News, 20/11/98
hyt...@my-dejanews.com
* Vietnam glad that Gore used 'Doi Moi'
The Star, 18/11/98
KUALA LUMPUR: Vietnam says it is thrilled that US Vice-President Al Gore used
the term Doi Moi in his controversial speech on Monday night.
According to a Vietnamese official, Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Van Khai was
even more pleased when Gore shook his hand after the speech and asked Van Khai
whether he had pronounced the word correctly.
The official said the word Doi Moi meant renewal and was first used in 1986
when the country renewed its economic and political structure.
* Marubeni, Kanematsu join in Vietnam phone project
TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Marubeni Corp and Kanematsu Corp will take part in a
telephone project with Vietnam National Post and Communications (VNPT), a
Marubeni spokesman said on Friday.
Marubeni and Kanematsu will each acquire 13 percent, at a price of $15.6
million each, in FCR Vietnam Pte Ltd (FCR-V), a Singapore-based subsidiary of
France Cable et Radio, and will take part in the Vietnam telephone project,
the spokesman said.
France Cable et Radio has an agreement with VNPT on joint operations and
construction of the telephone network in the eastern area of Ho Chi Minh City,
he said.
Vietnam's government plans to improve the nation's telephone network between
1996 and 2000, with the total project costing up to $467 million, he said.
FCR-V will install 540,000 telephone circuits in Ho Chi Minh City over the
next five years, Marubeni and Kanematsu said in a joint statement.
* Foreign nationals arrested on Polish-Lithuanian border
BBC, 20/11/98
The Polish authorities have arrested a hundred and thirteen people who
weretrying to enter the country illegally, near the border with Lithuania.
The police say the groups included men, women and children from Afghanistan,
Sri Lanka and Vietnam.
They say the groups were braving temperatures as low as minus fifteen degrees
Celsius in a bid to make it to western Europe.
* Convicted murderer gets 35 years to life in prison
Victim's mother and sister take the stand to request the stiffest sentence
possible.
LAT, 20/11/98
SANTA ANA -- Patricia Tran spoke in a soft, mournful voice that wavered then
broke as she tried to hold back tears as she told Superior Court Judge
William M. Monroe on Friday about the life of her sister Kristie Nguyen.
Her tearful statement followed one written by her mother, Julia. Both
were pleas to Monroe to give the man convicted of murdering their sister and
daughter the fullest sentence possible. And Monroe did. He
sentenced Phong Thanh Nguyen, 24, of Fountain Valley to 35 years to life in
prison for the first-degree murder of his 20-year-old girlfriend.
Before that ruling, Monroe rejected a motion by Deputy Public Defender Jim
Appel for a new trial based on evidence discovered after a jury convicted
Phong Nguyen in October. The sentencing came 1 1/2 years after Kristie
Nguyen, who was unrelated to the man convicted of killing her, was found dead
in the trunk of her sister's car in Seal Beach. Patricia and Julia Tran
were regular fixtures at court proceedings and Friday they took the
opportunity to put their loved one's life in perspective. Julia Tran
described how, as a single mother, she and her children fled Vietnam by boat
after the war only to be attacked by Thai pirates and later placed in refugee
camps in Thailand and the Philippines. When the trio finally arrived in the
United States, Julia Tran got a job delivering newspapers and working at a
gas station to support her girls. "I had no other relatives. My
daughters, they were my life," Julia Tran said. "Kristie was my life, and
that person took my life away. Leaving Vietnam with all its difficulties is
nothing compared to the death of Kristie." During Friday's hearing on Appel's
motion for a new trial, Phong Nguyen's friend, Tam Van Nguyen, testified that
he saw Kristie Nguyen at a Westminster restaurant the same day that Seal
Beach police say she was murdered. Yet Tam Nguyen could not clearly remember
the date he saw her or what clothing she and the man and woman she supposedly
was with were wearing. Deputy District Attorney Claudia Silbar
countered that Tam Nguyen, who is in state prison for a residential robbery
conviction, had testified during Phong Nguyen's trial but did not mention
seeing the victim. The witness said he never spoke up because no one
had asked him about it, and only told his friend about it when they were in a
holding cell after Phong Nguyen was convicted. Monroe denied the
motion. "I find the testimony patently unbelievable," Monroe said. "I
do not believe a word the man said." In addition to sentencing Phong Nguyen
to prison, Monroe ordered him to pay the state $10,000 in restitution and
gave him 60 days to file an appeal.
* Meeting with VN to discuss cooperation Coffee and rice tops bilateral talks
agenda
The bangkok Post, 20/11/98
Thai and Vietnamese trade officials will meet next Wednesday to discuss
cooperation on agricultural products, barter trade and minimising trade
impediments, such as import quotas for Thai motorcycles.
Cooperation on coffee in particular should benefit both countries, which are
small players in the world market compared with South American producers, a
Commerce Ministry official said.
"It should broaden our market access as buyers would pay more attention to the
region if they find secure suppliers."
Similarly, cooperation on rubber would improve Thailand's bargaining power if
other producers could join together in controlling supplies to the world
market, officials said.
