This is an excerpt of a speech delivered by our editor-in-chief, Dr. Lam Le
Trinh, as keynote speaker at the first Vietnamese Overseas Media Conference
(VOMC)) held on April 9/2003, at the Regent West Restaurant, 4717 W. First
Street, Santa Ana, California.
The history of the Vietnamese press is closely linked to that of Vietnam as a
country. It made its appearance late in the day, under French domination,
following the adoption and vulgarization of Quoác ngöõ which had been devised
by Father Alexandre de Rhodes on the basis of the Roman alphabet. The history
of the Vietnamese press can be divided into four main periods: 1) French
colonization (1861-1945) during which both French and Vietnamese were used;
2) The resistance against the French (from 1945 to the Geneva Conference in
1954), a period during which the Communist Vieät Minh press and the nationalist
press existed side by side; 3) The partition of Vietnam at the 17th parallel (1954
to 1975); and 4) From the fall of South Vietnam on 30 April 1975 to the present
day, with the Communist press and the diaspora press.
The development of the Vietnamese press under the successive control of the
colonialists, civil and military dictators and the Communists has been slow and
incomplete, and lacking in structure. When the country was forcibly unified in
1975, the press was in utter disarray. It was infiltrated by the Communists and
many of its adherents changed sides, like Phaïm Ngoïc AÅn, Lyù Chaùnh Trung,
Kieàu Moäng Thu, Ngoâ Coâng Ñöùc and Lyù Quyù Chung. Thousands of
journalists, writers and artists from South Vietnam were sent off to re-education
camps. Many did not return. They were called bieät kích caàm buùt or "soldiers of
the pen" by Hanoi, and were treated as criminals, traitors, spies who’d sold
themselves to the enemy. Those who could fled the country empty-handed. They
tried to rebuild their lives from virtually nothing, at a loss intellectually and
professionally in countries whose languages they did not speak and whose
customs they knew little about. They struggled with modern technology and
learned to enjoy freedoms they had been denied. The resources at their disposal,
in terms of research, information, writing, printing and distribution, are limitless.
Regrettably, the haphazard use of these tools and the abuse of the freedom of
expression have led to two phenomena: first, an army of individuals with no
journalistic training whatsoever has inflated the ranks of the Vietnamese press
and is giving it a bad name. These amateurs not only violate all property rights
but they also use newspapers for dishonest and disreputable objectives;
secondly, a new kind of press has appeared, operating on a purely mercantile
basis, distributed free of charge in grocery and retail stores and making its
money entirely from advertisements.
It must be said that this phenomena are still the exception, not the rule, and that
there have been some positive developments. Professional journalists have an
important role to play in the democratic reconstruction of Vietnam. Of course,
they can only fulfill this role if they agree to come together and correctly assess
the situation and needs of our country, domestically and abroad; accurately
identify our strengths and weaknesses and our human and financial resources;
and come up with a set of priorities. There is no time here to go into details. A
number of these topics will be analyzed in various workshops this afternoon.
Whether today’s conference is successful depends in great part on our will to
work together. The long-standing – but not insurmountable – problem of the
Vietnamese diaspora is the lack of unity; if we are to pull our country out of its
current shameful state of under-development, we have to share a common spirit,
behave as leaders, act and not just talk, overcome petty disagreements and
concentrate on what really matters. Only if we are united can we overcome the
"waiting syndrome" – the old waiting to pass the torch to the young, the young
waiting for the old to lead the way, the diaspora waiting for the dissidents inside
the country to initiate the struggle, and the dissidents waiting for those outside to
start, everyone waiting for the green light from someone else. Only if we are
united can we overcome our reluctance to establish a strong political group
endowed with a clear program of action, good leadership and a well-organized
membership all focused on bringing freedom and democracy to Vietnam. Ho Chi
Minh and his followers brought Marxist revolution to Vietnam. They were a small
group but they managed to achieve their goal and beat the more numerous but
fragmented nationalist camp. Why would we not be able to do what they did, we
who maintain that our cause is just and that we are fighting for democracy
against an unpopular regime? To ask this question is to answer it.
