Proud American of Vietnamese descent Quang Nguyen was asked to speak for 10 minutes at a Freedom Rally in the town of Prescott Valley, AZ on his experience of coming to America and what it means. He wrote the following speech "in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans":
"I came to America in 1975 on the back of many Americans, who fought and died to protect and keep me away from the invasion of the North Vietnamese communists. Things didn't get done, but it was no fault of these men and women. It was the result of the political war.
I finally was given an opportunity this past Saturday to speak to many veterans at the Freedom Rally. The same opportunity these Vietnam veterans had given me thirty-five years ago. I am very thankful for all that they have endured for my existence.
“I felt as though I was on Schindler’s List,” recalled Van Tran, bringing to life the memory that never dims of trying to leave Saigon in 1975 as the invaders from Communist North Vietnam marched in for the takeover.
Like the Jews in Europe for whom being on the list in the movie meant a chance at survival, being on a list of names held by the U.S. Army and the soon-to-be-closed American embassy in Saigon meant a chance for a possibly bright future for many South Vietnamese who wanted to flee.
Ten-year-old Van’s name was on the list, as were the names of his parents. Jetting out of Saigon on a military transport plane, they arrived in the Philippines and, like so many of their fellow countrymen, settled in a part of California’s Orange County that would soon become known as “Little Saigon.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.- Congressman Anh "Joseph" Cao, speaking on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives today, condemned human rights abuses carried out by Vietnam's communist government against its own people.
Cao said, "Earlier this year local authorities in Cồn Dầu, Vietnam, announced the demolition of properties to make way for a tourist resort. No plans for adequate compensation or relocation were offered. At the same time, the government posted a sign forbidding burials in the local church cemetery, which, for more than one hundred years, had served as the town’s burial site, and which the government had recognized as an historical site."
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 29, 2010 CONTACT: Levi Russell at (509) 979-6615 or
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The Tea Party Express (website: www.TeaPartyExpress.org) announced its endorsement of Asm. Van Tran (R-CA) for Congress today.
“Van Tran has spent six years fighting against higher taxes and irresponsible budgets in California,” said Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express. “His conservative principles and strong leadership are exactly what we need in Congress.”
Tran is running against incumbent Democrat Loretta Sanchez in the historically conservative Orange County, CA.
While Secretary Clinton was visiting Hanoi yesterday, prominent House human rights leaders gathered on Capitol Hill at a press conference to urge the Obama Administration to find its voice on human rights.
Cao: Atrocious Human Rights Record
Together with leading human rights champions on the Hill -- Republican Congressman Chris Smith and Republican Congressman Frank Wolf, Congressman Joseph Cao expressed his "profound disappointment" over the Obama Administration's decision to strengthen bilateral relations with Vietnam's communist government.
July 22, 2010: (L-R) Rep. Frank Wolf (VA-10), Rep, Anh "Joseph" Cao and Rep. Christopher Smith (NJ-04) condemning Vietna'm's human rights record
Cao described Hanoi's record on human rights and religious freedom "atrocious." He said the the Vietnamese government does not deserve better U.S. ties until it demonstrates greater respect for the freedom and dignity of its own people.
A key success? Van Tran, a California assemblyman running against Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez. Tran, an immigrant whose parents left Vietnam on a military plane in the days before Saigon fell, lives in California's 47th District, which has the highest concentration of Vietnamese-Americans in the country. When McCarthy sat down to find someone to challenge Sanchez in a district that gave 60 percent of its vote to Obama in 2008 but voted for Bush in 2004, Tran was a natural fit: a popular elected official with a natural base beyond the party itself.
"You have to encourage the right people in the right districts," McCarthy says. He recalls a top House Democrat approaching him after Tran announced he would run, acknowledging the seat would become more difficult for Democrats to hold: "Van Tran - now that one hurt," the Democrat said."