Thailand and Vietnam signed an agreement six years ago to exchange information
about rice price, rice production and export volume every quarter.
"The agreement was made so that the two countries would not cut prices in the
world market, but in recent years the Thai private sector was not so eager [to
participate] as it saw itself as competitive in the world market, with Vietnam
as the runner-up," an official said.
But now that rice market has become very price-competitive again, the revival
of cooperation between the two countries would be mutually beneficial, he
said.
"But cooperation on rice will not be discussed in great at next week's meeting
as there are other forums, at the director-general, private sector and
ministerial levels."
The Vietnamese side proposed last year that barter trade and counter-trade be
promoted, along with usage of local currency for trade payments, to reduce
dependence on hard currencies.
The Thai position is to discuss barter trade as an additional channel for the
private sectors on a voluntary basis. Vietnam has so far proposed barter trade
in fish, agricultural products and minerals.
However, the idea does not seem very convincing to the Thai private sector.
"Barter trade is possible for countries whose export-import activities are
controlled by government affiliates," the official said.
"It would work if we traded a variety of products, but in fact Thai rice
exporters may not want to barter for fertilisers or steel as they are not in
the business."
Increasing the use of local currencies, meanwhile, appears to be a dead issue
given the regional recession and high risk of volatility with the Vietnamese
dong.
* Legendary turtle ready to appear?
Knight Ridder, 20/11/98
HANOI, Vietnam -- It could happen any morning now. It probably will be cool
and overcast, with a breeze out of the northeast and maybe a light rain
falling. There, out on Hoan Kiem Lake in the heart of the Vietnamese capital,
breaking the surface -- a snout will appear.
Then maybe a brief flash of shell, and perhaps a flirtation of flipper.
The legendary Hoan Kiem turtle should be making one of its rare appearances
soon, as the weather cools, and experts are afraid it could be one of the last
times the mysterious reptile comes up for air.
"This turtle is a fascinating phenomenon, probably the biggest soft-shell in
the world and certainly the most endangered," said Peter Pritchard, a renowned
turtle biologist. "People in Vietnam are treating it like the Loch Ness
monster, but this is not a myth. People need to treat it like a biological
thing -- an endangered species."
Many Vietnamese, however, don't believe the 6-foot-long, pink-bellied, green-
shelled turtles exist. They think it's merely an ancient myth that has become
a bit of urban folklore and a tall tale for tourists.
The story goes that Le Loi, a warrior king, used a heaven-sent sword to hold
off some Chinese invaders back in the mid-1400s. After the final battle, as Le
Loi was boating in Hanoi, his sword leapt from its scabbard and into the mouth
of a turtle. The turtle plunged underwater with the sword, never to be seen
again, and the lake has been known as Ho Hoan Kiem ever since -- the Lake of
the Returned Sword.
Ha Dinh Duc, Vietnam's leading turtle expert, believes the turtle that made
off with Le Loi's sword is still living in the lake. That would make it about
550 years old.
"Yes, that's right, the same turtle," said Duc, 56, a biology professor at
Hanoi National University who has studied the Hoan Kiem turtles since 1991.
"Some scientists don't believe a turtle could live this long, especially in a
lake so small and with so many people around, but I think so."
Hoan Kiem Lake is small and shallow -- two football fields wide, six fields
long, and about 7 feet deep at its deepest point. It appears to be more bog
than lake, a kind of steaming green puddle. Pritchard said that although the
lake is badly polluted, the turtles conceivably could live underwater
indefinitely, coming to the surface only for an occasional gulp of air or a
bit of sun.
"They probably eat anything," said Pritchard, author of the definitive
"Encyclopedia of Turtles."
"Mostly fish. Even dead fish. Even stinky fish."
A live Hoan Kiem turtle has never been captured, and the Vietnamese government
has issued a decree banning any attempt to catch one.
An impassioned letter from Duc to former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet halted an
attempt to dredge the lake in 1993. Earlier that year, three scuba divers
spent four hours underwater, scouting for turtles.
"They found nothing," Duc said, smiling from behind his smudged spectacles.
"People here believe the turtle is sacred. They think only crazy people would
want to catch one."
Duc and Pritchard, however, believe the huge turtles could be an entirely new
freshwater species, one never before documented or studied. Their theory
relies on their analysis of a few photographs that show the shape of the
turtle's head and shell.
There is only one known photo of the turtle entirely out of the water, and
the scientists point to it as the best evidence that the Hoan Kiem turtles
are built quite differently from their supposed next of kin, Pelochelys
bibroni and Rafetus swinhoei. While a big Pelochelys or Rafetus can weigh in
at 220 pounds, Duc figures the Hoan Kiem turtles weigh 400 pounds or more.
Neither Duc nor the other turtle savants who have studied the lake know how
many big turtles are there, although Duc and Pritchard believe there could be
no more than five.
"I think it's pretty clear they aren't reproducing," said Pritchard, who
compares Hoan Kiem to an old-age home for the turtles. "My inclination is that
they're doomed."
