Latest news with #VietnameseAmericans
Fox News
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
I'm a Vietnamese refugee. We are proud to speak the language of our new home as all immigrants should
After the fall of Saigon in 1975, waves of South Vietnamese refugees fled to the United States, seeking freedom and safety. About 125,000 refugees were airlifted initially, with upwards of 800,000 refugees fleeing in the years following – many of whom ended up settling in the U.S. As of 2017, Vietnamese-Americans comprise approximately 3% of America's immigrants, and represent the sixth-largest foreign-born population. Upon resettling in the United States, many refugees encountered a language barrier which made navigating new lives in a new nation a challenge. As a member of a refugee family who narrowly escaped the treachery of the communist Vietcong, my family was one of the many blessed and fortunate South Vietnamese families who received a gift to start a new life in America. We are grateful every day to the U.S. for this generous opportunity. However, like many, we were faced with complex systems, unfamiliar schools and an employment market that required English proficiency. In our quest to assimilate into American culture and earn our citizenship, mastering the English language was necessary to foster a sense of belonging, unity and collective American identity. Unfortunately, many recent immigrant groups do not maintain and have failed to prioritize English proficiency in the same manner. According to recent research, 46% of illegal aliens speak English "not well" or "not at all." That must change – and thankfully, President Donald Trump is taking meaningful action to ensure it does. On March 1, 2025, Trump issued Executive Order 14224, "Designating English as the Official Language of the United States." Although the U.S. has never formally declared English its official language at the federal level, its role as the de-facto language of government, education and commerce provided much-needed structure. Designating an official language is not exclusionary as critics may claim but is empowering for any new immigrant who seeks freedom and opportunity here. Learning English opens doors to forming bonds with our neighbors and develops a sense of national pride in being American. While this executive order focuses on analyzing the cost value of language services in the federal government, the designation of an official language is critical in re-establishing our bonds as Americans, especially in politically and socially Balkanized society. Further steps should be taken at the state and local level, especially within workplaces and educational institutions, to ensure that the spirit of this executive order is realized where it matters most. Language policy isn't just about words, but it about opening doors of communication and creating a pathway to becoming an American. For refugees like my family and many others from South Vietnam, it's about survival, dignity and the chance to start again. In a new and complex world, knowing the language of your new home is not just helpful, it's liberating. I applaud President Trump for taking steps to help build unity, a collective national identity and opening the door for everyone to identify as Americans.
San Francisco Chronicle
18-06-2025
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
Thrilling new food options are giving this 25-year-old Bay Area mall a second wind
On a typical weekend lunch rush, Grand Century Mall rumbles with hundreds of hungry bellies. Elders sporting their spiffiest hats go on food court dates, deepening their love over broken rice plates. Young couples pushing strollers analyze what patrons are eating in search of dining inspiration. Virtually every teenager in the building wields a beverage: coffee topped with foamed cream, fresh sugarcane nectar, pandan milk tea. For 25 years, this 150,000-square-foot mall has been a fixture of the Little Saigon neighborhood in San Jose, the city with the largest population of Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam. But the shopping center is on the mend from the pandemic, when food court tables were threaded with caution tape and several businesses shuttered. Many of those vacancies remain today. In recent years, Grand Century Mall has evolved its food offerings — comprising about a 10th of the building's 100 spaces — to adapt to the tastes of a new generation of Vietnamese Americans. Among the new options are a choice cơm tấm kiosk and two full-service restaurants: one specializes in bánh cuốn, the other in contemporary street food marvels like rice paper salad. With this tasty new cohort, I can't help but feel like the mall is finding its groove again. Developer Lap Tang opened Grand Century Mall in 2000. A refugee and innovator of Vietnamese TV show dubbing, Tang wanted to build a place of business specifically for the Vietnamese. He enticed entrepreneurs, he told NBC, by not charging a deposit. Before Grand Century hit the scene, Lion Plaza, a strip mall a few miles south, was the hot spot. 