Vietnamese eager to show off country to world when Obama visits

HO CHI MINH CITY — People in this bustling city are eagerly awaiting President Obama's visit here Tuesday — not so much to catch a glimpse of the American leader as to show off their fast-developing country to him and the world.

"I'm actually very excited," said high school student Xuan Mai, 16, in perfect English as she had a snack with friends at one of the glitzy shopping centers that have sprung up in recent years in the city center. "It's an opportunity for our country to show how it's grown. I think through movies, American people still think of the war, or that we're poor. I want to change their perspective, their stereotype."

Amid a construction boom that is seeing high-rise condominiums pop up across the skyline and the city’s first metro line, Obama's first trip to the country 41 years after the end of the Vietnam War just isn't that big a deal anymore. One reason may be that he is the third U.S. president in a row to visit, after Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

"I'm not too excited or surprised, " said accountant Dinh Bao Khang, 29, as he sat in a downtown public square on his lunch break. "There are many leaders coming to Vietnam these days. Vietnam is not a poor country like in the past. It's more normal now."

Khang said he welcomed closer economic ties and U.S. assistance in Vietnam's ongoing territorial disputes with its powerful neighbor, China, whose expansion in the South China Sea has been a big issue here. Vietnam has long hoped that the U.S. would lift an arms embargo in place since the 1980s. It was partially eased in 2014, and many hope Obama removes the remaining vestige of the war era.

“If the U.S. lifts the embargo, China can no longer look at Vietnam as a weak country,” Khang said. “But on the other hand, it might push China and the Vietnam closer to war. I think the U.S. can help Vietnam in many ways, not just by selling weapons.”

The president’s visit and possible lifting of the arms embargo have triggered a fresh wave of criticism of Vietnam's human rights record. The one-party state restricts freedom of speech, press and religion and has assaulted and imprisoned dozens of rights activists and bloggers, according to Human Rights Watch.

Arms embargo, human rights confront Obama in Vietnam

“It’s clear that trade and security cooperation with the Vietnamese government will be on the president’s mind when he arrives in Hanoi on Monday," Charles Santiago, a member of the Malaysian parliament and chairman of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Parliamentarians for Human Rights, said in a statement. "But President Obama must not forget about the Vietnamese people and their aspirations for a government that respects their rights and promotes their interests."

After visiting Hanoi, the capital, Obama will travel Tuesday to Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon, before heading to Japan for an economic summit. His announced agenda includes meetings with government leaders as well as members of civil society, the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative, entrepreneurs and the business community.

Some Vietnamese hope Obama addresses lingering damage from the war, such as unexploded ordnance and toxic chemicals used by American troops.

"I hope President Obama will meet some of our people and get a chance to see with his own eyes the effects of dioxin," said Tran Huu Quang, director of An Phuc Charity, which assists victims affected by dioxins. They can cause severe birth defects across generations.

While the legacy of the war still haunts both countries, many in Vietnam’s growing urban population want to keep that painful history as far in the past as possible.

"The war is so over now," said Nguyen Van Cung, 42, a project manager for a construction company. "The relationship between America and Vietnam is getting better and better.”