The turtles, Pritchard said, are threatened by municipal "improvements"
around the lake, which are a major attraction for tourists and Hanoians
alike. The earthen banks have been almost entirely cemented over, leaving
only a few yards of rocky beach where a turtle might find a place to bury her
clutches of 100 or more eggs.
"A beast that big can't go clambering over rocks to lay its eggs," fumed
Pritchard, who is outraged that officials have failed to protect what he calls
"part of Vietnam's national patrimony."
A project to study the lake -- the first of its kind -- was approved in
October, although it will take two years to complete. Pritchard is not sure
the Hoan Kiem turtles have that long.
His solution: bring in a few hundred tons of clean river sand to form a
nesting and sunning beach for the turtles. Meanwhile, he would look
elsewhere, mostly in China and Southeast Asia, for healthy freshwater turtles
to replace the Hoan Kiem species as it dies out. His primary requirement for
the replacements: They'll have to be big.
"I wouldn't bring any 2-foot-long turtles in there," Pritchard said. "The
people in Hanoi, you know, they're really used to world-record turtles."
* Vietnam looks to export more to Malaysia
The Star, 19/11/98
KUALA LUMPUR: A Vietnam state-owned company is expected to sign several
agreements with local firms in January to export agriculture, embroidery and
handicraft-based products. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, manager of the import-export
department of Hanoi General Production and Import-Export Co, said the
products included raw green beans, soya beans, wooden toys, rattan products,
ceramic wares, textile and embroidery cards.
"We see a good market for these products in Malaysia," she said in Kuala
Lumpur on Tuesday.
It now exports black pepper, groundnuts and red beans to Malaysia worth some
US$5mil a year.
"We expect our business in Malaysia to increase by 20% to 30% with the export
of the new products," she added. -- Bernama
* Former prisoner seeks easing of repressive measures
WASHINGTON (AP, 20/11/98) — An exiled Vietnamese dissident who has spent
almost a third of his life in detention called on Vietnamese authorities
today to abolish a decree that permits the imprisonment of government
opponents for up to two years without trial.
Doan Viet Hoat, who emigrated to the United States three months ago after
being released from prison, cited the decree as one of several methods
Vietnam uses to suppress dissent.
Hoat, 56, told a news conference the decree, approved in April 1997, allows
government officials down to the village level to put anyone considered
"detrimental to national security'' in custody for six months to two years
without trial.
"They may be house-arrested or forced to move to an assigned location to be
re- educated,'' Hoat said. "This decree not only violates universal standards
of human rights and dignity but, worse, challenges daringly all efforts to
struggle for a free and democratic Vietnam.''
In addition to lifting the decree, Hoat also called on Vietnam to free the
hundreds of prisoners he said are in custody for political reasons, and to
allow freedom of the press and religion.
"There is no check on the police and the government in a dictatorship,'' he
said.
Hoat, who teaches at Catholic University here, said the American people have
given insufficient attention to human rights issues in Vietnam. If there were
more foreign media exposure to rights abuses, he said, Vietnamese authorities
would ease repression.
As a youth, Hoat participated in demonstrations to protest the policies of
the U.S.-backed government of South Vietnam. After the unification of South
and North Vietnam, he was arrested by the communist authorities for
anti-government activities.
He was released in 1988 only to be imprisoned again in 1990 for calling for
the abolition of the Communist Party.
Hoat was among 5,219 Vietnamese prisoners granted amnesty last September to
mark the country's independence anniversary.
* Hanoi prepares to host annual heads of state meeting
HANOI, Vietnam (AP, 20/11/98) -- Many of the leaders who attended a troubled
Asian summit this week will soon be meeting again to tackle the same problem
-- the economic malaise plaguing Southeast Asia.
Vietnam has said that during the summit it is hosting next month it will try
to avoid the public bickering that overshadowed the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation meeting in Malaysia.
Opposition by Japan forced the Malaysia summit to delay action on a plan to
cut tariffs, prompting the United States to accuse Japan of failing to show
leadership.
And Vice President Al Gore sparked controversy by praising Malaysian
political dissidents, breaking with summit tradition by addressing a
non-economic subject -- human rights.
Half of the leaders from the Kuala Lumpur meeting are expected at the Vietnam
gathering on Dec. 15-16. The theme will be peace, stability and development.
"In recent months, Southeast Asia has been seen as a region seriously affected
by the financial and monetary crisis," Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Vu
Khoan said Thursday.
"We think it will be seen again as a region of prosperity, peace and stability
-- a reliable partner in the world community," he said.
Unlike last year's Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit, the United
States and several other industrialized nations won't be attending. China,
Japan and South Korea have been invited.
There were private grumblings by several members last year that inviting so
many outsiders diluted what started out as an Asians-only meeting.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam.
Cambodia has applied for membership, but its recent political uncertainty has
delayed a final decision. Khoan said Vietnam wants its neighbor to be admitted
and hopes that an agreement reached last week on structure of a new government
could finally pave the way.
This is the biggest and most high-profile international gathering that Vietnam
has hosted, and there have been concerns raised about problems in everything
from technical support to logistics and access by reporters to officials.
