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Government of Free Vietnam Publicity and Organizational Materials
MS.SEA.009  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Access
  • Publication Rights
  • Preferred Citation
  • Acquisition Information
  • Processing Information
  • Organizational History
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Arrangement
  • Related Material

  • Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
    Title: Government of Free Vietnam publicity and organizational materials
    Creator: Government of Free Vietnam
    Identifier/Call Number: MS.SEA.009
    Physical Description: 0.4 Linear Feet (1 box and 1 oversize folder)
    Date (inclusive): 1995-2002
    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 of Material: Vietnamese .

    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. Date accessed.
    For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

    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.

    Subjects and Indexing Terms

    Propaganda -- 20th century.
    Propaganda, Anti-communist.
    Political refugees -- Vietnam -- Archives
    Anti-communist movements -- California -- Orange County -- History -- Sources
    Anti-communist movements -- United States -- History -- Sources
    Video recordings -- 20th century.
    Vietnamese Americans -- California -- Orange County -- History -- Sources
    Newspapers -- 20th century.
    Political refugees -- United States -- Archives.
    Southeast Asians -- Archives.
    Government of Free Vietnam -- Archives
    Online Archive of California
    United Parties for a Free Vietnam -- Archives