• Ie BULLeTIN

VOLUME VII, NO.1 JANUARY 13, 197 2

A SEUI MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE EMBASSY OF VIETNAM

-A Vietnamese scholar deeply engrossed in the thought s

of IIfi rs t writing on the Ne\\' Year".

..

Vietnam BULLETIN

SENDS ITS READERS

, CH(JC

..... MUNG

.., NAM

, MOl

I N THIS ISSUE

Political and Military News

Troop-Contributing Countries Meeting ....... 3 VNAF Hits H. C.M. Trail .............•....... 3 PVN on India's Decision to Upgrade Diplomatic Mission in Hanoi ................ 4 Reds Shelling Saigon Protested ...... ....... 5 689 political Frisoners Released ........... 5 ADostolic Delegate Presented X'mas Gifts ... 5 217 Reds Rally in Week ..................... 5 VC Losses to Deadly Enemies ................ 6 Foreign Currencies Exchange ................ 6 RVN Aid for Bengali Refugees .... ........... 6 Puhlic Holidays ................... ......... 6

Economic News

New Exchange Rate ......... .......•......... 9 Petroleum Exploitation to Begin in 1972 .... 9 ADB Loan . .................................. 9 Investment Opportunities .... .............. cO Prices Index ......................... ..... ZZ Frice Control Committee ................... II Restrictions on Iron, Steel, Imports .... .. ll

Feature

Ner'lories of Old Vietnam ....... ............ l2

political&ll1ilitary news

Troop Contributing Countries Meeling

SAIGON, December 16-- A meeting of the six Allied nations in Vietnam was held Wednesday morning at the Defense College under the chairmanship of Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam.

The meeting was planned when dele­gations of Thailand, the United States, New Zealand, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Vietnam met in the troop-contributing countries confer­ence in Washington last April. The five allies of the Republic of Vietnam were represented by their chiefs of diploma.tic mission in Saigon.

Present at the meeting this morning were U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ellsworth Bunker, Australian Ambassador Malcolm Morris, ROK Ambassador Yang 500 Yoo, New Zealand Ambassador Paul K. Edmonds, Thai Charge d'Affairs Asa Boonyapratuang, RVN Vice Foreign Minister Tran Kim Phuong, ~'aj. General Nguyen Xu an Trang, Staff Committee Chairman and Mr. Buu Vien, Assistant to the Prime Ministers Office.

Commander of the U.S. Forces in the Pacific, Admiral McCain was also present.

Foreign Minister Tran Van Lam was assisted by Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, rran Kim Phuong, Maj or General Nguyen Xuan Trang the Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary of State at the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. Buu Vien.

:4inister Lam presented the RVN govern­ment's viewpoints on the international recent developments influencinr; the Repu­blic of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Maj. General Trang dealt with the continued support of free countries to Vietnam which he described as helping to restore peace soon to the Republic.

~Ir. Buu Vien later presented the RVN government achievements in the fiel d of Pacification and Development. This re­port was followed by an exchange of views on the general topic.

The meeting ended at 11:30 a.m. In the afternoon the same day, the delegates of the six Allied nations left for a field trip to Lai Thieu (Binh Duong Province) to visit a pacification and development project.

VNAF Hits H.C.M. Trail

For the first time in over twc ,lc­cade, of warfare, planes of the Sou·h Vietnamese Air Force last week pounded the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos. Accord­ing to top military sources, it was the first in a series of raids which marks the beginning of the Vietnamization of the air war against enemy supply routes in Asia.

Although it was of a symbolic char­acter in the beginning, the Vietnamese Air Force's role will increase rapidly hut sources said it will not have the capability to completely supersede the immensely more powerful U.S. Air Force. Still, by 1973, it can be assumed that Vietnamese pilots will fly 40-50 per cent of the hundreds of sorties that are now flown each day against the Ho Chi Minh trail.

The revelation came in the wake of an important disclosure by U.S. Defense Secretary, W:lO said 1I.S. air power might be used to support a second South Viet­namese operation in Southern Laos.Laird _,aid he would not hesitate to order the use of U.S. air power anywhere and at any time if the current redeployment p Ian of the U.S. forces from Vietnam should be endangered by Communist activi­ties.

