US embassy cable - 03HANOI288

UNCLAS HANOI 000288 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL, VM 
SUBJECT:  VIRGINIA FLAG:  UPPING THE ANTE 
 
REF:  SWANSON/JESS FAX 1/30 
 
1.  (U)  Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Dinh Bin has called 
the Ambassador to a meeting as soon as possible after the 
latter's return to Hanoi February 8 to deliver a "strong 
protest" about the proposed Bill No. 2829 in the Virginia 
House of Delegates regarding the Vietnamese flag.  (The bill 
calls for the flying of the old South Vietnamese flag in 
public instead of the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam 
flag.)  Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien has already written 
to the Secretary about this issue (ref), and National 
Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Vu Mao 
separately wrote the Speaker of the Virginia House and the 
Lieutenant Governor of Virginia.  The MFA noted that FM Nien 
still awaits a response from the Secretary.  Deputy Prime 
Minister Vu Khoan is apparently also seized with this issue, 
according to one MFA source. 
 
2.  (U)  In a meeting with Charge on February 6, Assistant 
Foreign Minister Nguyen Duc Hung made an emotional plea 
against the possible passage of this legislation, noting the 
serious consequences for the bilateral relationship and the 
top level attention this issue has already received within 
the MFA.  He was not comforted by Charge's explanation about 
State's proactive efforts to weigh in with the House of 
Delegates nor by a discussion of the Federal and 
constitutional issues involved. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Comment:  This controversy is another example of 
the GVN's ability to go overboard on what should be seen 
here as an exercise in local democracy in the U.S. 
Unfortunately, the GVN is apparently ill-served by its 
Embassy in Washington and by its Americas experts at the 
MFA.  They seem unable to explain the U.S. system to their 
superiors or to convince them when and how to weigh in -- or 
not -- with the U.S. Federal Government.  At a time when we 
increasingly thought that both sides had moved beyond 
judging the relationship on a single-issue basis, this is an 
unhappy development.  Clearly, passage of this bill would be 
unfortunate, and we remain hopeful that the Virginia 
legislators will listen to State's counsel.  Clearly also, 
should this bill become legislation, our work here will be 
complicated by senior-level GVN resentment and suspicion. 
DPM Khoan's involvement in this issue may also indicate that 
the real opposition comes from within the Communist Party 
hierarchy, given his concurrent role as secretary of the CPV 
Secretariat. 
 
SIPDIS 
PORTER