In a speech delivered in November 1994 in Paris, the writer Duong Thu Huong
commented that "The Vietnamese people have a long tradition of fighting against
foreign invaders but have never had a tradition of fighting against domestic
infiltration". Marxist infiltration by Vietnamese Communists is indeed a great deal
more harmful than foreign invasion because it enslaves our people and destroys
our society in the name of an imported ideology. The media can play an important
part to safeguard Vietnameseness. The Vietnamese Communist is a degenerate:
behind the label of socialism, he hides the worst ills of colonialism and the abuses
of nouveau-riche capitalism. In an effort to justify himself, he has coined the term
"Nha Nuoc Phap Quyen" or "the Judicial State" but this should in no way be
mistaken for the rule of law.
The Communist regime derives its legitimacy from Article 4 of the Constitution
which affirms that Marxist-Leninism and the thought of Ho Chi Minh are the
"leading forces of the state and society". This legitimacy takes the form of the
dictatorship of the (Communist) Party instead of the rule of law. The 1992
Constitution approved by the National Assembly is a mere shopping list – for
propaganda purposes – of freedoms which have no guarantee in law and which
the Government deliberately flouts with special legislation and administrative
decrees. These acts are anti-constitutional. Such blatant violation of the rule of
law by governmental power is only seen in Vietnam.
The United States where so many of us reside is a land governed by the rule of
law. Basic freedoms are guaranteed by the first ten amendments to the U.S.
Constitution. In order to act in a legal manner, the Vietnamese media need to
have a legal identity. Vietnamese jurists can help formalize the situation. It is
important that the Vietnamese media be more than the press, the door must be
opened to the other media, such as radio, television, photographers, printers,
cultural groups, etc, if the means of action are to be optimized. A history of the
Vietnamese press from its beginnings must also be made available.
One other issue this conference would do well to work out is a Code of Conduct, a
statement of its internal obligations (journalists to each other) as well as its
obligations to the public it serves. This Code must be in accordance with
international standards and its objective must be, not to limit, but to train.
Common sense and realism will help smooth out any disagreement.
The rule of law is of the utmost importance. As a witness of history, the journalist
must be truthful, independent and impartial. The Overseas Vietnamese media,
once organized, will become more effective in its advocacy of human rights and
democracy for Vietnam, of the teaching of the Vietnamese language in American
schools, of a treatment free of discrimination by the Vietnamese government of
imported works and publications originating from the diaspora.
The canons are now silent in Vietnam. A new, equally difficult struggle, has
started. This is the peaceful struggle for freedom and democracy. There have
been many missed opportunities, many wasted human and material resources, all
because the Vietnamese diaspora has not managed to agree on a common
strategy.
The Vietnamese media cannot remain neutral between democracy and
dictatorship, between truth and lying, between the light and the darkness. Not to
come up with any action is an action in itself, that of the coward who flees his
responsibilities.
The press reflects multiple aspects of reality; it is the intermediary between the
people and the state, the historical bridge between the past, the present and the
future; the popular barometer which the government must consult. That is why
observing and gathering information must be done freely. Abraham Lincoln had
advised that "If the people know the truth, the country will be safer."
A society or nation is judged by the quality of its media. The media perform an
indispensable function as guides of public opinion. They cannot do so effectively if
they cannot produce journalists who are competent, honest and conscientious.
The strength of the media comes from the ability to tell the truth. Their authority
and prestige must go hand in hand with a strong sense of their responsibilities.
Many groups have used the press as a tool. The Communists are wielding it today
to infiltrate, divide and destroy those who oppose their rule. To face this peril,
there is only one solution: be alert and close ranks.
Journalism – in its authentic form – is seen by many as a calling, a noble cause
worthy of great sacrifices. For many of those who devote their life to it, to choose
a career as a journalist is almost like to convert to a religion, and they are ready
for all the risks, the thankless struggle, the tribulations, as well as the purest joys
of the mind and spirit. In Vietnam in particular, journalists have contributed to a
considerable extent to the enrichment of our language and culture, something
they can be justly proud of but not always appreciated for.
In the civilized world, a journalist worthy of the name is honored in the same
way as a soldier on the battlefield. President Thomas Jefferson went even
further. He wrote: "If it were left to me to decide whether we should have a
government without a free press or a free press without a government, I would
prefer the latter."
Freedom of expression alone can bring about real democracy. Language is at the
heart of civilization. Language protects social communication. Silence isolates
human beings.
With this conviction, I wish the Vietnamese Overseas Media Conference the
greatest of success and it is my dearest hope that it lives up to the trust and pride
of the Vietnamese community.
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