,

RVN on India's Decision to Upgrade Mission in Hanoi

Following are two communiques issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Vietnam in Saigon on January 8, 19?2, regarding the Indian Government's decision to upgrade her diplomatic mission in North Vietnam to Embassy level:

1. On January 7, 1972, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi

of India. announced the decision of her Government to

upgrade her representation to North vietnam from the

rank of Consulate General to Embassy level and to

exchange Ambassadors with Hanoi soon. Political pressure

from the Indian Parliament was invoked as a reason to

justify the decision.

The Government of the Republic of vietnam views

this action of the Indian Government as an unfriendly

and unnecessarily provocative gesture. Furthermore it

represents a radical departure from the traditional non-

alignment policy of India. a policy which had earned for

India a special place in the international scene and of

which India had always claimed to be the champion.

(continued on page 7)

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Apos'ollc D.lega'. Pr ••• n'. x'"'_ Gift. '0 POW'.

SAIGON, December 21 (VP)-- Aposto­lic Delegate Henry Lemaitre, on behalf of Pope Paul VI presented 2,800 Christ­mas gift packages to Communist prisoners of war at Bien Hoa camp on Tuesday.

Addressing the POW's, Apostolic Delegate H. Lemaitre dealt with the Papal concern for the happiness of the world and advised people to settle disputes among themselves through peaceful means.

He also expressed the hope that he will not meet the prisoners of war again at this camp next Christmas sea­son.

Later, the Apostolic Delegate, in a token gesture, handed over Christmas gifts to a dozen Communist prisoners.

The Vatican on the occasion of 1971 Christmas sent to Vietnam a quantity of gifts worth over VN $2,000,000 which were distributed to the Bien Hoa POW's camp (VN $1,400,000) Tarn Hiep Reforma­tory Center (VN $628,000) and Bien Hoa hospital (VN $30,000).

Besides each gift package worth VN $300 presented to the POW's, Apostolic Delegate Henry Lemaitre also donated to the camp a quantity of sports equipment and musical instruments valued at over V\J $500,000.

On this occasion, the Apostolic Delegate and his party made a tour of the jail and the yocational training center at the Bien Hoa POW's camp and then presided over a cornerstone laying ceremony for the construction of the camp stadium.

217 Rads Rally In Weak

SAIGON, December 21 (VP)-- Open-Arms Services allover the country last week welcomed 217 Communist cadres who rallied to the national cause.

The figure included 83 military cadres, 90 political agents and 44 other elements.

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Military Region IV topped the list with 140 returnees.

Since early this year to date, 20,027 Communist cadres have rallied to the national cause, thus bringing to 193,091 the total number of returnees since the promulgation of the Open Arms policy in February, 1963.

ase Political Prisoners Released

SAIC;ON, December 23 (VP) - - The RVN government will release 689 political pri­soners on the occasion of Christmas, RVN government spokesman said.

The release will include those who have been detained for two years within the framework of the infrastructure security ensurance through Phuong Hoang Campaign, but have not been brought before the Court yet.

The pardon, according to the same spokesman, makes up part of the government's leniency policy on the occasion of the maj or holidays.

R.d. Shelling Pro •••• ed

SAIGON, December 23 (VP)-- In a pro­test note sent to the International Control and Supervision Commission (ICSC) Secreta­riat General in Saigon on December 21,1971, the Vietnamese Mission in Charge of Rela­tions with the ICSC strongly condemned the shelling attack recently committed by the Communists.

According to the note, on December 20, 1971, at 4:30 a.m., the communists fired two Soviet-made 122mm rockets into Saigon. The first rocket landed on Hai Ba Trung Street and the second one hit two houses of the Ly Quoe Hung lodgings in the Khanh Hoi area. The shell ing did not cause any deaths, however the ma,terial damaged was heavy.

