For centuries Vietnam had been under Chinese rule. The Vietnamese people were an oppressed society and were exploited by the Chinese. Forced labour was brought upon the Vietnamese people, and there were many tyrannical Chinese governers along with constant demands of tribute for the Chinese rulers. There had been many revolts by
The Fall of Saigon on April 30th, 1975, marked the end of nearly two decades of fighting between the Russia and China backed communist North Vietnam and the US backed right wing South Vietnam. When the North Vietnamese army entered Saigon, the free world was horrified at what it believed to be major drawback in its attempt to defeat communism around the world. In accordance with the domino theory, that same year, the capitals of neighboring former french colonies, Cambodia and Laos, both of which were also run by right wing regimes supported by the US, fell to communist insurgencies Khmer Rouge and Pathet Lao respectively. It took the communists three decades, millions of lives, and the destruction of billions of dollars in infrastructure and assets overthrow these western backed governments. So what gave these people, especially in Vietnam, incentive to sacrifice so much to “free” themselves from those governments and embrace communism as their system of governance? As this question is answered, it is important to identify aspects of the communist ideology that appeal to the general population, as well as how it goes along with Vietnamese culture, the actual practice and execution of the ideology.
For centuries the Vietnamese people resisted being controlled by their powerful Chinese neighbors. They struggled to unify their country as an independent state. Ultimately they freed themselves from China 's claim for control of political authority and achieved national unity only to fall victim to French imperialism (Anderson 1). French ruled Vietnam and neighboring kingdoms as colonies from the nineteenth century to the twentieth century. Japanese occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II influenced the Vietminh war against the French in 1945. September 2nd, 1945, Ho Chi Minh declares independence from French rule shortly after Japans surrender from World War II (www.history.com). France 's rule over its colony was incredibly brutal and exploitative (Anderson 6). French colonialism deprived the Vietnamese of their political independence, and it impoverished many of the Vietnamese people (Anderson 7). Many villagers lost their lands and became low-paid plantation
Born on August 20, 1952, three years before the Vietnam War, my uncle and his family were forced to migrate from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. As an intelligent boy with an ambitious dream, Anthony had not known of the land of freedom until tragedy struck. After World War II and until 1955, France worked hard to reign over Vietnam. Unfortunately, with a poorly organized army and little determination among the troops,
Unfortunately, Vietnamese Americans make up only a small percent of the total American Population today. There are many stereotypes associated with the Vietnamese, but the truth is, we really know very little about their culture. After the Viet Nam War, many Vietnamese citizens immigrated to the United States to escape political Prosecution and poverty. Faced with a variety of obstacles and
How the war affected them physically, as well as mentally. Many of the soldiers suffered from PTSD, some were haunted by the terrible things that had happened to them or others while in the war, and some even committed suicide because of the pain they felt after the war. From the perspective of an American this could just be seen as something that is natural that comes from war, and with such a devastating and traumatic war cases like this are to be expected. Although; to look at this from the point of view of the Vietnamese it could just be seen as a way to sympathize with the soldiers who invaded Vietnam. To be Vietnamese and to interpret the text in this way would be outrageous and could probably infuriate them to no extent. The north Vietnamese at the time were trying to raise a new country under communism that would have connected all parts of Vietnam, but because the United States of America was afraid of the spread of communism they decided to invade Vietnam and prevent this from happening. They evidently failed and the war was lost, so this book could be seen as a way to forget about how horrible the loss in Vietnam was and how terribly the U.S. soldiers suffered from having to fight in the
Beginning in the late Eighteenth Century, the French established colonies at key ports in Vietnam (American Academic Encyclopedia 1980b, 583). The French maintained their imperialist grip over Vietnam until 1940, where as part of their World War II stratagem, the Japanese invaded and subsequently occupied the region (Polansky 2013, 12-13). The Vietnamese multitude had long been primed for a national liberation movement, and the environs of political and societal turbulence concurrent with the Japanese advent in Vietnam fomented the burgeoning of nationalistic fervor. The
According to the staff of History.com, Vietnam, a small Southeastern Asian nation, was controlled under French colonial rule since the 19th century. Following Japan’s defeat by the Viet Minh in World War II, there was a split in Vietnamese ideas. The nation as a whole wanted Vietnam to come together as a unified populace, but different regions had different ideas for how they wished to be governed. The northern region believed that the best idea for government would be that of one modeled after communism, but the southern region believed the exact
There are two distinctly different and contradictory societies in Vietnam: Saigon and the rest. “Saigon and Vietnam are as different, almost literally, as night and day.” (para. 6)
“The Communist Party of Vietnam [CPV], became the ruling party, in the northern part of Vietnam, after defeating the French, at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954 and across the nation, since 1976, following the collapse of the American-backed southern regime. The next decade saw the CPV’s rationalist installation of a Stalinist-style centrally planned economy” (Nguyen, 2016, p. 33). The social structure of Vietnam based on total control, Nguyen’s family like many others found it impossible to adjust to the tyranny imposed by the Communist regime, therefore, they fled Vietnam!
The wars in Vietnam became the chances for different countries to declare their power to the world; however, it would make the people who lived in Vietnam during the war suffered the most. They not only have to suffer from the war, but also had to fight against their own race of people. It may include their neighbors, friends, or even
Although Vietnam was able to withstand a thousand years of Chinese ruling, they suffered enormously during the Vietnam War. However, one has to question who won or lost the Vietnam War. This question has plagued many Americans and other people. Despite who won or lost the war and whether the Vietnam
Being a Vietnamese, I always take great pride in my nation, whose peasantry army defeated imperialism. Vietnam has endured many hardships throughout its course of history, suffering the Chinese one-thousand-year occupation, the colonial rule of French and the involvement of America in Vietnam’s war. Although it was believed that an underdeveloped country like Vietnam couldn’t have vanquished these brutal enemies, they inflicted a heavy defeat on these invaders. Bravery, strategic-thinking and solidarity were what contributed to all the stunning victories that the Vietnamese gained. One of the most remarkable victories was the conquest of America in the spring of 1975, which significantly marked the end of the Vietnam war and the start of national
The Vietnamese people have been victimized throughout their early existence. In the years 208 B.C.-1428 A.D. they were invaded by the Chinese and forced to the brink of slavery. The Vietnamese were forced to speak the Chinese language, forced to build dams, forced to build roads, the Chinese forced education on the Vietnamese people. The Chinese also changed their art, food, and architecture, the Vietnamese did not like what the Chinese were doing. The Vietnamese tried to fight back for example the Trung sisters rose up and tried to defeat the Chinese but were later defeated, and they drowned themselves before they would admit defeat. Another woman tried to stop the Chinese wearing gold plated armor riding elephants, she too was
In Vietnam, independence is far from desirable, much less respected. Family connections are so powerful that it is not unheard of for as many as three generations to live in the same household (often the direct result of grown children’s desire to do whatever necessary to care for their aging parents). Someone’s success or failure is never seen as theirs alone, but is directly credible to the family. If one wished to insult a