EXPLAINED: Why does the South Vietnamese flag spark tension?

South Vietnam’s yellow flag with three red stripes – which represented the anti-communist republic until the end of the Vietnam war in 1975 – sparks strong, opposing emotions among Vietnamese, depending on who you’re talking to.

And recently, it’s been getting a lot of attention online in Vietnam. 

Social media users have been digging up footage of Vietnamese celebrities performing at events in the United States where the yellow flag appeared in the background, with the aim of embarrassing them.

They’ve “outed” a string of celebrities, including singer Myra Tran, who in 2019 performed at the U.S. funeral of a former soldier in the South Vietnamese army, prompting her to apologize.

But for ethnic Vietnamese in the United States, the flag holds deep emotional significance, and they say there’s nothing to apologize for.

The conflicting sentiments around the flag show the lingering divisions that persist nearly 50 years after the end of the Vietnam War.

What does the flag represent to the Vietnamese diaspora?

The 1975 victory of the North Vietnamese forces brought the country under communist rule and triggered a mass exodus of Vietnamese in the southern part of the country to flee to the United States, Canada and elsewhere.

To those Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, the flag represents their lost homeland – the Republic of Vietnam, which existed from 1955 until 1975, a land that some of their loved ones died to protect. 

It is also a symbol of resilience of those who resisted communism and overcame immense challenges to build new lives, and, most importantly, their enduring stance against communism.

Many Vietnamese immigrants have used the flag to express hatred for a communist regime that ousted them from their country.

Activists have lobbied local officials to recognize the flag representing the displaced overseas Vietnamese community. In the United States, the flag has been formally recognized by 20 states and 85 cities as of 2023, according to a resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives last year that seeks to recognize the flag as a symbol of the Vietnamese immigrant community.

In cities like Westminster, California, home to a large Vietnamese American population, the flag is displayed during community events, protests and memorials. Virginia’s Eden Center, the East Coast’s largest concentration of Vietnamese businesses, also flies the South Vietnamese flag alongside the U.S. flag. 

“Since I was born, I’ve always seen the yellow flag with three red stripes everywhere, and I know that it is the flag of the Vietnamese people,” 23-year-old Phuong Anh, born and raised in southern California, told RFA Vietnamese.

What does it represent to Hanoi?

In Vietnam today – represented by a red flag with a yellow star – the old South Vietnamese flag is considered a symbol of treason and defiance against the government. Showing it is seen as subversive, potentially leading to severe penalties, including imprisonment. 

The flag is often associated with the so-called “reactionary forces,” a term the Vietnamese government uses to describe those who oppose its rule, including former South Vietnamese officials, their descendants, and members of the Vietnamese diaspora who fled the country after the war.

State-controlled media work hard to make sure images of the yellow flag do not appear in publications or on broadcasts, even if it is in a news report about an election campaign in the United States or a sports event.

In January 2022, for example, Vietnam Television postponed airing a soccer match in Australia due to fans waving red-striped yellow flags in the stadium.

How does the flag remain an obstacle?

The flag, as a symbol of resistance to communism, worries the Vietnamese government as it could spark opposition and dissent at home and abroad, according to experts.

In Vietnamese educational and propaganda materials, the yellow flag is depicted as something to be disavowed. As a result, many in the country are angry or hostile when they see the flag.

The tension surrounding the flag shows the legacy of the Vietnam War and the deep divisions it created. It leaves many overseas Vietnamese questioning whether the Vietnamese government is ready for reconciliation with the diaspora community and moving forward from the past.

“We can only achieve reconciliation if we understand the pain of our people,” said Johny Huy, a Vietnamese in North Carolina. “I believe these are things our nation needs to acknowledge, we need to recognize and accept the suffering of those who had to flee and escape after 1975.”

Edited by Malcolm Foster.