Six speakers during a talk on public comments on women held by the Center for Studies and Applied Sciences in Gender, Family, Women and Adolescents (CSAGA) on January 19th, suggested that different efforts should be made to prevent bad public comments which may lead to hurt for women.

Vietnamese women's role increasingly high in society (Photo: baodautu.vn)

Titled “Public comments on women - Limit and morality”, the talk aimed to collect ideas on how to encourage people to have more friendly and gender-sensitive public comments. “During the time of Internet and social networks, harmless-looking jokes and comments can hurt others, cause regrettable consequences and receive serious criticism,” said Nguyen Van Anh, CSAGA Director. “The talk helps to minimize and eliminate comments considering women as tools of sex, especially those from people having influence on communities”.

Speakers put forth different impolite situations on women, with focus on their bodies and appearance. Dang Ngoc Quang, a social researcher from the Rural Development Services Centre (RDSC), said that bad comments on women can be seen in the images in which they were treated as a commodity or an object without regard to their personality or dignity. “They can be attacked by bad words, assessments and behaviours on newspapers, magazines, television, game shows, movies, advertisements and social networks,” he said, adding that this could be considered partly sexual harassment.

“Once being harassed, women often seek ways to survive themselves from the bad comments using their strong will and encouragement, without following legal proceedings which usually take a lot of time,” Mr. Quang added. “Therefore, there should be an association raising objections over bad public comments on women and protecting the victims”.

Sharing with Mr. Quang, other speakers suggested the establishment of an agency legalized in receiving victims’ complaints, and executing punishment of bad comments and behaviours on women.

Meanwhile, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Anh, a lecturer from the Hanoi Foreign Trade University, stressed the role of press agencies in publishing, supervising and struggling against wrong comments on women. Accordingly, there should not be bad public comments on women, especially on their bodies and appearance without seeing their real value.

She also highlighted regular and continuous education on adequate public comments on women in accordance with respecting human rights.

CSAGA, a Vietnamese non-governmental organization, works to ensure women’s and children’s rights. The 17-year-old agency will continue to organize gender-sensitive events, including intervention over violence to women and prevention of sexual harassment of women at offices, according to Ms Van Anh./.

Vietnam and US multinational technology company - Google LLC want to boost cooperation across the fields of information and technology (IT) and communication as well as share information on the basis of respect for international practices and Vietnamese law.

The two sides expressed the wish during a meeting in Hanoi on January 17 between Minister of Information and Communication Truong Minh Tuan and Google’s Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs in Asia-Pacific Ann Lavin.
Minister Tuan said following the establishment of a bilateral mechanism to prevent and stamp out toxic and illegal information on YouTube, by the end of 2017, Google blocked and delete 6,423 clips with bad contents on YouTube and removed six games from Google Play due to their violation of Vietnamese law. The largest social network in the world and also the most popular in Vietnam, Facebook, removed 159 accounts smearing the reputation of officials and leaders or those posting anti-Party and State content.

With 70 percent of the population having access to the internet and 53 million people on Facebook, Vietnam faces many challenges in ensuring people, especially children, are safe on the internet. In times of rapid technological development, forces with evil intents would take advantage to deliver toxic information using foreign-based social services.

Social media should be considered a tool, a road used by both travellers and thieves. False, misleading information mostly appears on foreign social media platforms. Because social media can seem distant from concrete reality, social media users think they have the freedom to say anything without taking responsibility for it. Vietnamese social media users are also threatened by cyber attacks. They are among those with the lowest awareness of cyber risks in the world.
The mission of the communications ministry in 2018 is to improve mechanisms to monitor information on the Internet and manage foreign content service providers operating in Vietnam, while encouraging domestic firms to join the sector.
Besides Vietnam, many other countries have also taken drastic actions to build a healthy information environment in the Internet.

The minister called for Google’s closer collaboration with Vietnam by placing its representative office in Vietnam or establishing an exclusive cooperative channel with the Southeast Asian nation. He pledged support for Google while asking the company to study Vietnamese laws and work closely with Vietnamese agencies to address violations on YouTube.

