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Article: Vietnam: yesterday, today and tomorrow.
- Article from:
- Contemporary Review
- Article date:
- June 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Contemporary Review Company Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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IN March 2005 I returned to Vietnam for the first time since I was there doing research for a doctorate during the war in South Vietnam in 1974. The purpose of this article is to recall the country's history, to look at the state of Vietnam today, and to provide two contrasting speculations on how it could progress into the future.
Yesterday
Vietnam is the only country to have beaten off three of the five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council: China, France and the United States. No other country has this record. It has a formidable tradition of resistance.
China has been the longest-running enemy of Vietnam. Most of the heroes in ...