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Yahoo
2 days ago
- 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
6 days ago
- 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
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Vietnamese Americans in Orange County commemorate 50 years since fall of Saigon
[Source] Hundreds of Vietnamese Americans gathered Wednesday morning at Sid Goldstein Freedom Park in Westminster for the city's annual Black April ceremony, marking 50 years since North Vietnamese forces captured Saigon and ended the Vietnam War. The remembrance included a wreath-laying, prayers and a flag-lowering of the former South Vietnamese banner, flown at half-staff for the occasion. Tributes across Little Saigon The park ceremony capped a slate of commemorations that began two weeks ago, when officials unveiled signs renaming a two-mile segment of Interstate 405 the Little Saigon Freeway and rededicated the Bolsa Avenue post office as the Little Saigon Vietnam War Veterans Memorial Post Office. 'Fifty years ago, we lost Saigon, but we did not lose our hope,' said State Assemblymember Tri Ta during its unveiling of the Little Saigon Freeway sign on April 18. 'Today, we honor the courage and sacrifice of over 58,000 American service members and more than 250,000 South Vietnamese soldiers who fought side by side in the pursuit of freedom.' Trending on NextShark: Home away from home The fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975, triggered one of the 20th century's largest refugee crises. Tens of thousands fled by air and sea; many resettled at Camp Pendleton before building what is now Little Saigon in Westminster, Garden Grove and surrounding cities. A similar migration pattern produced thriving enclaves in San Jose and Houston, among others. For 71-year-old veteran Kiệt Huynh, who attended the freeway dedication, the milestone is bittersweet: 'It reminds me how many people in Vietnam died that day, and how many children,' he said. Trending on NextShark: Community leaders say preserving those memories now falls to the U.S.-born generation. Local nonprofits are launching oral-history workshops, while a state law (AB 1039) requires California to complete a model curriculum on the Vietnamese American refugee experience by the end of 2026. Westminster officials confirmed that the city's Black April observance will return on April 30 next year, part of what organizers call 'an unbroken promise to remember.' This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices. Trending on NextShark: Subscribe free to join the movement. If you love what we're building, consider becoming a paid member — your support helps us grow our team, investigate impactful stories, and uplift our community. Subscribe here now! Trending on NextShark: Download the NextShark App: Want to keep up to date on Asian American News? Download the NextShark App today!
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Vietnamese Americans gather at Georgia senior center to mark 50th anniversary of fall of Saigon
Von Tran speaks at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Dozens of Vietnamese Americans gathered at a senior center in Norcross Wednesday to mark the 50th anniversary of what Von Tran called a dark day in history. 'It's a day of suffering, of separations of family, of death, of thousands and hundreds of thousands killed and forced into reeducation camps and imprisoned, Holocaust-style, if you can imagine that,' said Tran, CEO of First Senior Center of Georgia, which hosted the event. 'Some were imprisoned for five years, 10 years, 20 years, 30 years, trying to brainwash them into communist ideology.' In Vietnam, April 30, 1975, is celebrated as Reunification Day, when North Vietnamese troops captured Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, uniting the nation under socialist rule. But to members of the Vietnamese diaspora who fled South Vietnam after its fall, April 30 is marked as the Fall of Saigon, a day to lament the end of South Vietnam and to remember the people who died fighting for the nation. Tran is part of that diaspora. She left Vietnam in 1983 at 9 years old, packed on a fishing boat with more than 60 others, including her parents and five siblings. Tran said her family often relied on charity to make sure everyone was fed during her early days in the U.S. 'I went to the food pantry at the church every Sunday, six of us, to get six chickens so my mother would be able to cook for us, because my father in 1985 was only making $3.54 an hour,' she said. 'He couldn't feed seven mouths. I jokingly say all the time, that I've been converted so many times at church pantries, from Catholic to Lutheran to Methodist to, you name it, just for a chicken.' Thanks to those charity chickens and a lot of hard work, Tran found success in the business world and now runs her own food pantry out of the senior center, delivering literal tons of food to thousands of households every week, with a special focus on seniors. In addition to the food bank and recreational facilities, the center has areas for arts and crafts as well as medical services, including acupuncture. While the ceremony honoring the fall of Saigon took place, a few old timers sat in the back and played board games like xiangqi, or Chinese chess. Many of the people who fled Vietnam around the fall of Saigon are getting older, and the center helps with tasks like translation, transportation and signing up for government assistance programs. 'A lot of them are low-income, so we cater to those who don't have the means to – whether because of a language barrier or transportation limitations – take them to doctor appointments, schedule a doctor appointment for them, apply for all the different social services, food stamps, Medicaid, Medicare, and translation, interpretation. We also give them coffins. We bury them, give them a cemetery plot. We cremate them. These are all free services.' Many of the people who came out Wednesday were members of South Vietnam's military, including some who wore their old uniforms. They saluted the flag of South Vietnam and delivered speeches and sang songs in Vietnamese. Members carrying battery-powered candles walked to the front of the center's common area and placed them on a large map of Vietnam. Tom Nguyen, a retired mechanical engineer, served six years in the South Vietnamese Navy, but he came to the ceremony in a suit and tie instead of his fatigues. 'I'm glad the war is over,' he said. 'I'm glad that the future is growing better over there and over here, because I was there to see many people killed. There's no reason for that. I hate war. I hate war. It just destroys things and communities and the economy.' Nguyen has lived in the U.S. since 1975 and Georgia since 1978. Every now and then when he speaks, a little bit of a southern drawl rises up from beneath his Vietnamese accent. If you ask him about it, he'll smile and pull down the collar of his shirt. 'Can't you see my neck is red?' he says with a laugh. Nguyen may not be American by birth, but he's a red-blooded patriot. He said he wants the next generation of Vietnamese Georgians to honor their roots but also appreciate their new country. 'We're trying to tell them today is a better life for you, especially you here in America, you have a better future, you have a long life, and you have education, you can perform, and you can achieve as you wish, because here is opportunity for everybody, America is number one, I put it that way,' he said. Hanh Kim Dang, a realtor and past president of Vietnamese Community of Georgia, said she's also thinking about the next generation. She got out of Vietnam April 26, 1975, just days before the fall of Saigon. She says she counts herself lucky that she and her sister were able to fly out of Vietnam because her aunt worked for the U.S. government. Many others made a perilous trip by boat or on foot. Dang, who was 20, had studied some English in school, but she was far from fluent. 'It was very rough,' she said. 'I was in the third year of law school, then I went back here and started all over again. I tried to go to high school because that's where I thought I could learn English and use it more to get better. But they said, no, your age, you have to go to community college.' Dang turned that community college education into a degree in information and computer science from Georgia Tech. After a 19-year career, she entered the business world and now owns several nail salons and food courts. Dang's three children are all in their thirties now. They're all conversational in Vietnamese, if not fluent. 'When they were growing up, I hired nannies who were Vietnamese, and I told them, please use Vietnamese language at home, so they pick it up, so they can save it, but it's more like daily conversation, not writing, not literature,' she said. 'They have some understanding of why we're here, but understanding deeply the reason why we sacrificed, we left everything behind, it's hard for them because they're born here,' she added. 'They adopted the culture, language, everything here, but they do understand, they see what the people have been through through photos, videos, movies.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
