Since 1975, there has been a profound change in the number, elements and location of overseas Vietnamese. During the last months before the war ended, about 140,000 Vietnamese were evacuated to temporary American refugee camps in Pacific area. Afterwards they immigrated to the United States under the Indochina Migration Act and the Refugee Assistance Act. This was followed by another wave of evacuations, mainly by boat to refugee camps in neighboring Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. From there they headed for other countries such as France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, America and Canada to settle down. During the 1980s and 1990s, many Vietnamese families settled abroad under the Orderly Departure Program and humanitarian programs such as the Amerasian Homecoming Act. These programs in particular were implemented by the United States government from 1979 with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

From 1980-1991 the Government of Vietnam sent as many as 100,000 students, interns, research fellows and about 300,000 workers to socialist countries in eastern Europe such as the Soviet Union, the Democratic Republic of Germany, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Poland. About 100,000 people were sent to China, Cuba, Mongolia and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to study and work. After the collapse of the socialist regimes in eastern European countries and the Soviet Union, many Vietnamese students, interns, and workers remained in these countries to live and do business.

From 1991 to the early 2000s, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese people went abroad to reunite with their families, to study or work. Many were adopted by foreigners, forming Vietnamese communities in new locations such as South Korea, Taipei, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, West Asia and Africa. As of 2004, about 2.7 million Vietnamese lived in nearly 90 countries and territories abroad, of which more than 80% were in industrialized countries.(4)

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the overseas Vietnamese community has continued expanding rapidly with an increasingly diverse components. In addition to those who have been away from the country for a long time, tens of thousands Vietnamese people travel to Asian, European, American and Oceanian countries to work, study and reunite with their families every year.

In 2016, there were 126,296 Vietnamese working in 28 foreign countries and territories, mainly Taipei, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia. More than 100,000 Vietnamese students were studying in different countries. This number was expected to continue to increase. In 2015, Japan ranked the second after China in attracting Vietnamese students with about 38,882 ones. United States ranked sixth as a destination for 17,875 learners, followed by New Zealand with 17,222, Australia with 10,282, and Canada with 5,618 students.(5)

Many large enterprises in Vietnam today were established thanks to early-stage contributions of the overseas Vietnamese community such as Vingroup, Sun Group (Ukraine), Euro Windows (Russia), Da Lat Eden, Furama Resort Da Nang, and Cafe Highland (United States), etc. In addition, thousands of expatriate Vietnamese are coming to Vietnam to explore investment and business opportunities. Hundreds of international Vietnamese intellectuals and experts participate in research, give lectures at graduate and postgraduate levels and carry out collaborative projects on scientific research and technology with such standouts as Professor Ngo Bao Chau, Professor Dam Thanh Son, etc.

Overall, the overseas Vietnamese community is patriotic, has national self- respect, and a motivation to preserve national traditions and cultural identity. Vietnamese artists regularly hold many cultural and artistic activities in their local community. With the support of the overseas Vietnamese diplomatic missions, Vietnamese cultural events are also regularly organized, such as Vietnam Day, Vietnam Week, gatherings on Independence Day, Tet holidays, and artists’ trips to visit and entertain the overseas community and their international friends and colleagues. Communities in many countries also regularly organize social and charity activities to raise money for Vietnamese nationals affected by natural disasters, for poor people, Agent Orange and Dioxin victims or Truong Sa soldiers, etc.

The overseas Vietnamese community has a moderate level of economic potential which is not substantial in comparison with other overseas groups. Their annual income is estimated at 25-30 billion USD. Most people work in agencies, organizations and businesses of the host country while others still live on social allowances. The business of overseas Vietnamese is primarily small and medium with low competitiveness in the international market compared to large enterprises. However, they have relationships with entrepreneurs, businesses, economic organizations of their host countries and can find partners on the global stage. Therefore, they can act as a bridge with domestic business, entrepreneurs, and organizations, attract foreign investment and transfer technology for domestic production, etc.On the other hand, the intellectual potential of the overseas Vietnamese community is considerable, especially in North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Australia. More than 400,000 experts and scholars (about 10% of the total number) have university degrees or higher, many of whom are highly skilled and technical experts.(12) Most educated Vietnamese experts work in science and high-tech fields such as electronics, biology, new materials, new energy, informatics, nanotechnology, aviation, spaceflight and oceanography. A lot of them have achieved important positions in prestigious research institutes, universities, hospitals, businesses, companies, and international organizations such as Dr. Vo Dinh Tuan, Director of Duke University’s Fitzpatrick Institute in the United States and Dr. Chu Hoang Long at the Crawford School of Management Economics of the Australian National University. They also act as a bridge to connect with local economic and scientific agencies and organizations.