Discussing Vietnam’s potential for a digital economy, Tuan said the country has set a target to build 4-5 smart cities by 2020, which will be a good opportunity for his ministry and Google to join hands in training and protection of cyberspace security.
Ann Lavin, for her part, affirmed that Google always adhere to the law of host countries where it does business, including in Vietnam. She said that Google has sent one expert to give consultancy on information security and share information with the Vietnamese Government. She noted that her visit to Vietnam aims to study Vietnamese laws for better understanding and collaboration with the country. Google will back Vietnam in developing the digital economy, she added./.

When social or digital foreign media break stories first, they've already won Vietnamese public's recognition, a propaganda official said.

Vietnamese people love social media, their regular source of daily news, a new survey has found.

Vietnam comes fourth in a survey conducted by Pew Research Center to find out how often people in 38 countries, including both advanced and developing ones, turn to social media to get the news.

While getting news online daily is more common in advanced economies (median of 54 percent) than in emerging and developing ones (median of 23 percent), the difference subsides when only news from social media is taken into account, according to the survey.

"People in advanced economies (median of 36 percent) use social media daily for news at similar rates to those in emerging or developing economies (33 percent)," the Pew Research Center said in a report.

South Korea takes the throne with 57 percent of respondents saying they used social media to get the news several times a day or once a day, followed by Lebanon with 52 percent, Argentina with 51 percent and Vietnam with 48 percent, according to the survey released on Thursday by the nonpartisan American think tank.

In 37 of the 38 countries studied, adults aged 18 to 29 were more likely than those 50 and older to use social media at least once a day for news.

In 10 countries, the gap is at least 50 percentage points, with the biggest difference recorded in Vietnam, at 78 points.

Specifically, as many as 81 percent of Vietnamese respondents aged 18-29 use social media daily to access news, while only 3 percent of those aged 50 and older do so, said the survey which interviewed an average of 1,000 persons in each studied country last year.

Higher income people are also more likely to use social media for daily news than lower income people in 32 surveyed countries, with the biggest gap recorded in Vietnam at 32 percentage points. More than half, or 62 percent, of high income earners in Vietnam get their daily news updates from social networking sites while only 34 percent of low income earners do so. 

“Nowadays, it is the early-bird newspaper, not the major one, that will triumph,” Vo Van Thuong, the head of the Communist Party's propaganda organ, said at a meeting in August last year. When social or digital foreign media break stories first, they've already won public recognition, leaving Vietnam’s mainstream media well behind, he added.

Vietnam has around 64 million Facebook users, accounting for 3 percent of global Facebookers, according to a report released in July last year by We Are Social, a social media marketing and advertising agency.

The country surpassed Thailand and Turkey from the previous report released in January last year to secure the seventh spot. In just six months, the number of Vietnamese active users had increased by 40 percent.

More than half of the Vietnamese population of nearly 92 million are online, and people spend more than two hours each day on average on the social media network, said the report

As many as 80 percent of people in Vietnam are satisfied with local news coverage, according to a new survey, placing the country in the top five of the 38 countries studied.

Up to 85 percent of Vietnamese people said local news outlets do a good job of covering the most important issues, compared to the average rate of 73 percent, the survey conducted by Pew Research Center, a U.S.-based nonpartisan think tank, found.

In terms of whether the media are doing a good job of reporting the news accurately and news about government leaders and officials, the rates are also high in Vietnam, standing at 80 and 78 percent.

The average rates for the 38 countries stand at 62 and 59 percent.

Although it looks like people are generally satisfied, a constant demand in nearly every country surveyed is unbiased news coverage.

When it comes to where readers get their news, half of Vietnamese people opt for social media, said the survey, with young people making up the majority of them.

As many as 81 percent of Vietnamese respondents aged 18-29 use social media to access news daily, while only 3 percent of those aged 50 and above do so, said the survey, which interviewed around 1,000 people from each country last year.

More than half of the Vietnamese population of nearly 92 million are online, and people spend more than two hours each day on average on social media, said a report released in July last year by We Are Social, a social media marketing and advertising agency.

Last September, the US House of Representatives passed the H.Res.311 Bill on the US policy for ASEAN. This represents the new move of Trump’s administration towards a region of geo-political importance in Asia-Pacific.

