Tet Festival Opens; 320 Rally at Video Shop

As the Vietnamese Tet Festival kicked off Saturday in Little Saigon, hundreds of protesters held the biggest rally yet in front of a video store whose owner has outraged the community by displaying Communist memorabilia.

Police estimated that 320 demonstrators marched in front of the Bolsa Avenue store, chanting “Down with Communism,” waving South Vietnamese flags and carrying portraits of the late Communist leader Ho Chi Minh defaced with bleeding eyes and swastikas.

But two miles away at the Westminster Civic Center, the mood was more upbeat, as thousands took part in the first day of the annual Tet Festival, which commemorates the start of the Vietnamese New Year.

Officials reported no protests or problems at the festival, which included carnival rides, food stands and a traditional dragon dance. But the controversy over the store was not far from people’s minds.

“The holiday is a time for forgiveness and remembrance,” said Joseph Phung, a 44-year-old government worker from Laguna Hills, who enjoyed the festival with his son. But, he asked, “If I put a picture of Hitler in the Jewish community, what would happen?”

The controversy centers around Truong Van Tran, owner of Hi Tek TV and VCR, who placed a Communist flag and a Ho Chi Minh poster inside his shop as an exercise of his free speech rights. But the display sparked repeated protests by those who said Tran reopened old wounds for people who escaped Communist oppression.

Last Wednesday Tran won reversal of a temporary restraining order that had forced him to take down the display. But he collapsed during a confrontation with protesters before he could put the items back up. On Friday, he said he intends to return to the store Monday--the day before Tet officially begins--to put the flag and photo back up. On Saturday, the protest peaked around 12:30 p.m. when an American soldier taken prisoner during the Vietnam War and two female companions drove Harley-Davidson motorcycles into the cheering crowd.

“I have 58,000 brothers that died because of that jerk,” said 51-year-old Larry “Bear” Hughes, as he pointed to a portrait of Ho Chi Minh. Hughes wiped his boots on a Communist flag and then tore it with a knife, as the crowd of demonstrators cheered.

While the demonstrators clapped hands, sang traditional Vietnamese songs and shouted anti-Communist slogans, shopkeepers watched from doorways. Many complained that continued protests at the crowded mini-mall since mid-January have scared away business.

“People really need their hair done for the holidays,” lamented beauty salon owner Thai Nguyen. He pointed to the row of empty barber chairs and shrugged. “I don’t like this at all. I’m the one who gets hurt.”