The note observed, "The recent she 11-ing came on the 11th anniversary of the founding of the 'National Liberation Front', an instrument of the Hanoi authorities."

r

VC Losses to Deadly Enemies Typhoid and cholera are among the

Viet Cong's worst enemies in the Mekong Delta, according to guerilla "Doctor" Tran Van Bay, who defected to the Govern­ment early this month. Bay told his in­terrogators in the province of Kien Hoa that the two caused more casualties than combat in the fertile rice bowl south of Saigon.

The Viet Cong physician, however, claimed that cholera could be cured by acupuncture, saying: "You insert a needle through the base of the backbone. Since we hadn't proper needles, we used guitar string wire. I personally treated 30 cholera cases this way and none of my patients died. However, acupunture is not good for typhoid."

A quiet-spoken little man of 35, Bay joined the Viet Cong in 1965. "I have had enough of the Communist way of li fe, "he said, explaining his defection.

Foreign Currencies Exchange

SAIGON, December 28 (VP)-- By virtue of an official decision dated November 15, 1971, the Vietnam National Bank has authorized hotels in the Republic to buy foreign currencies from foreign tourists.

No restriction was made for foreign exchange transactions at authorized hotels.

Before leaving Vietnam, each tourist may exchange Vietnamese piasters, if any, for foreign currency of the same kind which they previously sold, but not to exceed US $40.

The said hotels must sent the amount of foreign exchange they have bought from their clients to the intermediary bank involved every 15 days.

For such transactions, the hotels are allowed to enjoy a commission of 3 percent.

RVN Aiel to Bengali Re'ua __ The Government of the Republic of

Vietnam has just granted US $15,000 for the relief of the millions of East Bengalis now living as refugees in India. The sum was ~resented to Mr. Earnest Schlatter who re­presents the United Nations' orvanization for refugees allover the world. It was also learned that in addition to this fin­ancial assistance measure, the Government of Vietnam has also supplied the Indian consulate general in Saigon with 200,000 anti-cholera injections for use in refugee camps along its borders with East Pakistan.

1972 Official Public Holidays in Vietnam

January 1 23

February 14 15 16 17

April 2 23 24

May 1 27

November 1 December 25

Saturday Sunday Monday* Tuesday * Wednesday Thursday Sunday Sunday Monday Monday Saturday Wednesday Monday

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Solar New Year's Day Buddha's Enlightenment Day ( *afternoon only ( *1 st New Year's Day ( Lunar New Year (Tet) ( Easter Sunday ( Hung Vuong Anniversary ( Labor Day Buddha's Birthday National Day Christmas

RVN ON INDIAN GOVERNMENT'S DECISION TO UPGRADE DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN HANOI (cont. from page 4)

It should be recalled that India was selected to

serve as statutory chairman in the International

commission for control and Supervision of the 1954

Geneva agreements precisely because of her proclaimed

non-alignment policy. In this capacity India has the

moral obligation to be absolutely impartial to North

and South Vietnam otherwise the meaning and usefulness

of the International Commission would be most seriously

affected. Unless the Government of India simultaneously

upgrades the status of her representation in Saigon,

India shows a political partiality toward communist

North Vietnam which would destroy the very foundations

of the International Commission under its present

composition.

It is also most regrettable that the decision of

India to exchange diplomatic relations with North

Vietnam was taken at a time when Hanoi is intensifying

its campaign of agression against Kampuchea and Laos,

two other neutral countries.

The Government of the Republic of Vietnam strongly

protests against this decision of the Government of

India and insists that strict impartiality should be

observed by India in her relationship with both North

and South Vietnam. A move in favor of one side would

greatly undermine the credibility of India as an

impartial independent nation commited to the princ~ples

of non-alignment.

11. The Government of the Republic of vietnam has

informed the Government of India of its decision not

to allow the arrival in Saigon of Mr. L.N. Ray, the

newly appointed chief of the Indian delegation to the

International Control Commission (ICC) until the

Government of India adopts a more impartial attitude.

According to the 1954 Geneva agreements, the

representative of India is statutory chairman of the

International Commission.

