A Vietnam War in O.C.
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Right-wing exiles in Orange County are on an increasingly desperate mission to root out any hint of communism.
By Nick Schou
September 6, 2007
Thirty-two years after the fall of Saigon, the war against communism rages on in Orange County's Little Saigon, the largest concentration of Vietnamese exiles in the world. Years ago, being called a communist there could get you killed -- between 1987 and 1990, a right-wing death squad claimed responsibility for the murders of five Vietnamese American journalists, including Tap Van Pham, editor of the Westminster-based weekly Mai.

But after more than a decade of free trade, restored diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Vietnam and the emergence of a new voting-age generation of Vietnamese Americans too young to remember the war, Little Saigon's extreme anti-communist bloc is finally losing its political monopoly. Though not without a fight.

The same folks who in 1999 hounded a video store owner by the tens of thousands for hanging a poster of Ho Chi Minh above his counter are now waging what seems like a last, desperate offensive against the commies.

The initial target of their ever-expanding boycott was Viet Weekly, a Vietnamese-language newspaper based in Garden Grove. Beginning July 21, hundreds of demonstrators, many wearing camouflage fatigues and waving South Vietnamese and American flags, have surrounded the newspaper's office once a week on Garden Grove's historic Main Street to accuse Viet Weekly of supporting communism and terrorism. The evidence? In early May, just after the 32nd anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, the paper printed two Op-Ed articles debating the war's meaning.

The first, by University of Michigan professor and Vietnam War veteran Keith Taylor, defended the U.S. role in the war and celebrated South Vietnamese soldiers as heroes. The more controversial article, by ex-Viet Cong soldier Ha Van Thuy, attacked Taylor's essay and referred to Ho Chi Minh as a "world-recognized cultural leader and great personality." Thuy added that "the 9/11 attacks were an appropriate price for America to pay for the things it did to the world."

Although Viet Weekly Publisher Le Vu insists that Thuy's piece, which he reprinted from a Vietnamese-language website, doesn't reflect his own opinion, it was the last straw for Vu's critics, including Republican Assemblyman Van Thai Tran of Garden Grove, the most powerful Vietnamese American elected official in the country. A week before the boycott began, Tran attended an organizing meeting at the Westminster Civic Center and told the crowd that in 2003 -- the same year Viet Weekly began publishing, back when Tran was still a Garden Grove City Council member -- he'd met with three FBI officials who told him that communist agents had infiltrated Little Saigon's media.

Tran denies that he was involved in the boycott against Viet Weekly and insists that his comments about the FBI weren't meant to imply that the newspaper's employees are agents of Hanoi. "Only they would know that," he told me. "I don't want to speculate. I don't read their newspaper." Still, the paper does help "divide and confuse" the Vietnamese American community, which is the primary goal of the Vietnamese government, Tran alleged.

So far, Viet Weekly has persevered despite losing numerous advertisers and distributors and receiving e-mails threatening to burn down its office. Each week the paper prints updates on the protests, which have now broadened to target any local business or event perceived as pro-communist. "They realize they cannot win against Viet Weekly, so they need easier targets," Vu said.

One of those targets was a July 29 variety show at the OC Pavilion in Garden Grove featuring performers from Vietnam, such as Tommy Ngo, who demonstrators accused of being a communist because he appeared in posters for the event wearing a Macy's belt buckle shaped like the word "Love." Because the inside circle of the letter "O" had been replaced with a five-pointed star -- familiar to Americans as part of the Macy's logo -- activists accused Ngo of subliminally broadcasting support for the Vietnamese government, whose flag also includes a star.

About 150 protesters gathered outside the performance with placards and flags and accused anyone who entered of being a communist. Trinh Hoi, a refugee lawyer and the evening's master of ceremonies -- he is also the son-in-law of former South Vietnam Vice President Nguyen Cao Ky and a friend of Van Thai Tran -- says the protest reflected anger over Hoi's participation in a similar event in Australia this year.

Also boycotted was the Aug. 26 premiere of "Saigon Love Story," Vietnam's first vaudevillian movie musical, at Costa Mesa's Pacific Amphitheater. Right-wing Vietnamese-language websites called for a protest of the screening because the film was made in Vietnam. The chatter apparently began when activists noticed a poster for the premiere that called it a "red carpet" event.

"This film has no political slant whatsoever," said director Ringo Le, 29, who grew up in San Jose. "It's about love. There's a very anti-Vietnam sentiment right now, and they're just using every scapegoat imaginable. It's becoming like a Salem witch hunt."

As a boat person whose family fled communist-ruled Vietnam in 1979, Viet Weekly's Vu understands why first-generation residents tend to be touchy about the war. Still, he says, "Being called a communist in this town is just a tactic. Even some of the people criticizing us have been accused of being communist. But if we are successful in putting up a fight, they will lose their magic power."

Nick Schou is news and investigations editor of the OC Weekly.

Misleading title. It should be Vietnamese American War in Orange County.

Poor titling by the author.

I pray for His Safety.

Get away from OC...........ASAP !

Fuking VNCH extremists! They have always been worthless.

This is why I hate gun control laws. One of these days I need I stock up weapons and defend myself from these crazy g@@ks.

These self-fulfilling prophecy g@@ks are very dangerous and attack in large number. Even thought they make good noodle soup, but that's no exception. They're very violent, fragile, and foolish so there is little hope to none reasoning with them.


I hope these c@ck sucker politicians won't violate the consitution. If they do then they're giving advantages to criminals, crazy Korean g@@ks that shoot up school, drug dealers, VNCH traitors, and bad guys. ANDDDDD we know that bad guys will get their guns regarless...

