Deukmejian to Enlarge Little Saigon’s Stature : Vietnamese Students Will Be Honored, Freeway Signs Announced During 1st Visit by a Governor

Gov. George Deukmejian will make the first visit by a California governor Friday to the county’s Little Saigon, to honor 12 Vietnamese high school students and to announce that Caltrans has tentatively approved freeway signs saying Little Saigon, Vietnamese community leaders said Wednesday.

Over the past 13 years, Little Saigon has gained a reputation as a center of Vietnamese business and culture in Southern California.

Van Tran, a member of the Vietnamese-American Scholarship Foundation, said: “This is important for us not only because of the governor’s visit but also because, in a way, the name of Saigon is being resurrected. We are proud of our achievement.”

Special Tourist Zone

Freeway signs directing motorists to Little Saigon were first requested in February, after business and community leaders won the support of the Westminster City Council to declare Little Saigon a special tourist zone.

The declaration was part of a plan to help transform the area through redevelopment into the county’s equivalent of Chinatown in Los Angeles.

“As you know, the Vietnamese Communists erased the name Saigon” from Vietnam, Tran said, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City. “But now it’s going to be remembered here in the United States.”

About 700 Vietnamese-owned businesses, including herbal shops, fish markets and restaurants, are in Little Saigon, an area along Bolsa Avenue roughly bordered by Brookhurst and Magnolia streets in Garden Grove and Westminster.

Signs on Two Freeways

The signs, which will be placed on the Garden Grove and San Diego freeways, received unanimous support from all members of the county’s legislative delegation, said Scott Taylor, chief of staff for the late Assemblyman Richard E. Longshore (R-Santa Ana), who helped lobby for the signs.

The legislators agreed with officials of Garden Grove and Westminster that Little Saigon met the Caltrans criteria as a cultural and ethnic center, in addition to being a place of interest for tourists, Taylor said.

This year’s 12 outstanding students will receive $500 each. They are:

Namchi Le, Fullerton Union High School; Hung Nguy, Valley High School; Nga Nguyen, Los Amigos High School; Tamy Nguyen, Marina High School; Thach Nguyen, Westminster High School; Truc Nguyen, Garden Grove High School; Thu Nguyen, Saddleback High School; Phuc Pham, Esperanza High School; Tosha Pham, Santiago High School; Thuy-Van Tran, Westminster High School; Jason Truong, Magnolia High School, and Phien Vu, Fountain Valley High School.