Now since the Government of India has taken a

one-sided action showing clearly its partiality for

North vietnam the question of the Indian participation

~n the International Commission should be reconsidered.

The Government of the Republic of Vietnam is not

taking action against the International Control

Commission as a whole but is examining the appropriateness

of the Indian representative to serve as chairman with

regard to the absolute impartiality required by this

function.

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ADBLoan

SAIGON, December 20 (VP)-- Land Re­form, Agriculture, Fishery, and Animal Husbandry Development Minister Cao Van Than, representing the RVN govern~ent, signed an agreement Monday borrowlng

Petroleum Exploitation to Begin

'72

US $2,500,000 from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) of Manila, Philippines, for the realization of an irrigation project in Binh Dinh province.

The realization of this project, which includes the construction of two new dams and the repair of three old ones in Tuy Phuoc and An Nhon districts in the province, will cost about US $6, 000,000.

The ADB loan will be refunded by the RVN government over a 30-year period.

Once completed, the irrigation sys­tem will help local farmers produce an additional 30,000 tons of rice and 18, 000 tons of vegetables every year.

Ne.v Exchange Rates

SAIGON November 20 (VP)-- According , . to a communique of the Exchange Councll, the exchange rate between the US dollar and the Vietnamese piaster for services carried out on the Limited Parallel Exchange Market on November 20, 1971 was fixed as follows:

-VN $275 per US dollar for imports with­in the framework of CIP and PL.480 program, Ti tle 1.

-VN $400 per US dollar for imports with government-owned foreign credits or foreign aids other than CIP and PL.480, and non­foreign exchange imports.

-VN $410 per US dollar for other kinds of exchange services except those reserved for RVN government officials and for Vietnmaese overseas students who still en­joy the rate of VN $118 per US dollar.

The above exchange rate is effective as of Saturday, November 20.

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SAIGON, November 29 (VP)-- The ex­ploitation of petroleum on the continen­tal shelf of the Republic of Vietnam will hegin in Fall, 1972. This was predicted by Eng. Au Ngoc Ho, member of the Nation­al Petroleum Committee and Chairman of the Committee'S Technical Sub-Committee in a televised interview last Saturday evening.

According to Eng. Ho, the quantity of petroleum on the RVN continental shelf will be second only to Indonesia in the Southeast Asian region.

He announced that 20 companies are ready for the search and exploitation of petroleum in Vietnam pending the completion of administrative procedures.

On this occasion, Mr. Ho asserted that a monopoly was not granted the U.S. in the exploitation of oil mines in the Pepublic of Vietnam.

As a geological engineer, Mr. Ho believes that oil may be present also in the Mekong Delta areas and he suggest­ed that the government reserve priority to Vietnamese in oil exploitation in this inland region.

In answer to a question regarding the dispute over the right to oil ex­ploitation between the Republic of Viet­nam, Cambodia, and Indonesia, l·lr. Ho said the Republic of Vietnam does not advocate a territorial expansion, however it must claim for its legal rights a num­ber of areas claimed by both Cambodia and Indonesia.

The three nations will hold a meet­ing to seek a compromise to this problem, he added.

Investment Opportunities In VN

With a population of just over 17 million people, The Republic of Vietnam encom­passes an area of approximately 65,000 square miles. Vietnam possesses fertile plains in the southern region and along the coast, while the central region is covered with dense forests. With a coast line of approximately 1000 miles long, the fishing in­dustry will undoubtly have a great future. Vietnam is linked with the outside world by well established and efficient communications routes.

Rich in natural resources and strong in manpower, Vietnam has a favorable environ­ment for investment in all types of undertakings. Dense forests cover a total area of 594,900 ha, providing yearly up to 480,000 m3 of precious wood. Fishery development progresses rapidly: 277,118 people are making their living on the abundant marine resources. CUltivated lands, for agricultural crops and industrial plants, cover a total area of 243,000,000 ha. Cam Ranh supplies the best silica sands in the world for the glass industry. Pine trees in Dalat, Banmethuot are excellent raw material for the paper pulp manufacturing industry.

