Picture 1_ from left: Như Phong in his youth and in 1990 taken in front of the famous painting "Vườn Xuân Trung Nam Bắc" by Nguyễn Gia Trí [source: private collections of ĐQA Thái & NT Giang]
NHƯ PHONG’S BIOGRAPHY
The actual birthdate of Như Phong Lê Văn Tiến cannot be ascertained positively but his identity card showed he was born on February 1st, 1923 in North Vietnam. Not many people know that his real name is Nguyễn Tân Tiến because on account of his revolutionary activities, he subsequently changed it to Lê Văn Tiến. Since 1945, Như Phong worked with the weekly Ngày Nay Bộ Mới in Hanoi. He later moved to the Information Office in North Vietnam/Thông Tin Bắc Việt to assume the job of an editor. In 1954, he emigrated to the South as a refugee and found a job with Việt Tấn Xã. In the following year, Như Phong left and went to work with the daily Tự Do during the two periods it was in circulation until it closed up shop in 1963. In addition, he also was a contributor to The China Quarterly, London (1964-1972). The articles he wrote on the intelligentsia of North Vietnam and the Phong trào Nhân văn Giai phẩm had earned him international renown. Professor Patrick J. Honey, Director of the Vietnamese Section at the BBC, was his constant associate and for several decades has translated Như Phong’s works into English. In the United States, where he lived in his later years, Như Phong also wrote for The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong (1994-1996).
From 1997 onward, Như Phong served as advisor to the editor of Radio Free Asia. After years of incarceration, Như Phong eventually resettled in the United States in 1994. He passed away on December 18, 2001 in Virginia at the age of 78.
NHƯ PHONG AND THE TỰ DO DAILY
In the aftermath of the 1954 Geneva Accords, Vietnam was partitioned in two at the 17th parallel. A historic exodus of more than a million people moving from the north to the south to seek refuge from the communists ensued. The press in the West, called it the “Journey to Freedom.”
The peaceful and prosperous existence in the South at the time gave birth to a new “refugee press culture”. On this “land of honey and milk”, the “new comer” was readily embraced by the well-established local media like the dailies Thần Chung run by Nam Đình, Đuốc Nhà Nam by Trần Tấn Quốc, and Sài Gòn Mới by Bút Trà Nguyễn Đức Nhuận.
In 1955, just one year after the Geneva Accords, the daily newspaper Tự Do was launched in Saigon with an editorial board comprising entirely of North Vietnamese refugees. All the founders of this daily had experience living under communism in the North. At the outset, the newsroom staff included: Tam Lang Vũ Đình Chí, Mặc Đỗ Nguyễn Quang Bình, Đinh Hùng pen name Thần Đăng, Như Phong Lê Văn Tiến and Mặc Thu Lưu Đức Sinh. Tam Lang was chairman, Mặc Thu acted as manager, and Như Phong, the youngest, served as the newsroom secretary. Vũ Khắc Khoan who was a contributor did not assume any official title. At a later date, three more members joined the group: Nguyễn Hoạt pen name Hiếu Chân, Hi Di Bùi Xuân Uyên and painter Phạm Tăng.
According to Như Phong, the daily Tự Do knew a short lifespan afterward. This was due not to internal discord but rather because of political reasons. The Office of the President noticed that the newspaper received wide and strong support from the North Vietnamese refugees. Furthermore, it also put out articles critical of the government while its management group did not include any Roman Catholic as well as anybody coming from Central Vietnam.
A short time later, the daily Tự Do was allowed to go back into circulation albeit with a new chairman Phạm Việt Tuyền and new manager Kiều Văn Lân. Both came from the Office of the President and were Roman Catholic. Prior to that, in 1955, Phạm Việt Tuyền served as editor of the weekly Tân Kỷ Nguyên with an editorial board that consisted of Lê Xuân Khoa, Lê Thành Trị, Trần Việt Châu and Hồ Nam.
With the new daily Tự Do, Như Phong still retained his post of newsroom secretary, Hiếu Chân Nguyễn Hoạt still in charge of the column “Chuyện Hàng Ngày” but renamed “Nói Hay Đừng” which was extremely popular thanks to its sharp and satirical style. The three other contributors to this column were: Hiếu Chân, Mai Nguyệt also known as Tchya Đái Đức Tuấn, and Phạm Xuân Ninh pen name Hà Thượng Nhân or Tiểu Nhã. We would be remiss if we omit to mention the two main writers Mai Xuyên Đỗ Thúc Vịnh, Trần Việt Sơn and artist Nguyễn Gia Trí.
