Overseas Vietnamese - Inseparable part of Vietnamese nation: Op-Ed
WVR/VNA - Combating the distorted and misleading statements of hostile forces not only serves to affirm the sound policies of the Party and State towards the Overseas Vietnamese community, but also directly contributes to strengthening the great national unity in the new era and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivered a speech at the 4th World Conference of Overseas Vietnamese and 2024 Forum of Overseas Vietnamese Intellectuals and Experts in 2024. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
Despite these efforts, hostile forces continually seek to undermine and create division between the OV community and the Fatherland through distortions and falsehoods, according to Dr. Le Xuan Dung from the Army College No.1.
Sound guidelines, policies
Over the past time, hostile and reactionary forces have persistently sought to distort the Party and State's policies towards Vietnamese people living abroad; incite opposition; and drive a wedge between the OV community and the Fatherland. Through various reactionary websites and social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Zalo, these forces use misleading statements and fabricated images and videos to spread false information. Furthermore, whenever the Party and State introduce new policies for overseas Vietnamese, these hostile forces label them as "mere deceptive tricks to lull people into a false sense of democracy."
In such a situation, combating the distorted and misleading statements of hostile forces not only serves to affirm the sound policies of the Party and State towards the OV community, but also directly contributes to strengthening the great national unity in the new era and protecting the Party’s ideological foundation.
Throughout the struggle for national liberation and the cause of national building and development, especially during the period of ‘Doi moi’ (renewal), industrialisation, modernisation, and international integration, the Party and State have consistently paid attention to the OV affairs. One significant milestone in this regard was the Politburo’s Resolution No. 08-NQ/TW dated November 29, 1993, on policies and measures concerning Vietnamese people abroad. This was followed by the Politburo’s Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW dated March 26, 2004, and many other directives, conclusions and decisions.
Those documents affirm that the State always creates every possible condition to support OVs in stabilising their lives, engaging in business activities and integrating into the social life in the host countries, while maintaining a close connection with the Fatherland. They also contribute to perfecting policies to attract and utilise OV talents, encourage investment and business activities by OVs, while uniting Vietnamese people abroad, and fostering activities directed towards the homeland, in accordance with the laws and customs of the host countries.
Alongside these sound policies and guidelines, many legal documents have been issued by the National Assembly and the Government covering most areas related to the overseas Vietnamese community, such as nationality, civil matters, housing, land, residency, investment, and business. These regulations are designed to ensure that the rights of overseas Vietnamese increasingly align with those of domestic citizens, making it easier for them to return to the homeland for work, investment, and business activities.
Commendable results
Currently, with approximately 6 million people living in over 130 countries and territories, 80% of whom in developed countries, the OV community is growing stronger, affirming its role, status, and reputation. During visits, meetings, and contacts with leaders of other countries, Party and State leaders consistently propose local administrations implement specific measures to support the OV community, facilitating their stable life and integration in the host countries. Additionally, efforts to care for and support the community to enhance their legal status, as well as the protection of citizens, are always given high priority.
Overseas Vietnamese have been provided with opportunities to contribute their opinions on the nation’s important issues, such as providing feedback on Party Congress documents, draft laws, and major policies. Annual activities held by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, such as the "Homeland Spring" festival, the organisation of OV delegations attending the Hung Kings Commemoration Festival, visits to soldiers and people in Truong Sa and the DK1 platform, and summer camps for young OVs, are regularly innovated, attracting widespread participation of the OV community.
In preserving the Vietnamese language and promoting national cultural identity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with both domestic and international agencies, has supported the provision of Vietnamese-language textbooks and teaching materials, conducted training for OV teachers, and proposed host administrations to include the language in school and university curricula. Notably, the Day for Honouring Vietnamese Language in Vietnamese Communities Abroad (September 8) has helped spread the love for the Vietnamese language and, more broadly, the bond with the homeland among the younger generations.
In recent years, the country's development achievements and increasingly elevated position have helped the overseas Vietnamese community have better status and development conditions in the host countries. The community have also gained better awareness about the relation between the home country's status and their own development, which creates greater motivation for them to contribute to the homeland. One obvious example is the great assistance provided by the OV community to the Fatherland during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The total amount of remittances in the 1993-2023 period alone reached about 230 billion USD. As of November 2023, OVs from 32 countries and territories had invested in 421 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 42 out of the 63 provinces and cities across Vietnam with a total registered capital of 1.72 billion USD. These numbers continue to increase in the first months of 2024. This volume of remittances has contributed significantly to the country's socio-economic development, promoting trade, services, production and business activities, and supporting and maintaining social security.
Given this reality, the distortions by hostile forces regarding the Party and State’s sound policies towards overseas Vietnamese are acts of undermining national unity and sabotaging the mission of building and defending the nation. These misleading allegations must be firmly countered to ensure that Vietnam remains a place where all ethnic groups domestically and overseas Vietnamese work together to build, nurture, and sustain a strong, enduring nation with ever-increasing prestige and standing on the international stage, according to Dr. Le Xuan Dung.
(Source: WVR/VNA)