Vietnamese industry is expanding with a rapid rate and the Government is actively encouraging potential investors to invest in many fields. The Mau Than Offensive slow­ed down the rate of expansion, but Vietnamese industry has since fully recovered thanks to appropriate assistance initiated by the Government. Futhermore, security is improv­ing throughout the nation giving firm assurance to industrialists and at the same time encouraging both foreign and local businessmen to invest in Vietnam.

In short, investmertopportunities in Vietnam are plentiful and those which are in­cluded in the priority list will receive assistance from the Government.

Below readers will find a number of profitable industrial projects which are re­produced from "Industrial Development News': a monthly bulletin published by the Indus­trial Development Bank of Vietnam. For more details, please contact the Industrial Development Bank, Investment Promoti~n Division, 40 Nguyen Hue, Saigon.

FISH POWDER MANUFACTURING PROJECT

Vietnam is now importing most of the fish powder required from Japan; the demand for fish powder is high enough to justify the establishing of new fish powder manufac­turing factories in Vietnam.

The factories can be set up in many areas along the coast. Only light machinery and a small number of workers are required; and raw material will be supplied locally.

If the project is approved by The Investment Board, it will enjoy special privi­lef'es according to The Decree Law 2/63 such as five years income tax exemption, ex­emption on customs duties and austerity taxes on machinery, equipment, etc. Lon? or medium term loans may be obtained from lOB for the purchase of production equipment and for the construction of factories.

The main raw material will be fish and fish waste. The project will provide jobs for a number of people and save a considerable amount of foreign exchange.

GENERAL: The project is suitable for coastal areas Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Vung Tau, Rach Gia and An Giang. 1 m T/ year. The sale price is 60 piasters/ kilogram.

such as Da Nang, Qui Nhon, The production capacity is

MARKET: Fish powder is considered the main protein required in the manufacture of animal feeds. The total demand for fish powder has reached 50 m T/ year.

RAW MATERIAL: Fish and fish waste at 6000 piasters/To For this project, 4.5m T/year will be required.

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INVESTMENT CAPITAL:

Machinery, Transportation, and Assembling ............ VN $22,875,000 Land and Construction .......... 5,050,000 Other costs .................... 3,342,500 Working capital .............. 11,265,600 Total investment capital VN $42,533,100

PROFIT: Based on production capacity of 1 m T/year

Total sales Total cost Production tax 7.2% Profi t

VN

Profit/Investment Capital=36%

$60,000,000 42,500,000

3,888,000 13,612,000

(NEXT ISSUES: [Jeep Sea Fishing, Plywood Production, Ice Cube Production, and (old Storage Projects.)

Price Control Committee To cope with an expected disturbed

market, the Government created in mid­November an organization for the stabili­zation of prices. Called the Price Con­trol Committee and put under the chair­manship of the Prime Minister, the new agency immediately issued a tough-worded communique threatening the death penalty for anybody caught spreading rumors en­dangering the nation's economy. Those overpricing their goods may have their properties confiscated, the communique also said.

According to the letter, the deci­sion was made to promote the iron and steel import within the framework of the American Aid program.

Price Index SAIGON, December 16 (VP)-- According

to the National Institute of Statistics, the November 1971 Saigon consumer price index in comparison with the November 1970 one increased 11.2 percent for the middle class and 11.0 percent for the working class.

1971

(Index on the base 1963:100)

Middle class families: 679.5 against 664.2 in October, 1971.

Working class families: 737.5 against 719.5 in October, 1971.

Change~ in group indexes in November, as compared with October, 1971.

The index for the 'Food' group advanced 3.5 percent for the middle class (844.2 against 815.7) and 3.4 percent for the working class (957.3 against 925.8). This was due to the rise in prices of rice, meat, chicken, milk, edible oil, some vegetables, and fruits.

In the 'Rent and Utilities'group, the index rose 0.2 percent for the middle class (569.1 against 568.0) and 0.7 percent for the working class (480.9 against 477.6) for higher prices of kerosene, bowls ...

For the middle class, the index for "Domestic !1elp' remained unchanged from the

Restrictions on Iron, Steel Imports previous month. (750.1).

