Vietnam marks 50 years since war's end, with focus on reconciliation
Article content
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — Vietnam on Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the United States and the formation of the modern nation through the merger of North and South Vietnam.
Article content
Article content
Thousands had flocked to Ho Chi Minh City — once known as Saigon — to witness the military parade near the Independence Palace, where the war ended when a North Vietnamese tank smashed through its gates. The celebrations — performances by artists, speeches by leaders and former soldiers, and a squadron of jets — focused not just on the past but on the future.
Article content
Article content
'National reconciliation does not mean forgetting the history or erasing differences, but accepting different perspectives in tolerance and respect, to work towards a greater goal: building a peaceful, unified, powerful, civilized and prosperous Vietnam,' Communist Party general secretary To Lam said in an article published on a government website.
Article content
Article content
A change in emphasis
Article content
The emphasis on reconciliation and not, like previous years, on military victory reflected how Vietnam was approaching the changing tides of the global economy and geopolitics today, said Nguyen Khac Giang, an analyst at Singapore's ISEAS_Yusof Ishak Institute. He added that the Vietnam War remains central to how the Communist Party framed its legitimacy, not just as a military triumph but also as a symbol of national unity. But To Lam's comments underlined that the reconciliation remains unfinished.
Article content
Article content
Article content
A time for peace
Article content
Pham Ngoc Son is a 69-year-old veteran who was an army truck driver bringing troops and supplies from the north to the south through the Ho Chi Minh trail — the secret route used by North Vietnam. He's on a weeklong tour of the city, which he remembers entering as a part of the northern troops that took over.
Article content
He said he cherished those memories and couldn't describe the joy he felt at that moment. But now there was 'only space for peace and friendship' between the U.S. and Vietnam.
Article content
Article content
'The war has ended and we shake hands (with the former enemy) for development. Now it's time for peace. Peace is the dream that everyone in the world wants,' Hue said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Protests, parades and Pride: One week in June 2025 is drawing stark American fault lines
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the first weekend: a vision of the nation built upon inclusivity and the tenets of liberalism — a conception of country that incorporates generations of fights for equity, for compassion, for expanding what it means to be an American. On the second weekend, in the same town: a public show of strength and nationalism constructed on a foundation of military might, law and order, a tour de force of force. And on the days in between: a city 2,000 miles from the capital locked in pitched battles over the use — abuse, many contend — of federal power and military authority to root out, detain and oust people who the current administration says do not belong. Today's United States — its possibility, its strength, its divisiveness, its polarization and fragmentation — is encapsulated in a single week in June 2025, its triumphs and frictions on vivid display. As events both planned and chaotically spontaneous play out, many Americans are frantically and sometimes furiously pondering assorted iterations of two questions: What is this country right now? And what should it be? Pride, protests and parades Consider two quotes from recent days from two very different Americans. The first came last weekend, during World Pride in Washington, when a 58-year-old gay man from Philadelphia named David Begler summed up what many were messaging in the days leading up to it after months of Donald Trump's increasing attempts to target the LGBTQ community: 'I want us to send a message to the White House to focus on uplifting each other instead of dividing.' The second came days ahead of the military parade planned Saturday for the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, from the mouth of the president on whose 79th birthday it will be held: 'If there's any protester that wants to come out, they will be met with very big force,' Donald Trump said. 'I haven't even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force.' Among the competing visions of America in 2025: the desire to protest and seek a redress of grievances against the government vs. the desire for control, order — and a respect for the government and for authority. The volatile combination of demonstrations and the U.S. military is a potent one, with its most recent roots in the protest movement of the 1960s against the Vietnam War. A young generation that would later be known as baby boomers regularly squared off against police and sometimes the military over U.S. involvement in what was framed as a war against communism in Southeast Asia. Historians give those protesters a fair bit of the credit for that war ultimately ending in 1975. President Jimmy Carter ultimately pardoned more than 200,000 people who had dodged the draft for that conflict. Then, as now, many in the establishment criticized protesters bitterly, saying they were undermining a nation to which they should be grateful. Questions of loyalty and betrayal were thrown around. The role of the military in quelling civilian protests was bitterly contested, particularly after Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire and killed four students during antiwar protests in May 1970 at Kent State University. There are echoes of that this week, not only in Los Angeles but now in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the deployment of 5,000 state National Guard troops ahead of the 'No Kings Day of Defiance' against the Trump administration's ongoing immigration raids. And as protesters in Los Angeles taunt the military and say guardsmen