Reaffirming the importance of ASEAN

Under the presidency of B. Obama, the US – ASEAN relations were much improved and strengthened by Washington’s “pivot” strategy to Asia – Pacific, shown in the US commitments to the ASEAN. Accordingly, through its representative offices in the Philippines, Thailand, and Singapore, effective economic collaborations between the US and ASEAN have been made. Especially, with its US-ASEAN Connect initiative and long term bilateral cooperative policies and programs, Obama’s administration hoped that the US-ASEAN relations would continue to thrive.

Representatives at the 5th ASEAN-US Summit to commemorate the 40thanniversary of ASEAN-US dialogue relations (photo: AP)

Contrary to expectations of the predecessor, on his first day in office, the President-elect Donald Trump decided to withdrew America from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement – the core economic factor in the rebalancing policy of the US in Asia–Pacific, which made ASEAN leaders and community concerned. However, what matters is that though Trump’s administration decided to revoke the US “pivot” strategy and withdraw from the TPP agreement, it has recently passed the H.Res.311 Bill on the US – ASEAN relations. Moreover, his trip to 5 Asian countries and participation in the APEC and ASEAN summits revealed that President Trump has made adjustments to his policies to fit the viewpoints of the US legislators. For this reason, analysts hold that the H.Res.311 Bill passed by the US House of Representatives has reflected a new thinking of President D. Trump about Asia in general and South East Asia region in particular. This is shown in the contents of the bill, including: (1). supports and affirms the elevation of the United States-ASEAN relationship to a strategic partnership, and reaffirms the United States commitment to promoting a rules-based order in the Asia-Pacific; (2). recognizes the value of ASEAN working with economic, political, and security partners, such as Australia, Canada, the European Union, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, and Taiwan; (3). encourages the enhancement of economic engagement between the United States and ASEAN through the elimination of trade barriers; (4). supports cooperation with ASEAN to implement practical counter-terrorism and countering violent extremism measures; (5). supports efforts by ASEAN member states and other regional states, including the People’s Republic of China, to address maritime and territorial disputes in a constructive manner and to pursue claims, through diplomacy and the use of legitimate regional and international arbitration mechanisms, consistent with international law; (6). urges all parties to maritime and territorial disputes in the Asia-Pacific region to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would undermine stability or escalate disputes through the use of coercion, intimidation, or military force; and refrain from efforts to militarize uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, and other features; (7). reaffirms the commitment of the United States to continue joint efforts with ASEAN to halt human smuggling and trafficking in persons and urges ASEAN to make increased efforts to create and strengthen regional mechanisms to provide assistance and support to refugees and migrants. Basing on the above contents of the H.Res.311 Bill, it can be said that the President D. Trump’s declaration to revoke the “pivot” strategy to Asia – Pacific of the predecessor is just a formality.

It is stipulated in the bill that, since the US and ASEAN established dialogue relations in 1977, the two sides have won significant achievements. Prior to this, in the Sunnylands Summit in 2016, the two sides continued to reaffirm the role of ASEAN towards the peace, security and stability of the region. In reality, ASEAN is among the 6 biggest economies in the world with annual GDP estimated at USD 2.4 trillion and represents the fourth biggest market of the US exports. Moreover, economic relations with ASEAN have created over 500,000 jobs for Americans. Besides, US-ASEAN relations are also vital to the US security interests as both the US and ASEAN member states share a common concern in settling the disputes in the East Sea by peaceful means and reaching a consensus in the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. What’s more, ASEAN is also an important partner of the US in dealing with trans-national threats, namely: terrorism, extremism, violence, environmental pollution, energy crisis, epidemics, disarmament, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, network security, smuggling, illegal fishing.

Mentioning the importance of the bill, E. Royce, the Chairman of the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said that concerning the various threats that East Asia is facing, such as: the “democracy” problem in Cambodia, conflicts in the Rakhine State (Myanmar), maritime security in the East Sea, the passing of the H.Res.311 Bill has reaffirmed the importance of the US - ASEAN strategic partnership relations and the US commitments to cooperate with ASEAN member states in solving the above-mentioned matters; whilst showing the US support for ASEAN and its strategic relations with Southeast Asian countries.

