Guide to the Government of Free Vietnam Publicity and Organizational Materials

Processed by Anna Liza Posas .

Guide to the Government of Free Vietnam Publicity and Organizational Materials

Collection number: MS-SEA009

Special Collections and Archives

The UCI Libraries

University of California

Irvine, California

Processed by:: Anna Liza Posas
Date Completed:: 2002
Encoded by:: Andre Ambrus

Descriptive Summary

Title: Government of Free Vietnam publicity and organizational materials,

Date (inclusive): 1995-2002

Collection number: MS-SEA009

Collector: Government of Free Vietnam

Extent: 0.4 linear feet 1 box and 1 oversize folder

Repository: University of California, Irvine. Library.Special Collections and Archives.

Irvine, California 92623-9557

Abstract: This collection consists of newspapers, propaganda videos and publications, and printed by-laws produced by the Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), an Orange County-based group whose purpose is to dismantle the communist government of Vietnam and replace it with a democratic government. Propaganda publications and printed by-laws produced by the United Parties for Vietnam Freedom--an unrelated, but similar group to the GFVN-- are also included in this collection. Most materials are in the Vietnamese language, though there are a few items in English.

Language: Vietnamese English

Administrative Information

Access

Collection open for research.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Southeast Asian Archive Librarian.

Preferred Citation

Government of Free Vietnam publicity and organizational materials. MS-SEA009. Southeast Asian Archive, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.

Acquisition Information

Gift of Minh Giang, 1999

Processing Information

Processed by Anna Liza Posas in 2002. Processing was supported by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the California State Library.

Organizational History

The Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), which is headquartered in Garden Grove, California, was founded in 1995 by Nguyen Huu Chanh, a Vietnamese émigré and former civil engineer. The GFVN's mission is to dismantle the communist government of Vietnam and replace it with a democratic government, as well as to fulfill the mandate of the Paris Peace Accord of 1973. The GFVN is representative of organizations, composed of former South Vietnam military and government officials, that have arisen in Vietnamese American communities and see to establish resistance movements both in the United States and in Vietnam.

According to the organization's propaganda materials, the GFVN was an offshoot of the Bao Long Liberators, a Vietnamese resistance campaign organized in Vietnam in 1975 by Nguyen Haong Don. Chanh was appointed a co-leader of the resistance group in 1982 and was ordered to form a movement overseas. That same year Chanh left his homeland and arrived California as a Vietnamese refugee. For the next 10 years Chanh worked covertly to nurture alliances between overseas resistance groups. He also helped form the Nhan Hoa (Social Harmony) Medical Center in Orange County, which provides free medical services to the local community. Chanh's operations were discovered by the Communist regime during a 1992 trip to Vietnam. Chanh escaped Vietnam once again and fled to Cambodia where he started building the new Alliance of Resistance Forces in Indochina. When this group gained attention during a conference in Southern California, Chanh strategically introduced the formation of the GFVN, which is often described by the press as a "self-styled group of freedom fighters."

The GFVN claims 6,000 members and 100,000 supporters who were trained in secret camp locations along the Vietnam border. They also claim 75 chapters in Asia, Australia, and Europe. Although the GFVN prides itself on its widespread support, there are those who argue that the GFVN never received a true mandate to represent the Vietnamese American community. Some community members also do not condone the organization's political and paramilitary actions. The doubt and disassociation some have towards the GFVN was either initiated or reinforced by a fundraiser failure. In July of 1998, Chanh was ordered by the California Department of Corporations to cease the marketing of "gold reserve depository bearer bonds." Chanh and other members were selling gold bonds to supporters without a permit, which is illegal under state law. The authenticity of the bonds and their investment promises were also held suspect by the California Commissioner of Corporations, Dale E. Bonner. In 1999 the Unites States Securities and Exchange Commission further ruled that the GFVN engaged in false and misleading sales tactics.

The GFVN gained greater attention in 2001 when a member, Van duc Vo, was arrested at the John Wayne airport for the attempted bombing of the Vietnamese embassy in Bangkok. This arrest led to an outcry by the Vietnamese government to shutdown the GFVN, FBI investigations into Chanh and the organization, and demonstrations in support of Vo from Vietnamese American communities. Chanh repeatedly stated in media interviews that Vo acted without the consent of the group and the GFVN has no intention to resort to an armed struggle with Vietnam.

Other efforts of the GFVN include a radio show entitled, Radio Free Vietnam; two news presses entitled, Tieng Dan News and Indochina News; and a Free Vietnam youth and women's group.

Scope and Content of Collection

This collection consists of newspapers, propaganda videos and publications, and printed by-laws produced by the Government of Free Vietnam (GFVN), an Orange County-based group whose purpose is to dismantle the communist government of Vietnam and replace it with a democratic government. Propaganda publications and printed by-laws produced by the United Parties for Vietnam Freedom--an unrelated, but similar group to the GFVN-- are also included in this collection. Most materials are in the Vietnamese language, though there are a few items in English.

Arrangement

Items in this collection are arranged by format. Print materials are further arranged according to publication type or creator.

Related Material

This collection is supplemented by materials in the SEA Archive's newspaper clippings file.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Government of Free Vietnam--Archives.

United Parties for a Free Vietnam--Archives.

Anti-communist movements--United States--Archives.

Anti-communist movements--California--Orange County--Archives.

Southeast Asians--Archives.

Political refugees--Vietnam--Archives.

Political refugees--United States--Archives.

Vietnamese Americans--California--Orange County--Archives.

Propaganda, Anti-communist.

Genres and Forms of Material

Propaganda--20th century.

Newspapers--20th century.

Video recordings--20th century.

Index Terms Related to this Collection

Giang, Minh, donor.

United Parties for a Free Vietnam.

Online Archive of California.

Southeast Asian Archive.

Collection Contents

Box: 1 : 1

Newspapers and other publications, Dong Duong ( Indochina News),1995-2002

Scope and Content Note

Scattered issues of publications of the GFVN.

Box: FB-48 : 9

Oversized issues,1995-2002

Box: 1 : 2-3

Organizational materials, including member handbooks and by-laws

Box: 1 : 1

GFVN,circa 1998-circa 2002

Scope and Content Note

Primarily in Vietnamese, but one handbook in English.

Box: 1 : 3

United Parties for Vietnam Freedom,1998-1999

Box: AV-8 : MS SEA009-V02, V05-V07

Videocassettes, VHS

Box: 1 : 1

Con Dong Cuu Quoc, tapes 1-3 and 6-7 only, circa 1995-circa 2000

Scope and Content Note

In Vietnamese.

Box: AV-8 : MS SEA009-V05U

User copy of tape 7,circa 1995-circa 2000

Box: AV-8 : MS SEA009-V06

Documentary of the Government of Free Vietnam, undated

Scope and Content Note

In English.

Box: AV-8 : MS SEA009-V06

Hop Bao; Dien Dan Cong Luan, press conference and public opinion platform,2001

Scope and Content Note

In Vietnamese.

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