Vietnam's most celebrated Buddhist monk has spent a lifetime in and out of jail and house arrest for promoting religious freedom and democracy. Freed again two weeks ago, Thich Quang Do remains as feisty and outspoken as ever.
"People are very afraid of the government. ... Only I dare to say what I want to say. That is why they are afraid of me," the 74-year-old Nobel Peace Prize nominee said during an interview at the Thanh Minh Zen Monastery where he was confined for two years. It was his first meeting with a foreign journalist since his June 27 release.
Shaven-headed, with a disarming gap-toothed smile, Do cuts an elfin figure in his brown robes. Yet as deputy head of the banned Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, his words carry weight.
As communist Vietnam embraces the free market and seeks foreign aid and investment, its weak human rights record is under increasing international scrutiny. While welcoming Do's release, Western diplomats and human rights groups remain wary of whether it signifies a true change of heart.
"Given the number of people who are coming in (to prison), a high-profile release, in and of itself, is not necessarily a big improvement," said Brad Adams of New York-based Human Rights Watch.
Do's early release was a singular bright spot in a year that saw an intensified crackdown on political dissidents and continued persecution of ethnic minorities.
He credits international pressure, particularly from U.S. and European legislators, with helping shorten his detention, but believes it was a token gesture.
The Vietnamese government "wants to join the (World Trade Organization). That's important to them. So they have to ease up on human rights and religious freedom... But this is only temporary. In reality, they haven't opened up at all," he said.
Last month, Vietnam provoked an international outcry by sentencing dissident Pham Hong Son to 13 years in jail for circulating pro-democracy materials over the Internet. His major offense: translating a U.S. State Department essay titled 'What Is Democracy?'
Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert with the Australian Defense Force Academy, believes Do's release one week later was an attempt to salvage international good will and perhaps mend fences with the outlawed Unified Buddhist Church of Vietnam, whose leaders are seen as less threatening than political dissidents.
"The Buddhists have been arguing for religious freedom and the ability to control religious affairs. They're not trying to overthrow the Communist Party," Thayer said.
Vietnam maintains that its citizens enjoy freedom of speech and religion and only punishes lawbreakers. But its definition of crime raises questions.
In 1995, when Do was sentenced to a five-year prison term, the charges included sending two faxes to overseas Buddhists accusing the government of obstructing a church-sponsored flood relief mission.
During his latest confinement, Do was kept behind the red wrought-iron gates of the pagoda. His phone line was cut, he was denied visitors and letters, and security police were on duty round the clock.
Even now, "on paper, I am free, but they are always watching," Do said, bursting into peals of laughter.
After greeting guests in a small sitting room upstairs, he spoke at length about freedom, human rights and democracy. "In my opinion, these are more important than economic development," he said. "If we don't have it, we cannot make any progress in the real sense."
Do expressed particular concern over the heavy prison sentences meted out to several "cyber dissidents," and urged foreign governments to campaign privately and publicly on their behalf.
"They are simply asking for democracy and human rights, but the government is afraid of losing control, and tries to silence them," he said.
He could have been describing himself. His defiance of repressive governments predates the 1975 communist takeover of South Vietnam and the former Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City. He was first jailed under Catholic leader Ngo Dinh Diem.
In 1981, the government created the Communist Party-controlled Vietnam Buddhist Church and forced Do into "internal exile."
International outcry led to early release from his 1995 sentence but he was again placed under house arrest in 2001.
In recent years, Vietnam has become more tolerant of public worship, and the faithful crowd into incense-filled Buddhist temples and Catholic churches.
But for Do, religious worship does not equal religious freedom and he plans to pick up where he left off.
"I must speak the truth and do what I believe is right. If it means being arrested again, well, I will accept it," he said with another defiant laugh.