A full description is found at: http://www.vietvungvinh.com/Portal.asp?goto=VietNam/2007/20070830_08.htm The graffiti means to ask the communist party to abolish article 4 in Viet Nam's constitution where its state that "only the VN communist party rules the country, no other party has legitimate right to challenge with them". Therefore, any party forms within Viet Nam will consider as illegal, giving the communist power to suppress. Thank you, People's Democratic Party for sending the photograph and explanation. The next article is from Women for Human Rights in Vietnam. Hanoi, August 30, 2007 � In an effort to learn more about the condition of democracy and human rights in Vietnam, Mr. Michael Orona, Deputy Director of the Office of Asia and Western Hemisphere Affairs of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the US State Department, had scheduled to meet with pro-democracy activists in Hanoi. The meeting, arranged by Women for Human Rights in Vietnam , had been scheduled to take place at the office of Mr. Nguyen Phuong Anh in Hanoi at 3 PM on August 30, 2007. Mr. Orona, supposedly was to meet with fifteen pro-democracy activists including Mr. Pham Van Troi, Mr. Vu Hung, Mr. Pham Duc Chinh, Mr. Do Duy Thong� However, the Hanoi regime attempted to prevent this meeting by holding a number of these activists against their will at police stations in their local provinces, preventing them from traveling to Hanoi to meet with Mr. Orona.   more »

Letter to the San Jose City Council protesting the proposed naming of entry to City the Vietnamese Business District. Author is Nguyen Ngoc Tien, president of the Vietnamese-American Community of Northern California, Ban Đại Diện Cộng Đồng Việt Nam Bắc California. Discusses public meeting of August 15, 2007 and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen.   more »

We the undersigned are the interim representatives of Bloc 8406, who represent tens of thousands of those who have signed the Manifesto on Freedom & Democracy for Vietnam, released on April 8, 2006, to openly confront the Communist dictatorship in a non-violent struggle for a democratic, free, and pluralistic Vietnam....We also know that you have met on August 10 a number of our compatriots in Washington, D.C. You indicated at this meeting that when you assume your position in Vietnam, you shall focus your attention on the issues of human rights, economic development, as well as education in Vietnam. We believe that these are the real issues currently facing our country. They are inter-related since there is a serious lack of respect for human rights and the Vietnamese people have lost all freedoms and are thereby unable to contribute fully to the economic development of the country. This, in turn, results in a stagnated and backward education system. Signed by four interim representatives of Bloc 8406 on August 16, 2007.    more »

Vanessa Hua of the San Francisco Chronicle has received the AAJA print journalism award for a story on cyber-dissident Cong Do, an American citizen and San Jose resident who was imprisoned in Vietnam in 2006. The December 10, 2006 story of his arrest, imprisonment, and rescue through the efforts of his family who quit school and jobs to mobilize support from the larger community, including Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is excerpted and linked.   more »

What does Chinese products and business mean today? Lead paint in toys manufactured by slave labor; poison fish put on the market without health regulations for harvest. What does Vietnamese products and business mean today? American Vietnamese lured to "doi moi" finding themselves in jail because their Vietnamese "partners" have found it more lucrative to fleece them than sell honest goods. (see "How Vietnam Venture Proved a Costly Move" for Hoan Nguyen, an American citizen now in the B-14 prison in northern Vietnam in the Wall Street Journal online, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118702662210596089.html?mod=googlenews_wsj The City of San Jose is considering naming one of its entry corridors (Story Road) the Vietnamese Business District. Many immigrants from Communist Vietnam would rather see it named Little Saigon Business District. There is a public hearing on the matter from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 15, 2007 at the Tully branch library, 880 Tully Road, San Jose.   more »

A community meeting in San Jose with a representative of the Vietnam Progression Party will take place at the branch library, 880 Tully Road, San Jose CA 95111 Monday, August 13, at 6:30 p.m.   more »