First of all, I have to say the Vietnamese government does not discriminate when it comes to persecution. They don't. They persecute equally across the board, whether you are Buddhist, Catholic, Mennonite, or Protestant. It doesn't matter. They prosecute these groups simply because if these groups do not agree to their control or do not subject themselves to their control, then that's trouble for these groups.
As I mentioned in my testimony, religious groups in Vietnam are required to join and be put under the control of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, which is basically a tool controlled by the Communist Party. If these groups refuse to join, refuse to obey their rule, then that's trouble and they prosecute these groups because of that.
Here is a case in point. Last night, I spoke to a Mennonite pastor in Vietnam. He showed me that he was roughed up by so-called thugs. When he filed a complaint with the police, the police did absolutely nothing. Whether these thugs were hired by the police or not.... It is a common occurrence in Vietnam that police actually hire thugs to do the dirty work for them, to harass people, and to beat up people. To sum up, there is prosecution because they want to control, and if you don't subject your group to their control, then they will not allow that.