NEW YORK — The Vietnamese Embassy in the US has repeatedly contacted with and canvassed authorities and parliaments of the US and its states to ensure security and safety as well as the right to access full services for Vietnamese citizens and Vietnamese Americans in the US, given increasing discrimination against the Asian American community in the country.
Discussing with representatives from the White House National Security Council (NSC), the Department of State and parliament committees, the Vietnamese side expressed concern over discrimination and even violence suffered by Vietnamese citizens in the US and Vietnamese Americans related to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Vietnamese representative office in the US has always emphasised active contributions of the Vietnamese Americans and overseas Vietnamese community in the US to the host country, especially to the front lines of the COVID-19 fight to ensure health, security and social welfare for people across the US.
On March 31, Vietnamese Ambassador Hà Kim Ngọc and ambassadors of other ASEAN countries to the US sent a letter to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the NSC condemning discrimination targeting Asian Americans. They also asked local authorities to continue carrying out measures to address the issue, including ensuring security and the right to access healthcare, education, employment and other social welfare services for them.
Ambassador Ngọc also sent letters to US members of Congress, including Senator Patrick Leahy, President pro tempore of the Senate; Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia, and Nonproliferation; and Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy, the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress, to require them to raise their voice to end racial discrimination against Vietnamese citizens and Vietnamese Americans in the US.
The NSC and the Department of State acknowledged ideas of the representative offices of Việt Nam and other ASEAN countries in Washington DC, pledging to maintain support to ensure interests of the Asian American community in the US.
The Vietnamese embassy has frequently maintained information channels and provided around-the-clock support for people in need. For support, people are advised to call hotlines of the Vietnamese Embassy in the US, Việt Nam’s Consulates General in Houston, San Francisco and New York, and the Citizen Protection Call Centre of the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry’s Consular Department.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris strongly condemned the hate and violence against Asian Americans, and committed to putting an end to the issue. Senator Patrick Leahy and Congressman Ami Bera also tweeted to protest the discrimination. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy ran an article in the Washington Post, criticising discrimination against Asian Americans and showing support for the Biden administration to intensify measures to protect them. — VNS