President Obama speaks with young Vietnamese 24/5 (English)

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• published: 25 May 2016
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Obama discusses Vietnam-U.S. relations with Vietnam's intellectuals, civil society, entrepreneurs and students in Hanoi. VnExpress International updates live Obama's talk with Vietnam's generation of the future. Xin chao. Xin chao Vietnam. Thank you. Thank you so much. To the government and the people of Vietnam, thank you for this very warm welcome and the hospitality you have shown me on this visit. And thank all of you for being here today. We have Vietnamese from across this great country, including so many young people who represent the dynamism, the talent and the hope of Vietnam. On this visit, my heart has been touched by the kindness for which the Vietnamese people are known for, and the many who have been lining the streets, smiling and waving, I feel the friendship between our peoples. Last night I visited the Old Quarter here in Hanoi, and enjoyed some outstanding Vietnamese food; tried some bun cha, drank some Beer Hanoi. But I have to say the busy streets of this city, I have never seen so many motorbikes in my life. So I haven’t had to try to cross the street so far, but maybe when I come back and visit, you can tell me how. I am not the first American president to come to Vietnam in recent times, but I am the first, like so many of you, that came of age after the war between our countries. When the last U.S. forces left Vietnam, I was just 13 years old, so my first exposure to Vietnam and the Vietnamese people came when I was growing up in Hawaii, with its proud American Vietnamese community there At the same time, many people in this country are much younger than me. Like my two daughters, many of you have lived your whole lives knowing only one thing at that is peace and normalized relations between Vietnam and the United States. So I come here mindful of the past, mindful of our difficult history, but focused on the future. The prosperity, security and human dignity that we can advance together. I also come here with a deep respect for Vietnam’s ancient heritage. For millennia, farmers have tended these lands. History revealed in the Dong Son drums. At this bend in the river Hanoi has endured for more than a 1000 years. The world came to treasure Vietnamese silks and paintings, and the great Temple of Literature stands as a testament to your pursuit of knowledge. And yet over the centuries your fate was often dictated by others. Your beloved land was not always your own. But like bamboo, the unbroken spirit of the Vietnamese people was captured by Ly Thuong Kiet, the southern emperor rules the southern land, our destiny is writ in heaven’s book. Today we also remember the longer history between Vietnamese and Americans that is too often overlooked. More than 200 years ago when one of our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson sought rice for his farm he looked to the rice of Vietnam, which he said had the reputation of being whitest to the eye, best flavor to the taste and most productive. Soon after, American trade ships arrived in your ports seeking commerce. During the Second World War, Americans came here to support your struggle against occupation. When American pilots were shot down, the Vietnamese people helped rescue them. And on the day Vietnam declared its independence, crowds took to the streets of this city, and Ho Chi Minh evoked the American Declaration of Independence. He said all people are created equal. The creator has endowed them with the enviable rights, among these rights are the right to life, to liberty, and the right to pursue happiness. In another time, the possession of these same ideals and a common story of throwing off colonialism might have brought us closer together sooner, but instead cold war rivalries and fears of communism pulled us into conflict. Like other conflicts throughout human history, war, no matter what our intentions may be, brings suffering and tragedy. At your war memorial nor far from here and with family alters across this country you remember some 3 million Vietnamese, both soldiers and civilians, who lost their lives on both sides. On our memorial in Washington, you can touch the names of 58,315 Americans who gave their lives in the conflict. In both our countries, our veterans and families of the fallen still ache for the loved ones they lost. Just as we learned in America that even if we disagree about a war we must always honor those who served and welcome them home with the respect they deserve. We can join together today, both Vietnamese and Americans, and acknowledge the pain and the sacrifices on both sides. More recently over the past two decades, Vietnam has achieved enormous progress, and today the world can see the strides that you have made. With economic reforms and trade agreements, including with the United States, you have entered the global economy selling your goods around the world. More foreign investment is coming in, and with one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, Vietnam has moved up ...