SAIGON, December 22 (VP)-- The Econ­omy Ministry has decided to suspend the import of iron and steel of the second class with government-owned foreign ex­change.

Tn a letter to the Chairman of Sai­gon Banks' Union, Mr. Nguyen Duc Cuong, Commercial Assistant at the Economy Mini­stry, requested the former to inform in­termediary banks that from now on, letters of credit shall not be issued for the im­port of iron and steel of the second class wi th government-owned foreign exchange.

As for the 'Clothing' group, a~ in­crease in prices of fabrics, ready-made shirts, shoes, and tailoring raised the index by 3.2 percent for the middle class (541.5 against 524.7) and 2.8 per cent for the working class (497.0 against 483.51.

Finally, the index of the "hscellan­eous' rroup was up by 0.3 percent for the middle class (479.4 against 478.0) and 0.1 percent for the working class (527.6 against 527.1) as the result of the higher prices of medicines, tooth paste, copy books, and haircuts.

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British authors addressed to the King of Cochin-China. After that, plenty of food was provided for the visitors: "a living pig, ducks, fowls. eggs, sugar, plantains, and rice."

Finlayson himself was permitted to wander at will amongst the animation of the Saigon Market, where he noticed the good manners and the hand­some faces of the people, and also the most com­plete absence of articles of European manufacture, in contrast to the commercial conditions in India, a t that time.

Later, he visited many other parts of Saigon, and he was everywhere received with great civility and hospitality. "We were absolute strangers, who had come to pass a few hours only in the town; yet in almost every street we were invited by the more wealthy Chinese to enter their houses, and to partake of refreshments" (op. cit., pages 315-316). The climax of the entertainment provided for the visitors was the spectacle of a fight, between a tiger and an elephant, arranged by the Governor of Saigon: the tiger won, because the elephant, taking terror, ran away.

Outside Saigon itself, the visitors toured the coasts of Cochin-China ("singularly bold and picturesque"), and noted the abundance of the population. Land­ing by boat, from time to time, Finlayson added many valuable and unusual plants to his collection; and he evidently awakened, amongst the inhabitants, as much surprise and curiosity as he himself was experiencing. But his encounters in Cochin-China were, even then, .carcely more than a prelude to his even more adventurous and informative visit to Hue, in Annam, after a sea-passage of 20 hours.

Fortifications of Hue The intervening coastline, as he saw it, seemed

to be "bold, rugged, and picturesque" (page 339); but what chiefly impressed him were, inevitably, the immense and stubborn fortifications of Hue itself, where the architecture was mainly Chinese in its style, although he did find there, even at that early date, two French mandarins "dressed in silk robes."

The ensuing discussions, with the reigning King of Cochin-China. were both amicable and fruitful; since no objection was raised against the possibility of British trade, entering any of the ports. Evidently the British then were much impressed by the circum­stances of the dignitary at Hue, although critical of his apparently dictatorial powers; but already, as a cloud on the horizons as yet no bigger than a man's hand, the superior influence uf the French had made itself felt there, and the British never had any primacy of place or prestige.

For the people at large, the British visitors had much respect and even admiration, remarking, as the only possible deficiency, their smallness of stature.

Finlayson himself found his expedition very richly rewarding, alike in its yield of botanical

tell of charms and anthropological information. Its rigours, and its diversities, did however, greatly exhaust him; so that he was only just able to return to Ca!cutta, and he had to leave. for posthumous publication, the literary harvest of his long trek. into the little-known recesses of Indo-China.

Nevertheless, the book of his journey remains, even today, as a very noteworthy testimony to the early British penetration into that region, and the first British appreciation of the intrinsic peculiarities of its culture. language, and architecture.

J. Thomson Another book, with bearing:> .upon the theme of

South Vietnam, as its territories were. long ago, is J. Thomson's "The Straits of Malacca, Indo-china and China" (London, 1875). It contains, as the usual concomitant of an old travel book about the Far East, a useful and detailed chapter about Saigon (pages 164-178).