'Everything that Lion Plaza was, Grand Century was bigger, but [Grand Century] was more of an American mall,' said Paulette Tran, an east San Jose native and chef-owner of 3 Bottle Fish in Oakland. That said, unlike many American malls, Grand Century doesn't have an Old Navy or a Macy's, and the food court eschews chains like Sbarro and Panda Express. Tran saw how the mall drove Vietnamese folks to Little Saigon. On weekends, she'd go to pick up CDs and tapes, then snack on crispy, spicy Vietnamese-style beef jerky, which was harder to find then, she said. 'Vietnamese American culture is what the Grand Century represents, it's a centerpiece for refugee gathering,' said Hieu Le, co-owner of Hết Sẩy, a southern Vietnamese cart and popup based in San Jose. Growing up in Sacramento, Le would often make the pilgrimage to San Jose and the mall. Now, 'it's so much more vibrant,' he said, with far more activities. Last year, the mall hosted a night market event in the parking lot and got a strong turnout — so much so that the mall has programmed monthly night markets through the summer. Hết Sẩy was one of the inaugural vendors; Le said the event 'helps so many businesses inside that mall, not only the outside businesses.' This promise comes at a moment of resurgence for other Bay Area malls focusing on younger Asian Americans. Grand Century Mall remains a culturally rich landmark and a great place to eat that will hopefully be around for generations to come. These are the three best new places to try on your next visit. Buôn Mê Cafe Buôn Mê Cafe, located near the front entrance, bridges the generations with a vintage, pre-war aesthetic mixed with the eye-catching colors of a trendy boba shop. The star is a rice paper salad ($14.99), a dish originating from the Tay Minh province that has become a highly sought-after street food in Vietnam. You can watch as the staff makes the salad at the station near the register, two baskets adjoined by a shoulder pole filled with over 10 ingredients like quail eggs, beef jerky and kumquat juice. The cook gingerly dresses rice paper with a sweet-chile sauce, followed by a layer of garnishes before repeating the process a few times. It's salty, funky, perfumed with citrus and a masterclass in texture: chewy, crisp, crunchy. Do like the youngins and order a coffee crowned with coconut-flavored cream top ($6.95). 7 a.m.-11 p.m. daily. 1111 Story Rd., # 1003, San Jose. It doesn't take a detective to realize that the current most popular kiosk is Cơm Tấm Sài Gòn, whose platters of broken rice with charred meat appear across tables. To find it, search for the bright green sign splashing viridescent light onto the food court. I suggest opting for a dac biet combination, like #54 ($22.72), which includes a tender egg cake; a sticky, smoky pork chop; and shrimp two ways: wrapped in tofu skin and fried, and minced then grilled on sugarcane. The sleeper hit is #65 ($19.15), a dish centered around woven nets of vermicelli noodles known as bánh hỏi, accompanied by grilled pork, a crackly egg roll and fresh greens. Like Vietnam's capital city, cơm tấm has become a representative dish of the mall's current dining scene, which is apt as the dish is of two cultures. 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday-Tuesday. Food court at 1111 Story Rd., #1019, San Jose. Opened six months ago, Bánh Cuốn Hồng Hạnh is a rice flour pro, fashioning it into rice cake snacks, slippery udon noodles and steamed rice rolls known as bánh cuốn. While the crab udon is good for a cold night, you're really here for the wobbly bánh cuốn. Solo diners will want to stick to the straightforward options like #26 ($15.75), stuffed with smoky pork, or #21 ($15.75), accompanied by ham and fried shrimp cake. But if you bring friends, opt for the combo plate, a feast of every variety of rice rolls stuffed with eggs, mushrooms and ground pork. Every table in the easygoing restaurant is equipped with crushed, needling hot bird's eye chiles — use them sparingly. The restaurant is located inside the mall to the left, before you hit the food court. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. 1111 Story Rd., #1007, San Jose. 408-908-8080
Yahoo
08-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
How 'Cali' became a slur among Vietnam's growing army of nationalists
Last fall, Vietnam opened a sprawling new military museum here, and among thousands of artifacts in the four-story building and a courtyard filled with tanks and aircrafts, one exhibit quickly became the star attraction: the flag of South Vietnam. The government regards the yellow banner with three red stripes as a sign of resistance to the communist regime, violating laws about inciting dissent. With few exceptions, it is not displayed. Reactions to the rare sighting soon went viral. Young visitors at the Vietnam Military History Museum posted photos of themselves next to the flag with deep frowns, thumbs down or middle fingers raised. As the photos drew unwanted attention, the flag was unpinned from a wall and folded within a display case. Social media content featuring rude hand gestures was scrubbed from the internet. But the phenomenon persisted. Several weeks ago, schoolchildren who were on tour made it a point to check out the flag. Every few minutes, a new group crowded around the banner — also known online