Setting priorities for South East Asia region

According to analysts, “interest” and “rivalry” has always been the centrepiece in the US policy for South East Asia region. Therefore, in order not to harm its interests gained in the South East Asia over the past 5 to 10 years, regain its traditional allies, and because of the important role of ASEAN towards the US as well as the recent moves of China – the strategic rival of the US in the region, the US will, unsurprisingly, seek to strengthen its engagement in the region, (through the H.Res.311 Bill), especially after the pending time when Trump’s administration have not shaped their strategy. The passing of the H.Res.311 Bill not only reaffirmed the importance of the South East Asia region to the US but also represented the new commitments of Washington to ASEAN member states on reinforcing its strategic partnership relations for mutual interests. Moreover, it also expressed the US wish to consolidate its presence in the region more steadily in the areas of strengthened security, economic development, human rights promotion, and navigational protection.

Priority of the US foreign policy for the South East Asia region has also been reflected through the long trip of President D. Trump to 5 Asian countries. This is Trump’s first trip to the region since his presidency and the longest trip to Asia ever been taken by an American President since G. Bush administration. Observers held that this trip marked the inception of the “post-pivot” strategy of the US. In Danang, Vietnam, President D. Trump revealed his Asia policy of a free and open “Indo-Pacific Dream” which is seen as a substitution for the “Chinese Dream” and the “Belt and Road” Initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Though details of the Indo–Pacific framework strategy have not been mapped out, this event marked the inception of America’s “post-pivot” strategy as economic and security relations between the US and this region are crucial to both sides.

Also during the trip, President D. Trump reaffirmed his commitments to the US allies and said the US would not withdraw from these alliances. President D. Trump, who is said to place emphasis only on reciprocal trade relations with his isolationism, had positive speeches and actions when attending major events of the region, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit, ASEAN Summit, and East Asia Summit. This has shown new foreign policies of the US for the region as well as the region’s important role towards the US. At the 31^st ASEAN Summit in Manila (Philippines), President D. Trump spoke highly of the 40^th anniversary of the US – ASEAN relations and stressed that the White House would maintain its commitment to the centrality of ASEAN as a forum for comprehensive cooperation in the region while reaffirming the US – ASEAN strategic partnership relations.

In conclusion, the passing of the H.Res.311 Bill, together with statements of President D. Trump at the APEC Summit (Danang, Vietnam) and ASEAN Summit (Manila, Philippines) shows that Washington will still engage in the South East Asia region positively as this is consistent with Trump’s policy of “America first”.

The State Department on Thursday 4th Jan 2018 unveiled its list of countries designated as the worst offenders against religious liberty. The countries of Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were labeled as “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) in the State Department’s report. The 10 countries on the CPC list are unchanged from last year. Vietnam, once again, was not listed in this CPC list, but unfortunately some extreme and hostile organizations and individuals such as the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Ed Royce, praised the inclusion of the 10 CPC counties, but said that several others including Vietnam should have been added. This is so unreasonable and shows a strong prejudice to Vietnam.

Yet Vietnam was previously designated as a CPC, but was taken off the list about a decade ago. In this year report, the State Department admitted that in 2016 Vietnam continued to make progress to improve religious freedom conditions. While the government’s Law on Belief and Religion, approved on November 18, 2016, does not comply fully with international standards, the measure reflects the government’s and National Assembly’s good faith efforts to solicit input from some religious organizations, incorporate guidance from international experts in a relatively transparent fashion, and address myriad religious freedom challenges in the country.

The Vietnamese government has taken notable steps to improve religious freedom conditions in the country. Many individuals and religious communities are able to exercise their religion or beliefs freely, openly, and without fear. In many communities, religious organizations and local officials get along well, with little to no government interference. The country is home to a wide diversity of faiths. The majority of Vietnam’s more than 94 million people practice or identify with Buddhism. Estimates vary widely, but more than six million Vietnamese are believed to be Catholic, more than 1.5 to three million are Hoa Hao Buddhists, approximately one to three million are Caodaist, and approximately one to two million are Protestant. Smaller numbers are Khmer Krom Buddhist, Muslim (including ethnic Cham Muslims), Hindu, Baha’i, Mormon, and Falun Gong, as well as practitioners of local religions or other forms of traditional worship. Recent years, the Vietnamese government granted official national recognition to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) and also formally acknowledged the Representative Committee of the LDS Church. Previously, the LDS Church had a temporary representative office. In addition, a handful of clergy reported that the Vietnamese government approved their congregations’ registration requests; the Catholic Institute of Vietnam opened in Ho Chi Minh City, becoming the country’s first-ever university-level institute of theology.

