June 3, 2005

San Jose recognizes the Vietnamese Heritage, Freedom Flag

By Bea Baechle
Editor

The Vietnamese-American community recently worked with city councilmembers Dave Cortese and Chuck Reed to adopt a resolution recognizing the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag as the official symbol for their community.

(From left) Former Lt. Col. Dai Vo, chairman of the Coalition of ARVN Reserve Officers Assn.; District 8 Councilmember Dave Cortese; Professor Tran Cong Thien, president of the Vietnamese Cultures Association and vice president of the Vietnamese American Council of Voters; and The-Vu Nguyen, president of the Vietnamese-American Community Action Team. Photo courtesy of SaigonUSA News

The San Jose City Council passed the resolution unanimously on Tuesday, May 17. About 600 Vietnamese-Americans crowded the council chambers to witness the city’s public recognition of the flag of pre-Communist Vietnam as the official symbol of the Vietnamese-American community abroad.

Refugees and immigrants from the former Republic of Vietnam, who came to the United States and settled as free Vietnamese-Americans, are particularly appreciative of the significance of the resolution.

Since 1975 San Jose has become home to one of the largest Vietnamese-American populations in the United States, and the local Vietnamese-American community has become a significant factor in the rich cultural diversity of the city.

Meaning of flag
The-Vu Nguyen, community outreach coordinator for District 8, explained the significance of the colors and symbols.
“The yellow background represents the people,” said Nguyen. “The first red stripe represents freedom. The second red strip represents human rights and the third red stripe represents democracy. The red color is the symbol of the blood lost by all the people who sacrificed their lives to defend freedom, human rights and democracy.”

“The Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag is a historical identity icon that symbolizes the struggles for freedom and democracy of the Vietnamese-American people,” added Evergreen resident Khoa Nguyen, representing the Vietnamese-American Business Association.

“When the city council passed the resolution, it was a statement saying that they respect, support and recognize the struggles, sacrifices and contributions that the Vietnamese-American community has made for our country,” he added.

About 100 other U.S. cities have also embraced the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag, which sharply contrasts the flag of communist Vietnam, with its red background and gold star in the center.

Going forward
On June 3, the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag rose for the first time in front of San Jose City Hall “in a historic moment marking 30 years of struggle for human rights, advocacy and contributions in the growth of the city of San Jose,” said Nguyen.

Vietnamese-American citizens showed their support of the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom flag at the May 17 San Jose City Council meeting. Photo courtesy of SaigonUSA News

The city’s resolution urges schools and public learning institutions to respect the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag and to allow students whose families are from the Republic of Vietnam to display the flag on those occasions when international flags are displayed.

It also encourages local school districts to adopt similar resolutions recognizing the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag and urges the state of California to recognize this flag as the official flag of the Vietnamese-American community around the state. California is considering a resolution to do so. 

The resolution welcomes and encourages all Vietnamese-Americans to participate in political activities as full members of the community.

It also commends “Vietnamese-American residents for their vigilance in opposition to tyranny in all its forms, for their active support for human rights for all people and for their devotion to the principles of liberty and justice for all.”