as the 'Cali' flag — holding up middle fingers or crossing their hands to form an 'X.' In Vietnam, Cali — sometimes written as 'kali' — has long been a reference to the Vietnamese diaspora in California, where many Vietnamese-Americans still fly the flag of the south to represent the fight against communism and the nation they lost with the war. People who live in Vietnam, however, are more likely to view it as a symbol of American imperialism, and as nationalistic sentiment here has swelled in recent years, evoking the Golden State has become a shorthand of sorts to criticize those opponents. Read more: In Vietnam, an unlikely outpost for Chicano culture 'They use that as a label against anyone who disagrees with state policy,' says Nguyen Khac Giang, a research fellow at Singapore's Yusof Ishak Institute, known for its political and socioeconomic research on Southeast Asia. There have been other signs of growing nationalism in the past year, often in response to perceptions of American influence. In addition to animosity toward the 'Cali' flag, a U.S.-backed university in Ho Chi Minh City was attacked over suspicions of foreign interference. And an aspiring Vietnamese pop star who'd been a contestant on 'American Idol' was savaged on social media last summer after footage of her singing at the U.S. memorial service of an anti-communist activist surfaced. Vietnamese nationalism, Giang said, is bolstered at every level by the country's one-party rule. The government controls education and public media; independent journalists and bloggers who have criticized the government have been imprisoned. In addition, the party's ability to influence social media narratives has improved over the last several years, particularly among the nation's youth. Since 2017, Vietnamese authorities have employed thousands of cyber troops to police content online, forming a military unit under the defense ministry known as Force 47. In 2018, the country passed a cybersecurity law that enabled it to demand social media platforms take down any content that it deems anti-state. The resulting one-sided discourse means that views that don't align with official propaganda often draw harassment and ostracism. Read more: 50 years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam tweaks the story of its victory At times, the government has also used that power to try and rein in nationalism when it grows too extreme — though banning posts about the South Vietnam flag did little to quell enthusiasm at the museum. Some visitors who were making hand signs said they were expressing their disapproval of a regime that, they'd been taught, oppressed Vietnamese people. One teenager unfurled and held up the national flag — red with a yellow star — for a photo. 'It's hard to say if I agree or disagree with the rude gestures,' said Dang Thi Bich Hanh, a 25-year-old coffee shop manager who was among the visitors. 'Those young people's gestures were not quite right, but I think they reflect their feelings when looking at the flag and thinking about that part of history and what previous generations had to endure.' Before she left, she took a selfie with her middle finger raised to the folded cloth. ::: Five years ago, when a student from a rural region of the Mekong Delta earned a full scholarship to an international university in Ho Chi Minh City, it seemed like a dream come true. But last August, when the school was caught up in the growing wave of nationalism, he began to worry that his association with Fulbright University Vietnam could affect his safety and his future. 'I was scared,' said the recent graduate, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution. He had just started a new job in education and avoided mentioning his alma mater to coworkers and wearing shirts marked with the school name. 'You had all kinds of narratives. Especially with the disinformation spreading at the time, it had some negative impacts on my mental health.' Read more: VIETNAM WAR / 1959-1975 The attacks included allegations that Fulbright, which opened in 2016 with partial funding from the U.S. government, was cultivating Western liberal and democratic values that could undermine the Vietnamese government. Nationalists criticized any possible hint of anti-communist leanings at the school, such as not prominently displaying the Vietnamese flag at commencement. Even last year's graduation slogan, 'Fearless,' sparked suspicions that students could be plotting a political movement. 'You are seeing new heights of nationalism for sure, and it's hard to measure,' said Vu Minh Hoang, a diplomatic historian and professor at the university. Hoang said the online allegations — none of which were true — led to threats of violence against the university, and there was talk that some parents withdrew their children because of them. Several students said their affiliation drew hate speech from strangers and distrustful questions from family members and employers. Academics said the Vietnamese government likely acted quickly to shut down the backlash against Fulbright in order to prevent the anti-American sentiment from harming its ties with the U.S., its largest trade partner. But some of the original accusations were propagated by state media and bots associated with the Ministry of Defense, hinting at a schism within the party. Hoang said that while nationalism is often utilized as a uniting force in Vietnam and beyond, it also has the potential to create instability if it grows beyond the government's estimation or control. 