"There might be some problems," Khoan admitted. "If that happens, we urge you
to understand."
* SAR drug traffickers executed in Vietnam
SCMP, 21/11/98 - Two Hong Kong men have been executed by firing squad for
their part in Vietnam's biggest heroin bust, it was reported yesterday.
Sammy Chan Chun-hung, 38, and Sun Chi-kin, 36, who were arrested for
trafficking 18.1kg of heroin in March 1996, were shot in Ho Chi Minh City on
Thursday.
Their families, said not to have been informed in advance, will be invited to
Vietnam soon to collect the dead men's personal effects.
The two men were married but it is not known whether they had children. Chan
worked in an import and export firm as a clerk and Sun claimed he was a cafe
owner. It is believed only Vietnamese officials and journalists were allowed
to witness the pair's final moments.
Their cases follow the execution of another Hong Kong heroin smuggler, Wong
Chi- shing, in 1995.
Possession or transporting of more than 100 grams of heroin is punishable by
death in Vietnam.
Chan and Sun were arrested at Tan Son Nhat airport on March 15, 1996, while in
transit from Bangkok to Europe. They used a double-bottomed suitcase to hide
the drugs.
Travelling on fake Portuguese passports when arrested, the pair claimed they
were Macau residents. However, the Hong Kong Immigration Department said they
were SAR residents.
A source said the two men told police in Vietnam they had met a Hong Kong man,
Kwok Shui-fan, 36, in a Bangkok casino and had been recruited to smuggle the
drug to the Netherlands.
In May, 1996, Hong Kong police were informed by Vietnamese authorities through
Interpol that they had arrested the two traffickers and asked to check the
background of the three men.
Two Hong Kong officers from the Narcotics Bureau flew to Bangkok in January
1997 and helped Thai authorities catch Kwok and seize 8.75kg of heroin, the
source said.
* New Newspaper, Viet Mercury, to Publish in January, 1999
SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Viet Mercury, a new Vietnamese-
language newspaper published by the San Jose Mercury News, will begin
publication January 29, 1999. This free distribution weekly will have an
average distribution of 17,500 and will be available at more than 500 racks
and store locations in Santa Clara County.
The debut of Viet Mercury means that the Mercury News will be publishing
simultaneously in three languages: English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Each week, Viet Mercury will offer local news, international news, features
about health and family matters, business and technology coverage,
entertainment articles and sports coverage. Viet Mercury also will include
regular dispatches from Mark McDonald, bureau chief for the Mercury News'
Vietnam bureau.
Mercury News Publisher Jay Harris, who also will be publisher of Viet Mercury,
said, "Vietnamese-Americans represent a large, vibrant and growing part of our
community. The mission of our newspapers is to meet the information needs of
all members of our market, and our research indicates the majority of
Vietnamese adults prefer to read in their native language.
"The emerging Vietnamese community in San Jose is already one of the great
chapters in our city's history. Our entire community will benefit from its
contributions to our economy and our culture," Harris continued. "The Mercury
News has served the Greater San Jose community for nearly 150 years and we are
committed to serving the entire community in the years ahead. Viet Mercury is
another key element in our effort to act on that commitment."
Veteran journalist De Tran has been named editor of Viet Mercury. Tran, an
11- year employee of the Mercury News, most recently served as a reporter for
the Mercury News' diversity team, where part of his responsibilities included
covering the Vietnamese emigre community. He also has been a staff writer for
the Los Angeles Times. Tran has a degree in journalism from San Francisco
State University.
"Viet Mercury marks the first time in history that an English-language
newspaper launches a new newspaper in Vietnamese. It means the Vietnamese-
American community has come a long way in establishing itself here. This is
cause for rejoicing," said Tran.
"Our mission is simple: we aim to bring the Mercury News' standards for
fairness and accuracy to Viet Mercury.
"I grew up reading Ernest Hemingway and Jack London in Vietnamese. So I'm
grateful for a chance to work in the language of my birth and to contribute a
small part to our vibrant community here," said Tran.
Lan Nguyen Calderon, Mercury News training and development manager, has been
named product manager for Viet Mercury. Calderon recently was awarded a Knight
Ridder excellence award for her work in diversity. Knight Ridder is the parent
company of Viet Mercury and the Mercury News.
Calderon has extensive experience in business development; prior to joining
the Mercury News, she was owner and operations manager for Richland Lumber, a
multi- million dollar building supply company. She also was marketing and
development manager for the Restaurant Group, a national franchiser, and was
responsible for employment development for the Great Mall of the Bay Area.
She holds a B.S. in marketing and finance from San Francisco State
University.
"Santa Clara County is home to more than 100,000 Vietnamese Americans, a
number that has doubled since the 1990 census," said Calderon. "In fact, San
Jose ranks number one of all U.S. cities in Vietnamese population. There is a
definite market desire for a newspaper such as Viet Mercury. We believe the
reaction of our readers and advertisers will be overwhelmingly positive."
Ham Xuan Nguyen has been named advertising sales manager for Viet Mercury.
Most recently, he worked for a company which was consulting with American
companies wanting to start businesses in Asia, especially Vietnam.
