Q13	The Flag Issue Announcement about Q13 News segment Summary about the flag supported by the Vietnamese refugees world wide Q13 retraction letter  –  English or Vietnamese translation version Q13 News video: Download realmedia clip (Warning: 22.2mb) THE VIETNAM NATIONAL FLAG Like the Stars and Stripes, the Vietnamese flag is filled with symbolism and historical meaning, which makes Vietnamese American feel a great emotional bond with its "color." Visit any "Little Saigon's" around the world, and one is likely to see a flag displaying "three horizontal red stripes on a golden yellow background" fluttering proudly against the blue sky. Ask your friend, neighbor, student, or client, and he or she will tell you that those are the "colors" of Free Vietnam. It is the flag under which hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder and died, defending freedom against an internationally inspired ideology and aggressive Communist war against the Republic of Vietnam. That the war ended in 1975 in the subjugation of Free South Vietnam in no way reflects negatively on the symbolism of those "colors." In fact, the very survival of that flag today is the survival of the idea of freedom, which remains the ideal of all free men and women on earth. SYMBOLISM The Vietnamese flag has a yellow background, the width of which is equal to two thirds of its length. In the middle of the background are three horizontal red stripes along its entire length. The "golden yellow" has been the traditional color of Vietnam for over two thousand years. It is also the color of earth, as understood in the universal scheme of five elements in Oriental cosmology. The three stripes represent three regions of Vietnam: North, Central, and South Vietnam as united in a national community. The vibrant red color of the stripes is the color of blood flowing through one's vein - symbolic of Vietnam's unflagging struggle for independence throughout its recorded history; a history credited for producing the first female empresses of Asia - Trung Sisters, and for being the only country in the world single handedly defeated the Ghengis Khan's Mongolian Army (the army that had never known defeat throughout Asia and Europe). HISTORICAL IDENTITY As in the case of the Stars and Stripes, the Vietnamese flag bonds Vietnamese Americans with their historical past: The identity of "Ngon Co Vang" (Yellow Flag) has enabled the Vietnamese people to survive as a nation even after a millennium of Chinese and two hundred years of French domination. Thus, the "Golden Flag" came to be irrevocably associated with the Vietnamese people, their national territory, and their history. The flag championed by the free Vietnamese everywhere was flown for the first time at the ceremony marking the official recognition by France of Vietnamese unity and independence after 1954. It is like a new version of a similar flag, "Co Que Ly," first flown in March 1945 when Vietnam under Bao Dai reclaimed its independence from France. The three red-striped yellow flag continued to be the official flag of the Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the United Nations (1950), until April 1975. Most Vietnamese Americans, having fled persecution and reprisals, find the display of the "yellow star on red background" flag insulting, offensive, and culturally insensitive. It is like flying the swastika flag on Nazi Germany in the presence of Jewish Americans. Surely, as a matter of First Amendment Right, anyone or group can display these offensive symbols. However, Vietnamese Americans feel confident that the American public would be on the side of honoring and respecting the symbol of freedom rather than the symbol of autocracy and anti-democracy. In addition, the choice of the Vietnamese flag effects Vietnamese and Americans alike. 58,000 Americans laid down their lives in the Vietnam War for a noble cause - the cause of freedom and democracy. Witness the "three red stripes on yellow background" flag in Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day and the Fourth of July, it is also the flag that decorates the medals on the chests of millions of Vietnamese and American veterans of the Vietnam War. At least 400,000 Vietnamese "Boat People" died on the high seas of starvation, piracy, rape, murder and drowning, in their attempt to flee communist persecution. Another 250-300,000 H-Mong people in both Vietnam and Lao's were also executed for their fight against communist domination in the central highlands of Vietnam and Laos. To the one million Vietnamese who have fled communist totalitarianism since 1975 and have successfully resettled in the Land of the Free," the "three red stripe on yellow background" flag will always be a symbol of hope, and love of freedom. It is the banner around which all free Vietnamese identify themselves and rally - as long as the dream of a free Vietnam remains alive and well. Vietnamese Americans everywhere and Vietnamese Americans in the State of Washington are once again thankful for all the sacrifices our forefathers, mothers, brothers, sisters in Vietnam and the United States, who sacrificed to ensure the spirit of hope and love of freedom continues to exist in our hearts and minds. Young Vietnamese Americans want our parents and the Vietnam Veterans to know that their sacrifices are not in vain. We are successful in every aspect in the American culture. Yet, we do not forget how we got here and who gave us the freedom and the opportunities to achieve all that can possibly achieve. For that, we continue to honor the "three red stripes on yellow background" flag of Free Vietnam next to the flag of the United States of America. Copyright © 2000 Tet In Seattle. All Rights Reserved. Feedback.