[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 98 (Monday, June 28, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1218]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE HOA HAO BUDDHISM ASSOCIATION'S 71ST ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LORETTA SANCHEZ

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 28, 2010

  Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today, to 
recognize the Overseas Hoa Hao Buddhism Association's 71st Anniversary 
of the Founding of Hoa Hao Buddhism. Today, Hoa Hao Buddhism is one of 
the six most important religions in Vietnam. Through the hardships and 
trials of Communist Vietnam, Hoa Hao Buddhism still exists with a mass 
of over four million followers closely united in their faith. In Orange 
County, the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church is a Member of the Vietnamese 
Interfaith Council, a body established in order to promote harmony 
between major religions in Vietnam.
  The U.S. Department of State 2009 International Religious Freedom 
Report indicates that the Vietnamese government continues to persecute 
and restrict organized activities of religious organizations like Hoa 
Hao Buddhists. We are continuing to see more and more activists being 
detained and imprisoned for exercising their freedom of speech, 
religion and expression. I encourage my colleagues to continue to urge 
the State Department to re-designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular 
Concern and fight for those in Vietnam who are putting their lives in 
danger in the name of freedom.

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