"Little Saigon" -- Hunger Striker in San Jose

Viet World Kitchen is a food place but I sometimes digress to discuss political issues. Last month, we started a conversation about the "Little Saigon" naming controversy in San Jose, California. It all started when disgruntled Viet-Americans called Madison Nguyen a communist because they didn't like her support of "Saigon Business District" over their preferred "Little Saigon." People took sides, there were generational splits, talk of recalls, and more.

In a nutshell, much has gone awry and the latest developments include the following:

(3/13/08) City of San Jose comes up with a temporary solution and Ly Tong ends his hunger strike. He'd stopped drinking water a little while ago. For more, read the thread below and also the postings at Solving San Jose's Little Saigon Controversy.

(3/4/08) The San Jose Mercury News released some numbers (finally!) saying that last August 2007 the City of San Jose's Redevelopment Agency sent out 1,136 surveys to people living near the stretch of Story Road, asking them what it should be called. Of the surveys sent out, there were 117 responses. Of those responses, 44 surveys were for "Little Saigon." The mayor, who's now being criticized for mishandling this situation, says they should have paused to outreach to people.  The newspaper's editorial board calls for the city to end the "ridiculous" situation and name the area "Little Saigon" -- just so everyone can move on. It's a 1-mile strip of road.

(3/2/08) A protest of 7,500 Viet-Americans gathered in front of City Hall to support "Little Saigon."

In light of all the turmoil that this once small issue has created, Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilwoman Madison Nguyen are going to rescind (pull back) the name "Saigon Business District" on March 4. The City of San Jose will not have a costly city-wide vote on the name, and some kind of process will be devised for coming up with a name. This past week, commentary in the San Jose Mercury News has stated things like the situation has become "surreal" with the hunger strike, that the city has become a "laughing-stock" and that it needs to move on.

Perennial showman Ly Tong decided last Friday to eat his last bowl of noodles and go on a hunger strike until the city agrees to name the business-shopping district "Little Saigon" instead of "Saigon Business District," which was what was decided on by the city council. "I'll continue until I die," he says according to a 2/20/08 article in the San Jose Mercury News.

The City of San Jose is going to put the naming issue up to a city-wide vote (the name affects a couple of blocks in District 7, represented by Councilwoman Madison Nguyen, the first Vietnamese American woman to be elected to office)

The controversy has made national headlines in a 2/16/08 piece in the New York Times.

The wh0le thing has escalated into a mess that will unfortunately damage the San Jose Vietnamese American community for a long time, unless a diplomatic solution can be finessed. For 2008 Tet, San Francisco-based journalist and commentator Andrew Lam penned a terrific and insightful piece on the many unresolved issues in the Vietnamese American community. He carefully aired a little dirty laundry but got people thinking about the realities of Vietnam today, the tight relationship between overseas Vietnamese and the Motherland, and how people may come to grips with  their anger and sense of loss:

New Year, Old Unresolved Passion: Vietnam and its Diaspora (New American Media, 2/7/08)

 

Comments

[Anonymous]

A hunger strike over a name??? Rather like throwing a temper tantrum just because he didn't get his way.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Yes, it is inappropriate and makes a mockery out of people who go on hunger strikes for legitimate reasons, for example, political and religious persecution. But the naming of a couple of blocks isn't quite the same cause.

[white on rice couple]

I'm finally commenting on this post after 2 days of full conversation with my elders on this matter. After much discussion( often heated but civil), both I and my respected elders are more enriched from our exchange of frustrations, ideals, hopes and opinions. The most surprising and comforting opinion that I was able to gain from this vocal group of older, anti-communist, VERY pro-democratic Vietnamese men (one of which is my own Father), is they do not feel threatened by the proposal of "Saigon Business District". They feel that this name still appropriately coveys the anit-communist cause of the Democratic Vietnamese community .
Thank goodness. So the angry voices we see in the media do not represent all the opinions of the Vietnamese people.
I hope Mr.Ly Tong exerts his anger out in another peaceful means, rather than starving himself . Please don't take it out on the FOOD! Viet food is such a beautiful thing to deny yourself of.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Good for you to engage the older men around you in conversation about this topic. I think it's dragged on for too long and we're all getting rather tired of it because it's becoming ridiculous. It's nice to hear how your father thinks about "SBD" -- especially because he lives down there, right? If you could only see the stretch of road they're talking about... it's not particularly impressive relative to Bolsa Avenue in Orange County's Little Saigon.

