19 November, 2000. 12:30 am. Nguyen Van Troi Street, District Phu Nhuan, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Normally at midnight, Nguyen Van Troi St. would have been relatively quiet, just a motorbike or taxi passing by every now and then. This 12:30 am, both sides of the street were packed, as thousands upon thousands of Vietnamese, as far as you could see in both directions, jostled for a better view of the street. The street itself was shut off, disrupted only by the occasional police vehicle reminding the crowds to step back. The reason for the excitement: Pres. Clinton was scheduled to be arriving from Hanoi, and he would be traveling by this road.
More below:
Nguyen Van Troi St. connects the Ho Chi Minh City airport with downtown HCMC (Saigon). After changing names along the way to Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, which translates roughly as Revolution in the south, the road passes the Reunification Palace. Formerly the Presidential Palace, things are preserved exactly as they were when the tank broke down the gate on 30 April 1975. A right turn leads to the New World Hotel, which had been blocked off for Pres. Clinton's visit.
His visit to Hanoi had gone well. The authorities had permitted him a speech to be broadcast live on national television, and thousands watched on tv's in the street. Unlike every single time Bush has opened his mouth, I had no fears that Clinton would embarrass me. I had full confidence that he would understand the significance of the occasion, and that he would choose his words wisely. He spoke at the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, and the full transcript can be found at clintonfoundation.org.
The Vietnamese were impressed. Clinton had gone to the trouble to learn the names of some local heroes and celebrities:
I salute your vigorous efforts to engage the world. Of course, like students everywhere, I know you have things to think about other than your studies. For example, in September, you had to study for your classes and watch the Olympic accomplishments of Tran Hieu Ngan in Sydney. And this week you have to study and cheer Le Huynh Duc and Nguyen Hong Son in Bangkok at the football matches. (Applause.)
He recognized the contribution of overseas Vietnamese living in the US:
We are, in short, eager to build our partnership with Vietnam. We believe it's good for both our nations. We believe the Vietnamese people have the talent to succeed in this new global age as they have in the past.
We know it because we've seen the progress you have made in this last decade. We have seen the talent and ingenuity of the Vietnamese who have come to settle in America. Vietnamese-Americans have become elected officials, judges, leaders in science and in our high-tech industry. Last year, a Vietnamese-American achieved a mathematical breakthrough that will make it easier to conduct high-quality video-conferencing. And all America took notice when Hoang Nhu Tran graduated number one in his class at the United States Air Force Academy.
When is the last time we've heard an administration figure speak like this?
We are eager to increase our cooperation with you across the board. We want to continue our work to clear land mines and unexploded ordnance. We want to strengthen our common efforts to protect the environment by phasing out leaded gasoline in Vietnam, maintaining a clean water supply, saving coral reefs and tropical forests. We want to bolster our efforts on disaster relief and prevention, including our efforts to help those suffering from the floods in the Mekong Delta. Yesterday, we presented to your government satellite imagery from our Global Disaster Information Network -- images that show in great detail the latest flood levels on the Delta that can help Vietnam to rebuild.
No doubt, reading that last part, many of you had the same thought I did: Bush didn't even care about the floods in New Orleans, not to mention in the Mekong Delta. And since the Global Disaster Information Network isn't normally used to spy on his opponents, I doubt Bush has much use for this either.
Compare Clinton's philosphy with that of the neocons. Clinton:
Now, let me say emphatically, we do not seek to impose these ideals, nor could we. Vietnam is an ancient and enduring country. You have proved to the world that you will make your own decisions. Only you can decide, for example, if you will continue to share Vietnam's talents and ideas with the world; if you will continue to open Vietnam so that you can enrich it with the insights of others.
Businessmen, students, shopkeepers, officials nationwide watched as Clinton said:
As your opportunities grow to live, to learn, to express your creativity, there will be no stopping the people of Vietnam. And you will find, I am certain, that the American people will be by your side.
The whole speech is worth reading. (Only 1 note: the seemingly out-of-place "Hello everybody" should be placed at the end of the 1st paragraph, and is just a translation of Clinton's Vietnamese phrase.)
His visit and speech were talk of the town for days, and it's bittersweet to remember how proud I and other American friends were at that time of our President.
Returning to Nguyen Van Troi Street, 12:30 am:
There was a long silence, and then one police motorbike.
Then another long silence, and then a police car, VIP siren, officers aiming batons from the car at bystanders stepping off the sidewalk.
Another long silence, and then in the distance a caravan of cars approaching...
Clinton's limousine was in front, an American flag flapping in front. Hillary was beside him, and they had the lights on in the car so the Vietnamese could see them waving. I can tell you that the streets went absolutely nuts. American flags popped up from everywhere, and both sides of the street were literally jumping up and down cheering. Even the policemen were cheering.
The motorcade passed by, and the crowd could not stand it. They got on their bikes and swarmed, still cheering, after the delegation. One random group saw me and insisted that I ride with them, so I got on the back of a bike and chased Clinton until we hit the roadblocks by Le Loi Street in District 1. The crowds massed here and continued cheering until 3am or so.
That was a good time to be an American overseas (and at home!). Everyone liked Clinton, and in general there was goodwill towards Americans across the board. Vietnamese I knew thought Clinton was an agent of good, and most people I knew (even those who had fought for the north or the VC) told me that they thought America, in spite of the war, was a partner.
Bush's visit, by contrast, is best summed up by this ap article: "Vietnamese greet Bush with indifference." Leaders of vision and talent get enthusiastic crowds; despotic buffoons get a greeting party which is "limited to a lone flag-waving American who works for the American Chamber of Commerce."
Even if they didn't screw up the flag on their website, and even if he didn't make an ignorant, callous speech, (diaried well by nwskinner)the damage has already been done. Bush has singlehandedly wiped out a significant chunk of the goodwill built up by Clinton and by other good Americans (such as Ambassador Pete Peterson in Vietnam). Bush is such a universal symbol of incompetence at best and malignancy at worst that I've actually had apolitical friends in other countries send me letters of congratulations at the midterm elections, along with hopes that America would find its way again.
As we do find our way again, I find inspiration re-reading Clinton's speech at the National University in Hanoi, and remembering thousands of motorbikes waving our flag at 1am on the road to downtown Saigon.