He previously worked in sales and management at several different insurance
agencies in San Jose and in the telecommunications industry. He is a graduate
of San Jose State University with a B.S. in industrial engineering.
Hoang Xuan Nguyen has been named managing editor of Viet Mercury. Nguyen joins
Viet Mercury from Nhat Bao Vien Dong (Far Eastern Daily News) in Midway City,
CA, where he was editor in chief. He also served as editor in chief of Van
Magazine, a literature magazine in Southern California.
For 11 years, Nguyen was managing editor of Nhat Bao Nguoi Viet (the
Vietnamese Daily), the largest Vietnamese-language newspaper in the U.S.
Nguyen has a B.A. in philosophy from University Dalat, Dalat, South Vietnam.
Viet Mercury is the third major information product launched by the Mercury
News to serve the diverse needs of this rapidly expanding market. The company
also produces Mercury Center, its pioneering online edition, and Nuevo Mundo,
a Spanish-language weekly.
The San Jose Mercury News, known internationally as the newspaper of Silicon
Valley, has received wide recognition for its award-winning journalism,
particularly for its high technology news and analysis. The Mercury News has
won two Pulitzer Prizes and maintains 13 bureau offices, including the first
permanent post-war American bureau in Vietnam. Founded in 1851, the Mercury
News is a Knight Ridder company. SOURCE The San Jose Mercury News .
* Vietnam villagers save stricken Myanmar sailors
HANOI, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Vietnamese villagers in a central coastal province
rescued 21 Myanmar sailors after their ship ran into trouble during a tropical
storm, official media reported on Saturday.
One sailor was killed and three others injured out of the crew of 22 when the
storm battered the vessel on Thursday evening off the coast of Vietnam's Phu
Yen province, the official Nhan Dan (People) daily reported. It said the
7,000- tonne ship, called the Sunny, was en route from Hong Kong to Malaysia.
The vessel, registered in Panama, did not sink but the crew had to abandon
ship, the newspaper added.
No further details were available nor was there any information on what cargo
the vessel was carrying.
Tropical storm Dawn has lashed central Vietnam with heavy rains in recent
days, although few deaths have been reported.
* Agent Orange cover-up denied
SAN DIEGO (AP, 20/11/98) _ The Air Force is standing by a study of Agent
Orange despite a newspaper report alleging high-ranking officials tried to
cover up possible links to cancer and birth defects.
The Air Force said Wednesday that many claims in the Nov. 1 San Diego Union-
Tribune story were misleading or incorrect.
``The study is not flawed; it has been carried out according to its protocol,
under the review of a nongovernmental oversight committee ... and all results
are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals,'' the Air Force surgeon
general's office said.
The Air Force denied there was high-level interference.
The newspaper conducted a six-month investigation of the $200 million study,
which began in 1979 and has been key in denying compensation to Vietnam
veterans who were exposed to the defoliant. The study is scheduled to conclude
in 2006.
It is unclear how many people suffer from the effects of Agent Orange, which
was sprayed over the jungle from U.S. planes from 1962 to 1971 to strip away
cover used by the North Vietnamese.
* Pilots Shot Down In Vietnam Featured In New Documentary: `Return With
Honor'; Film Screening Benefits Homeless Vets In Los Angeles
SACRAMENTO, Calif. --(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 20, 1998-- "If you are able,
save for them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are
leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved
them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what
they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that
time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to
embrace those gentle heroes you left behind." -- Major Michael O'Donnell, Jan.
1, 1970, Dak To, Vietnam. O'Donnell, a helicopter pilot, was killed in action
March 24, 1970, during a rescue attempt.
Usually, Veterans Day observances in California and across the nation occur
during the day. Such ceremonies include parades, speeches and belated
presentations of military awards for bravery, courage and valor.
Not so for this patriotic performance which, from the word go, was most
unusual, not to mention a night to remember.
A coalition consisting of Honorary Chairman Gregory Peck, the Oscar-winning
actor who portrayed Gen. Douglas MacArthur on the silver screen; Los Angeles
Veterans Initiative Inc. (LA VETS); and the Bel Air Navy League hosted a
benefit screening of the feature documentary "Return With Honor."
Although the star-studded screening brightened the evening on November 11, the
gala affair did not take place at a veterans cemetery, military base or
retirement home.
The event was staged, in every sense of the word, at the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts and Sciences in Beverly Hills.
"This is an extraordinary film by Oscar-winners Freida Lee Mock and Terry
Sanders about the group of prisoners of war (POWs), all pilots, who were held
captive in the infamous `Hanoi Hilton' Prison in (North) Vietnam," said
Gregory Peck's son Stephen Peck, LA VETS' director of community development.
"Told in their own words, the film tells the moving story of their capture,
years of captivity and eventual homecoming.
"The story goes beyond the bounds of the Vietnam experience and tells a story
of duty, of quiet courage, of the terrible price of war and, finally, the will
to survive.
"We were honored that the filmmakers chose LA VETS to host this special
screening," Stephen Peck said.