I wish that there was a vibrant Vietnamese business-and-shopping district in San Jose that was commensurate with the population size. It's a shame.

[white on rice couple]

No, my Father lives Orange County , Little Saigon. But my uncle and aunt live in the heart of San Jose. They feel the same way that my Father does and as I talk to more and more Viet people, SBD is not negatively looked upon. It's a shame that a small minority of voices get so much attention.
I have not been to San Jose yet, but from your descriptions, it certainly needs some revitalizing.
Thanks again for all the great posts updating all Viet current events!

[Andrea Nguyen]

Oh, you're getting a great broad range of perspectives. Good for you!

[Zach]

White on Rice Couple, obviously you post this before the rally in San Jose on Sunday....you can see now it is no longer just a vocal minority. ABC Channel 7 News reported that they pulled in over 7,000 protestors while San Jose Mercury News reported 2,500. The supporters of Saigon Business District all signed a petition from Que Huong Radio Station, they had 350 signatures, but I think they changed the number to 600 now. Either way, that's very "puny" comparing to the thousands of people that supported the name Little Saigon. So now I think all articles should be changed to Little Saigon vocal majority and Saigon Business District Silent minority. It'll be interesting to see how our councilwoman Madison Nguyen will react to the numbers on Sunday.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Ah Zach... things are getting heated...

[QT Luong]

Regardless of the merit of their cause, the group so-called "San Jose Voters for Democracy" misunderstands the very nature of representative democracy.

As an example, millions marched in the streets to oppose the Iraq war. Yet you do not see *anybody* calling Bush's decision to start that war "undemocratic".

Tuan.

[Zach]

Tuan, representative democracy only works if there's a fair number of people representing the group. For example, we are all Americans and representative democracy works for the presidential campaign because everyone is thinking for the sake of America. However, when you're talking about an ethnic group, in this case Vietnamese, and there are 11 council members and only ONE of them is Vietnamese, how is that considered the same as representative democracy? That's the same as saying if you were to born a child and you want to come up with a meaningful VIETNAMESE name for this child, but you chose to have 10 Americans and 1 Vietnamese friend to be the panel to come up with this name, do you think the name will be meaningful? Or would it be better to have 11 Vietnamese friends vote on a name...in their own language that they actually understand the meanings behind a name? Therefore, when you can't go with representative democracy, you gotta reach out to the people and listen to what they want.

[Lana Tran]

I hope Little Saigon name wins to put an end to this matter.

[Andrea Nguyen]

Yep, it needs to end, Lana.

[Josh]

Reasons to continue the protest. 1 – ‘Little Saigon’ has a high chance of winning. Although the city council voted to have the business owners decide the name for the affected area this doesn’t mean that ‘Little Saigon’ has lost. Last Tuesday, a list of nearly 100 business owners around the area signed a petition against ‘Little Saigon’ was presented to the City council. This list isn’t entirely accurate. Many business owners whose names were on Tuesday's list called a Vietnamese news station and make it clear that they didn’t signed against ‘Little Saigon’. One business owner claimed that a few of his business buddies asked him to sign a petition to name the affected area around June-July 2007 and he did. Some how his name ended up on the list against ‘Little Saigon’. Another business owner claims that she signed for ‘Little Saigon’ and unsure why her name was among the list of people against ‘Little Saigon’. This proves that there is a high chance that the majority of those business owners did not vote against ‘Little Saigon’. 2 – Continue the protest to support Ly Tong.Ly Tong gives his life to fight for democracy. He stands up for the ‘Little Saigon’ community. Ly Tong refuses to give in to unreasonable solution and is currently still out there on his hunger strike. His courage is an inspiration to us all. The least we can do is to continue the protest to support him. Let us not give up on Ly Tong. Let us not give up on ‘Little Saigon’. My suggestions on the Little Saigon campaignAt this moment let’s not get distracted by working on recalling Madison Nguyen and let’s focus on the protest for ‘Little Saigon’. 1- We should continue the protest at the city hall.By doing this we let the City Council knows that by turning the decision over to the business owners they did little to resolve this issue. The problem still exists. This also let the opposition knows that we will not be miss informed and give up because of a petition with an inaccurate list of signers. Lastly and most importantly, we stood by Ly Tong and let him know that we are not giving up on him. It is very important that all the protests are non violent to send the message that we are not trouble makers. 2- We should ask other Vietnamese communities who support ‘Little Saigon’ to protest in the city that they are at. It is more convenience for ‘Little Saigon’ supporters from other cities to continue the protest at their cities. Also, protesting at multiple cities is more effective. This quickly draws attention to the media all over the US/World. The more media coverage we have the more chance for others to understand why the name ‘Little Saigon’ is important to us and to Ly Tong. Let the world knows that there is currently a political issue in San Jose and the City Council did little to resolve it. 3- We should confirm with the business owners around the affected area if they really voted against ‘Little Saigon’. One of the main reasons for the City Council to vote against the name ‘Little Saigon’ was the petition signed by nearly 100 business owners against ‘Little Saigon’. At this point we have found out that the list is in accurate. If we can get an accurate petition for the name ‘Little Saigon’ signed by business owners around the affected area, we can present this to the City Council. If the majority of business owners in the affected area petition for the name ‘Little Saigon’, there should be no reason for the City Council to disagree to the name ‘Little Saigon’. Post Ly Tong hunger strike through various appropriate forums on the internet.The internet has become an important part of our lives. We can also support ‘Little Saigon’ by writing about Ly Tong hunger strike in various political forums to get attention from the press and the government. Ly Tong is a prominent political figure.For those who don’t know Ly Tong, he is a prominent political figure not just some crazy guy who decided to go on hunger strike for fame. This is the letter of appreciation from President Ronald Reagan to Ly tong. In 2001, the Washington State Senate passed LYTONG'S SENATE RESOLUTION 8616 to honor Ly Tong for his courageous efforts to bring democracy and freedom to the Vietnamese People. Learn more about Ly Tong on wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ly_Tong.

