Guide to the Government of Free Vietnam Publicity and Organizational Materials MS.SEA.009
Processed by Anna Liza Posas, 2003.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
(cc) 2003
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu
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 .
Collection open for research.
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.
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.
Gift of Minh Giang, 1999
Processed by Anna Liza Posas in 2002. Processing was supported by a Library Services and
Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the California State Library.
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.
Items in this collection are arranged by format. Print materials are further arranged
according to publication type or creator.
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
box 1, folder 1
box FB-048, folder 9
Oversized issues 1995-2002
box 1, folder 2-3
Organizational materials, including member handbooks and by-laws
box 1, folder 2
box 1, folder 3
United Parties for Vietnam Freedom 1998-1999
box AV-008, item MS SEA009-V02,
V05-V07
Videocassettes, VHS
box 1, folder 1
box DM-002, item MS
SEA009-V01-U
User copy of tape 1 circa 1995-circa 2000
box AV-008, item MS
SEA009-V05-U
User copy of tape 7 circa 1995-circa 2000