I would like to refer here to an inicident pertaining to the freedom of the press under the First Republic that has become a part of history. It is about the cover of the Tết issue of the Tự Do daily in the year 1960. Since it was the year of the mouse/Canh Tý, artist Nguyễn Gia Trí drew the picture of five mice eating a red watermelon to be used as the cover. A number of people interpreted it as depicting the five brothers of president Diem feasting on Vietnam. This baseless rumor spread like wildfire leading to the confiscation of the Tết issue and the arrest of the entire editorial staff except for Như Phong and Phạm Việt Tuyền.
Nevertheless, Phạm Việt Tuyền later lost his job and the daily Tự Do was shut down in August of 1963 – just 3 months before the coup d’état of 11-11-1963 that resulted in the death of the two brothers Diệm and Nhu, putting an end to the 9-year-old First Republic.
When referring to the daily Tự Do, during the two periods it was in circulation between the years 1955 and 1963, one must not forget the “marks” left by Như Phong Lê Văn Tiến. As its newsroom secretary, Như Phong devoted his heart and soul to his task. Besides, he also wrote a captivating long-running daily feuilleton “Khói Sóng” under the pen name Lý Thắng. In it, he recounted the days when, as a young man, he accompanied the more seasoned revolutionariesHoàng Đạo Nguyễn Tường Long and Nhất Linh Nguyễn Tường Tam fighting the communists in the war zones of Vĩnh Yên and Việt Trì. To his last days, Như Phong talked about “Khói Sóng” expressing his hope that he could again one day get hold of a copy of his work. In the aftermath of the 1975 event, it was Như Phong himself who put the manuscript of “Khói Sóng” to the torch before the communists came and arrested him.
There is a chance that the libraries of Cornell and Hawaii universities may still keep the entire collection of Tự Do newspaper, in which the “Khói Sóng” feuilleton could be found. More than 14 years have passed since the day Như Phong left us. Whenever I meet Ánh Chân, his adopted daughter, I never fail to remind her of her father’s wish.
NHƯ PHONG, THE STRATEGIST
For Như Phong, his mission in life is to be a journalist. Đỗ Quý Toàn in an admiring way called him “the journalist of journalists.” He was also known as a strategist or even an agitator. The veteran American newsman Sol Sanders of US News & World Report, a close friend for more than a half century 1950-2001, from Hanoi to Saigon, when writing an eulogy of Như Phong referred to him as: “My ‘Coup Broker’ Friend ".
Như Phong maintained a very close relationship with Dr. Phan Huy Quát but did not accept any government post when the latter became Prime Minister. He befriended people in all levels of government i.e. the opposition, the generals, the religious sects including the Cao Đài and Hoà Hảo.
Stories abounded about Như Phong having a backstage hand in the formation of the War Government of Brigadier General Nguyễn Cao Kỳ, while refusing to be named Secretary of State. In 1966, in support of General Kỳ, he arranged for the candidacy of three election lists “Liên danh Cây Dừa” comprising of technocrats, religious leaders, and politicians. Nevertheless, they all met with defeat in the election.
He was, forever, content with playing the part of a strategist who stood by the sidelines consistently declining to assume any official political functions. We cannot judge Như Phong’s success or failure in politics since he was by nature not a political animal / homo politicus.
THE DAYS IN MAY OF 1975
Except for the old hand Hoàng Văn Chí, the author of the two classics: Từ Thực Dân tới Cộng Sản and Trăm Hoa Đua Nở Trên Đất Bắc, nobody could outrank Như Phong Lê Văn Tiến, the journalist, in his understanding of communism. Cô Thần is another pen name Như Phong used while writing a special column about the Communist North for the daily Tự Do.
Foreign reporters showed a high appreciation of Như Phong’s extensive knowledge of the communist world. He could give an exhaustive, on-the-spot expose on the background of any communist big shots when asked. So much so that the American Sol Sanders, a longstanding reporter with US News & World Report once remarked: " Tiến was a walking biographical dictionary."
