110+ Vietnamese American Organizations Call on Senator Rick Scott to Amend ‘Horrors of Socialism’ Resolution

110+ Vietnamese groups urge Sen. Scott to amend S. Con. Res. 21, adding Ho Chi Minh and communist Vietnam’s atrocities to the historical record.

JACKSONVILLE, DC, UNITED STATES — A large coalition comprising more than 110 Vietnamese American organizations, ranging from Florida-based community groups to national federations and veterans associations, has formally requested that U.S. Senator Rick Scott amend S. Con. Res. 21, “Denouncing the horrors of socialism.”

In a letter delivered to the Senator’s office, the coalition expresses strong support for the resolution’s intent but highlights a “significant omission” in the current text: The Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the atrocities committed by Ho Chi Minh and the Communist Party of Vietnam.

While the current resolution condemns crimes committed by the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia, Cuba, and Venezuela, the coalition argues that excluding Vietnam—one of only five remaining communist regimes in the world—renders the historical record incomplete.

“Your leadership in exposing the failures of socialist ideology is vital,” the letter states. “However, omitting [Vietnam] risks signaling that the Vietnamese experience—and the trauma of over 100,000 Vietnamese Americans living in Florida—is somehow less significant than that of other victims of socialism.”

The coalition is specifically requesting that Senator Scott amend the resolution to:
• Include Ho Chi Minh in the list of socialist ideologues denounced by the Senate.
• Add specific language addressing the “Boat People” crisis, a direct result of socialist tyranny.

The letter outlines three primary reasons for this urgent request:
1. Honoring Constituents: Florida is home to a vibrant community of refugees who fled the very “re-education” labor camps and tyranny the resolution seeks to denounce.
2. Historical Accuracy: Ho Chi Minh’s “Land Reform” (1953–1956) was modeled on Stalinist and Maoist tactics, resulting in the execution of tens of thousands of innocent farmers.
3. Combating Revisionism: The coalition seeks to counter academic trends that portray Ho Chi Minh solely as a nationalist, rather than a socialist dictator who employed famine, torture, and execution.

“We must clearly state that he was a socialist dictator,” the coalition writes. “Including these details strengthens the resolution… and hears the voice of those who have survived socialist tyranny.”

The signatories represent a broad cross-section of the Vietnamese diaspora, including the Vietnamese Community of Florida and its local chapters, the Federation of Vietnamese American Communities of the USA, the Vietnamese American Community of the USA, and dozens of veterans’, religious, and student organizations across the United States, Europe, and Australia.
[See website for full list of 110+ signatories]

Steering Committee
Alliance for Vietnam’s Democracy
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