Other credits for the film include: co-produced by Christine Z. Wiser;
written by Freida Lee Mock, Terry Sanders and Christine Z. Wiser;
photographed by Eddie Marritz and Terry Sanders; edited by Greg Byers; music
by Charles Bernstein; and sound mixing by Brasher Sound.
"Return With Honor" was made possible by a grant from the Boeing-McDonnell
Foundation to the Association of Graduates, U.S. Air Force Academy.
The idea for the film began with a gift made by three 1965 graduates of the
U.S. Air Force Academy at their 30-year reunion. The alumni collected oral
histories of 39 academy graduates, all ex-POWs, and presented bound copies to
the school.
"Following the movie's screening at the Sundance Film Festival in January, I
encourage the people of America to view this heart-wrenching, yet
awe-inspiring story of human survival when it opens nationwide in movie
theaters in April, a most appropriate month as Congress chose April 9 to be
the national day for honoring POWs," said Lee Bennett, state secretary of
veterans affairs.
"After listening to the pilots shot down describe in painful detail long years
of torture at the hands of North Vietnamese captors and their eventual `Return
With Honor' from a living hell, I dare say most Americans with even a slight
degree of empathy will feel tremendous gratitude and enormous respect toward
all Vietnam veterans, particularly our ex-POWs.
"It's quite clear from this film, freedom is not free," Bennett said.
Following its theatrical release, "Return With Honor" will be available on
video cassette, according to Sanders.
Five former prisoners of war(a) attended the screening: Jerry Denton, second
senior officer among the POWs at the Hanoi Hilton; Tom McNish, a 24-year-old
U.S. Air Force lieutenant shot down in September 1966; Mike McGrath, a former
Navy lieutenant who spent almost six years in captivity; George McKnight, an
Air Force captain who tried to escape and was a POW for more than seven years;
and William Baugh, an Air Force captain and a POW for more than six years.
Their comrade, Retired Air Force Col. Raymond Merritt of Marysville, spent 7
1/2 years in a North Vietnamese prison camp. Merritt was invited to and saw
the movie at its premiere at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 3 and
saw a rough cut of the film at the NAM-POW (Vietnam-POW) 25th reunion in
Dallas in late May.
He said, "People talk of sacrifices for God and country -- the POW has made
them. People talk about Hell and what it must be like -- the POW has been
there. People talk about heroism -- the POW has lived it.
"I speak from the experience of one who lost all freedoms while I was a POW. I
was denied those simple basic elements which most take for granted."
"I was fearful that each time my cell door was opened I could be taken to
another session of inhumanity," said Merritt.
Actors Charlton Heston and Robert Stack were among several Hollywood
celebrities who attended the benefit which included a VIP cocktail party.
In addition to Gregory Peck, Emmy-winning actor Dennis Franz of NYPD Blue,
Oliver Stone, Arianna Huffington, Martin Sheen and Senator Diane Feinstein
served on the benefit screening's host committee.
Prior to the screening, a representative of Bennett presented the California
Department of Veterans Affairs Meritorious Service Award (MSA) and a
departmental resolution to Stephen Peck, a Vietnam combat veteran, and
Stephani Hardy, LA VETS acting executive director, respectively.
In bestowing the MSA, Bennett commended Peck for going above and beyond the
call of duty in providing a hand up to L.A. County's 'Missing in America.'
Two other LA VETS representatives, Retired Marine Col. Joe Smith, president of
the board of directors, and Tim Cantwell, president of Westside Residence Hall
Inc., received a signed copy of Gov. Pete Wilson's Veterans Day proclamation
and a personal message from Gov.-elect Gray Davis, respectively.
Addressing a capacity audience of 1,012 moviegoers in the Samuel Goldwyn
Theater, Smith also read a letter from the legendary USO entertainer Bob Hope.
Wilson commented, "Since the shots at Lexington and Concord were heard 'round
the world, the sons and daughters of the United States of America have
answered our nation's call to duty to ensure liberty and fight tyranny.
"The members of America's armed forces have always put duty above all else,
undertaking every mission with admirable courage and uncommon valor.
"The armistice to end World War I went into effect 80 years ago on November
11, a date that is now reserved for the remembrance of all who have served
our nation in uniform.
"America's soldiers, sailors, (Coast Guardsmen), pilots and Marines still
stand ready to defend our freedom and it is appropriate and important that
all citizens remember those who have given their lives in service to our
great nation.
"We should also remember the veterans who served with distinction and pride
and then returned home to resume their lives of work, family and community
service.
"I...call upon all citizens of the Golden State to remember those who have
served in our nation's military and whose contributions and sacrifices have
protected the freedoms and made possible the unparalleled quality of life we
as Americans enjoy," said Wilson.
Davis said, "It is a great pleasure to offer my congratulations to...LA VETS
on its benefit screening of the feature documentary 'Return With Honor.'
"LA VETS has fought valiantly to ensure a better quality of life for homeless
veterans. This commendable organization has assisted over 1,700 veterans in
their move from the danger and peril of the street to safety and security. It
has provided veterans, not only...the basics of food and clothing,
but...health and legal services, employment and financial counseling."