A positive sign is that the law on Belief and Religion will come into effect since date of January 1, 2018 and will help ensure the rights of religious organizations and individual believers, providing equal treatment and fairness to both state-sponsored and independent groups. So those hostile and extreme elements to Vietnam should get rid of their prejudice and have a true look at Vietnam’s religious situation in coming years./.

The Law on Belief and Religion, which has been in effect since this January 1st, is seen as a turning point in Vietnam’s religious policy as it demonstrates the reform of state management to consolidate national unity and the trust of religious followers in the guidelines and policies of the Party and State.

The law, approved by the National Assembly last November, institutionalizes the 2013 Constitution’s protection of the right to freedom of belief and religion.

Freedom of religion expanded

The new law clarifies protection of the right of citizens to freedom of belief and religion, expands subjects to religious freedom, adds regulations, delegates power for religious management, makes it easier to register religious practices, and shortens the time required to be recognized as a religious organization. Truong Dinh Can, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Catholic Solidarity in Lam Dong province, said: “The law has many new points on ensuring the right of citizens to freedom of belief and religion. It stipulates openness in religious activities and recognizes non-commercial legal entities of religions.”

The law is adjusted towards enabling foreigners in Vietnam to practice their religion. Hoang Thi Hoa, a National Assembly deputy for Bac Giang province, said “The law clearly defines the right to freedom of belief and religion for foreigners who reside legally in Vietnam. It stipulates that foreigners basically have the right to practice religions just as the Vietnamese do and are entitled to study at religious establishments in Vietnam.”

The responsibility of authorized state agencies is clarified by the new law, in addition to legal entities of religious organizations, religious training institutions, registering religious activities, inspecting, and dealing with violations.

Turning point of religious policy

Religious dignitaries said the 2018 Law on Belief and Religion meets the needs of religious followers. Most Venerable Thich Hue Minh, head of the Tien Giang provincial Buddhist Sangha’s Executive Committee, said “The State respects people’s beliefs and religions. Religious followers should follow the Constitution and law, honor their responsibility to safeguard the country, and uphold their belief and patriotism. I think all religious congregations follow these guidelines because national independence was gained at the cost of people’s lives.”

The Law on Belief and Religion reinforces the guidelines and policies of the Party and State on freedom of belief and freedom, fights religious abuse, and shows Vietnam’s responsibility for enforcing international law on human rights./.

The Party and the State of Vietnam have always affirmed that practicing beliefs and following religions is one of the spiritual demands of the people and that religious ethics have a lot of things suitable to the cause of building a new society in Vietnam.

This point of view has been developed into provisions in the Constitution and laws and implemented in real life, contributing to ensuring and improving human rights, consolidating the national great unity bloc, generating spiritual and material resources for the development of the society.

Rights to freedom of religion and beliefs in Vietnam’s constitutions

After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, at the first meeting of the Government Council (September 1945), President Ho Chi Minh stressed the policy of “religious freedom and solidarity among religions.” That thought of President Ho Chi Minh has been continued to be implemented during the Party’s leadership. The respect for and protection of freedom of worshiping and religious practices have always been manifested in all versions of the Constitution of Vietnam.

Buddhist dignitaries and followers attending the Buddha's birthday in Da Nang. Source: daidoanket.vn

In 1946, the first Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam prescribed: “All the State power belongs to the people of Vietnam, regardless of race, gender, rich or poor, class, religions” and “The citizens of Vietnam has the rights to freedom of religion.”

In the 1959 Constitution, the rights to freedom of religion and belief continued to be re-affirmed and expanded. Not only do citizens have the right to “follow a religion,” but also the right to “not follow any religion.” Article 26 of the Constitution defines, “Citizens of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam have the rights to freedom of belief, following or not following a religion.”

Further developing the 1946 Constitution and the 1959 Constitution, the 1980 Constitution, in addition to recognizing the rights to freedom of belief and religion, includes the content preventing bad people from abusing freedom of religion to do illegal things and sabotage the achievements of the revolution... “Citizens have the rights to freedom of belief, following or not following a religion; no one shall take advantage of freedom of religion to violate the laws and policies of the State.” (Article 68).

