The Bolsavik met up with Garden Grove City Councilwoman and supervisor candidate Dina Nguyen yesterday, and she was all giddy. The night before, Tuesday, the City Council had passed a resolution condemning a resolution of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Read the text of the City Council’s resolution here. At the meeting, Nguyen also passed around background information here about the CPV’s resolution no. 36, which she calls an executive order (possibly to distinguish it from the Garden Grove resolution).
The CPV’s “no. 36″ calls for the party and government to “reach out” to Vietnamese living abroad. Many read “reaching out” as a euphemysm for assimilation. There are numerous Vietnamese-American community groups formed with the express goal of resisting and opposing this resolution no. 36.
One group in Little Saigon is named Coalition Against Resolution No. 36 (Vietnamese: Liên ?y Ban Ch?ng Ngh? Quy?t 36) and it is the original organizer of the protests against Viet Weekly. The group did not show up to speak, but sent in a letter in support of Nguyen’s resolution. Councilman Mark Rosen made a point of specifying that passing the resolution does not mean the City is taking a position for or against the protests.
Click here for video of the council meeting where the resolution is introduced and voted on.
The Garden Grove resolution passed unanimously on motion by Nguyen and second by Rosen.
Dina Nguyen considers this resolution an effort to raise awareness among non-Vietnamese about the danger of communists interfering in the U.S. The Bolsavik rather doubts that this actually sinks in with the members of the Garden Grove City Council. They probably just saw this as a costless gesture. But hey, whatever gets you off.
UPDATE: Just got the official final copy of the Garden Grove resolution here.
UPDATE 2: Fixed the links. They should work now without having to log in to esnips.com.
I cannot see the copy of the resolution. Can you give me your pass?
I cannot see your copy at eSnips. Can you give me your pass?
Headquarters to Field Comrade: – Report to me about Resolution 36.
Field Comrade to Headquarters: – Yes, Comrade, the Resolution 36 has been implemented well.
Headquarters to Field Comrade: – Give me more details.
Field Comrade to Headquarters: – Yes, Comrade, there are uprisings everywhere from north to south, from east to west.
Headquarters to Field comrade: – Good, good, good! Keep up your good work!
Field Comrade to Headquarters: – Yes, Comrade!
LIVE WIRE
Joe Dovinh
A TIME TO CELEBRATE FREEDOM
Thirty three years after reaching safety overseas and becoming successful and established in new lands, many of us still behave as if we are “FOB” (Fresh Off the Boat)– lamenting the exile life in a “foreign” country.
This phenomena is so prevalent, it might be categorized as a hereditary trait as the second and third generation of Vietnamese have seem to catch the bug. Instead of looking forward to a brighter future and working to build on the first generation’s success, the younger FOBs are still polarized by the debate over the language of the Thirtieth of April– whether it is “Black April” or “National Liberation Day”? There seems to be no middle, especially since there is a whole Pacific Ocean between the two dominant views.
How then can the people who were born and grew up after the Vietnam War find common concepts and language so that they can communicate with each other without suspicion and resentment? Even now as they sit side by side in the same campus classrooms, they can’t decide which flags to fly, and why?
If the Vietnamese Americans students and the Vietnamese exchange students can’t resolve their differences, such as the case at USC, then it is the college’s authorities and the community’s activists who will duke it out to the bitter end– with academic freedom being the first victim to be sacrificed. Between flying no flags and flying both flags, are there no third options? It is difficult to believe that with the collective brain power of USC’s intellectual community, there can be no solution other than to “bring it on?”
Why is it that we cannot accept the fact that the United States is a free country that protects first amendment rights as a sacred tenet of its democracy? Meaning that every dog will have its day– even if that day is a day in court!
This is what I mean by celebrating freedom: we have come ashore, isn’t it about time that we enjoy the beach? Instead of wallowing in anger and pain of past losses, shouldn’t we strive to live our lives to our fullest potential in this land of opportunity where freedom has given us everything we need?
About this time, seven years ago, Frank Jao (of Phöôùc-Loäc-Thoï fame) invited a dozen young people of leadership potential into his real estate office and had them collectively dream of an organizational concept aimed at bettering the future of the Vietnamese American community.
After brainstorming all afternoon that Sunday, as the sun came down, we settled on a name for our new group of movers and shakers: “May Society”. “May” for the month of May– a fresh beginning after the Thirtieth of April. “May” for the word Mei/My meaning Beautiful/America. “America the Beautiful” Society. “May” as in “Mayflower”.