The overseas Vietnamese community is a dynamic body that quickly adapts and integrates with the people of their host country. The majority of overseas Vietnamese have been naturalized in the host country but still retain their Vietnamese citizenship. Over the years, the regulations on living and working for Vietnamese have been legalized in many countries, notably in the Czech Republic where the Vietnamese community has been recognized as an ethnic minority community since 2013.

However, in several other nations in Eastern Europe, many Vietnamese still have difficulty stabilizing their lives, suffering from unclear regulations and discrimination. Whereas some people still accept temporary lives and do not intend to settle permanently, others do not have legal documents to stay in foreign countries. Most of them stay for economic reasons and expect to return to Vietnam. This triggers instability and opportunism, leading to the increasing number of crimes in the community. In some countries, there are complexities in terms of social components, political trends, occupations, religions, and ethnicities. It varies from region to region, so community cohesion and mutual assistance is not satisfactory.

In addition, the overseas Vietnamese community also faces many evolving problems, difficulties and challenges such as the risk of war, conflict, terrorism and other type of crisis. They find themselves discriminated by extremist or racist forces. Some workers are exploited and mistreated in their workplace such as ‘illegal garment factories’ where they have to work and live in terrible, unsafe and unhygienic conditions. In addition, many Vietnamese women who marry foreign husbands through brokers are mistreated, suffering violence, being deprived of their legal rights when getting divorced due to the barriers of language, customs and unfamiliar practices.

3. External information for the overseas Vietnamese community

Communicating information from Vietnam’s Government to the overseas Vietnamese community is an important task which is always paid much attention in the country’s external information work. The overseas Vietnamese community should become both the target subjects and the on-site force. To this end, the major contents of our external information work must include the following requirements:

The first requirement is to distribute the guidelines and policies of the Party and the State in different fields.

The policy of great national unity also includes building national solidarity with the overseas Vietnamese community. The Party and State have always considered the overseas Vietnamese community a part of the nation. This is clearly seen in the Government’s legal documents, policies, and practice. The State has always created favorable conditions for the overseas Vietnamese community to do business, to live and integrate with life in host countries and in Vietnam. In recent years, many progressive policies related to the interests of overseas Vietnamese have been issued, such as citizenship, home and land ownership for expatriates, visa exemptions, and settlement of other legal issues and inadequacies related to retaining their nationality of origin, issuing certificates of nationality and certification of Vietnamese origin. Administrative procedures related to the entry, exit, residence and investment of overseas Vietnamese have been simplified, creating favorable conditions for them to return home.

The third requirement is to distribute accurate information on significant political, economic, cultural, and social issues as well as Partybuilding, anti- bureaucracy, anti-corruption and anti-prodigality.

Political, economic, cultural, and social life in the fatherland is an issue of great concern by the overseas Vietnamese community because it reflects the image of their homeland and their roots. Along with economic development, Vietnam has always focused on effectively implementing cultural and social development tasks, practicing democracy and social justice, improving people’s living standards, environmental protection, natural disaster prevention, and a sustainable response to climate change. Despite being far from the country, overseas Vietnamese still closely follow developments and events in the country’s political, economic, and social life. The hot issues of the country, especially the fights against corruption and prodigality that the Party and State are determined to win, have always received attention.

The fourth requirement is to distribute accurate information on issues of ensuring Vietnam’s national security and defense; improving its efficiency in foreign affairs and international integration; engaging in the struggle to protect its sovereignty over the sea and islands; democracy, human rights, freedom of religion, belief, and ethnicity; and the fight against distorted and false claims about Vietnam. Maintaining independence and sovereignty while ensuring its national defense and security, and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development are the two issues of supreme national interest with fundamental and long-term goals. In recent years, the struggle to protect Vietnam’s sovereignty over the seas has become a hot issue and attracted people’s interest because it is associated with the history of the nation’s building and defense.

On the other hand, these issues are often misrepresented and distorted by hostile forces, so it is necessary to provide the overseas Vietnamese community with complete and timely information on this issue.