Ships anchored in Sai,on harbor in 1862.

"Saigon, in French Cochin-China, is approached by an offshoot of the great Mekong river, narrow and tortuous indeed, but nevertheless navigable for vessels of the heaviest tonnage. The town itself has a gay look about it, or had, at least, during the time of my visit; but it has somewhat straggling appear­ance." Its harbour, even then, accommodated many "square-rigged ships awaiting cargoes of rice, the chief product of the vast alluvial plains of southern Cochin-China. "

"Along the banks run a long low line of cafes and mercantile or government offices, surmounted by the flags of the different consulates, while by far the most conspicuous bUilding was an hotel in prog­ress of erection. which promised to become a very imposing edifice."

Saigon, in the 1860's and 1870's. had many French houses and French merchants; although much of its

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The ~"Ngo Mon" Gate at the Citadel in Hue.

commerce was in British or German hands. It was thriving; and it already had, as its native quarter, the busy and adj acent settlement of Cholon, with its lumbering bullock-carts, whose wheels creaked "hideously around their dry wooden axles."

In Cholon, everything seemed to be Chinese; and the place was a hive of somewhat discordant activity. But the people everywhere, whatever their racial or cultural origins. were very friendly and hospi­table;; so that the British visitor was able to see much of the interiors of their varied dwellings and was introduced to their very curious burial and re­ligious customs.

Road from Lam,son to Nam Quan <Gate to China).

Not all of them, either, were primitive or super­stitious - not even unsophisticated. in the European sense: this book records one Cochin-Chinese Chris­tian who was a Professor of his own language at the "College des Interpretes" in Saigon: he had been educated at a Roman Catholic College at Penang, and, he spoke Pl'rfect English, as well as French, and had a good knowledge, also, of Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

He was very interested in rare books and manus­cripts, and at the time of his British visitor, he was working on "A Comparative Analysis of the Lan­guages of the World :" it was a formidable array of

Grottoes along the Bay of Ha Lonr.

learning, from so remote a part of S.E. Asia, a full century ago; and almost the last encounter. too, for the author of this travel book, before he left Cochin­China for Hong Kong.

Alan Houghton Brodrick Alan Houghton Brodrick's "Little China" (Lon­

don, 1942) represents a much more modern and thor­ough assessment of the lands of Indo-China, almost as they were on the eve of the massive and dramatic upheavals of the Second World War. I first read it when I was a student, in the calm detachment of .England's Cambridge; but recently I noticed, with some regret, that it had disappeared from the shelves of my local public library: doubtless, squashed out by the mounting pressures of the more controversial and ephemeral new books, purporting to solve the problems of Vietnam.

Nevertheless, it is always a good book to consult, for a careful and sensitive appraisal of the' cultural legacy of that part of S.E. Asia, freed from the pre­sent, concealing and corrosive overlay, of politics and strife. It is very good for its history, and in general, it indicates the patient interpretations of a

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genuine artist, about the whole of the national herit­age of Vietnam.

It offers, too, some perceptive and delightful descriptions of such places as Tourane, near Hue; the hill.station of Da Lat ; Qui Nhon on the Annamese coast, after the twisting, hazardous roads from Faifo and Quang Ngai; and so, still keeping to the coast, the villages of Phan Rang and Phan Thiet, leading on to the eventuality of Cape St. Jacques, and all the gushing affluence of the Mekong Delta.

We have, from Alan Houghton Brodrick (Devon­born and London-sited, and a holder of the Order of the Dragon of Annam), a very different book from the two others, already included here: deeper and more thorough, in its assessments alike of culture and language, and scarcely, either, to be disdeigned or rejected, because its covers embrace, with some nine contempt for politics, an unprejudiced consideration of the territories of both North and South Vietnam.

Admittedly, "Little China" has now become politically dated; and,in any case, its contents are somewhat discursive and subjective in their ar­rangement and their selection. Despite that, however, it remains a work of solid worth and interest, for all who seek to discover the distinctive and ultimate cultural identity of the lands of Annam and Cochin­China, against any sort of alien penetration or chal­lenge.