'For a long time, it has been the official policy to make peace with the overseas Vietnamese community and the United States,' Hoang said. 'So this wave of online ultranationalism is seen by the Vietnamese state as unhelpful, inaccurate and, to some extent, going against official directions.' ::: Last summer, footage of Myra Tran singing at the Westminster funeral of Ly Tong, an anti-communist activist, surfaced online. She'd achieved a degree of fame by winning a singing reality show in Vietnam and appearing on 'American Idol' in 2019, but she received harsh condemnation from online nationalists and state media when the video from several years ago went viral. Facebook and TikTok users labeled Tran, now 25, as traitorous, anti-Vietnam — and Cali. The controversy prompted a more broadly-based movement to ferret out other Vietnamese celebrities suspected of conspiring against the country. Internet sleuths scoured the web for anyone who, like Tran, had appeared alongside the flag of South Vietnam and attacked them. Read more: Letters to the Editor: The Vietnam War tore our country apart. Did we ever recover? An entertainment writer in Ho Chi Minh City, who did not want to be identified for fear of being targeted, says that as Vietnamese youth have become more nationalistic online, musicians and other artists have felt pressure to actively demonstrate their patriotism or risk the wrath of cancel culture. He added that the scrutiny of symbols like the South Vietnam flag has given those with connections to the U.S. greater reason to worry about being attacked online or losing job opportunities. That could discourage Vietnamese who live overseas — a demographic that the government has long sought to attract back to the country — from pursuing business or careers in Vietnam. 'There used to be a time when artists were very chill and careless, even though they know there has been this rivalry and this history,' he said. 'I think everybody is getting more sensitive now. Everyone is nervous and trying to be more careful.' Tran was bullied online and cut from a music television program for her 'transgression.' She issued a public apology in which she expressed gratitude to be Vietnamese, denied any intention of harming national security and promised to learn from her mistakes. Two months later, Tran was allowed to perform again. She returned to the stage at a concert in Ho Chi Minh City, where she cried and thanked fans for forgiving her. But not everyone was willing to excuse her. From the crowd, several viewers jeered and yelled at Tran to 'go home.' Videos of the concert sparked fierce debate on Facebook among Tran's defenders and her critics. 'The patriotic youth are so chaotic now,' one Vietnamese user complained after denouncing the hate that Tran was receiving online. Another shot back: 'Then go back to Cali.' Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Boston Globe
03-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Mass. AAPI report provides what could be the first comprehensive survey of community population
'This aggregation is needed to understand each community and their needs,' said Shubhecchha Dhaurali, program and research director at the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission of Massachusetts. 'Because if we merge everybody together, it gives us this idea that we're doing fine or everybody's not doing fine when that isn't the case." Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up MassINC Polling Group executed the survey, and the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies, the Asian American and Pacific Islanders Commission of Massachusetts, APIsCAN, and the Asian Community Fund at the Boston Foundation collaborated to design the questionnaire. Paul Watanabe, director of the UMass Boston Institute for Asian American Studies and political science professor, anchored the initiative. A survey like this could have great implications for a demographic that's often been treated as a monolith, advocates say. Without detailed data, elected officials often overlook AAPI voters as a key voting bloc, and policy recommendations that properly address the diaspora's specific needs are difficult to make. Advertisement The survey provides key insights into the growing AAPI community, which constitutes eight percent of the state's population, according to the most recent Some key takeaways: Like many Massachusetts residents, roughly a third of respondents considered the rising cost of living and inflation among their top concerns. But the degree to which they worried about making ends meet differed by ethnicity. Thirty-four percent of Vietnamese Americans, 34 percent of Chinese Americans, and 27 percent of Indian Americans identified inflation as a key concern. The majority of survey respondents — 56 percent — identified as Democrats. The Trump administration's executive orders on AAPI residents polled also reported widespread racism, and an overall lack of belonging. Roughly one in four said they experienced discrimination, one in five were called racist slurs, and 14 percent suffered verbal abuse in the past year. These trends are echoed on the national level. A separate Advertisement For the Massachusetts survey, only 39 percent of respondents said they strongly agreed that they belonged in America — a sentiment that Danielle Kim, executive director of the Boston Foundation's Asian Community Fund found shocking, but affirming nonetheless. 