Prison      Wisdom

words from former and current prisoners
of the Communists in Vietnam  
Mr. Hoang Minh Chinh was imprisoned for
many years because of his ideas of
democracy for Vietnam.  Recently he traveled
to the USA and spoke to Congress,
professors and students at Harvard
University, and to the Vietnamese Diaspora.  
His photo is linked to a letter,

in Vietnamese, that he has written regarding
the visit of Viet Nam President Triet to the
USA.  You can find articles about the attacks
on this elder statesman and his family here:  
THE VIET-AM REVIEW BLOG

July 1, 2007 Washington Times
Forum: "Big Lie' lives in Vietnam"
by Mike Benge, American civilian
imprisoned in Communist Vietnam
from 1968 to 1973

link to full article by Mike Benge in
English: pdf  

link to "The Big Lie lives in Vietnam" in
Vietnamese: pdf
translation by Le Huu Phu
What is Father Nguyen Van Ly
saying?

It was his own poetry about the    
Communist regime and its
prisons:

"Communist trial of Vietnam / A
lewd comedy for years / Jurors a
bunch of baboons / Servants of
dictators, who are you to judge?

Thank you, Andrew Lam, editor of
New America Media, for your English
translation.  
The Venerable Thich Quang Do has been
under house arrest since the Communist
takeover of South Vietnam in 1975.

Venerable Thich Quang Do told the
Norwegian Ambassador that Hanoi was
implementing a two-fold policy aimed at
suppressing religions in general, and the
UBCV in particular. On the one hand, the
regime uses blatant repression,
harassment, detention, house arrest and
even murder to stifle and eliminate UBCV
leaders and followers. On the other hand, it
implements tactics ranging from coercion,
intimidation to persuasion and enticement to
force or lure UBCV monks to join State-
sanctioned bodies, thus turning them into
agents of the Communist Party and pawns
in the State’s efforts to control the mass of
Buddhist followers.

See Que Me (action for democracy) for
current issues and statements by the
Venerable Thich Quang Do of the Unified
Buddhist Church of Vietnam (Trilingual site)

photo by Jean Libby in San Gabriel, California, December 2005



















brothers Nguyen Chi Thien and                   
  Nguyen Cong Gian in Virginia   

due to imprisonment of both men by
the Communist regime of Viet Nam
the brothers did not see each other
for forty-three years, after Mr. Gian
went to South Vietnam with the
National Army in 1954.  

Nguyen Chi Thien was one of the original
six Prisoners of Conscience of Amnesty
International from 1986 to his successful
release in 1991.  

published by Yale University
Southeast Asia Studies

written with an award from
the International Parliament
of Writers in 2001 -- now
translated from the original
Vietnamese
LIST OF CURRENT POLITICAL
AND RELIGIOUS PRISONERS
DETAINED IN COMMUNIST
VIETNAM , 2007
by Viet Si, speaker
International Movement for
Freedom and Democracy in
Vietnam and a former Prisoner of
Conscience in Vietnam after April
30, 1975
Hoang Minh Chinh
1922 - 2008

Hoang Minh Chinh was a true
patriot and proud Vietnamese.
U.S. Ambassador Michael Michalak  
February 15, 2008

A personal biography of Professor
Hoang Minh Chinh, political prisoner
in Socialist Vietnam for 13 years
interview of Dr. Ngai X. Nguyen by
Jean Libby