"Through hard work and vital efforts of its volunteers, LA VETS has truly made
a difference in the lives of thousands of veterans.
"On behalf of the state of California, I commend LA VETS for the dedication
and commitment it has demonstrated to...veterans who bravely served our
country in its time of need," said Davis.
All proceeds from the screening benefit the homeless programs run by LA VETS,
a public-private partnership that operates Westside Residence Hall, the
largest housing facility for homeless veterans in the country.
The event also acknowledged the national impact of LA VETS, recently
rechartered as U.S. VETS for operations in Los Angeles, Long Beach, Ventura,
Houston and Washington, D.C.
The honorary board of U.S. VETS is comprised of former Presidents Jimmy Carter
and Gerald Ford, Sidney Poitier, Gregory Peck, Oliver Stone, Jack Lemmon and
the newest member of the illustrious board, Dennis Franz, a Vietnam combat
veteran.
The benefit also focused attention on the importance of helping the nation's
homeless veterans and encouraged the community to assist in this mission.
LA VETS is celebrating its fifth year of providing services to more than
25,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles County.
Westside Residence Hall has served more than 1,700 veterans since opening its
doors in 1993 and, according to Smith, has saved the U.S. Department of
Veterans Affairs (USDVA) more than $12 million.
Today, 370 residents are actively rebuilding their lives through on-site
services which include employment assistance at the career center, educational
opportunities through classes offered by Inglewood Adult School and counseling
and case management services through the West Los Angeles USDVA Medical Center
clinical staff.
LA VETS newest project is the Villages at Cabrillo in Long Beach. Due to open
in March 1999, the 26-acre site will house approximately 1,000 homeless
veterans and families.
For more information regarding LA VETS or "Return With Honor," telephone, fax
or e-mail Stephen Peck at 310/348-7600, 310/641-2662 or sjp...@hotmail.com,
respectively, or write to 733 S. Hindry Ave., Inglewood, Calif. 90301.
Epilogue: There's a memorable scene in the motion picture where a youthful Air
Force Academy choir sings Lee Greenwood's anthem, "God Bless the U.S.A."
Paraphrasing the lyrics, "And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I
know I'm free. And I won't forget the men who (`Returned With Honor'), who
gave that right to me." (a) According to the National League of Families
Update Line message recorded November 16, the number of Americans still
missing from the Vietnam War is 2,078.
Note to editors: This release and previous CDVA news releases are available
via fax by News On Demand at 800/356-8440.
* Vietnamese show is eye-opener exhibit at LMC features works by four artists
Contra Costa News, 20/11/98
PITTSBURG -- Los Medanos College's latest art exhibit is one that's sure to
make you stop and rethink your notions of Asian art.
And that's just what gallery curator Rosalie Cassell had in mind when she
organized "Vietnam Currents," a show of four diverse contemporary Vietnamese
artists, which opened Wednesday and continues through Dec. 10.
An LMC staff member first proposed the idea for a Vietnamese exhibit several
months ago, and Cassell was intrigued with the notion, but she knew little
about the genre. Then she discovered Pacific Bridge, an Oakland gallery that
specializes in contemporary Southeast Asian art.
"I wanted to see what contemporary artists in Vietnam were doing,'' Cassell
said. "I'm always interested in breaking down stereotypes. I wanted to show
the versatility and diversity of the artists, break through the preconceived
notions.''
What Cassell saw at Pacific Bridge's recent "Saigon Perspective'' exhibit was
different from anything she expected. She chose two artists from the exhibit
and two others who had exhibited previously at Pacific Bridge for a show at
LMC.
"Some of the work is really subtle and rich,'' Cassell said. "It just really
struck me. As a painter, I'm really drawn to the rich textures.''
The four artists featured in the LMC show, which is co-hosted by Pacific
Bridge, include Vu Dan Tan, Nguyen Minh Thành, Do Hoang Tuong and Nguyen Tan
Cuong. The artists, all of whom live in Vietnam, work in different media and
search for different meanings in their art, but are similar in their important
contributions to Vietnamese art at home and abroad.
The exhibit, which features 32 pieces, gives a brief yet encompassing view of
the range and depth of contemporary Vietnamese art.
"I wanted to show a mix of different styles," Cassell said. "I think some of
it is very sophisticated work.''
Vu Dan Tan and Nguyen Minh Thành live in Hanoi, but their backgrounds, styles
and approaches to making art are quite different.
Vu, a 52-year-old, self-taught artist, approaches art as a craftsman and is
concerned with the process. His work is influenced by his surroundings, which
have had a strong impact on the materials he chooses to use in his work.
During the war years, Vu worked with readily available material such as
newsprint and bamboo baskets. Now, he recycles discarded packaging materials
and turns them into art.
Take for example his "Box Installation" (1997). This four-piece mixed-media
artwork incorporates old cigarette boxes, which have been cut, painted and
fashioned into creature figures. In another piece, he combines old aluminum
cans, wooden hangers and string to create a unique mobile art piece.