With such deep knowledge of the communists and no illusion about his certain long imprisonment at their hands, Như Phong still decided to stay behind. His foreign correspondent friends, the South Vietnamese Air Force, and Navy were more than willing to offer him safe passage out of the country. Nevertheless, Như Phong stubbornly opted to decline.
Như Phong’s poignant parting scene with Đỗ Thúc Vịnh’s family on Tự Đức Street was recorded by Mrs Vịnh in these words: "One morning in April, probably on the 24th or 25th, Như Phong came to our house and said: “You must find a way to leave right now! Anywhere you can but out of this country. They are coming pretty soon.” My husband grabbed his hand and asked: “What about you Tiến? Are you leaving too?" “No, but you have to for your children’s sake. As for me, I’ll go to the Delta Region to find a way to continue the fight against them. We’ll meet again.” After all is said, he rushed toward his motorcycle and sped away. We looked at each other overwhelmed by his fearless decision. While the rest of the people felt hepless and fled, including the most courageous of generals, he, with his indomptable spirit, following in our forefathers’ footsteps refused to give up in the face of the enemy: He decided to defy the claws of death and beat a path to survival.” [Lòng Thành Tưởng Niệm]
At noontime of April 30th, right after the order to surrender was issued, a rain of white confettis descended from tall buildings. Those were shredded identification papers of the civil servants and milititary personnel being destroyed before the communist troops entered and took full control of Saigon. The streets were littered with uniforms and helmets discarded in a hurry by the soldiers.
Then, the clanking sounds of advancing tanks resounded on the asphalt of Trần Hưng Đạo Boulevard. Through the window panes, one could see those T54 steel mammoths flying the colors of the National Liberation Front racing toward the downtown area of Saigon.
Several days later, I met Như Phong at the home of lawyer Mai Văn Lễ, located on Trần Hưng Đạo Boulevard, across the street from Sùng Chính Hospital. During the time of the Buddhist struggle against the government, Mr. Mai Văn Lễ served as the Rector of the Law School in Huế. He was living all by himself then because his wife and two children had left the country a week before.
Being well informed, Như Phong predicted accurately the events that were about to unfold in the days ahead: the campaign to eradicate private property, the currency exchange, people left with unexchanged money that were reduced to worthless trash, the upcoming re-education camps or Gulags. With stacks of worthless old currency in their hands, people went on a frenzy to buy gold or US Dollars in the black market. The only advice Như Phong could give us was to purchase good quality wools and stuff them in the cushions of the sofas in the living room like the people used to do in the North in order to sell them when the need arose. We just talked like that without taking any action since our common attitude was “to wait and see”.
Subsequently, Như Phong was arrested on two occasions by the communists and imprisoned for a total of 14 years. The first time lasted from 1976 to 1988. The second one from 1990 to 1992. Như Phong unfailingly kept his integrity or probity thoughout those long years of incarceration that were characterized by harsh treatment, isolation, lack of food and even hunger strikes – not to protest against anything but just to pray for the “peace and prosperity of the country and people”. Inevitably he came out of this ordeal with a debilitated body but a surprisingly unaffected and sharp mind. Như Phong’s behavior earned him the respect of not only his fellow detainees but also of his jailers. In his article "Thương Nhớ Cậu Tiến/In Warm Remembrance of Uncle Tiến" the young detainee Đinh Quang Anh Thái wrote rather extensively about his respect and admiration for the fellow inmate Như Phong during the time they spent time together at the Chí Hoà jailhouse. The fact that Như Phong survived at all was a cause for amazement to many people especially when they learned that prior to his arrest he was suffering from tuberculosis.
Once out of prison, Như Phong chose to lead a hermit-like existence. Thanks to his friend, the writer Doãn Quốc Sỹ, he was able to buy a small lot from a landowner in a 7-acre piece of land in Hóc Môn. On a brick foundation, Như Phong erected a house with a nipa leaf roof to live in. He planted a number of rose plants around the house, but the thing that counted the most for him was his orchid collection of all varieties. Like author Nhất Linh during his days living near the Đa Mê Stream in Dalat, Như Phong cultivated a passion for orchids.
