First Vietnamese American Congressman Visited Vietnam

By on January 10, 2010 • Topics: Arts & Culture,News

01.09.2010 – A group of American congressional representatives, including Vietnamese American Congressman Cao Quang Anh Joseph of Louisiana, visited Vietnam last week. Congressman Cao attended a meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son at the Government Guest House in Hanoi on January 5, 2010. The purpose of the trip was to see firsthand and learn about the development of Vietnam, particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and to exchange opinions about issues of common concern.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs said that Vietnam wanted to build a bridge with the overseas Vietnamese community, many of whom have made significant contributions to U.S. society. He also mentioned the possibility of sending a mission from the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese to meet with members of the Vietnamese community in the U.S. who still “do not possess a full and clear picture” about Vietnam.

Congressman Cao Joseph is the first Vietnamese American to be a member of the U.S. Congress and the first Republican Representative in Louisiana’s Second District since 1890. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1975 with his brother and sister, studied physics, joined the Jesuit order for six years, taught philosophy and studied law, and survived both Hurricane Katrina and Gustav.

The Author:

Quyen is currently an Investment Analyst at a real estate private equity firm. She previously worked in real estate investment banking covering a variety of transactions, including equity, debt and M&A. Quyen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.A. in Economics.

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  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000636942153 Tudo Daiviet

    Do you guys know that Facebook is banned in Vietnam ???

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    I heard that they tried to block it, but it doesn't seem to be stopping many people.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    By the way, actions such as banning or blocking FB would not help the cause of giving the Vietnamese community in the U.S. "a full and clear picture” about Vietnam. It seems to me that the benefits of social networks that allow their people to interact with the rest of the world would far outweigh any negative repercussions that could result (not that they'd listen to my opinion . . . but there you have it.)

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    By the way, actions such as banning or blocking FB would not help the cause of giving the Vietnamese community in the U.S. "a full and clear picture” about Vietnam. It seems to me that the benefits of social networks that allow their people to interact with the rest of the world would far outweigh any negative repercussions that could result (not that they'd listen to my opinion . . . but there you have it.)

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1072591460 Son Thai Bui

    @Asia Senang : It depends on the network you connect to and it doesn't lock all the time, just at a level enough to annoy people.Anyway, I agree that oversea Vietnamese community does not always understand correctly about the condition inside Vietnam now. Besides bad things, there are also good things.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000636942153 Tudo Daiviet

    asia … they began blocking last month so it wasn't blocked 2 months ago … here's from Voice of America Radiohttp://www.voanews.com/vietnamese/2010-01-05-voa33.cfm

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    Son, are you there now?The first reports of possible issues with FB in Vietnam that I saw were as far back as Nov 18. At that time, there seemed to me to be a noticeable decline in posts from Vietnam that lasted about a week, but things gradually returned to near normal, and I have seen posts from some people within Vietnam that are as frequent as before and as recent as yesterday. But I don't have that many contacts there myself, so others with more numerous contacts (or actually there) may have more insight.

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=1786264254 Phan-Huy Quang

    Slogan of the group is "We are building the largest online community of people and groups that want to make Vietnam a better place to learn, work, and live."How could it be if VN government keeps choking FB to death!!!According to BBC last month (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8370762.stm), Vietnam is NOT blocking Facebook. Well, according to Facebook's statistics, it has fallen 35% in the last month alone. Interesting "coincidence"? Here's the fact: http://www.facebakers.com/countries-with-facebook/VN/chart-interval-3/

  • http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=617736644 David Regenold

    Thanks! Can't argue with that data. The point is made.Bravo for the 18-24 age group. The over 50 crowd . . . needs some encouragement.