should be 'ashamed' to face off against what they call a just cause, it's easy to wonder: How can patriotism and protest coexist? Washington at the epicenter Democracy has always been messy and resistant to consensus. That's part of why the national slogan of the United States is 'e pluribus unum' — 'out of many, one.' And Washington, D.C., as the nation's capital, has long been the place where the many have come to make themselves known as part of the one — and to be noticed. It was where the 'Bonus Army' of World War I veterans marched in 1932 to demand their promised postwar payments and be heard in a demonstration that ended violently. It was where the first National Boy Scout Jamboree was held on the National Mall in 1937. It was where the 'March on Washington,' a centerpiece of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, ended with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s renowned 'I Have a Dream' speech. It was where, in 1995, the 'Million Man March' was held to address concerns of the American Black community, and where hundreds of thousands of women came to Washington largely in protest of Trump, just a day after his first inauguration. It is also the place where Americans remember, where the memorials to World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War sit. It is where the country erected stone shrines in various shapes and sizes to the presidents it most admired — Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It is the site of museums containing some of the most distilled expressions of culture — from the Holocaust Museum to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to the National Museum of African American History. Is it so hard to believe, then, that two events as opposite as World Pride and a military parade unfold here, within blocks of each other, within a week's time? At a politically fractious moment when some families can hardly break bread without political arguments erupting over Trump, Gaza and Israel, immigration and LGBTQ rights, isn't it possible that the weird and downright uncomfortable juxtaposition of these two starkly different events might be the most American thing of all? Walt Whitman, one of the most famous poets in American history, had this to say about the the diversity of America when he wrote 'I Hear America Singing' to underscore that its citizens all contribute to the nation's song: 'I am large. I contain multitudes.' And in one week in June, at a time when the fate of the United States is being discussed in every direction we turn, the capital of Whitman's nation has become a showcase in displaying those messy democratic multitudes to the world. For better or for worse. ___ Ted Anthony, director of new storytelling and newsroom innovation at The Associated Press, has been writing about American culture since 1990.
Global News
4 days ago
- Global News
Minnesota state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her reveals she came to U.S. illegally
A Minnesota state representative revealed during a special session of state legislature on Monday that she came to the United States illegally, sharing her story as lawmakers were debating modifying MinnesotaCare eligibility for undocumented adult immigrants. Rep. Kaohly Vang Her said her family came to the U.S. following the Vietnam War and shared her story of how she arrived in the country. 'I always thought that we came here because my grandfather was a colonel in the 'secret war.' I thought that meant that we were in line to come to the U.S.,' Her said. 'My mother told me, my father told me that was not true. 'Even though my parents both work for a Christian organization and my father actually worked at the U.S. Consulate because he was one of the few people who could speak English and he could type really fast and apparently that was a very valued skill then,' she continued. 'They had my father move away from the refugee camp, from my mom and my sisters and I, and he went to live at the Consulate where he processed all of the paperwork for the refugees that came to America. Story continues below advertisement 'We had missed our time to come to the U.S. three times and if we didn't come that last time, we would not have been able to come to the U.S. And I said, 'Wow, what luck of ours.' And my mom said it wasn't luck.' Her explained that her mother said they didn't have their names on that list because it was only for people who were in the direct military, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) or USAID (United States Agency for International Development). 'Which is why it's so personal to me that USAID is getting unfunded,' she added. 'What my father did was one of our uncles worked for USAID and because his mother had died, my father, as the one processing the paperwork, put my grandmother down as his mother. 'And so I am illegal in this country. My parents are illegal here in this country and when we were fleeing that situation, never one time did my family say, 'Let's look at which states has the greatest welfare and which state has the greatest benefits because that's the state we're going to go to.' 'Nobody leaves their country unless they have to leave that country.' Story continues below advertisement Her said that she shared the story because she wanted the room of lawmakers to think about who they are calling illegal immigrants. 'I never knew that. I just learned that now. So, when you're thinking about voting no on this bill, you're voting no against someone like me who paid more into this country than it has ever given to me, that the blood of my grandfather, who died for democracy, that he never received benefits being in this county, and yet he paid taxes his entire life into it.' After the clip of Her spread on social media, many people online were questioning how she was able to hold office and her ability to cast a vote in U.S. elections. MN Rep Kaohly Vang Her, admits today of all days, that she is in the country illegally. Why is she able to be a representative??? — Nevs (@Nevstv) June 10, 2025 Story continues below advertisement It's quite alarming that a Minnesota State Representative, Kaohly Vang Her, admitted during a legislative session on June 9, 2025, to being an undocumented immigrant, raising serious questions about her eligibility to hold office under Minnesota law, which requires… — CreatorJoe (@TraderJoe541) June 10, 2025 MINNESOTA—State Representative @KaohlyVangHer states that she is 'an illegal' residing in the United States—additionally, which critics say breaks both state and federal laws holding an elected office. What will @GovTimWalz do? — Bree A Dail (@breeadail) June 9, 2025 Story continues below advertisement One of her colleagues, Rep. Walter Hudson, called for Her to be investigated. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'One of our House Democrat colleagues today shamelessly declared that she is 'illegal in this country.' It was dropped so casually that you have to wonder whether she understands what she said,' Hudson wrote. 'Regardless, this requires immediate investigation.' Um… one of our House Democrat colleagues today shamelessly declared that she is "illegal in this country." It was dropped so casually that you have to wonder whether she understands what she said. Regardless, this requires immediate investigation. — Walter Hudson (@WalterHudson) June 9, 2025 Her clarified her comments in an interview with the Minnesota Reformer, saying that she and her parents are U.S. citizens. She explained that she is a refugee from Laos and moved to the U.S. when she was three years old. She also said her parents took their U.S. citizenship test and Her became a citizen as a minor when she was in middle school. Story continues below advertisement Her said that although her father 'technically broke the law' when he filled out paperwork for the family to come to the U.S. as refugees, he only did so to expedite the process. Her claims that her family 'would have come to America anyway.' Her added that she wishes she had been more clear about her actual citizenship status while she was on the House floor, but she does not regret sharing her story. 'The truth is until people see a face with somebody and a situation, it is really easy for us to other each other,' she told the outlet. 'And as somebody who's been marginalized because of who I am my whole life, I never want to do that to somebody else.' Her isn't the only person who has spoken out about their citizenship in the U.S. this week. Derek Guy, also known as Menswear Guy, who shares his men's fashion tips on X, claimed that he came to the U.S. from Canada as a child and never had any documentation. Story continues below advertisement I debated whether to share my story on here, but I guess I will. I think there's an idea out there that millions of violent criminals are pouring across the border, carrying machetes and drugs, looking to harm Americans. Certainly, while some people fall into that category, the… — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 8, 2025 'My family escaped Vietnam after the Tet Offensive and went through an arduous journey that eventually landed them in the Canada. My father worked there for a time as a janitor; my mother, a secretary. When work fell through, my dad was offered to work with his sister in the United States, so he went, as our family needed money. He ended up staying in the US longer than he was supposed to — not knowing immigration laws — and asked my mom to come be with him. Of course, she went and carried me over the border while I was still a baby,' Guy wrote. 'I'm still unsure whether we technically broke an immigration law. The border between Canada and the United States was pretty porous (as it is today, for the most part). But either way, since I came here without legal documentation, I eventually fell into the category of being an undocumented immigrant. Yet, I've been in the United States since I was a baby. My identity and roots are very much based in this country, no different from anyone else.' Story continues below advertisement Guy said there are millions of people like him living in the U.S. whose parents might have crossed the border without knowing the immigration laws. 'Parents may have crossed the border not knowing about the law, as the law can be pretty confusing and lawyers are expensive. Perhaps, in the end, they should have hired a lawyer; but sometimes life is messy. In the end, they crossed for the same reason many people rise every day: to support their families,' he wrote. 'I think the ICE sweeps are inhumane. I support and admire the protestors who are putting their bodies on the line for non-violent resistance. Ultimately, I think we need to solve this issue on a systemic level. It's unreasonable to me to expect that the government will deport some 10-20 million people. Even deporting 1 million will cause an insane amount of chaos, not to mention an incredible amount of wasteful government spending. The militarization of law enforcement is over the top and only escalate the situation.' After the fashion blogger shared his story, many people began to tag U.S. Vice-President JD Vance to let him know that Guy had admitted to being in the country illegally. Vance responded to an X user who suggested he deport Guy with a meme of actor Jack Nicholson shaking his head 'yes.' Guy responded to Vance, writing, 'I think I can outrun you in these clothes.' Story continues below advertisement i think i can outrun you in these clothes — derek guy (@dieworkwear) June 9, 2025
Toronto Star
06-06-2025
- Toronto Star
China's Panchen Lama pledges loyalty to the Communist Party in a meeting with Xi
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — The man picked by Beijing as the second highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism pledged adherence to the ruling Communist Party's dictates Friday during a rare face-to-face meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, state media reported. Gyaltsen Norbu, who is rarely seen in public, met behind closed doors with Xi Jinping in Zhongnanhai, the government compound in the center of Beijing, about 3,700 kilometers (about 2,300 miles) from his home monastery of Tashilhumpo, high on the Tibetan steppe.