During his 14 years in prison, Phan Nhật Nam was no stranger to being kept in isolation. After his release, Nam lived across the river from Như Phong and often came for a visit. On several occasions the Doãn Quốc sỹ couple traveled to the farm and always dropped by to see Như Phong. There were also the Đằng Giao couple, Tô Thuỳ Yên, author Trường Sa Hành, his literary friend and prisonmate. They were all frequent visitors to his hut. Phan Nhật Nam enjoyed recounting this memorable anecdote: one day Nam inadvertedly destroyed the entire orchid collection of Mr. Wind or “Ông Gió” (a punt on Như Phong’s name) when he watered the plants with the water full of alum he scooped from a rivulet. Phan Nhật Nam later left for the United States in 1993, one year before Như Phong.
NHƯ PHONG AND THE FRIENDS OF THE MEKONG GROUP – 1995
In 1993, at that time Như Phong was still living in Vietnam, Human Rights Watch/Asia announced it chose him to be the recipient of its Free Expression Award, a prestigious prize in journalism. Như Phong was praised for his use of the pen to advocate for Human Rights. In fact, when a renowned journalist of Như Phong’s stature was chosen, his actual life and deeds also brought validity to this human rights award.
Finally, under pressure coming from different corners, the communist authorities, after much calculation, decided to let Như Phong, a person they had kept incarcerated for 14 years, leave the country. However, Như Phong set foot in the United States not as a political refugee but with the “Orderly Departure Program / ODP" under the sponsorship of his younger half brother Nguyễn Ngọc Ẩn who was working in the news media as a TV cameraman in Sacramento. He was also sponsored by his friend Đổ Hoàng/ Đường Thiện Đồng residing in Irvine at the time.
Throughout his eventful life, Như Phong had countless friends but that did not prevent him from making many new ones in the United States. They were for the most part remarkably young, even two or three generations younger than him. They adored him and quickly became his close fans. True to his reputation as a “dream sower”, Như Phong wasted no time to plant the seeds of his dreams in their minds. Personally, I befriended Như Phong prior to 1975 through my works.
Meeting him again in Southern California, I could easily recognize the sharp and witty Như Phong of the old days. At 71, after almost 14 years of imprisonment, he still looked fit and hardy in spite of his smoking habit. Concerned, I reminded him of its dangers. Như Phong was the true image of “The Pine Tree in the Storm/Cây Tùng Trước Bão”, the title of a book penned by Hoàng Khởi Phong. Known for being open-minded, he was ready to welcome and learn new things like using the computer, email, and fax. He started to write and send his works by emails to the newspapers on the laptop, now an inseparable companion, his young friends gave him.
In 1995, I shared an unforgettable memory with Như Phong in Little Saigon, the capital of the Vietnamese refugees in the United States. It was on a Saturday morning in autumn under a warm and bright sunshine of Southern California. After we came out of a meeting held at the Người Việt Daily’s conference room, Như Phong took me to meet for the first time the young members of the Friends of the Mekong Group. At the table reserved for the panel of speakers sat Engineer Phạm Phan Long, Phạm Văn Hải Ph.D., and reporter Đỗ Quý Toàn. Engineer Phạm Phan Long was the first person who sounded the alarm about the disasters awaiting the Mekong as China was implementing its plan to build a series of hydroelectric dams on the Mekong Cascades in Yunnan Province. At that time, in 1993, only the Manwan Dam 1,500 MW was built on the main current of the Lancang-Mekong.
For me, the meeting on that day was truly a predestined event. On that occasion, I was introduced to a new threat our country was facing: the “non-sustainable development" of the Mekong. It was also the time for me to get to know new friends: the engineers Phạm Phan Long, Ngô Minh Triết, Nguyễn Hữu Chung and many others of the Mekong Forum, the precursor of the Viet Ecology Foundation.
Then, there was also an article that appeared on the November 3, 1996 issue of Tuổi Trẻ Chủ Nhật: “The Exploitation of the Mekong Viewed From Vietnam’s Perspective/ Khai thác sông Mekong: nhìn từ góc độ Việt Nam.” Even though only Engineer Phạm Phan Long’s name was given as its author, the article was actually written jointly with three other overseas experts: Phạm Văn Hải Ph.D. (USA), Nguyễn Hữu Chung, engineer (Canada), Bình An Sơn Ph.D. (Australia).