'Even though AAPI residents have been in this country for many generations, so many in our community still don't feel like we're seen, visible, or celebrated,' Kim said. 'This report is a call to action.' The survey also precedes a 'We live in a society where data and numbers really help to push public opinion,' said Jaya Savita, director of the Asian and Pacific Islanders Civic Action Network, or APIsCAN. 'Many of our partners will be able to use this data to better articulate the lived experiences of our communities when it comes to advocating on policy issues, asking for grant funding, and seeking opportunities to build community.' There are some notable limitations: the data only delineates Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese respondents. All other nationalities making up the state's AAPI diaspora — such as Korean, Hmong, and Sri Lankan Americans — did not meet the survey's disaggregation threshold and are instead included in an 'other' category. The questions were also only available in English, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer, restricting which residents can participate. But Karen Chen, executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, said the survey is just a start. It might be the model lawmakers need on Beacon Hill to actually start acknowledging the nuances of the diaspora, and 'move with intention.' Advertisement 'We have so many folks that will say: [the community] is so diverse, we can't do anything,' Chen said. Well, 'if you have the will, we will show you how.' This story was produced by the Globe's team, which covers the racial wealth gap in Greater Boston. You can sign up for the newsletter . Tiana Woodard can be reached at
Los Angeles Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Acrylics ambitions and American dreams: The rise of the Vietnamese nail salon industry
For many American women, getting our nails done at least once a month is a fact of life. Especially if you live in a metropolitan area near the coasts, it's likely that your nail tech is Vietnamese, as more than half of all nail salons in the U.S. are owned and operated primarily by Vietnamese Americans. Yet, it is also likely that you don't know the story behind the statistics or that the rise of the Vietnamese nail salon industry stands as a testament to both the achievements and ordeals of the American Dream. In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, which led to a Communist regime helmed by Ho Chi Minh, millions of refugees fled the nation seeking sanctuary and asylum, with an estimated 998,000 resettling in ethnic enclaves throughout the U.S. from 1970 to 2000. When they arrived, settling primarily in coastal ethnic enclaves such as Little Saigon, these migrants faced relentless prejudice, language barriers, and limited economic opportunities. Even today, Vietnamese salon owners face discriminatory violence. Nevertheless, amidst the stiff competition, the fledgling salon owners were able to leverage something they carried with them across the ocean: robust social capital derived from close-knit familial and communal relationships. Fortunately, they were competing in an industry that hadn't yet caught up with the times. Salon services were mostly offered in pricey beauty salons accessible only to the upper class—by focusing their services on nails, Vietnamese providers lowered the price and then cornered the burgeoning but neglected market of lower-class women. Yet, while the nail salon business is booming for Vietnamese entrepreneurs across the country, with a projected annual growth rate of around 6% until 2030 , the industry isn't without its challenges. Even though prices for nail services have risen over the past few years, wages for the nail technicians themselves remain low. Additionally, there are health risks associated with the service : chemicals in the acrylics and polishes, particularly formaldehyde, have been linked to respiratory issues, while chemical burns are an ever-present risk due to the polish removers and adhesives. Finally, with the Trump Administration expected to enact and enforce stricter immigration laws , some workers and salon owners may face deportation. Nevertheless, the Vietnamese nail salon owners and the primarily Vietnamese technicians they employ continue to leverage their social capital and find success despite the economic and labor challenges ahead. Ultimately, the nail salon industry isn't only about beauty—it's a reflection of the strength, courage, sacrifice, and resilience of an immigrant community that carved out their place in the American Dream, one manicure at a time. Related
