Now much of that production has
shifted to Vietnam.
An economically dynamic Vietnam,
however, should not be viewed as a threat but as an opportunity for Thais to
invest and market their fine products and services.
To understand contemporary
Vietnam, it is critically important to study its long and special history. Like
Thailand, Vietnam's history goes back several millennia. The first Vietnamese
state was the Van Lang kingdom from 3079 BC to 258 BC.
There are four major themes of
Vietnamese history. The first and most important is the Vietnamese history of
defeating external invaders such as the Chinese, the Mongols, the French, and
more recently the Americans. In defeating these enemies the Vietnamese
demonstrated impressive ingenuity and creativity. The Trung sisters are famous
for their courage in fighting the Chinese.
The second theme is the threat of
natural disasters such as floods and typhoons. The massive dykes that the
Vietnamese built to protect Hanoi from potential floods of the Red River are
truly amazing.
The third theme derives from
Vietnam having been under Chinese rule for almost 1,000 years. Thus, there are
many Confucian influences on Vietnamese culture and society that particularly
shape Vietnam's education and the highly positive attitude of the Vietnamese
toward teachers and learning.
The fourth theme is that the
heart of Vietnam's special culture is in its villages.
Reflective of Chinese Confucian
influences, Vietnam was the first Southeast Asian country to open a university
in 1076 in Hanoi, now called the Temple of Literature.
Another major influence on
Vietnamese education was the introduction by missionaries of a Romanised
Vietnamese writing system, Quoc Ngu, which is that used today. Prior to that
time the Vietnamese had originally written in Chinese characters.
Then they later developed their
own Vietnamese character system called chu nom.
The introduction of Romanised
Vietnamese was to have a major impact on literacy, the development of a reading
culture, and political mobilisation.
Only 11 years after the
unification of Vietnam and the return of peace, Vietnam in 1986 introduced a
new system called doi moi, roughly translated as economic renovation. The model
was to combine a market-driven capitalistic economic system with a socialist
political system and one-party state.
Since that time, Vietnam's
economy has grown rapidly and steadily. With a population of 91.5 million, the
second largest in Asean after Indonesia, it has abundant supplies of cheap, but
highly motivated, labour to work in its rapidly growing industrial and modern
sector.
To understand contemporary
Vietnam, it is important to understand Vietnam's history and culture. America's
failure in Vietnam is attributed to the problem that the Americans were largely
ignorant of Vietnamese history, culture, and language. As with Myanmar there
are also complex naming issues. Thais often refer to Vietnamese as
"uan." Instead they should be called khon Viet. In dealing with
officialdom and government it should be Ho Chi Minh City, but in dealing with
the private sector or with overseas Vietnamese (Vi t Ki u), Saigon can be used.
Fortunately for Thais who want to
learn more about Vietnam there are many valuable resources available. In terms
of literature the Vietnamese epic, "The Tale of Kieu", written by the
great Vietnamese poet, Nguyn Du, is dear to all Vietnamese people. Excellent
English translations are available.
Another extremely valuable book
is "Wandering through Vietnamese Culture" by Huu Ngoc. This is
basically a highly readable encyclopaedia of Vietnamese culture which won the
Vietnam Gold Book Award in 2006. It is available in English and should
definitely be translated into Thai.
Films can also be a good way to
learn about Vietnam and its culture while at the same time improving English
proficiency. Three recent valuable films are: "Pao's Story," (2006)
about a Hmong girl in Vietnam showing impressive mountainous landscapes. With
54 different ethnic nationalities, Vietnam has great ethnic diversity.
There was a 2007 release,
"Saigon Eclipse" (Sai Gon Nhat Tuc) inspired by the epic "Tale
of Kieu" mentioned above. Major themes are filial piety, redemption, and
submission of women. A major motif in both literature and film is "loss
and longing." Also ancestor worship is an extremely important part of
Vietnamese culture.
More recently in 2011 a valuable
documentary was produced, "Vietnamese Girl," directed by Tara Miluti,
showing diverse lives of Vietnamese women.
In many ways the Vietnam of today
reminds me of Japan in the past. The topography of both places is similar with
relatively little cultivable land relative to a large population. Thus, there
are tremendous incentives to use land creatively and efficiently.
Also facilitating relations
between Thailand and Vietnam, there is a significant Vietnamese diaspora in
Thailand primarily in Nakhon Phanom, Sakhon Nakhon, and Chantaburi provinces.
Few Thai realise that Ho Chi Minh spent considerable time in Isan in the period
1928-1931 as a Buddhist monk hiding from the French colonial police. He made
serious efforts to learn the Thai language. Ban Tan Ho Chi Minh (Ban Nachok) in
Nakhon Phanom has been preserved as his former area of residence. Vietnam has
already achieved some remarkable successes in international education
competitions reflecting its Confucian heritage and respect for learning and
teachers.
As Vietnam continues its rapid
economic advance as a "rising new tiger," it represents many
challenges and opportunities for the Thai.
GERALD W FRY
Business & Investment Opportunities
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