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REQUEST FOR <br />COUNCIL ACTION <br />CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: <br />FEBRUARY 19, 2013 <br />TITLE: <br />RESOLUTION - REGARDING OFFICIAL <br />VISITS FROM THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC <br />OF VIETNAM <br />CITY AGER <br />RECOMMENDED ACTION <br />CLERK OF COUNCIL USE ONLY: <br />APPROVED <br />? As Recommended <br />? As Amended <br />? Ordinance on Vt Reading <br />? Ordinance on 2nd Reading <br />? Implementing Resolution <br />? Set Public Hearing For_ <br />CONTINUED TO <br />FILE NUMBER <br />Adopt a resolution regarding official visits from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. <br />DISCUSSION <br />After the fall of the Republic of South Vietnam in 1975, thousands of South Vietnamese refugees <br />journeyed to the United States, with the assistance of U.S. Armed Forces, to escape the tyranny <br />of the communist regime of North Vietnam. Orange County was designated as one of several <br />resettlement locations in the United States for South Vietnamese refugees. Santa Ana received <br />the vast majority of these refugees and thus became the original birthplace of the Vietnamese <br />community in Orange County. Today, Vietnamese residents constitute 7.1 % of our City's <br />population and they continue to be an integral and thriving community in Santa Ana. <br />To affirm the City of Santa Ana's support for the Vietnamese community who overwhelmingly <br />reject the dictatorial rule and oppressive nature of the Vietnamese government, the City Council <br />directed staff at the November 19, 2012 City Council meeting to prepare a resolution in support <br />of human rights, freedom, and democracy. Staff was also directed to include resolution <br />language that the City of Santa Ana does not support or sanction high-profile visits to our <br />community by officials of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. <br />The Cities of Westminster and Garden Grove have approved similar resolutions which <br />discourage delegations, trade groups, and officials affiliated with the Socialist Republic of <br />Vietnam from visiting their respective cities. These resolutions were adopted to diminish any risk <br />to public safety as a result of these officials visiting and conducting business in their cities. Since <br />Santa Ana continues to be home to a large Vietnamese population, joining Westminster and <br />Garden Grove in adopting a similar resolution is important to mitigate any potential public safety <br />55B-1