FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Diana Moreno
November 10, 2015 (714)
741-1034
Senator Janet Nguyen Reacts to
Frontline/ProPublica’s “Terror in
Little Saigon” Report
(Garden Grove, CA) In response to the
Frontline/ProPublica’s report “Terror in Little Saigon”, Senator Janet Nguyen
has reacted by sending a letter to ProPublica’s Executive Chairman Paul
Steiger. In the letter, Senator Nguyen asks the organization for an apology for
the mischaracterization of the Vietnamese-American Community and calls on
ProPublica to exercise better discretion in future reports. ProPublica is the
news organization that produced the report that aired on the Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS).
“I was displeased and
offended by the blanket mischaracterization of the Vietnamese-American
community as political radicalists who will resort to suppressing dissenting
opinions through violent means,” said Senator Janet Nguyen, who represents the
nation’s largest community of Vietnamese residents living outside of Vietnam.
“Terror in Little
Saigon”, which aired on November 3rd, followed ProPublica Correspondent A.C.
Thompson’s journey to investigate the murders of five Vietnamese American
journalists between 1981 and 1990. The report goes on to allege that “The
Front”, a group that sought to overthrow the government of the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam, engaged in violent acts to suppress the dissenting
opinions of Vietnamese-Americans and was involved in the murders of the
journalists.
Unfortunately, the
report mischaracterized the Vietnamese-American community as sympathetic to
“The Front’s” alleged efforts and depicted Vietnamese Americans as a whole, as
individuals who are willing to silence their opponents through radical acts of
violence.
In an effort to
correct the report’s mischaracterization of the Vietnamese-American community,
Senator Nguyen took great pride in highlighting the accomplishments of the
Vietnamese-American community.
“Contrary to what was
portrayed in the report, the more than 1.7 million Vietnamese-Americans are
law-abiding citizens that contribute to the rich tapestry of America’s
society,” said Senator Janet Nguyen. “Given the great struggles that
Vietnamese-Americans immigrants have overcome and the many contributions they
have made in this great nation, I would respectfully encourage ProPublica to
issue an apology to the Vietnamese-American community and to exercise better
discretion in your future reports.”
Senator Nguyen’s letter was
also shared with PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger, as well as Frontline
Producer Richard Rowley and ProPublica Correspondent A.C. Thompson.
About
Senator Janet Nguyen
Senator
Janet Nguyen was overwhelmingly elected to represent the residents of
California’s 34th State Senate District in 2014. With this victory, Senator
Nguyen became the first woman elected to represent the 34th Senate District and
the first Vietnamese-American in the country to be elected to the State Senate.
Senator Nguyen is the highest-ranking Vietnamese American elected official in
the United States.
The
34th State Senate District includes the cities of Fountain Valley, Garden
Grove, Los Alamitos, Santa Ana, Seal Beach, Westminster, the unincorporated
communities of Midway City and Rossmoor, as well as portions of Anaheim,
Huntington Beach, Long Beach, and Orange.
