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The Flag Controversy

Hi Tuan,

I'm a freelance writer for the NW Asian Weekly and I proposed to the editor to write an objective story about the debate surrounding the trend in the US to replace the current flag of Vietnam with that of the old Rep. of South Vietnam.

From reading your writing and other content on your website I noticed that you have a different outlook on the history of the Vietnam War in comparison to the many proponents of "regime change" in Vietnam.

Here are my questions:

Question: What year did you leave Vietnam and how old were you? What was your, or your family's, position and occupation in the former South Vietnam?

Answer: I left Vietnam on April 30, 1975 by myself when I was fourteen years old. I was a student in middle school at the time. My father was a low ranking policeman for the government of South Vietnam.

Question: How would you respond to those in the community who claim that the old flag represents the history and identity of all Vietnamese-Americans?

Answer: The old flag represented the identity of some, but not all, of the Vietnamese people in South Vietnam who were on the side of the American, and the French before that. Most of those people left Vietnam for America during or after the war.

Therefore, it is correct to say the old Vietnamese flag represents the identity of most Vietnamese-Americans. Which means they are not really Vietnamese-Americans in the sense that they have not assimilated into America. As far as I know, the old South Vietnam flag is not the flag of America.

Question: What are your thoughts on the successful flag-reversing resolutions in such cities as Garden Grove, CA? Do you think that such resolutions could seriously harm the normalization of trade and cultural exchange between the US and Vietnam, as some Vietnamese officials have stated?

Answer: The United States has diplomatic relations with Vietnam. The current flag represents Vietnam. Any governmental organization in the United States that supports the old flag as the official flag of Vietnam is in violation of international law.

Furthermore, I think it certainly would harm trade and cultural exchanges between the two countries. How would Americans feel if Vietnam doesn't recognize the current flag of the United States, but the Confederate Flag as the official flag of the United States?

Question: How would you respond to others who think this issue is not very important and serves to isolate Vietnamese-Americans in mainstream America?

Answer: I absolutely think the flag issue will only serve to alienate Vietnamese-Americans from mainstream America. Vietnamese-Americans need to focus on issues affecting Vietnamese-Americans in the United States, such as equality and racism.

Question: What do you think of the claim by some Vietnamese-Americans that doing business and establishing ties with Vietnam only supports that country's bad human rights record and corruption within its government?

Answer: Before accusing other countries of Human Rights violations, the Vietnamese-Americans should look at Human Rights violations in the United States. Racism is certainly a violation of Human Rights, and racism is both systematic and institutional in America.

As far as corruption, there are plenty of corrupted officials in the United States, but they are just better at hiding it. Everyone knows it takes a lot of money, usually from special interest groups, to win an election in the United States.

Question: What do you think of the reasoning by some members of the Vietnamese-American community that the current government in Vietnam, and all that it represents, is completely illegitimate?

Answer: What rights do Vietnamese-Americans have to claim that the government of Vietnam is illegitimate? As far as I know, they are not citizens of Vietnam, and they don't live in Vietnam.

Democracy cannot be enforced from the outside. Only the citizens of a country can demand a democratic government for their form of government.

Question: Do you think this flag debate is serving to strengthen and legitimize the Vietnamese-American vote in this country or is it doing the opposite?

Answer: The flag debate will not strengthen or encourage Vietnamese-Americans to vote. People register and choose to vote because they want to improve their living conditions.