[Tin]

Madison Nguyen had a secret deal with the developer of the Vietnam Town Mall (Lang Tap) on Story Road very early on in April of 2007. Lang Tap wanted to call the it Vietnam Town Business District. She might have wanted a supporter with a lot of ammunition on her side. She had set up a meeting with her, Lang Tap and the redevelopment agency. He even emailed them three designs he wanted. The deal was, 1. RDA will provide $100K for the project. 2. Lang Tap will design the banner and monuments. 3. Lang Tap will maintain and replace the banners. The RDA later told them it would be a conflict of interest. Madison, is the one who is dividing up the community. She is the one who messed this up, and some of her counsel members are upset with her too. They said that the city has a process for naming districts and parks, it has worked for decades, but it wasn't followed this time around. The city is in this mess with this issue because of her. This link provides email exchanges between Madison, Lang Tap and RDA. Check out email #6 and her speech to her constituents . In email #6 she wanted RDA to amend 2 points to the survey that would have picked a name for the district. 1. this survey is just an "advisory" 2. in her own words " At the end of this statement, add "After we have concluded our public outreach efforts, Staff will present a full presentation the City Council and at that time, the City Council will make a final decision... (something along this line). This means that she had the final say on this matter. This is not according protocols the city use to name districts. The video link is the first community hearing she set up with her constituents about the issue on 8/15/2007. She was surprised that so many people were there in support for LS. So Email #6 was written six days later on 8/21/2007 so she could have final say on the name of the district. Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/v/g-jEb_thbXU&autoplay=1&rel=0 [pic2.jpg] [pic3.jpg] [email6.jpg]

[civil]

keep hunger protesting ,Ly Tong .You must keep a promise whick you have made to public .Be a man you must be ,Ly Tong .Be a hero ,Ly Tong ,keep yourself away from food .That's a man .Ly Tong is a proud of Little Saigon's man .Brave to death .Keep promised .

[quang]

I personally prefer Saigon Business District as it does carry Saigon , my former hometown and it does not have "Little" in it as this has some negative connotation of the city of Saigon.
With respect to this vocal group of Vietnamese people demonstrating , I believe they do not represent the community. Majority of us do not support them nor condone their actions of militant threats , anticommunist extremism and dirty tactics of labelling anyone who disagree with them communist .
Having said that , I sitll do not endorse Madison 's behind the door 's dealing , in apparent violation of Brown 's act.
Check Reed has been unfairly under attack by this vocal group of people since he refused to accomodate their wish.
I felt for Chuck as he is a very decent and honorable man , having his hand full with San Jose 's other problems already but having to deal with this at the same time.
But he had the courage to stand up to them and acted
in a fair and consistent way , instead of caving in to the pressure.
All in all ,this controversy certainly makes Vietnamese community look bad and sharply divides us .Family , friends squabble over this and it certainly does not deserve such attention and importance.
Life goes on , everyone must move on with their life .
Andrew Lam said it best "But those who seek to isolate Vietnam have become isolated themselves."
Nothing constructive can be found with the actions of this group of demonstrators in San Jose and please stop the noise. There are better things to do for Vietnam such as how to make Vietnam more democratic , make Vietnam do away with Communist doctrine , how to help it overcome its poverty problem , how to help the orphans and unfortunate kids there , so on and so on.