Nor, I think, does "Little China" need to be superseded, on the grounds that the abrasive effects of politics have caught up with, or displaced, the validity or the relevance of its cultural conclusions.

Norman Lewis Norman Lewis is a British author whose travel

books already range from "Sand and Sea in Arabia" (1938) to "Golden Earth" (1952) and "The Volcanoes Aboce Us" (1957). But he has also written a very brilliant and engaging book about Indo-China, called "A Dragon Apparent" (1951), which should not be missed.

Although it deals. inevitably, with the whole, varied panorama of the components of Indo..China, as they were before the explosions of the Vietnam War, and it is alrE'ady twenty years old, its pages still present descriptions, of sections of South Vietnam. which are, quite remarkably, vivid and relevant.

These include, for instance, the first chapter, on "Saigon and the Vietnamese," although that may, perhaps, exaggerate the present Frenchness of that city; also, the story of an excursion to Da Lat, beset by language problems, with further trips, into Cen­tral Annam, at Mang-Yang, Pleiku, and Ban Me Thuot, and a somewhat deeper exploration, of the labyrinthine tentacles of Saigon; to Cholon, Go-Cong, Tanan, and My Tho.

The text is, consistently, an original and detailed one, which contrives to present, very vividly, a coun­try which is always outstandingly vital and colour­ful, in its essential genius and appeal. There are, moreover, some very good illustrations, including a ;treet scene in Saigon, the Saigon waterfront, paddy-

fields in the Mekong Delta, and native life in the remote Pleiku: age has not withered, therefore, the value of this book, and it is still a useful and illumi­nating accompaniment for even our current and ne­cessary understandings of Vietnam and the Viet­namese.

So far, I have included four books, ranging in their dates from 1826 to 1951. in this brief considera­tion of some writings, in English, about the territories of Cochin-China and Annam, as they were in the past. All of them have had British authors, and their contents have varied greatly, in their documentary value, and their present importance.

Their common link, however, has been their evident accessibility, and their relevance, if the more sustained linke between Vietnam and its European visitors, and the more enduring features of Vietnam's past· and culture, are not to be ignored or undermined.

British Encounters Overlooked Of course, the British visitors to South Vietnam

- even those who have left their marks in tangible literary forms - must take their places amongst other Europeans - the French, in particular, and the Germans, to a lesser extent. Only, in this article, I have preferred to keep to the writings of my own compatriots, reserving, perhaps, those of other Euro­pean nationalities, fot my later and separate consi­deration.

In any case, it seems to be peculiarly appropriate that I should emphasize here, the encounters between Britons and the lands and peoples of South Vietnam; for theSE have a wider historical spread than is gen­erally realized, and yet, they are easily, and even habitually, overlooked.

However - almost by an accident of one day', selection of books - I cannot conclude this article, without mentioning also the splendid, peaceful pho­tographs, of many items and aspects of South Viet­nam, by the German photographer, Martin Hurli­mann, in his volume, entitled "Burma, Ceylon, Indo.. China" (New York, 1930).

These include some superbly-expressive photo­graphs of Hue, Annamese people, the grottoes of the "Marble Hills" near Tourane, and some of the primi­tive "Moi" people, of West Annam: altogether, they add a full quota, of very immediate and visual in­struction, to what is to be learnt from the dated texts of the older books; and that, surely, is not a benefit which can be disregarded, at least in relation to the important preoccupation with the images of South Vietnam, as they are offered and sustained, in the countries of Western Europe, during the present, crucial and controversial years.

South Vietnam, given peace and order, might well, even now, draw closer again, to the realities of Martin Hurlimann's haunting images of forty years ago: as a land of beauty, culture, honest labour, and humane endeavour. The artist may see resources of character and promise which become lost and con­fused, amidst the rival materialisms of politics and

_15.strife.

VlE..T-NAM BULLE.TIN A semi-monthly publication of the Embassy of Viet-Nam 2251 "R" Street, Washington D.C. 20008 Telephone: 234-4860

Vol. VII, No. 1 January 13, 1972"

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