Vietnam's diaspora urged to return home
cwjmem
it will happen to Laos too.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Vietnam's diaspora urged to return home
Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese fled their country after the
Communist victory over the US-backed forces of South Vietnam in 1975.
Now, as the BBC's Nga Pham has been finding out, the Hanoi government
is trying to lure some of the diaspora back to the country to help it
modernise.
Ceremony at Overseas Vietnamese conference, Hanoi, 21 Nov 09
Overseas Vietnamese are welcomed by the government
With red flags and loud revolutionary music, the gathering inside the
massive National Conference Hall in Hanoi's outskirts resembles a
regular meeting of Vietnamese political cadres, only with better-cut
suits and more fluent English.
This is the first meeting of Vietnam's diaspora to be held inside the
country, attracting nearly 1,000 Vietnamese living overseas for a
three-day conference.
It is being hailed by Vietnam's official media as a "major step
towards national unity" for a nation that was ravaged and divided by
decades of war.
Vive la difference?
Bui Kien Thanh, 77, a senior financial adviser, has spent half his
life living in France and the United States.
"I first went overseas in 1949 to study, but then came back to work
for [former South Vietnamese President] Ngo Dinh Diem," he says.
I believe in democracy, in market economy and the state of law and
that's how I want to help change this country
Returned Vietnamese financial adviser Bui Kien Thanh
"After Mr Diem was toppled in a coup, and the war continued, I left
Vietnam again in 1965."
After working for American insurance giant AIG, Mr Thanh was invited
back by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry in 1991. Since then has acted
as an economic and financial adviser to the government.
"Some people criticised me as naive and pro-communism when I returned
to Vietnam, but I knew what I was doing," he says.
"I believe in democracy, in market economy and the state of law and
that's how I want to help change this country."
"See how fast Vietnam has been changing. We can do something different
for our nation," Mr Thanh adds.
Time for change
Another delegate, Nguyen Ngoc My, is equally excited about the changes
in Vietnam.
Mr My served in South Vietnam's navy during the war. After the North
Vietnamese took over in 1975 he was put in a re-education camp for
more than two years until he fled to Australia by boat in 1978.
"I used to take part in anti-Hanoi protests whenever Vietnamese
government officials visited Australia, up until 1986-1987, when
Vietnam began the reform process."
In 1992, Mr My started making made regular visits back and since 2000
he has spent most of his time in Vietnam pursuing a number of
investment projects. He eventually become chairman of the Overseas
Vietnamese (or Viet kieu) Business Club in Ho Chi Minh City.
But he admits that there are still parts of the Vietnamese diaspora
who remain suspicious of the country's Communist rulers.
"Some of them would never come back to visit, let alone to invest or
do business here."
Is talk enough?
The purpose of the Viet kieu meeting, according to chief organiser
Nguyen Thanh Son, who is also vice minister of foreign affairs, is to
provide them with a forum to discuss issues close to their hearts.
Bui Kien Thanh at overseas Vietnamese conference 21 Nov 09
Mr Bui Kien Thanh feels there is space for change in his home country
"A large number of the Viet kieu left Vietnam in despair and hatred
when the war finished," he says.
"This is an opportunity for them to see and to understand what has
been happening inside the country."
It took the Hanoi government years and a budget of 8bn dong ($450,000;
£270,000) to organise the conference.
But there is criticism that the conference has "missed the point", as
all the delegates are seen as pro-regime and cannot represent the
whole diaspora.
Tran Nam Binh, an Australian Vietnamese who teaches at the New South
Wales University, decided not to go to the conference and doubts that
it can bring about any "concrete results".
"I don't think this kind of meeting will make any tangible change,
even in the government's policies towards the Viet kieu. So I don't
regret not taking part."
Money and brains
There are nearly four million Vietnamese living overseas, mostly in
the United States.
Each year, they send relatives back home up to $10bn, a major source
of hard currency in the communist country.
But knowledge and expertise, not money, are what the government
expects most from the Viet kieu.
Overseas Vietnamese conference delegates 21 Nov 09
Many returning Vietnamese had a chance to meet and greet each other
Vietnamese experts living overseas are being urged to come back to
teach and contribute their skills to the country.
In 2004, the Vietnamese government began a series of legal changes to
give the Viet kieu rights to re-claim their Vietnamese citizenship and
even to own property in Vietnam.
But for some, economic incentives are not enough for them to consider
coming back to Vietnam.
Dr Hoang Kim Phuc, a scientist at the University of Oxford, England,
sees a lack of respect from Vietnamese officials for the country's
intelligentsia.
He thinks that only when local experts are treated properly, can the
government hope to receive support from Vietnamese living overseas.
brushoff
> Lao master Viet asks Vietnam's diaspora urged to return home. Maybe,
> it will happen to Laos too.
>
What is left to contibute to Laos? Prostistutio maybe? There ain't
noth much any one can do, only curruptions.
ລາວພວນ ລາວຮັກຊາດ
> On Nov 24, 4:37 pm, cwjmem <cwj...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Lao master Viet asks Vietnam's diaspora urged to return home. Maybe,
> > it will happen to Laos too.
brushoff master
The Chosen One
ໂອ໋ຍ...ນັ້ນນີ້ຫັ້ນ ແມ່ນວິທີຄົນຊາດອື່ນເຂົາເຮັດກັນ.
ວິທີຄົນລາວເຮົາເຮັດກັນນັ້ນ ມັນຄັກກ່ວາຂອງຄົນຊາດອື່ນເຂົາເຮັດກັນຫຼາຍ.
