15 March, 2010
Dear listeners, on Sunday March 14th, at Ngoc Son temple on Hoan Kiem Lake in the capital city of Hanoi, members of Viet Tan – Vietnam Reform Party – publicly distributed t-shirts and caps with the imprinted slogan “Hoang Sa (Paracel Island), Truong Sa (Spratly Island), Vietnam” to visitors to the temple.
Peaceful and Orderly
This action could be classified as daring and dangerous in Vietnam, putting those who participated in this act in real danger. Nguyen Khanh of the Vietnamese broadcasting team conducted an interview with one of the participants.
Nguyen Khanh: Greetings my friends. Would you please kindly reveal the nature of your work in Hanoi? What does it actually involve?
Member of Viet Tan: Our work here is simple. We peacefully distributed caps and T-shirts to those gathered within the vicinity of Hoan Kiem Lake. The caps and T-shirts are imprinted with the letters “HS – TS – VN” which stand for Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (the Paracel and Spratly Islands) belongs to Vietnam.
Nguyen Khanh: In total, how many caps and T-shirts did your team distribute? Is there a significant quantity?
Member of Viet Tan: We, ourselves cannot begin to count the gathering of such a massive crowd. We brought with us three large knapsacks filled with both caps and T-shirts. Within 45 minutes to an hour, we finished distributing all the items.
Nguyen Khanh: What are the reactions of the recipients of your caps and T-shirts?
Member of Viet Tan: Everyone here is overjoyed. As you probably already know, Hoan Kiem Lake is situated right in the centre of the city.
As a tourist destination, it is bustling with visitors. Therefore, local residents as well as foreign tourists wore the caps and T-shirts we distributed. They also asked us to pose with them for photographs.
Nguyen Khanh: Is this the first time your group participate in an activity together or have you previously collaborated with each other?
Member of Viet Tan: People in our team are all members of Viet Tan, otherwise known as the Vietnam Reform Party. However, there is no doubt that such an action does not require you to be a member of Viet Tan. In one way or another, many Vietnamese both within the country and living abroad, have voiced their standpoint, expressing deep concern and anxiety regarding the current situation of land and sea territories of Vietnam gradually disappearing into the hands of China.
The slogan “Hoang Sa and Truong Sa belongs to Vietnam” has appeared in many places. Countless experts and scholars have expressed their points of view on the issues of economic, territorial and cultural invasions.
Nguyen Khanh: You declare yourself as a member of Viet Tan. I would like to ask whether you are a resident of Vietnam or an overseas Vietnamese returning from abroad.
Member of Viet Tan: My colleagues and I returned from abroad to participate in this action. As for the members of Viet Tan who reside within Vietnam, they and fellow Vietnamese individuals from across the globe, have and shall continue to collaborate with one another to undertake peaceful actions. Our work as members from abroad is mainly symbolic in nature: the goal is to inspire and participate in the work of nonviolent action.
Not Violating the Law
Nguyen Khanh: Are you saying that there is no Vietnamese citizen – including those from your organization – participating in this action at Hoan Kiem Lake?
Member of Viet Tan: That is not the case at all. There are many Viet Tan members from within the country who organized this event. They are also present at the scene.
Nguyen Khanh: At the time the caps and T-shirts are distributed to local residents, could you sense the presence of security police nearby?
Member of Viet Tan: Yes, off course there are security police present. Dressed in both uniform and civilian clothes, they’re present at the scene. However, in my opinion, we performed the work in a very peaceful manner, not violating any law of Vietnam.
We also encountered security guards here. We explained the three purposes for our actions: first, to honor the 58 military servicemen of the Republic of South Vietnam Armed Forces who bravely sacrificed their lives at Hoang Sa in 1974 and the 64 soldiers of the People’s Army of Vietnam who gave their lives in 1988. These brave sons of our motherland perished while defending and protecting the territorial integrity of Vietnam.
Secondly, we would like to advocate for activists such as Mr Dieu Cay, writer Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, professor Nguyen Hue Chi, teacher Pham Toan, lawyer Le Thi Cong Nhan, Ms Pham Thanh Nghien and countless other renowned and unknown patriots.
Thirdly, we elucidated with local residents and tourists from the surrounding area regarding our wish to collaborate with the Vietnamese people, both within the country and living abroad, in order to express and share perspectives on expected responsibilities and obligations to our homeland Vietnam.
Nguyen Khanh: After the operation at Hoan Kiem Lake, where is your next site of action? Have you already made plans?
Member of Viet Tan: We do not have any specific plans yet but of course this work will continue in various ways. That is a definite fact. We will discuss with one another the next appropriate action to embark upon and the type of work to be performed. I would like to remind everyone that this action is quite straightforward; all citizens of Vietnam have the ability to do the same.
Nguyen Khanh: Thank you my friend. I would like to wish you all the best of luck in future endeavours.