In 1999, a conference on the Mekong was jointly organized by the Mekong Forum and the Vietnamese American Science & Technology Society in Southern California with the topic: "Conference on the Mekong at Risk – The Impacts of Development on the Mekong, Mekong Delta and its Inhabitants." In attendance were members of the Tiền Giang and Hậu Giang Associations, Mr. Sin Meng Srun Ph.D. of the Cambodian Association of America, and Ms. Aviva Imhof of the International Rivers Network. The conference concluded with the issuance of "The 1999 Mekong River Declaration" that was sent to the MRC / Mekong River Commission and other interested institutions.
It would be appropriate to note here that it was Như Phong who helped the Mekong Forum write the Vietnamese text of that declaration. Engineer Phạm Phan Long offered the following observation concerning his work: "the Vietnamese version he penned was far better than the dry, bland one we wrote. He infused our people’s soul in it and eloquently expressed the suffering of the inhabitants in the Mekong Delta in the face of the disasters that were about to visit upon them from upstream."
Until the last day, Như Phong continued to take part in the activities of the Friends of the Mekong Group and shared with us his rich and all embracing perspective on the "geopolitics" of the threats the Mekong is facing and their ramifications for the future of our country.
Since that first day until now (1995-2016), 21 years have passed, and I still remain a faithful companion of the Friends of the Mekong Group. I still serve as a “weather vane” pointing to the clouds that are inexorably drifting in from the distant Northern sky. Alas! They are growing darker and more ominous by the day.
NHƯ PHONG’S BIG DREAM
The moment he set foot in the United Sates, Như Phong already nurtured a lot of dreams in his mind. Probably they were hatched during the long years of his detention. The most prominent one being the News Media Project for Vietnam on a global scale. Như Phong not only talked about it but devoted all his energy to write it down. He strongly believed that we must be prepared for a post-communist Vietnam. He envisioned himself a "mogul" of the news media in Vietnam controlling a newspaper, radio, TV network extending over the entire country.
He argued that if, prior to 1975, we had the Hope Hospital Ship paying a visit to the Saigon harbor then he could not see why there could not be a News Media Ship equipped with the required facilities for the operation of a newspaper, radio and TV station owned by the overseas Vietnamese berthing at the Saigon harbor in the future. Throughout his entire life working as a journalist, he never felt so enthused at the thought. He was certain that his News Media Project would provide a timely response to the needs of a post-communist Vietnam. With the ability to run a newspaper, radio and TV station on board, the ship could serve as a local-global-connect between the Vietnamese inside the country and their compatriots living in all over the world.
In his new home, haunted by his Big Dream, Như Phong felt extremely lonely with no money and the limited time he knew he had left because he was then already in his seventies. His friends still kept him in the highest esteem and affection but could not help thinking of him as a “man who lives in the clouds” – the description used by author Nguyễn Xuân Hoàng. In him we can find the romantic personification of a modern time Don Quichotte. Probably it is this very trait that helped Như Phong stay forever young. Out of the blue, these touching words in a letter Dương Nghiễm Mậu wrote and hand carried by Nguyên Khai to this country came to my mind: "The horse is out of breath, the journey has yet to end, one is at a loss on what one can do. "
Picture 7_ from left: Bùi Diễm, Trương Trọng Trác, Đỗ Văn, Như Phong, Nguyễn Tường Giang, Phạm Dương Hiển [private collection: NT Giang]
Then, seven years after he set foot in the United States, Như Phong succumbed to the ravages of lung cancer and parted way with his Big Dream at the unseemly “young age” of 78.
NHƯ PHONG THE AUTHOR
It is not the stuff of fiction any longer. Như Phong already became a literary figure. The American reporter Sol Sanders, an "old buddy" of Như Phong for over half a century, had this to write about his Vietnamese friend in his book My "Coup Broker" Friend:
"Tien had survived some 14 years in the Communist "re-education camps" and that he had been released. To say that I was surprised would be a great understatement: Tien was a personification of the literary figure, a slight man, with his big spectacles. One coud not imagine him having survived a few weeks, much less years under conditions which killed so many of his fellow prisoners."
As far as I am concerned, Như Phong has been reincarnated in the character Mr. Khắc the journalist, in my faction “Cửu Long Cạn Dòng, Biển Đông Dậy Sóng.” which was published in 2000, one year prior to his death.
Như Phong read the book and wrote a review that I unfortunately had misplaced. Subsequently, my work was translated into English and published in 2016 under the title "The Nine Dragons Drained Dry, The East Sea in Turmoil".