These pro "Little Saigon" people harbor deep hatred for the Vietnamese communist that they fail to see the light at the end of the tunnel , more illuminating as time goes by , as Vietnam slowly progresses and prospers. Is it sheer hatred and jealousy , or is it these people 's innermost desire to see Vietnam fail and its people miserable ?
Either way , it is pathetic and unpatriotic.
To love Vietnam and its people is to help it democratize its political system and its people prosper economically by constructive talks and exchanges. These demonstrators only show their small mindedness and selfishness. No such love for their fatherland.
They misrepresented us by saying "90-92 percent of Vietnamese here supported Little Saigon " ... nothing can be further from the truth Ly Tong ! I used to respect Ly Tong as a courageous
freedom fighter but no longer do. I wonder whether he 's in illusion or simply lied.Last but not least , these pro Little Saigon people ,demonstrated for democracy in Vietnam , don't seem to understand what democracy really mean to begin with.

How sad !

[civil]

More than 1 million people in San Jose city will say Thanks to Ly Tong .Ly Tong is the guy who can bring democracy back to the city .Let him die in honor .I will build a marble wall with his name on it .

[M. T.]

I think this is wrong that we are fighting amongs each other over just a naming issue. Calling people communist is just WRONG. I think we should just stick to the facts and come together in a more professional ways. This is what this country is all about if you have live here long enough. Just because you do not get your way does not mean you should call them names or threaten them. I think that we should concentrate on how we can make the city better as a whole for vietnamese people. Such as help vietnamese children get a better education if they can't afford it, help family who can't afford to put food on the table for their family, help fight crimes against vietnamese people, etc.... Instead of fighting each over a naming of the shopping area. I am pretty sure someone who is/are supporting this cause will probably call me a "communist"
Well, let me tell you something, I was born in saigon and my mom is from there. Our family lost everything when we came to U.S. We were in the refugee camps for over 3 years before we were even selected to come to U.S.
This is my opinion in this situations, I think that the city council decision is correct that the naming of that area should be upto all the business owners there since they have most stakes in it. Let them vote it out what they want because they will have to pay for it since it is their business.
It still puzzle me why we fight over naming of it. Let's say that we got our way in naming it "Little Sai Gon", that still does not mean anything. Let's assume that all the business owners who are against the naming of Little SaiGon and they pull their business out then what do we have? Nothing but a name Little SaiGon that mean nothing when there is NO business there since all the business owners who are against the naming take their business elsewhere.
If you really want to name it little SaiGon and feel strongly about it then buy out the business then you can vote on the naming of the business. Now you have a lot stakes in it.
Like I said this is my opinion, I do not feel that you have the right to voice your opinion unless you have the stakes in the business. If you do not like the naming of the business (which the business owners vote for) then you DO NOT have to go there. Let me repeat "you DO NOT have to go there and support the business owners". Just take your business elsewhere because that is your RIGHTS as an American Citizen. FREEDOM to choose in U.S. That is all I have to say.

[civil]

If Ly Tong don't die ,democracy won't come back to San Jose .
Let him die .

[civil]

More than 1 million people in San Jose silently to Ly Tong .What does it mean ????

[Mike]

Stop being a bunch of sore losers.
The city council already made their decision ,accept it and move on.
These people only insisted on their way , trying to impose their way on other people , businesseses , don't really know what democracy is and how to be a law abiding citizen. They still have the third world mentalities .
Remember San Jose 's Vietnamese population is only around 10%. Being raucous and extreme certainly only makes this group of people look bad . I know Vietnamese people can be far better than that , just this group of people is not representative of them.

[Quy]

" don't really know what democracy is and how to be a law abiding citizen. They still have the third world mentalities ."

Civil, do you even think before you speak? What are they doing that's not democratic? what are they doing that's now law abiding?

[mike]

I assume Quy addressed me but he used the wrong name.
Let me elaborate on why I made those comments .
1) The demonstrators refused to let the process take care of itself , refused to accept the decision of the city council , which after all was elected by the people of San Jose ... a perfectly democratic process ,should I say. Once you elect the council , they are supposed to represent the people 's voices , all San Jose voters ... I must emphasize , instead of just several thousand demonstrators.

