Posted on 09/19/2002 10:23:35 PM PDT by HAL9000
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Vietnamese officials were meeting Friday to consider whether to punish an actor branded a "national traitor" for starring with Mel Gibson in the Hollywood movie "We Were Soldiers."Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City, where actor Don Duong lives, proposed earlier that he be fined and banned from acting or leaving the country for five years for appearing in the movie, which they said distorted the history and image of Vietnamese soldiers.
Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Information were meeting Friday to consider the proposal, and will submit a recommendation to the ministry for a final decision, ministry Cinematic Department Director Nguyen Phuc Thanh said.
Vietnam's communist government has led a strident campaign against "We Were Soldiers" in the country's state-controlled media.
The movie, not approved for sale in Vietnam but widely available on bootleg DVDs, depicts a bloody three-day battle in November 1965 in Vietnam's Ia Drang valley, the first major clash between the North Vietnamese army and U.S. troops in the Vietnam War.
In the film, the U.S. troops have little idea of what they face and are overrun and suffer heavy casualties. Both sides are portrayed as courageous and self-sacrificing, while their families are shown grieving the deaths of their loved ones.
The movie is based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once ... and Young" by the U.S. commander in the battle, retired Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore.
Duong played commander Nguyen Huu An, who led the Vietnamese soldiers to victory.
Duong, one of Vietnam's most popular actors, has appeared in numerous domestic movies about the war. He also played the role of a refugee camp translator in "Green Dragon," a movie directed by Vietnamese American Tony Linh Bui about Vietnamese who fled the country after the end of the war and dreamed of living in the United States.
"Both movies distort the legitimate war history of our people and the humanity of the Vietnamese," army newspaper Quan Doi Nhan Dan (People's Army) said in a front-page article Wednesday.
The newspaper demanded stern punishment for Duong.
"By becoming a propagandist and henchman for 'hostile forces' and tarnishing the Vietnamese soldiers and people, Don Duong has sold his conscience cheaply and become a national traitor," it said.
Duong couldn't be reached for comment, but in an earlier interview with The Associated Press, he said he was surprised at the reaction and has decided not to play any more roles in foreign movies about the Vietnam War.
Vietnamese movies about the war invariably portray Vietnamese soldiers as noble and Americans as cruel murderers.
To Hillary and the Democrats...
This is about WAR.
And we saw the FIRST STRIKE on September 11 that was averted from it's total purpose by the Brave Passengers of Flight 93.
Hillary Rodham was absent from the Congress Chambers on the morning of 9-11, only to return to the steps of the building after Flight 93 had crashed into the ground.
Would Flight 93 have changed American History FOREVER if it had hit the Senate Building?
And that is exactly the way the LEFT wants us.
I think it's their version of the "Homeland Security/Office of Reich Secuity" that we will soon be "blessed" with.
HF
Webster's old Latin teacher taught him:
"1. orig., to select by lot and kill every tenth one of"
OVER 4000 DNC Lawyers are going to be unleased on ELECTION DAY to stir up DIRT and take statements from voters about unfair elections and voting booth practices!
DNC = Democrat National Committee = HILLARY
(Hey, come to think of it, isn't HILLARY a DNC LAWYER herself?)
Matt Drudge ran with the info, and commented on what President Hillary will do when she one day takes office and uses the Patriot Act against ALL OF US!
Last Chance for Liberty!
Even if American's vote GOP...just watch Dan Rather and the Media Left doing election night coverage on the DNC Lawyers Spin!
Election Through Litigation...Here We Come!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.