Advertisement
California

Irvine’s ‘friendship’ program sparks protest

Dung Nguyen is among hundreds of Vietnamese Americans protesting outside the Irvine council meeting over a proposal to establish a "friendship" with Nha Trang, a coastal town in Vietnam.

Dung Nguyen is among hundreds of Vietnamese Americans protesting outside the Irvine council meeting over a proposal to establish a “friendship” with Nha Trang, a coastal town in Vietnam.   (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Share

Irvine suspends its entire Friendship Cities Program as hundreds of Vietnamese Americans decry its plan to bond with a town in the homeland they fled.

Protest in Irvine

Many demonstrators wave the flag of South Vietnam.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Protest in Irvine

People watch a feed of the Irvine City Council meeting on a television screen. At the meeting, a councilman from a nearby city called the friendship proposal an insult to Vietnamese people who were thrown in re-education camps, got separated from their families or had their property seized.  (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Protest in Irvine

Opponents of the “friendship” pact applaud a speaker while watching a video feed of the Irvine council meeting.   (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

Protest in Irvine

A woman waves a South Vietnam flag and a U.S. flag at the Irvine City Council meeting.   (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

California

More From the Los Angeles Times

Advertisement