Below is a passage from the book:
“By his look, Mr. Như Phong must be past his seventies. The very thick glasses he wore did not prevent him from walking with youthful vigor. His hair with the color of pepper and salt blew in the wind as he progressed along two rows of Jaracanda trees boasting their purple flowers in full bloom. He felt happy in his heart knowing that many more warm and sunny days were in store for this region of southern California. Even though his body was suffering from a multitude of illnesses contracted during his long years living in different prisons and concentration camps, he gave the appearance of a sturdy Juniper pine tree that had weathered many tempests over the years. Under treatment for a severe lung condition, he decided to settle in the warm climate of California instead of the East Coast where the Big Apple is.
To him and many foreign artists or writers living in exile in the United States, New York City is like a furnace where they can come to test their mettle. At this place, they would go through a selection process that will separate wheat from chaffs. For a time, he could not tell how long, he went through the routine of walking down the subway stations to board the trains that crisscrossed the tunnels dug under the city streets and rivers to take care of his daily business. This subterranean network is so vast it forms a separate city right under New York itself. How could such a feat be accomplished at a time when science and technology were not that advanced? In his opinion, New York was then a haven for innovation and daring pioneers. But the hustle and bustle of present day New York made him wonder whether the waves of courageous and enterprising pioneers are still braving the stormy oceans to disembark on the American continent?
That day, on his trip from New York to California, Mr. Như Phong made a stop-over in Washington DC at the time the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. He did not have the chance to watch them yet when he found himself standing motionless before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Looking across the park, Mr. Như Phong saw the White House where Clinton resided during his two terms. This American president was well-known for being a draft dodger and smoking pots without inhaling on the Oxford University campus at the height of the Vietnam War.
During that time the Hanoi Government spared no effort to send as many brave and innocent American GIs to their graves as it could. Meanwhile Mr. Như Phong was working as a war correspondent accompanying the South Vietnamese soldiers in their arduous operations in the marshlands and rainforests of the country’s highlands. Twenty years later, on his second trip to the United States, he again stood in front the black marble wall of the Memorial on which were inscribed the names of over 50,000 American war dead. Unmentioned were millions of nameless Vietnamese who lost their lives in the conflict as unwarranted victims of human follies…
Each time he visited the monument, Mr. Như Phong was overwhelmed with emotion. An American friend who also worked as a journalist confided in Mr. Như Phong that it did not matter whether he chose to fight the Communists in the swamps of Vietnam or demonstrated against the war on the streets of America, the sight of the Memorial never failed to break his heart. Mr. Như Phong himself counted a number of friends among those names who were still groping for a meaning or some sense for this conflict as they breathed their last. They were never able to rest in peace because of that.
All of a sudden, he had the vague feeling of being suspended between a present that appeared a virtual reality and a too real past. How much longer would it take before he could realize that it was that very past that was the virtual reality he needed to break free from in order to walk confidently toward a brighter future.
After the long and lonely months spent doing research at the library in Aix en Provence in the South of France, by pure coincidence, Mr. Như Phong landed in Little Saigon on the 30th of April on the twenty fifth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon. In a jungle of flags, the cacophony of slogans sounded forceful and uncompromising as always. It is true that success has many fathers while failure is an orphan. He asked himself whether the Vietnamese on either side of the conflict had learned anything from the last bloody internecine war. There must be some sort of dignity that history reserves for the vanquished. Why not? [The Nine Dragons Drained Dry, The East Sea in Turmoil, Chapter XXIII, Nxb Văn Nghệ 2000]
FAREWELL TO NHƯ PHONG
Như Phong left us on December 18, 2001 at 9:40 PM in Fairfax city, Virginia at the age of 78. His funeral was simple and so was his last wish to have his ashes brought back one day to his motherland.
I hope that one day a young Vietnamese of the second generation will choose to write a doctoral thesis on Như Phong and his works. Such undertaking would inevitably offer a review of the history of journalism in Vietnam during the later half of the 20th century in which Như Phong acts as a crimson thread that connects the stormiest episodes of our nation’s recent history.
As a parting thought, it would be marvelous if following the publication of Tuyển Tập Như Phong, in commemoration of his 15th anniversary, his friends could succeed in having his long novel "Khói Sóng" reprinted in order to fulfill Như Phong’s last wish.
NGÔ THẾ VINH
Little Saigon, 10.07.2016
