special attention in the re-education process by the new government, and many of the movement's leaders were imprisoned. The new government prohibited the religion, but allowed individual practitioners to worship at home. Many Hoahaoists fled to neighboring Cambodia or migrated to the United States to avoid further persecution. Meanwhile, the religious leaders of the Hòa Hảo found various ways to cooperate with local authorities. Some leaders took a rather more political viewpoint and were subjected to harassment. Some leaders refused to discuss politics, and they were left alone in some areas. Some opined about the government's abuses, which caused tension as they were perceived as rebels. Present day and persecution The Vietnamese government officially recognized the Hòa Hảo religion in 1999. In July, half a million Hoahaoists gathered in An Giang. Similar religious gatherings of the Hòa Hảo were held in the following years. Despite this, the government imposes harsh controls on dissenting Hòa Hảo groups that do not follow the state-sanctioned branch. Local rights groups have said that authorities in An Giang harass unapproved devotees on a regular basis, prohibit public readings of the Hòa Hảo founder's writings, and discourage worshipers from visiting Hòa Hảo pagodas in An Giang and adjoining provinces. The collective expression of particular Hòa Hảo commemorations, pilgrimage traditions, and freedom of publication are disfavored by the authorities. The Vietnamese Communist Party demonstrated its continuation of political domination by renewed arrests of Hòa Hảo activists. Two Hoahaoists self-immolated in 2005 to protest religious persecution and in May 2007 nine more were imprisoned following a wave of arrests. Unrecognized religious groups, including Hòa Hảo groups, face constant monitoring, harassment, and intimidation, according to a 2020 Human Rights Watch report, and their followers are subjected to public criticism, forced abandonment of faith, arrest, questioning, torture, and incarceration. According to other sources, members of the unregistered Hòa Hảo groups were persecuted on numerous occasions, including the imprisonment of six Hoahaoists who were accused of organizing an anti-government protest. Hòa Hảo sources state that house arrest was imposed on 67 Hòa Hảo followers as of mid-2019. Individuals resisting police efforts to prevent invitees from attending Hòa Hảo meetings have accounted for the majority of the arrests; the police considered such defiance to be "inciting a disturbance". In October 2019, six members of an unregistered Hòa Hảo group were assaulted by uniformed policemen in An Giang Province while traveling to demonstrate