Senator Janet Nguyen Reacts to Frontline/ProPublica’s “Terror in Little Saigon” Report

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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.