Countywide : Forum to Focus on Trade With Vietnam
Several past and present U.S. officials will discuss free trade with Vietnam on Sunday in a forum expected to draw more than 200 people, organizers said.
The forum, in the Westin South Coast Plaza hotel at Bristol Street and Anton Boulevard, is a response to recent events that “rocked the nerve” of the Vietnamese community in Orange County, said Dung Tran, chairman of the nonpartisan Vietnamese Political Action Committee, which is sponsoring the free event.
Since President Clinton lifted the trade embargo in February, the issue of trade with the Communist regime has created tension between many Vietnamese on both sides of the issue.
“We don’t want the Vietnamese community to be perceived as being divided,” Tran said. “We want to sit down and discuss our differences.”
Among those participating in the forum will be Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), Rep. Edward Royce (R-Fullerton) and former Undersecretary of Commerce Orson Swindle.
Human rights activists Tran Xuan Ninh and Tran Thai Van also will speak.
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