Nguyen Minh Thành, meanwhile, concentrates his efforts on portraits, usually
in ink and watercolor, on traditional handmade rice paper. The 27-year-old
Hanoi College of Fine Art graduate focused his early art on self-portraits
combined with images laden with cultural meaning, such as ties, umbrellas,
eggs, bricks and plants. These portraits, which combine his image with other
elements, show the dual sense of the simplicity and complexity of human
identity.
In 1997 Nguyen Minh Thành stopped painting self-portraits, concentrating
instead on portraits of people around him, including close friends and older
women. One on exhibit at LMC, the brightly colored "TV" (1998), shows a
grinning elderly woman, her face framed by an orange TV with a blue screen.
Her hands and legs are crossed as she sits on a wooden chair. The beautifully
rendered ink-and-pastel portrait was boldly outlined and painted on a rice-
paper scroll.
Showing totally different styles are Do Hoang Tuong and Nguyen Tan Cuong,
professionally trained oil painters from Ho Chi Minh City, who are part of an
informal group of painters who meet regularly and have exhibited their work
together. Though Do, 38, and Nguyen Tan Cuong, 45, influence each other's
work, they also show clearly distinct styles.
Do paints in both abstract and expressive figurative styles. He often paints
with acrylics on canvas, sometimes using paper or crushed stone to build up
texture before applying paint. Do has said that he becomes mesmerized by the
process of creating his abstracts and lets his feelings dictate their
direction.
Do's figurative works, on the other hand, reflect his thoughts about people in
relation to the modern city, his paintings ranging from bright, lush colors to
more subdued somber hues.
"The darker, richer textures, you have to spend time with them,'' said Cassell
of Do's abstracts. "They're more subtle, but very strong at the same time.''
The final artist, Nguyen Tan Cuong, paints mostly in a figurative style,
though he occasionally does abstracts. Like Do, he sometimes builds up his
canvases prior to applying oils. A master at manipulating light, Nguyen Tan
Cuong juxtaposes highly textured layers of color, which form an object or
person, with fields of smooth, soft colors that create a background. In his
recent works, for example, he uses pure colors in the textured areas, using
subtle tone and hue, and works in rich earth tones in the smooth fields to
remind viewers of an overcast sky.
In "Fish,'' for example, Nguyen Tan Cuong shows a cylindrical image of highly
textured fish, four swimming upward, two downward with hints of others
swirling about, set against a backdrop colored in soft mustard yellow with
shades of brown.
Together, these four diverse artists play well off each other, showing a wide
range of versatility.
"The show is very different than others,'' Cassell said. "The art shows the
artists' connections to many traditions and the influences of the West and the
East on their work.''
* Vietnam vet ties knot
The Press, 20/1/98
The wandering days are hopefully over for Christchurch Vietnam war veteran Ian
Bradford who marries his long-time partner tomorrow.
Mr Bradford and Pam Drake have been through more than their share of ups and
downs during their 14 years together. The 50-year-old veteran suffers frequent
memory blackouts and goes walkabout, a condition brought about by his war
experiences.
For the past seven years he has been wearing a homing device which allows his
family and the police to track him when he goes missing.
"It has been a trying time for me. I once nearly got arrested for assaulting
him when I pushed him over a fence to stop him walking away," Ms Drake said.
She said the police, in particular former New Brighton senior sergeant Wayne
Holmes, had been amazing with their efforts in finding him.
He has disappeared for weeks on end, his longest spell from home three months.
He last went walkabout 18 months ago, but Ms Drake tracked him before he
crossed the Avon river near their Wainoni home.
"He has been really good for the past year," Ms Drake said.
The couple will marry on the pirate ship at the mini-golf course at Harewood.
"He proposed out of the blue after going to the course before Christmas two
years ago. He fell in love with the ship and said that's where we'll marry,"
she said.
She will wear a white trouser suit and navy camisole and he a matching navy
$200 Thai silk shirt. It has been a hectic week in the Bradford household --
Ms Drake is catering for 60 family and friends at their garden reception.
They met at a function for Vietnam veterans at the Christchurch RSA. A friend
asked her to bring along some of the single women in her marching team to make
up numbers.
"We clicked immediately. I didn't know anything about his condition. But he
was quiet, didn't drink, and loved dancing. That suited me fine," she said.
At least six of the couple's eight children from their previous marriages will
be at the wedding.
* Cambodia's rival political parties agree to merge political platforms
ABC, 21/11/98 - Cambodia's rival political parties have agreed to merge their
political platforms following further talks aimed at finalising details of a
coalition pact.
Sok An, chief of premier Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party working group,
told reporters in Phnom Penh that the deal to merge policy aims would be
submitted to party leaders for final approval.
Speaking alongside representatives of Prince Norodom Ranariddh's Funcinpec
party, he said there was optimism that the coalition government will be formed
before the ASEAN summit meeting in Hanoi next month.
The talks follow last week's breakthrough when arch rivals Hun Sen and Prince
Ranariddh agreed to form a coalition government, ending the paralysis that
followed the disputed July 26 elections.
The elections were narrowly won by Hun Sen but his party failed to gain enough
seats to rule alone.
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