Nguyen Quoc Lan |
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Q: Why did the government in Vietnam brand you, along with your colleagues (Andy Quach, Van Tran, and Thang Nguyen) as “overseas extremists”?
A: Well, for us that is a badge of honor. But we, I and many of those people called Dr. Thang Nguyen, Councilman Andy Quach, Assemblyman Van Tran and many others. We were always, if not most of the time, in the forefront of fighting for Vietnam. We were at the forefront of slowing down Vietnamese government trying to get access to diplomat relations. We were first fighting against lifting the embargo in Vietnam, trying to fight against normalizing relations with Vietnam. We were fighting against waiving the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to allow economic assistance to Vietnam. And we were fighting against Vietnam’s effort to join the World Trade Organization. In every step of the way, we tried to do that only on the condition that Vietnam improved their human rights conditions, Vietnam recognize refugees, allow Vietnamese boat people to leave Vietnam freely, and require Vietnam to allow the people to leave Vietnam orderly in the program undertaken by the Vietnamese government.
But all those things because we were advocating against the Vietnamese government. We were making use of the political influence we had to advocate with our local elected officials, to advocate with the US State Department, US President, US Congress. It was really effective in slowing down all those benefits to the Vietnamese government. Because we were so effective in advocating for that to gain access and benefits to the Vietnamese people. And of course we weren’t surprised when they named us extremists because well we are doing something right for our people in those efforts.
Object Description
| Profile of | Nguyen Quoc Lan |
| Title | A Child of the Vietnam War to a Strong Advocate for the Viet Kieu |
| Profile bio | Nguyen Quoc Lan is an accomplished attorney and strong advocate for the Viet Kieu (Vietnamese Diaspora). He is often at the forefront of issues around political empowerment, refugee rights, and human rights in Vietnam. As chairman of the Legal Assistance for Vietnamese Asylum Seekers (LAVAS), he dedicates hundreds of hours each year helping refugees find sanctuary outside of Vietnam. Because of his advocacy projects, the current Vietnamese government has branded him as an “overseas extremist.” Although Mr. Nguyen believes he is on Vietnam’s “hit list,” he considers it a “badge of honor.” Mr. Nguyen is also active in a variety of civic endeavors, such as improving educational and economical opportunities for the Viet Kieu. He is currently the Vice President of the Board of Education at the Garden Grove Unified School District. Mr. Nguyen graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Riverside, and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of California’s Hasting College of Law. He owns a private law firm in Little Saigon, CA. |
| Profiler bio | Ian Antrim, Ziyi Liu, Edison Ong, Harmony Phuong |
| Subject |
Vietnam Vietnam War reeducation camp sponsorship escape |
| Profiled by | Antrim, Ian ; Liu, Ziyi; Ong, Edison; Phuong, Harmony |
| Profile date | 2014-04-11 |
| Geographic subject (city or populated place) | Berlin; Little Saigon |
| Geographic subject (county) | Orange |
| Geographic subject (state) | California |
| Geographic subject (country) | Vietnam; Thailand |
| Coverage date | 1990 |
| Publisher (of the original version) | http://anotherwarmemorial.com/nguyen-quoc-lan/ |
| Type |
images video |
| Format | 1 image; 5 video files (00:15:03); 5 transcripts |
| Language | English |
| Contributing entity | University of Southern California |
| Part of collection | An Other War Memorial -- Memories of the American War in Viet Nam |
| Filename | quocnguyenlan |
Description
| Profile of | Nguyen Quoc Lan |
| Title | Why did the government in Vietnam brand you, along with your colleagues (Andy Quach, Van Tran, and Thang Nguyen) as "overseas extremists"? |
| Format | 1 transcript, 1p. |
| Filename | quocnguyenlan-vid4_tr4.pdf |
| Full text | Q: Why did the government in Vietnam brand you, along with your colleagues (Andy Quach, Van Tran, and Thang Nguyen) as “overseas extremists”? A: Well, for us that is a badge of honor. But we, I and many of those people called Dr. Thang Nguyen, Councilman Andy Quach, Assemblyman Van Tran and many others. We were always, if not most of the time, in the forefront of fighting for Vietnam. We were at the forefront of slowing down Vietnamese government trying to get access to diplomat relations. We were first fighting against lifting the embargo in Vietnam, trying to fight against normalizing relations with Vietnam. We were fighting against waiving the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to allow economic assistance to Vietnam. And we were fighting against Vietnam’s effort to join the World Trade Organization. In every step of the way, we tried to do that only on the condition that Vietnam improved their human rights conditions, Vietnam recognize refugees, allow Vietnamese boat people to leave Vietnam freely, and require Vietnam to allow the people to leave Vietnam orderly in the program undertaken by the Vietnamese government. But all those things because we were advocating against the Vietnamese government. We were making use of the political influence we had to advocate with our local elected officials, to advocate with the US State Department, US President, US Congress. It was really effective in slowing down all those benefits to the Vietnamese government. Because we were so effective in advocating for that to gain access and benefits to the Vietnamese people. And of course we weren’t surprised when they named us extremists because well we are doing something right for our people in those efforts. |
| Archival file | Volume3/quocnguyenlan-vid4_tr4.pdf |