In the “doi moi” (renewal) period, in the face of the rapid changes and the requirements of the national construction and development, the rights to freedom of religion and belief of the people continued to be upheld. Article 70 of the 1992 Constitution clearly states, “Citizens have the rights to freedom of belief and religion, following or not following a religion. All religions are equal in front of the law. Religious worshiping sites are protected by law. No one may infringe on freedom of belief and religion or abuse that freedom to violate the laws and policies of the State.”

On November 28, 2013, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted the 2013 Constitution, defining more comprehensively civil and political rights of the people. Freedom of belief and religion is prescribed quite comprehensively and completely, ensuring democracy and respect and creating the best conditions for people to practice their beliefs and religions. Article 24 of the 2013 Constitution clearly states, “Everyone has the rights to freedom of belief and religion, following or not following a religion. All religions are equal in front of the law. No one may violate freedom of belief and religion or abuse that freedom to break the law.”

To concretize the provisions in the Constitution and institutionalize the State’s policies on the rights to freedom of belief and religion in conformity with international legal documents on human rights which Vietnam has participated in, a system of legal documents, ordinances, and directives on religions and beliefs has been built and completed. Laws like the Civil Code, the Criminal Code, the Land Code, the Law on Education, etc. all have provisions prescribing the principle of non-discrimination towards religious followers. According to Article 164 of the Criminal Code (amended), offenders of freedom of belief and religion of citizens may be sentenced to between three months and one year of imprisonment.

Particularly, on November 18, 2016, the National Assembly passed the Law on Beliefs and Religions, which prescribes, “Everyone has the rights to freedom of belief, religion, following or not following a religion. Each person has the right to express his or her religious belief, practicing religious beliefs’ rites, participate in festivals, study and practice religious catechisms and canons.

Reality of religious practices in Vietnam

Vietnam is a multi-religious country with a variety of large religions introduced to the country for thousands of years now, such as Buddhism, Catholicism, Protestantism, and Muslim. Vietnam also has religions and beliefs that were born in Vietnam, such as Cao Dai, Hoa Hao Buddhism, Tu An, Hieu Nghia, and more. The guidelines and policies to guarantee the respect for and implementation of the rights to freedom of belief and religion are not only defined in the Constitution, laws and directives, resolutions of the Party but also implemented in reality.

It is estimated that 95% of the population of Vietnam practice their belief and religious rites, including over 24 million religious followers (about 27% of the population) of 38 religious organizations. The country has nearly 53,000 religious dignitaries, 133,700 religious positions ,and about 27,900 worshiping sites. Major religious holidays, such as Christmas of Catholicism, Buddha Day (Vesak) of Buddhism, are held solemnly with religious rituals. There are about 8,500 national- and local-level festivals of different religions and beliefs.

Religious organizations have registered for the protection of the law for their religious activities, opened schools for dignitaries, published books, repaired and built worshiping sites in accordance with the law. There are now four Buddhist institutes, one Buddhist college, and 32 Buddhist schools, one Catholic academy, seven Catholic major seminaries and one branch of St. Joseph Major Seminary in Hanoi. The Protestant Church has a Theological Bible Institute and a Theological Bible School. Most of the religious organizations run their newspapers, magazines, and newsletters. According to statistics, since 2006, the Religion Publishing House has issued publishing permits for 8,683 publications, including 14,535,464 copies of 4,725 books. On the average, each year thousands of religious publications are permitted to be published in various languages, such as English, French, Khmer, Ede, Jarai, Banah, etc.

With the view of “all ethnic groups are equal and practice solidarity and mutual respect for development,” the Vietnamese State respects and protects the rights to freedom and equality of beliefs and religions among ethnic groups. International religious activities in Vietnam have also been expanding. The Vatican has appointed a non-resident special envoy to Vietnam. Every year, hundreds of Vietnamese religious dignitaries attend religious activities abroad and thousands of foreign religious followers enter Vietnam to preach and take part in religious activities and events. Vietnam has successfully hosted many important religious events, highly appreciated both at home and internationally, including the UN Day of Vesak in Hanoi in 2008 attracting 1,500 delegates from 74 countries and territories and in Ninh Binh province in 2014 with the participation of more than 1,000 dignitaries from 95 countries and territories.