Like the Stars and Stripes, the Vietnamese flags is laden with symbolism and historical
meaning, which makes Vietnamese American feel a great emotional bond with its "colors".
Visit any Little Saigon around the world, and one is likely to see a flag displaying "three
horizontal red stripes on a golden yellow background" fluttering proudly against the blue sky.
Ask your friend, neighbor, student, or client, and she or he will tell you that those are the
'color" of Free Vietnam. It is the flag under which hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and
Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder and died, defending freedom against an
internationally inspired and communist-led aggressive war against the Republic of Vietnam.
That the war ended in 1975 in the subjugation of South Vietnam in no way reflects negatively
on the symbolism of those "color". In fact, the very survival of that flag is the survival of the idea
of freedom, which remains the ideal of all free men on earth.
Symbolism
The Vietnamese flag has a yellow background and three horizontal red stripes along its entire
length. The "golden yellow" has been the traditional color of Vietnam for over two thousand
years. It is also the color of earth, as understood in universal scheme of five elements in Oriental
cosmology. The three stripes represent three regions of Vietnam: North, Central, and South
Vietnam as united in a national community. The vibrant red color of the stripes is the color of
blood flowing through one's veins-symbolic of Vietnam's unflagging struggle for independence
throughout its recorded history.
Historical Identity
As in the case of the Stars and Stripes, the Vietnamese flag bonds Vietnamese American with
their historical past: the identity of the "Ngo.n co+` va`ng" (Yellow Flag) has enabled the
Vietnamese to survive as a nation even after a millennium of Chinese and French domination.
Thus, the "golden yellow" flag came to be irrevocably associated with the Vietnamese, their
national territory, and their history.
The flag championed by free Vietnamese everywhere was flown for the first time at a ceremony
marking the official recognition by France of Vietnamese unity and independence. It is a new
version of a similar flag ("Co+` Que? Ly") first flown in March 1945 when Vietnam under
Emperor Bao Dai reclaimed its independence from France. The three-redstriped yellow flag
continued to be the official flag of the Republic of Vietnam, which was recognized by the United
Nations from 1950 to April 1975.
Contrast With The Vietnamese
Communist Flag
The "yellow star on red background" flag of communist Vietnam called the Social Republic of
Vietnam (SRV) first made its official appearance in September 1945, when Ho Chi Minh
proclaimed the independence of Vietnam. As the SRV is now recognized by the United Nations
and many nations in the world including the Unites States, its flag is questioned by all free
Vietnamese around the world, including Vietnamese Americans.
Firstly, it is the symbol of a party imposed on the Vietnamese since August 1945. It was the
official flag of the Indochinese Communist Party (1930-1945).
Secondly, it is an international flag, not a national flag. each point of the yellow star represents
one of the five protectorates of the Union of French Indochina: Tonkin, Annam, Cochinchina,
Cambodia, and Laos. By maintaining this flag, communist Vietnam on the one hand, harks back
to a period of French colonialism, while on the other hand, keeping alive the imperialist
ambition of an Indochinese Federation under Hanoi's thumb.
Thirdly, it is a communist flag. The blood red color of the background refers to the violence of
class struggle and the ultimate victory of the proletariat revolution throughout the world, as
proclaimed by international communists. But international communist is dead with the downfall
of Soviet Union in 1991.
In brief, the Vietnamese communist flag symbolizes an antithesis to the very idea of freedom
and peace that Vietnamese Americans and free Vietnamese around the world want to foster in
our community and in generations of younger Vietnamese.
A Choice of Hope and Love of
freedom
To Vietnamese Americans, the Vietnamese Communist flag is a reminder of death. It is a
blood-reeking flag under which some three and a half million Vietnamese lives have been
sacrificed for the war-mongering goals of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) as proclaimed
in Hanoi's national anthem, "Forward, Soldiers!" which says in part: "We swear to tear our
enemies apart and drink their blood!". 30,000 landowners were lynched to death or summarily
executed by Vietnamese communists before the 1954 Geneva Agreement. Some 1,200 civilians
were shot and buried alive during the 1968 Tet Offensive. 50,000 religious leaders and political
prisoners have been executed in "re-education" camps since 1975.
Most Vietnamese Americans, having fled persecution and reprisals, find the display of the
"yellow star on red background" flag insulting, offensive, and culturally insensitive. It is like
flying the swastika flag of Nazi Germany in the presence of Jewish-Americans.
The choice of the Vietnamese flag affects Vietnamese and
Americans alike. 58,000 Americans laid down their lives in the Vietnam War for a
noble cause - the cause of freedom and democracy. Witness the "three red stripes
on yellow background" flag proudly hoisted at the Vietnamese Memorial in
Washington, D.C. on Memorial Day and the Four of July. It is the same flag that
decorates the medals on the chests of million Vietnamese who have fled communist
totalitarianism since 1975 and have successfully resettled in "the Land of the
Free", the "three red stripes on yellow background" flag will always be a symbol
of hope and love of freedom. It is the banner around which all free Vietnamese
identify themselves and rally - as long as the dream of a free Vietnam remains
alive and well.
From: http://www.vietnam-minnesota.org/vnflag.html
