wolf
06-24-2005, 08:28 PM
BOSTON --Vietnamese Prime Minister Phan Van Khai strolled Harvard Yard and received a champagne toast from political and business leaders on Friday, while a noisy throng of pro-Democracy demonstrators hoisted banners and chanted in protest of his visit.
The visit to Boston and Cambridge was the last American stopover on the prime minister's weeklong goodwill trip to the United States, which included visits to Seattle, Washington, and New York. He departs for Canada on Saturday.
In the afternoon, the prime minister dined on prawns and sugar-cured beef filet at a long, orchid-adorned table with Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy at a lavish luncheon in downtown Boston. The attendees each received framed watercolor prints of the city's Old Statehouse and waterfront, and dined on brocade tablecloths. Liberty Mutual, a Boston insurance company with an office in Hanoi, hosted the luncheon.
Khai, the first head of Vietnam's communist government to visit the United States since the Vietnam War, said Vietnam's history is intertwined with that of Boston, because the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh lived in Boston for two years and worked at the Omni Parker House Hotel. Khai said that Ho Chi Minh may have absorbed his belief in democratic principles during his years in Boston.
He praised the state's technology and business, and particularly its schools and universities, saying he hoped Vietnamese students, scientists and entrepreneurs would come to study in Boston.
"Vietnam is lagging behind other countries in the region in the field of education. I will discuss this subject at length during my next meetings with the academia in Boston," he said.
But both Romney and Kennedy, while salutary, referred to human rights and liberties when they welcomed Khai. Romney described Boston as exemplifying American values of freedom and democracy, while Kennedy bluntly challenged the prime minister to increase freedom in Vietnam.
"All Americans hope your nation will build on progress in that area -- including the release of political prisoners and a full implementation of your pledge last month to expand religious freedom in Vietnam," Kennedy said.
Outside the Westin Hotel in Copley Square where the luncheon was held, several dozen people gathered behind police barricades to protest the prime minister, chanting with bullhorns "Shame on you!" and "Communist Liar!"
Many waved the yellow-and-red South Vietnamese flag, as well as smaller American flags, banners and placards. Kim Dang, president of the Vietnamese Community of Massachusetts, said that the protest was made up of expatriates who wanted to draw attention to the undemocratic government of Vietnam.
"We speak for people in Vietnam that cannot speak for themselves," he said. "More than 80 million in Vietnam cannot tell the government their opinions."
Tho Quach, a 57-year-old welder from Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, rolled up his flags and tucked them under his arm as the protest broke up at the end of the hotel luncheon. He said he wanted to address the prime minister directly, but had to settle for protesting.
"Human rights are just one of the problems. We don't have any religious freedom or press freedom. The people basically don't have any access to the whole world, they don't know what's going on outside of the country," he said through a translator, Anh Vo, 22, of Boston.
Khai arrived in the country on Sunday, when he visited a Boeing Co. plant in Renton, Wash., south of Seattle. He's since been to Washington to meet with President Bush, and New York. Protests have dogged him at several of his stops.
On Friday morning, Khai met with Harvard President Lawrence Summers in Massachusetts Hall, which overlooks Harvard Yard, to discuss education and globalization. After Khai met with Summers, the two posed briefly together outside the hall.
Khai walked across the yard to the statue of John Harvard, the university's namesake, and posed in front of it. Overhead, the university had taken down its school flag for the occasion and replaced it with the Vietnamese flag. After some coaching from Harvard officials, Khai reached up and rubbed the iconic good-luck toe of the statue, as students routinely do before their exams.
Khai later headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then to the luncheon. In the afternoon, he returned to Harvard for a panel at the John F. Kennedy School of Government on improving education in Vietnam.
Thomas J. Vallely, director of the Kennedy School's Asia programs, said the prime minister's visit is significant.
"It's a strengthening of the relationship between the two countries after so many years of having a complicated and difficult relationship," he said.
Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/06/24/vietnamese_leader_says_he_wants_to_strengthen_ties_to_boston/
The visit to Boston and Cambridge was the last American stopover on the prime minister's weeklong goodwill trip to the United States, which included visits to Seattle, Washington, and New York. He departs for Canada on Saturday.
In the afternoon, the prime minister dined on prawns and sugar-cured beef filet at a long, orchid-adorned table with Gov. Mitt Romney and U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy at a lavish luncheon in downtown Boston. The attendees each received framed watercolor prints of the city's Old Statehouse and waterfront, and dined on brocade tablecloths. Liberty Mutual, a Boston insurance company with an office in Hanoi, hosted the luncheon.
Khai, the first head of Vietnam's communist government to visit the United States since the Vietnam War, said Vietnam's history is intertwined with that of Boston, because the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh lived in Boston for two years and worked at the Omni Parker House Hotel. Khai said that Ho Chi Minh may have absorbed his belief in democratic principles during his years in Boston.
He praised the state's technology and business, and particularly its schools and universities, saying he hoped Vietnamese students, scientists and entrepreneurs would come to study in Boston.
"Vietnam is lagging behind other countries in the region in the field of education. I will discuss this subject at length during my next meetings with the academia in Boston," he said.
But both Romney and Kennedy, while salutary, referred to human rights and liberties when they welcomed Khai. Romney described Boston as exemplifying American values of freedom and democracy, while Kennedy bluntly challenged the prime minister to increase freedom in Vietnam.
"All Americans hope your nation will build on progress in that area -- including the release of political prisoners and a full implementation of your pledge last month to expand religious freedom in Vietnam," Kennedy said.
Outside the Westin Hotel in Copley Square where the luncheon was held, several dozen people gathered behind police barricades to protest the prime minister, chanting with bullhorns "Shame on you!" and "Communist Liar!"
Many waved the yellow-and-red South Vietnamese flag, as well as smaller American flags, banners and placards. Kim Dang, president of the Vietnamese Community of Massachusetts, said that the protest was made up of expatriates who wanted to draw attention to the undemocratic government of Vietnam.
"We speak for people in Vietnam that cannot speak for themselves," he said. "More than 80 million in Vietnam cannot tell the government their opinions."
Tho Quach, a 57-year-old welder from Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, rolled up his flags and tucked them under his arm as the protest broke up at the end of the hotel luncheon. He said he wanted to address the prime minister directly, but had to settle for protesting.
"Human rights are just one of the problems. We don't have any religious freedom or press freedom. The people basically don't have any access to the whole world, they don't know what's going on outside of the country," he said through a translator, Anh Vo, 22, of Boston.
Khai arrived in the country on Sunday, when he visited a Boeing Co. plant in Renton, Wash., south of Seattle. He's since been to Washington to meet with President Bush, and New York. Protests have dogged him at several of his stops.
On Friday morning, Khai met with Harvard President Lawrence Summers in Massachusetts Hall, which overlooks Harvard Yard, to discuss education and globalization. After Khai met with Summers, the two posed briefly together outside the hall.
Khai walked across the yard to the statue of John Harvard, the university's namesake, and posed in front of it. Overhead, the university had taken down its school flag for the occasion and replaced it with the Vietnamese flag. After some coaching from Harvard officials, Khai reached up and rubbed the iconic good-luck toe of the statue, as students routinely do before their exams.
Khai later headed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, then to the luncheon. In the afternoon, he returned to Harvard for a panel at the John F. Kennedy School of Government on improving education in Vietnam.
Thomas J. Vallely, director of the Kennedy School's Asia programs, said the prime minister's visit is significant.
"It's a strengthening of the relationship between the two countries after so many years of having a complicated and difficult relationship," he said.
Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/06/24/vietnamese_leader_says_he_wants_to_strengthen_ties_to_boston/