You can make a different by telling your local representatives and express how you feel. If you're lucky they might even offer you a blow job.

No they are the defender of democracy, freedom of expression, and human rights, LOL.

These fukkers are a bad joke big style!!!

Still, Prof Keith Taylor thinks they are heroes, sweet!!! What is he prof of, one wonders

It is clear that these fu-kers don't represent the majority of the Vietnamese American majority in OC. These parasites subsist on either raw, indiscriminate intimidation or on attempts at raw, indiscriminate intimidation. It is their attempts at raw, indiscriminate intimidation that will be their undoing, because it is only a matter of time before someone takes their names down and sues them for damaging their business. Also, Van Thai Tran is a piece of $hit.

"Saigon Love Story" (Dustine Nguyen, Ngoc Anh, Minh Tri) is horrible. Even the casts said it is bad.

ANyway, it's always retard of the extremists to protest everything that come from VN even if it's a movie or a singer.

haha wow political gangstass

to be fair.........................most of the VNCH Fanatics are 'late-comers' to the USA.

Look @ me, RVN Loyalist, Law Abiding Gun Owner.....................haven't shot any Scumbags.....................Not Yet !


ETA-

I have to admit that the Reception we gave to the President of Vietnam was pretty ugly !

These VNCH motherfu-kers should line up and suck my d!ck.

Man, I wish somebody would tell me that in front of my face but I havenot met a guy a big ball to do that yet, so far they are just on the interweb. Happy Asian would you happen to live here in the US or VN because I want to know what kind of percentage I would get from meeting you in person, nah I dont think I would be that lucky because of that kind of person like you are very rare to meet.

BTW: I already know who you are thanks to your ID on Myspace, I will remember your name and your face. If the earth is still spinning, I am pretty sure one day we will meet then I can fully serve you, I know that talking shiet on the interweb is cheap but you better watch your back homie.

That looks like a threat

I don't live in the U.S or VietNam, my home is in the city of Melbourne, Australia. This is my backyard:

Orange County is not a good place to find communists, it's filled with rich white and Asian fiscal conservatives/politcally apathetic people.

If were to go out and hunt commies, I'd go to Hollywood!

I'm not sure about rich or politically apathetic. Maybe with other Asians, but not Vietnamese.

Didn't they pass a 'law' making it illegal to be a commie in OC ??????

Yes they did, but it is only symbolic...there is no way to enforce it.....LOL

a true egangster

I tried so hard and you gave him the tittle

hey tim these idiots will always be busy hiding whether they are in the US or australia. if happy went to his local viet suburb of footscray, melbourne and said anything to that effect he would get sliced up into little pieces. Thats why he has 12,000+ posts on here...he's a web only OG!!!

typical ,typical... "They realize they cannot win against Viet Weekly, so they need easier targets," Vu said.

ooooooooooooooooooohhhh...! watchit happy...u better hide it...he's coming for ur d!ck

Footscray...part of the ghetto???

And as you fully serve him on your knees, make sure that you don't lose a single drop. And one more thing: no bite marks!

Damn be careful Happy! This nguỵ con is coming for ya! I sure wonder if he will do his own fighting or will he be calling the Americans to do it?

Either way I will get it for free, but the nguy's master is probably better.

holy carp! this "freedom fighters" are hardcore! haha

no wonder Hollywood kept portraying viet gangsters


btw, does anybody know more about the death squat thing?

what happened to them? were they ever caught?

well since we're all talking shiet....so let me ask you what if he lives in vn? will you still make good on your threats and come there? or will you be like any other vnch loudmouths who b!tch around all the time...holding little flags everyday until they die but never really having the "big ball" to go back to vn and pull that same stunt.

If you truly the big man you are clearly trying to proclaim to be then don't talk the same cheap "shiet" on the "interweb" and be a hyprocrite...go back to vietnam and prove it...or at least give your address...so atleast anybody can come meet you face to face..just in case they feel like having the big balls.....

No, I dont have a big ball to go around and tell all VNCH or VC to suck my weenie . When Happy made that statement on the interweb, I felt very insulted because most of us that living in the US and the other free countries are the descendents of the VNCH soldiers so at least we have to give them some respect even though some of you dislike their beliefs which they have no choice during the war. If somebody felt like having the big balls, they can go down to any Viet food joints in the US and make that same statement as Happy did, as for me I am just going to waiting for that moment to come and rest assure that I am not looking forward to it.

Cheers!

I mean don't get me wrong, I have respect for all vietnamese soldiers. My entire dad's side of the family were pilots for the arvn and some from my mom side were soldiers for the vietminh during the first war against the french.

The only thing in my mind that i oppose of actions by vnch supporters is the fact that some of them have began this campaign of linching any body who shows any support or hight regards towards the nation of vietnam or hcm. How rational is that when considering their whole moto is democracy, free expression and human rights for vn? then let me ask you where will my democracy, my freedom of expression and my human rights be when i walk into a santa ana cafe bar and simply talk highly about ho chi minh or vietnam? I won't have any...so what is the true message? democracy, freedom, and rights for only those who believes what they believe and have the same opinions that they have?

in the end they have grown to nothing but an organization of hate more than anything, an organization with long held anger and no true way of releasing it. Their political message as touching as political messages from the KKK. sooner or later the majority's tolerance for this type of behavior will grow short. Charges and lawsuits will be file...and they will get to know first hand what the real laws of democracy is about.

You made some good points, bro. I never have or will support the activities made by those "old" fanatic VNCH, as some of them are trying to live in their old glorious days.

They will come. Support your Vietnamese sisters and brothers.

oh wow that is awesome, i pay my respects to your family on your mom side. Those French colonial rulers are just as much crooks as those British Imperialists.