Truck Burned at Newspaper : Arsonists Protest Television Show for Vietnamese

Arsonists set fire to a pickup truck parked in front of the Westminster editorial offices of the Vietnamese-language Nguoi Viet Daily News late Monday and scrawled a threat in Vietnamese saying, “Nguoi Viet. If you are VC (Viet Cong). We Kill,” officials said.

Westminster Fire Marshal Glen Hines said that “it appears somebody poured an inflammable liquid” on the front of the truck, which is owned by the newspaper, and set it aflame around 11 p.m.

Hines estimated damage to the truck at $4,500.

The threatening message in heavy crayon on a wall is believed to have stemmed from a Vietnamese television program, which aired 3 days ago and angered some Vietnamese residents who hold strong anti-communist views, said Do Ngoc Yen, the newspaper’s publisher and co-owner of the studio that produces the news program, “Truyen Hinh Vietnam.” The studio is housed in the editorial offices of Nguoi Viet newspaper.

After the program’s broadcast Saturday on KSCI Channel 18, Do said he spent part of the weekend explaining to leaders of Orange County’s Vietnamese community and others that the program “had mistakenly” showed the Vietnamese flag and Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum in Hanoi--symbols that often draw highly emotional reactions in the Vietnamese community. The program used them as a background to a nostalgic song about the fall of Saigon.

“It made us look like we made a propaganda film for Vietnam,” Do said in an interview Tuesday. “It was a mistake, and I apologize.”

Hines said authorities are regarding the arson “as a potential threat and an act of aggression towards him (Do Ngoc Yen). . . . It’s the political ramifications which we’re worried about.”

To help appease members of the community, Do also is planning to publish a banner-sized apology in today’s issue of Nguoi Viet Daily News. A similar apology will be taped for the TV program scheduled for Saturday, he said.

Do blamed a technician for using portions of an old news tape for part of the program’s entertainment segment.

“They thought they needed some image of Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) in the background and one of our technical staff looked in the shelves where we keep old material and found clips of Saigon,” Do said.

The clip was originally shown 2 months ago during a news broadcast about Vietnam’s present economy. Do said the program’s staff wanted to contrast Hanoi’s official claim of economic recovery with scenes of poor people in the streets of Vietnam.

“At the time, it fitted in with the community’s anti-communism spirit,” Do said.

Do said he broke what he described as “the unwritten rule” of Vietnamese language media in the United States.

Community of Exiles

“It’s a community of exiled people,” Do explained. “And so anything that resembles a symbol of Vietnam, alone and without words to explain your position, is a violation.”

In the past, Do said he has been the target of threats. But the arson represents the most direct action taken against Do.

Nguoi Viet Daily News has expressed anti-communist views ever since it began publishing in 1978.

The paper has refused to publish politically sensitive material including advertisements for travel to Vietnam or for companies seeking to ship medical goods, bicycles and other items to Vietnam. And in recent issues, Do has published articles about anti-communist protests at UCLA when films produced by the Hanoi government have been shown.

“In my case, we are clearly anti-communist and very critical of the authorities in Vietnam,” Do said.