On December 26, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City held an appeal hearing of the civil case between Ms. Pham Thi Yen (plaintiff) and Mr. Tran Ngoc Thao, ie Venerable Thich Nhat Tu (the defendant). Ms. Yen’s lawsuit was rejected by the People’s Court of District 10 in the first-instance hearing which took place at the end of September and so this hearing.
Ms. Yen sued Mr. Thich Nhat Tu for compensation for her honor, dignity and reputation because he made fabricated statements to insult her on social networks.
Specifically, Mr. Thich Nhat Tu used his 2 Youtube channels “Đạo Phật ngày nay/Buddhist Today” and “Thich Nhat Tu Official” to post false information about Ms. Yen. Around the beginning of 2020, Mr. Thich Nhat Tu posted a video confirming that Pham Thi Yen was fined VND5 million ($220) by the People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province for spreading superstition at Ba Vang Pagoda. and some other places in the province” and “The People’s Committee of Quang Ninh province forbids Ms. Yen from having the right to temporarily reside in the whole province… and from spreading superstition.”
Yen said that these statements are completely fabricated. At the time she sued Mr. Thich Nhat Tu, the People’s Committee of Quang Trung Ward, Uong Bi City, Quang Ninh province has not yet issued a decision to sanction her and this decision has since been withdrawn. However, the Court of the first-instance hearing said that it was true that Ms. Yen was fined and that Mr. Thich Nhat Tu only said it again according to information in the press, although what he was not accurate. After Ms. Yen sued, Mr. Thich Nhat Tu edited and cut out the incorrect statements from the video that was played.
After conferring, the Court of Appeal has suspended it and is expected to reopen on January 13, 2023.
PhD, Venerable Thich Nhat Tu was born in 1969, currently he is the abbot of Giac Ngo Pagoda in HCM City. He holds many positions in the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha, which is recognized by the Communist state. As a monk, but he had a lot of “famous and scandalous” statements, he was also involved in a lot of controversies. The language of social networks calls him “state monk” and assesses him as a facilitator for the government to “use religion, destroy religion” harass other religions and free religious people, not under the control of the authorities.
The page Saigonnhonews.com had an article about this man’s fabricated, distorted and harassing achievements. Accordingly, Thich Nhat Tu has attacked Catholics many times, even calling for “Buddhists not to celebrate Christmas.” Thich Nhat Tu used lectures at Giac Ngoc Pagoda and some other temples to distort, slander, blaspheme Christianity, fabricate, and add many contents not found in the books. For example, Thich Nhat Tu preached that: “During the time of the Roman Empire, Catholicism was spread around the world through the footprints of the invasion of the Roman Empire around the world.” This is completely false, is a distortion of history.
Not only attacking Christianity, Thich Nhat Tu also attacked Falun Gong – a sect that follows Buddhism with its cultivation methods and is brutally persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. He said that Falun Gong is a blend of Buddhism and Chinese martial arts, and affirmed that the 2010 World Buddhist Congress Resolution does not allow Buddhists to practice Falun Gong. He also said that the founder of Falun Gong was once the leader of the Tiananmen movement. These claims reek of fabricated.
Not only slandering and fabricating on social networks, Thich Nhat Tu also set out to push other monks he was in prison. On November 24, 2021, Mr. Tu sent a denunciation to the investigative agency of Long An Provincial Police, accusing Tinh That Bong Lai of insulting his honor and personal dignity and the image of Buddha and the Buddhist community in Long An province in 3 videos posted on Youtube. From Mr. Tu’s accusations, the Communist police had an excuse to push 7 people of Tinh That Bong Lai into prison, including a 90-year-old old man, Le Tung Van.
In fact, the conflict between Mr. Thich Nhat Tu and Tinh That Bong Lai is only a civil matter, no one has been sent to prison just for saying other people are “as stupid as cows.” The essence of this case lies in the words of Mr. Le Tung Van: “If the Buddhist Church is not worthy, I will not join.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