ບໍ່ຖ້າໄປຮຽນແບບເຂົາດ໋ອກ! ຄົນລາວເຮົາຫັ້ນ ຊ່ວນຫຼາຍໂດຍທໍາມະຊາດແລ້ວ ແມ່ນ
ສຫລາດ ແລະ ຮູ້ດີ ກ່ວາຄົນຊາດອື່ນຢູ່ແລ້ວ. ຖ້າບໍ່ເຊື່ອ ກໍ່ລອງເບີ່ງ
ລະດັບຊັບພະຍາກອນມະນຸດຂອງຄົນລາວເຮົາ ທັງໄນ ແລະ ນອກປະເທດ
ແລະຄວາມກ້າວຫນ້າຂອງລະດັບປະເທດ ແລ້ວມາສົມທຽບໄສ່ ຂອງປະເທດເພື່ອນບ້ານເຮົາ,
ເຮົາຈະຮູ້ທັນທີໂລດວ່າ ຄົນລາວເຮົາ ແລະ ປະເທດລາວເຮົາ ນັ້ນ ມັນກ້າວຫນ້າ ແລະ
ຈະເລີນ ໄປກ່ວາ ຂອງປະເທດເພື່ອນບ້ານເຮົາ ນັ້ນຫຼາຍ. ເພາະຊະນັ້ນ
ເຮົາກະພາກັນເຮັດ ໄປແບບ ລາວລາວ ນີ້ລະ. ມີມື້ນື່ງ ເຮົາກໍ່ຊີ່ໃດ້
ຂື້ນອາວະກາດນໍາເຂົາດ໋ອກ.
Jerry
On Nov 24, 7:37 pm, cwjmem <cwj...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Lao master Viet asks Vietnam's diaspora urged to return home. Maybe,
> it will happen to Laos too.
>
> ___________________________________________________________________________________
cwjmem
You're saying " Lao hed Lao sai Lao dai Lao pen" bor? Commie produces
nothing. Laos is a nation of beggar for the last 34 years and will
continue until ??? Now, international donors give them less and less
grant monies so LPDR leaders are forced to sell lands to Chinese, S.
Korea, Viets, and Thai. These foreign investors put $1.00 in and
expect to get $99.00 out of the land uses.
Cat
to. The people that went seem to be those that already or have been
working and doing stuff in Vietnam. For it to really work they need
to outreach to those that do not see eye to eye with the current gov.
That is when things can really move forward. With that being said
they are light years away from the LPDR. The Viet gov is trying to
bring their people back with policy(dual citizenship) and now the
conference, it's a great start. I am pretty sure the next conference
will probably be better with more people especially those who are
still leery of the Viet Gov.. I visited Vietnam and they are at least
20 years ahead of the LPDR and Laos. I say in 10 years they will
compete with Thailand economically. Right now they are winning the
garment and new factory fight with China. Check for yourself, many of
your clothing are now made in Vietnam. The next products are going to
be electronic devices.
Freedom I
LPDR Goverment People, those who work for th LPDR Government have less
than a couple years of high school. Hmong are better off starting our
own Hmong Country where we can start with more education government
workers than the LPDR. Educationed People working with un-educate LPDR
Government was like goat with buffalo; when the weather is hot, goat
climb to the highest point, rock, to cool off while buffalo will go
into the river or ponds to cool them off.
If goat can go to the pond with buffalo than Hmong Educate People can
work with un-educated LPDR or vice versa. Yes, Un-educated LPDR knows
how to kill Hmong People but Hmong Educate People do not want to kill
the LPDR. We had not history of killing the LPDR. LPDR did.
Educated Hmong can work with hookers in Laos and we can get along well
because hookers in Laos did have some sense of human being. They are
not train to kill but love hookers payers. Another way to say this,
Laos is better off to have hookers run LPDR because Hookers in LPDR
did not lie and not corrupt. IF hookers said, "$5 per night." that
means $5 per night. LPDR is the opposit. Donors donate $5 to the LPDR
central government, $1 got lost in the central, and state, and local,
when it reaches its target, only $.25 left.
Hmong Freedom II, LPDR's enemy
Nty
> own Hmong Country...ບໍ່ເຮັດນຳເດີ! ອັນອື່ນໆນຳກະພໍຟັງ...
nty
The Chosen One
I suggest that you go back and read my comment carefully if you're
gonna ask me a question. Per your comment on the investors, no
entrepreneurs in the world would invest their one dollar if they
expect to get only half of it back. I would think It's the same as the
way you would manage your 401K. When you're small and weak
economically (another word - poor), everybody else is looking down on
you and trying to take advantage of you anyway they can.
As far as the foreign aids for Laos is concerned, I would not be too
hungup on that. Almost, every country from Thailand to Israel to
Africa always gets some sort of foreign aid package from the
industrialized nations one way or another; and Laos will be on it for
awhile until it becomes an industrialized nation but probably not in
my life time.
For Laos, there's no such thing as a fast magic pill for the economic
development and it does not matter who runs the country. Being a
landlock country complicates the problem even more. I think that the
fundamental problem for Laos is not so much because it's one party
system (Look at Singapore, for example) but the Lao people ourselves
in general. Going back to our deep-root, we have so much pride and
dignity in ourselves that we don't even want to learn from anyone
else, especially from our own kind. Often time, we refuse to recognize
and learn from each other's achievement or accomplishments but rather
treat them as a luck. Often time, we are so good in fighting among
ourselves on opinion so much that we can't even talk to each other in
a civilized manner, nevermind working with each other. Often time, we
fail to recognize that the world and the political landscape are
changing and having the Cold War era mentality does not really help
the situation. So, as long as we have not had a radical change in
ourselves Laos and Lao people will always be inferior and lack behind
the neighboring countries and people in the economic progress.
Jerry,
> > > government hope to receive support from Vietnamese living overseas.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -