Popular pain facing victims of marine pollution in Vietnam
On June 17, in Song Ngoc Church, Nghe An province, nearly 41,000 Vietnamese worshipers attended the funeral mass of two victims of marine pollution. The celebration was broadcast live on social networks and presided over by Father Jean-Baptiste Nguyen Dinh Thuc, parish priest of Song Ngoc, along with eleven priests and many faithful. The two victims were suffering from cancer due to the ecological disaster caused by the Taiwanese steel factory Formosa in 2016. The plant is accused of dumping toxic waste that polluted 200 km of coast in four central provinces of Vietnam.
Thousands of Vietnamese are mourning the death of two people, including the daughter of a jailed environmental activist, who died of cancer due to marine pollution. Father Jean-Baptiste Nguyen Dinh Thuc, parish priest of Song Ngoc, and eleven other priests celebrated the funeral Mass of Mary Nguyen Hai Giang and Joseph Nguyen Thanh Cong on June 17 in the Song Ngoc Church, in Nghe An province. Marie Giang died of bone cancer when she was just 16 on June 15 after receiving treatment at Ho Chi Minh City Hospital. This sophomore was the eldest of activist François Nguyen Nam Phong, who was arrested for "insulting a representative of the order in the line of duty" in 2017, and sentenced to two years in prison. Many people organized collections to cover all funeral expenses and the grave, given the poverty of the family. Wreaths of flowers have also been sent from abroad.
More than 41,000 people attended Mass live on social media, sending their condolences to the family of Marie Giang. "It is very painful for her not to have seen her father before his death," said Paul Tran Minh Nhat, a human rights activist in the country, adding that the teenager had written several times to authorities to beg them to release his father, without ever getting an answer. "Benevolence and justice do not exist in the heart of stone of those who have denied his last will,"he said, adding that François Phong, who helped hundreds of fishermen to sue Taiwan's Formosa steel plant in 2016 for polluting the coastal waters in four central provinces, had also missed his father's funeral. the previous year.
Thuc says that Marie Giang and Joseph Cong - who died of lung cancer on June 16 - are both victims of the Formosa plant, which has recognized the pollution of coastal waters. The company paid US $ 500 million compensation to the Vietnamese government for accidental spills of toxic waste, which polluted 200 km of coast by destroying all forms of marine life to the detriment of local communities dependent on fishing and tourism. The priest adds that Joseph Cong, who has two daughters who pursue a religious vocation, was persecuted for opposing the marine pollution of the Formosa plant, accused of being the cause of cancer. About 165,000 new cases are registered each year in Vietnam. Father Thuc points out that the steel plant, with a capital of more than 11 billion US dollars, is still operating in Ha Tinh province. Police continue to control, persecute and imprison people who oppose Formosa and other polluting corporations. On June 11, Bishop Emeritus of Kontum, Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from the Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed suit against Formosa at the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims. Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed a lawsuit against Formosa with the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims. Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed a lawsuit against Formosa with the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims.
(Églises d'Asie - le 19/06/2019, With Ucanews, Vinh)
Thousands of Vietnamese are mourning the death of two people, including the daughter of a jailed environmental activist, who died of cancer due to marine pollution. Father Jean-Baptiste Nguyen Dinh Thuc, parish priest of Song Ngoc, and eleven other priests celebrated the funeral Mass of Mary Nguyen Hai Giang and Joseph Nguyen Thanh Cong on June 17 in the Song Ngoc Church, in Nghe An province. Marie Giang died of bone cancer when she was just 16 on June 15 after receiving treatment at Ho Chi Minh City Hospital. This sophomore was the eldest of activist François Nguyen Nam Phong, who was arrested for "insulting a representative of the order in the line of duty" in 2017, and sentenced to two years in prison. Many people organized collections to cover all funeral expenses and the grave, given the poverty of the family. Wreaths of flowers have also been sent from abroad.
More than 41,000 people attended Mass live on social media, sending their condolences to the family of Marie Giang. "It is very painful for her not to have seen her father before his death," said Paul Tran Minh Nhat, a human rights activist in the country, adding that the teenager had written several times to authorities to beg them to release his father, without ever getting an answer. "Benevolence and justice do not exist in the heart of stone of those who have denied his last will,"he said, adding that François Phong, who helped hundreds of fishermen to sue Taiwan's Formosa steel plant in 2016 for polluting the coastal waters in four central provinces, had also missed his father's funeral. the previous year.
Thuc says that Marie Giang and Joseph Cong - who died of lung cancer on June 16 - are both victims of the Formosa plant, which has recognized the pollution of coastal waters. The company paid US $ 500 million compensation to the Vietnamese government for accidental spills of toxic waste, which polluted 200 km of coast by destroying all forms of marine life to the detriment of local communities dependent on fishing and tourism. The priest adds that Joseph Cong, who has two daughters who pursue a religious vocation, was persecuted for opposing the marine pollution of the Formosa plant, accused of being the cause of cancer. About 165,000 new cases are registered each year in Vietnam. Father Thuc points out that the steel plant, with a capital of more than 11 billion US dollars, is still operating in Ha Tinh province. Police continue to control, persecute and imprison people who oppose Formosa and other polluting corporations. On June 11, Bishop Emeritus of Kontum, Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from the Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed suit against Formosa at the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims. Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed a lawsuit against Formosa with the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims. Bishop Michael Duc Oanh, priests representing nearly 8,000 victims from Vinh and Ha Tinh dioceses, and Taiwan lawyers filed a lawsuit against Formosa with the Taipei District Court. They ask the factory to clean up the damage and provide financial compensation to the victims.
(Églises d'Asie - le 19/06/2019, With Ucanews, Vinh)