Not long ago I asked a friend of mine what he thought about Vietnam. Lee, a Taiwanese living in Hong Kong, travels there frequently for business. “The country is not much to look at,” Lee shrugged, “except for their beef noodle soups and mail-order brides.” Indeed, there is a perception in the wealthier parts of Asia that, with all the human trafficking going on in the country, you can order Vietnamese girls online or even bid for them on eBay. My friend’s candid response left me with a frozen smile and a broken heart. That’s when I decided to write an essay for all the Lees out there, not to change their minds but to open them to a beautiful country with an ugly past. The picture that changed the course of history I visit Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam’s twin metropolises, a few times a year for work. Few in Hong Kong know or care much about Vietnam... _______________________ Read the rest of this essay in HONG KONG State of Mind , available at major bookstores i...
A biweekly column on Hong Kong by Jason Y. Ng