SOUTH VIET NAM: The Beleaguered Man

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*Two of the sects say they are religious; one is political. Cao Dai is a mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism with its own Pope and cardinals, and a Vatican headquarters 55 miles northwest of Saigon. Cao Dai has an expanding pantheon that includes Clemenceau, Victor Hugo and Joan of Arc and, in nomination pending his death, Sir Winston Churchill. Its Pope, Pham Cong Tac, was formerly a Saigon customs clerk. Hoa Hao is a rowdy sect of dissident Buddhists professing its belief in abstinence and prayer. Its founder, the late Huynh Phu So, augmented his fame as a healer when, the story goes, he was sent to a lunatic asylum and converted his psychiatrist. Binh Xuyen is an organization of bandits, in mustard-colored uniforms, who control both the brothels and the police of Saigon under a handy arrangement with the absentee chief of state, Bao Dai. Their commander, General Le Van Vien, was once a river pirate. Pronounced 'n go (as in come 'n go) din d'zee-em.