U.S. asked to remove Vietnam from its religious concern list

The United States must exclude Vietnam from its "countries of particular concern" in its recent annual report on religious freedom around the world, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Dzung Dec. 23. Although Vietnam was listed in this regard, the U.S. granted a 90-day extension to Vietnam while it decides whether to proceed with sanctions. (Tuoi Tre, Dec. 24, Hanoi Moi, Dec. 24, VNS Dec. 24, Vietnam News Briefs, Dec. 24; the U.S. State Department report on worldwide religious freedom released last September can be found at its website; click here for its section on Vietnam).