. The conclusion they have come to is that the situation is so egregious in Vietnam today that that government needs to be put back on the Country of Particular Concern list now. What they cite as the reason, as the rationale, is that, over the past 2 years, those speaking out against restrictions on religious freedom and human rights continue to be arrested; they continue to be detained. Over the past year, they have said violence by contract thugs against peaceful prayer vigils and religious leaders continues. As a matter of fact, they cite it is accelerating. We are not talking about deaths that occurred in 1838 right now. My colleagues and I are talking about what happened 2 months ago in terms of people losing their lives in Vietnam because they are speaking out for religious freedom. Lastly, in terms of what was shared with me by the Venerable Thich Quang Do, he said, They are not allowing us to practice our Buddhist faith. The Communist government is trying to change the faith. That is why we are speaking out.”