Unfortunately, the name didn’t come into circulation, because we never worked together as a group or formed any organization. But individually, each of us became successful in our own ways, and each of us has carried that vision forward.
There was something charming about that concept of a “May Society” that never lost its appeal to us. After all, it was looking at our predicament as refugees set at odds from our motherland with an eye towards building a new future and not fighting the ghosts of past conflicts.
With an optimistic mind-set and a “can-do” attitude, we aimed to accomplish more than those who are backward looking or those who act out of hatred and fear instead of hope and faith. If only this notion could catch on, and even cross the Pacific divide to inspire those back in the “old country” to bury the hatchet and to disown the last remnants of a wartime mentality.
But instead of going forward with reconciliation and seeking to make amends with the overseas Vietnamese, Vietnam’s Communist Party created and implemented Executive Order 36 as a tool to pursue the Vietnamese people worldwide– wherever they reside, to colonize and exploit them as a fifth column.
As a part of China’s communist imperial designs, the Vietnamese communists have set their sails on a collision course with Vietnamese Americans who owe their livelihood and loyalty to the United States alone and no other foreign power.
Thus, when we say that it is time to celebrate our freedom, it also means that it is time to defend our communities from any threat to our freedom. And so, we stand tall and say “NO” to VCP’s Executive Order 36– “Hands Off Our Communities”.
The spirit of the Mayflower was not only to found a new future, but to also defend it from colonial aggressors that would pursue it into the New World.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF GARDEN GROVE AGAINST THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNIST PARTY POLITBURO’S EXECUTIVE ORDER 36
WHEREAS the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is an un-democratic, one-party system of government with dictatorial powers centralized in the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP). The same VCP’s Politburo is currently the judicial, legislative, and executive arms of the VCP that created, coordinated, and implemented VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 plan of dissemination since 2004.
WHEREAS the VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 has wrongfully and maliciously assumes that all overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part of Vietnam, ripe for exploitative purposes in areas of material and human resources in fields of economics, industry, arts, science, culture, and education.
WHEREAS the VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 calls for direct confrontations and active conflicts against any and all overseas entities that goes against its intentions and interests.
WHEREAS the VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 calls for the rallying of worldwide intellectuals, business leaders, youths and students back to Vietnam to serve the purpose of forceful unification of worldwide Vietnamese with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
WHEREAS the majority of Vietnamese Americans, including those residing in the City of Garden Grove, home to the largest Vietnamese community in the world outside of Vietnam, are refugees as a result of communist persecution by the same Vietnamese communist government that continues to commit human rights violations, religious oppression, and persecution of ethnic minorities.
WHEREAS Vietnamese Americans are an inseparable part of the United States of America, with a unique heritage and identity, irreconcilable with the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and that the majority of our populace rigorously rejects the cultivation and colonizing efforts of Vietnam as a foreign power preying upon our communities.
WHEREAS the implementing of the VCP’s Politburo Order 36, particularly its directive to fight all those who do not conform to their intentions and interests has resulted in the disruption of our domestic tranquility, threatened the security and livelihood of our communities, and diverted our resources to Vietnam when they should be utilized for community-building in America.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of Garden Grove on this day, formally passes this Resolution against VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 to raise the awareness of all Americans and all Overseas Vietnamese to the harmful effects of VCP Executive Order 36 and to condemn all covert and overt activities by the Socialist Republic of Vietnam aimed at dividing and exploiting our communities.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Garden Grove encourages other City and County Officials and State Legislators to pass legislation against the VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 and alert our law enforcement offices to be vigilant of the destructive effects of VCP’s Politburo Executive Order 36 upon our communities.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THIS 22ND OF APRIL 2008.
This Resolution is just another way for Dina Nguyen to get some publicity because she hasn’t done anything that we could really credit her name to… poor Dina, maybe you should just stay out of politics. Find somthing useful to do Dina, that is if you still have time after fooling around
LUBCNQ36 didn’t come to the meeting becaues the idiots can’t speak English.
THIS HAS NO EFFECT WHAT SO EVER TO THE DAILY LIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. This is another JOKE, it’s probably another one of Andy or Van’s idea to get her some publicity. Based on everything that we’ve seen, she’s not bright enough to make any decisions on her own. Everywhere you go you hear the SAME THING, DINA CAN’T THINK OWN HER OWN. DINA IS SHADY and on and on. None of my friends, classmates or family would ever vote for ANDY Q. or DINA ever again!!! Like many have mentioned, they are just a bunch of power hungry, selfish politician wannabes whose in over their heads. Their political career is OVER.