Boston politicians may avoid Viet leader
The prime minister of Vietnam, Phan Van Khai, is coming to Boston this week, the first time the country's top politician has visited the United States since the end of the Vietnam War.
But presented with an opportunity to enhance economic ties, participate in a world event, and mend local relations after the City Council offended the Vietnamese government in 2003 by endorsing the flag of South Vietnam, many local politicians are avoiding it.
Several elected officials in Boston appear to be heeding pressure from some Vietnamese-American groups, which are asking them to boycott or speak against the Vietnamese government during the rare visit.
''We believe this is a good opportunity for you to express publicly your support for your constituents by using radio, TV, or newspapers, asking for freedom and human rights in Viet Nam," wrote Kim Van Dang, president of the Vietnamese Community of Massachusetts, in a letter to Boston City Council president Michael F. Flaherty.
Flaherty said he was invited to a Liberty Mutual luncheon next week at which Khai is the keynote speaker. He said he won't attend, citing a scheduling conflict.
Liberty Mutual, one of Boston's largest employers, has been in Vietnam since 2003. The country's insurance market has grown 29 percent annually, according to a spokeswoman.
''I know and like [Liberty Mutual president, chairman, and CEO] Ted Kelly and am supportive of Liberty Mutual's effort to expand . . . into Vietnam since investment has shown . . . to be successful in breaking down barriers and improving human rights. But my first concern is to my constituents, and my constituents are Boston's Vietnamese community," Flaherty said.
Governor Mitt Romney's spokesman Felix Browne said the governor, who is heavily rumored to be a future presidential candidate, has no visits ''currently scheduled" with the Vietnamese prime minister and has not received any letters from the Vietnamese-American community.
The same goes for Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has been invited to the luncheon but was unsure Friday if he would attend.
Khai plans to have private visits with the presidents of Harvard University and MIT, as well as an unnamed Cambridge biotechnology firm. He is also scheduled for a White House visit with President Bush and is expected to ask for support in helping Vietnam join the World Trade Organization.
This is not the first time local officials have responded to requests to protest the Vietnamese government. The Boston City Council in 2003 recognized the old South Vietnamese flag as the symbol of Boston's Vietnamese-American community, even though the United States recognized the Vietnamese government and restored diplomatic relations in 1995.
Officials from the Vietnamese Embassy protested the move, coming to Boston with a message that recognizing the old flag was ''disrespectful of the entire nation." The officials were never given an audience; Flaherty killed a resolution to give them time to speak before the council.
While opinions within Boston's Vietnamese community differ over Khai's visit, the most vocal and politically connected Vietnamese-Americans said they are against the current regime. Several demonstrations are planned during Khai's visit to Boston.
US Census figures count 22,000 Vietnamese residents in Greater Boston, concentrated in the Savin Hill-Fields Corner area, where Flaherty and other candidates' posters line local streets.
''I understand the feeling of some people who left Vietnam because of the war," said Chien Ngoc Bach, press attache for the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington. ''But the war is long over, and our country and our people have to move ahead."
