Poll Finds Paradox Among Vietnamese in Orange County

Vietnamese Americans in Orange County treasure the freedoms of their new home 25 years after the fall of Saigon but also worry that America provides too many liberties, a new poll has found.

Conducted by Cal State Fullerton, the survey of 418 Vietnamese adults in Orange County found that about 96% like the individual liberties they have in America. But 87% also said there is too much freedom here.

About two-thirds of respondents also said there is too much uncertainty in American life. And 56% said Communists should not be allowed to speak in public in the United States.

“The Vietnamese have less tolerance for 1st Amendment rights and freedom than the average American population,” said Jeffrey Brody, an assistant professor and coauthor of the study.

“Vietnam never had a history of a free press, and there was severe repression under the Communist regime,” he said. “So people come here and they’re amazed by the freedom they see.”

Lan Quoc Nguyen, a Westminster attorney and community activist, agreed. “They came from a country that didn’t have freedom, so it’s difficult for them to understand,” he said.

The conflicting findings reflect the complex experience of Vietnamese refugees, Nguyen said.

“It’s a love and hate relationship. It’s very paradoxical,” he said. “They were born and raised in Vietnam. They like the freedom that Americans take for granted but [feel that] some people overuse it.”

For example, although community members take advantage of the freedom to express their opinions on Vietnamese talk radio, many find the comments offensive and are frustrated that there are so few limits on speech.

The random telephone survey was conducted in September and October. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points. Conducted by Brody and his colleagues Tony Rimmer and Edgar P. Trotter, the poll was part of a national study of news media and minorities funded by the Ford Foundation.

The poll also found that Vietnamese Americans in Orange County retain strong ties to the language and culture of their homeland. About 93% said they feel more Vietnamese than American. And about two-thirds are more comfortable speaking Vietnamese than English.

Fewer than 10% socialize more with non-Vietnamese than with people of Vietnamese origin, the poll found. And the proportion who have visited Vietnam since emigrating has doubled since 1995 to 40%.

Brody attributed the increase to restoration of full diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1997.

“People perceive that it’s safer, so they take the opportunity to go back,” he said. “Many people still have relatives in Vietnam.”

The increased travel doesn’t mean the refugees have softened their feelings toward the Communist government they fled, said Westminster attorney Van Thai Tran.

“It only shows that they yearn for their homeland,” he said. “It’s an emotional consideration, not an ideological one.”

Vietnamese Americans in Orange County also rely heavily on Vietnamese-language news media, the poll found. More than half of respondents said Vietnamese-language newspapers are important to them, for example.

Poll respondents thought that the English-language media stereotype the Vietnamese in Orange County. Though more than half said American media portray the Vietnamese community accurately, most also said too much of the coverage is about festivals, food and crime.

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Vietnamese Perspectives

Twenty-five years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnamese in Orange County have mixed feelings about life in America, according to a poll by Cal State Fullerton. Selected results from the survey:

I think of myself as more Vietnamese than American

Agree or strongly agree: 93%

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I am more familiar with Vietnamese culture than American culture

Agree or strongly agree: 91%

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I like the individual freedoms we have in America

Agree or strongly agree: 96%

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There is too much freedom in America

Agree or strongly agree: 87%

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A communist should be allowed to speak in a public place in America

Disagree or strongly disagree: 56%

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What language do you speak?

Only Vietnamese: 18%

There is too much emphasis on crime in English-language media coverage of the Vietnamese American community.

Strongly agree: 16% Note: 418 Vietnamese and Vietnamese Americans were surveyed, Sept. 13 - Oct. 14, 1999