Red guards in China 1966.
Then (China):
China 1966, Mao Zedong activated the so called Cultural Revolution and used students as his own force to support the campaign, the Red guards was organized as paramilitary social movement. The Red guards get involved to fanatically act such as: arrests of people, or Mao’s political opponents or enemies, government officials, army generals, were imprisoned, prosecuted in public, and executed in public as well. The movement lasted from 1966, 1967.
The movement in fact, is planned by Mao himself and his close members of the Communist party to destroy and shoot down whoever disagreed, criticized Mao’s policy. Eventually, the army was used to shut down the Red guards when most of the goals were achieved. The leaders were exile to grow rice and “re-educated”. Most of them could not make it back to Beijing.
That was something of the past however; having said that does not mean the Chinese and the whole world could forget the bloody ordeal of Chinese political turn.
Now (Vietnam):
According to Facebook of the Catholic Youth in Vietname, two "Red flag assemblies” (Doi co do) were established and quickly showed prominent activities
- In Nghe An province, the Red flag attacked several times in different parishes such as Van Thai, causing heavy damage in April 2017.
- September 1, 2017 members of this Red flag attacked parishioners’ businesses at chợ Đình, Diễn Châu, Nghệ An province. At night, they came back and attacked parishioners’ residence. Statue of the holy Mary, and other religious icons were smashed. Private properties were heavily damaged, or destroyed.
Store damaged by the Red flag gang.
- September 4, 2017 people in red shirt of the Red flag assembly invaded the church of Tho Hoa, attacked Rev. Nguyen duy Tan.
Truncheon and hand gun were captured by parishioners and gave to local police, 13 people of the Red flag gang were arrested.
Gun, nightstick were captured September 4, 2017 in attack to Tho Hoa church.
- Parishioner’s coffee store was the target of smashing TV, refrigerator, and furniture; of course religious symbols like the statute of St Joseph were destroyed as well. It was October 7, 2017 in broad daylight. Once again it was the done by the same gang.
- 3PM of October 29, 1977, the Red flag gathered then came to Son Hai, Quynh Luu, where Van Thai and Song Ngoc parish were located, the gang provoked parishioners and slandered Chirstians, they also to Non Chirstian villagers to seregate themselves from the Christian. The gang also hid under the slogan “The protest against reactionary individuals”. Document from the parish signed by the local priest sent to the police and no response.
Rev. Nguyen duy Tan, Đặng Hữu Nam, Nguyễn Đình Thục of Roman Catholic church look after different parishes of Nghe An province. The Rev. Fathers have appealed to the public for justice the case of Formosa factory at Vung Ang which seriously polluted to the sea and environment in Ha Tinh province, Vietnam.
Loss of fishes and maritime resources affected daily work of fishermen who live by fishing tens of decades.
To the Communist regime, the religious leaders became a thorn to the side which should be removed or got rid of.
The police and government officials used gang to repeatedly harass individuals and religious organizations in Hanoi, Dong Nai and Nghe An provinces, thugs stalked, terrorized human rights activists, priests, bloggers. The so called “Red flag movement” is just a copycat of the Red guards in China 1966 under Mao Zedong. If the Vietnamese police get caught beating innocent people, or harrassing human rights activists, it would be a bad picture for the regime, and the government will have to answer hard questions from the interenational community.The paramiltary Red flag movement will save all, the gang members will do “dirty” jobs and keep the police hands clean.
If worst come to worst, officially the Communist government would blame the Red flag for wrongdoing, then the police would arrest these thugs (in the morning) then release them (after lunch). Case is closed.
Red flag assembly (Vietnamese Red guards) in Nghe An province, October 2017.
Suong Quynh a freelance journalist, once assaulted by thugs harbored by police, told Radio Free Asia (RFA):
The government ruled the country by the using thugs against innocent people. The tactics were used for decades, now they have sent top leaders of the gang to China to learn the Red guards’ techniques.
The authorities these days, run the show but hidding behind the thugs.
Dr. Nguyen quang A, a social activist warned:
Created such organization is dangerous to society, it proves the authorities nourish violence.
First verbal violence, then armed violence if they are tolerated and encouraged by the government.
That is exactly the way the governmet in Vietnam pursuits, organized students, thugs and undercovered police in the same front to bring down social media, bloggers, human rights activists, religious leaders, scholars and whoever that disagree and are willing to change for democracy and freedom.
October 30, 2017-10-30
