Wednesday, 4 March 2020

Members statements

Thich Quang Do

Mr DONNELLAN (Narre Warren North—Minister for Child Protection, Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers) (09:38): I join today with many friends from the Victorian Vietnamese community to acknowledge the passing of the venerable Thich Quang Do, human rights champion and patriarch of the Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam. The venerable Thich Quang Do suffered enormously in his pursuit of human and democratic rights for Vietnam, having spent upwards of 30 years since 1977 in prison, under house arrest or in exile, refusing to submit himself or the Buddhist church to communist rule.

It was at the age of 17 that the venerable Thich Quang Do committed himself to the pursuit of human rights and democracy in Vietnam after the death of his religious leader at the hands of communist revolutionaries.

Then and there I vowed to do all that I could to combat fanaticism and intolerance and devote my life to the pursuit of justice through the Buddhist teachings of nonviolence, tolerance and compassion …

he wrote in 1994 in an open letter to Do Muoi, the general secretary of Vietnam’s Communist Party at the time. He added:

Little did I realize how that simple vow would lead me down a path paved with prison cells, torture, internal exile and detention for so many years to come.

Vietnam and the people of Vietnam have lost a hero, a pivotal figure in the pursuit of democracy. Sadly, I was not able to meet him when I visited dissidents in Saigon and Hue in 2006. He, along with many other leaders at the time, like Father Ly, was providing enormous inspiration to the underground union movement and democracy activists at the time, with over 100 000 people in the streets protesting against the government. I really did hope this would lead to further— (Time expired)