Reuters
In light of the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, the Canadian Senate moved to accept a bill that would mark April 30 as “Journey to Freedom Day.”
While this is largely a symbolic move, the foreign ministry of Vietnam did not appreciate the gesture and called upon Canada’s ambassador to denounce the move. In the view of the communist government, April 30 is a day of celebration and “reunification”, while for the hundreds of thousands of former refugees across the world, that date is considered a sad day where many lost everything they had.
Le Hai Binh, spokes person for the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, released a statement condemning Canada’s decision to pass a bill that would honor April 30 as “Journey to Freedom Day”. (Photo:Hoang Dinh Nam/AFP/Getty Images)
The Canadian bill, which was proposed by a senator of Vietnamese descent, could help the conservatives in Canada’s governing body to win votes among the 220,000 Vietnamese community. Foreign ministry spokesman Le Hai Binh said this was a step backward and had a negative affect on diplomatic relations.
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