2) They are now law abiding in the sense that they asked for Madison to resign , made some serious allegations without any evidence , calling her names , threatening physical harm to her and her supporters.

Once again , they demonstrated very well that they are sore losers , from Vietnam war in 1975 , and still to this day , again sore losers in this fight for Little Saigon 's name.
I regretted the day I was such a strong supporter of this group until very recently. These kinds of action has alienated a lot of people and made them disinterested in Vietnamese politics .

[pham]

Why does the name "Saigon Business District" (SBD) cause so much protest and anguish?
Because SBD was perceived as a variation of the name "Vietnamese Business District" which was allegedly suggested by the Communist Party in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese people perceived that Councilmember Madison Nguyen received instructions from the Communist Party in Vietnam to name the 1-mile strip "Vietnamese Business District."

Due to strong protest, Councilmember Nguyen hoped by inserting a 'little adjective' Saigon to the name (i.e. Saigon Business District) would appease the protestors.

Was it a coincidence that two months after the Communist Party website posted the name "Vietnamese Business District", Councilmember Nguyen started floating that same name at a Tully Library meeting 8/15?

Why is SBD so abhorrent to Vietnamese community?
Because the name is allegedly suggested by the Communist Party in Vietnam, so naming the mostly Vietnamese-owned business area "Saigon Business District" is akin to naming the World Trade Center memorial after a terrorist.

A BRIEF HISTORY

6/5/2007 San Jose City Council "directed City and Redevelopment Agency staff to conduct community outreach on the designation of a portion of Story road as a business district."

6/7/2007: An article on the official Communist Party of Vietnam website announced San Jose's resolution to name the 1-mile strip "Vietnamese Business District." (http://www.cpv.org.vn/print_preview.asp?id=BT76077922)

8/15/2007: Two months later Councilbmember Nguyen, in her closing remark at Tully Library meeting, floated the name “Vietnamese Business District” among other names. “Let’s say we come up with four names: Vietnamese Business District, Vietnamese American Business District, Little Saigon, and Saigon Town.” Note that she mentioned "Vietnamese Business District" first. Was that a coincidence?

http://www.saigonfilms.com/tiengdanweekly/littlesaigon/madison_closingremarks_only.htm

11/06/2007: Memorandum from Debra Figone and Harry Mavgrones did not recommend a name but included a survey "Help us name the Proposed Vietnamese retail destination area." The name "Little Saigon" came on top (first place) while "Saigon Business
District" came last (7th place).

11/15/2007: Memorandum from Mayor Reed, Vice Mayor Cortese, Council members Nguyen, Liccardo and Chirco recommended approval of the name "Saigon Business District". Why they favored the name that came last on their own survey and rejected the name "Little Saigon" that came first is beyond comprehension.

11/20/07: Prior to the meeting Council member Madison Nguyen lined up support for "Saigon Business District" in alleged violation of the Brown Act. San Jose City Council voted 8/3 to name the 1-mile strip in San Jose "Saigon Business District” even though in their own survey "Little Saigon" came up on top with 37.6% while "Saigon Business District" came last with 5.1%. Only in San Jose can council members do such a thing!

02/16/2008: NY Times reported “Adding to that fear was a posting before the November vote on the official Web site of the Communist Party in Vietnam that announced that San Jose would establish a “Vietnamese Business District.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/us/16sanjose.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/A/Asian-Americans

02/20/2007: Lee Price, City Clerk, recommended "adoption of a resolution rescinding Resolution No. 74127."

03/04/2007: The Mercury News Editorials, "It's time to ask a fundamental question: Will adopting the name cause more harm than allowing this ridiculous conflict to continue? It will not."

The Editorials continued, "The mayor and council need to put this controversy behind them so the city can move on. The surest way to do that tonight is to approve Little Saigon."

03/04/2007: The Mayor and Councilmembers voted to rescind the November resolution, to acknowledge the overwhelming support for "Little Saigon" and to draft procedure to naming a business area, hoping the naming fiasco would go away. "It's a nice thought, and we hope it works" (Mercury News Editorials 3/6/08.) I say, "Good luck!"

03/11/2008

A rose by any other name is still a rose as they say. Starving oneself for such a trivial matter is uncalled for and unnecessary. I often wondered what good would come out of such determined people if they would put their efforts towards constructive causes instead of destructive causes. It's a shame really... maybe Story road should just keep the same name so that our people may continue on as they always have instead of fighting. You would think that after years of war that all we would want is peace, but that's just not the case. One more generation removed and none of these things will even matter...