According to a survey conducted by three Asian American organizations, published on September 15, conducted on 1,569 Chinese-American voters, India, South Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines, 54% of respondents plan to vote for Democratic candidate Joe Biden, while only 30% support President Donald Trump.
However, the Vietnamese are the only Asian group that favored Trump more than Biden. Of the Vietnamese voters registered to vote, nearly half favored Trump, one third favored Biden. It is also the only Asian group in the survey that favors Republicans over Democrats, though 34% identify themselves with no party.
For Henry Nguyen, 28, the above result is a reminder of the growing divide between the younger generation of Vietnamese with more liberal views and those of conservative parents.
“The older generation came from the refugee experience,” said Henry. “They believe in the army and violence because they come out of war”.
Henry, who graduated from the University of California in Los Angeles in 2015, lives with his parents in Hawthorne, Los Angeles. Although he spends a lot of time reading the news and participating in Vietnamese political activist groups on Facebook, he finds it difficult to discuss politics with his parents, who will vote for Trump in November. .
Henry intends to vote for Biden, saying the Democratic candidate’s support for people with disabilities is one of the main reasons. The Disability Act’s current limitations “make it difficult for people like me to get internships or a job promotion,” he said.
Growing up, Henry also had a conservative opinion due to the influence of his parents. He only changed when he left university. “When I was in high school I took a family perspective and when I was in high school, I never really discussed politics,” Henry said.
Gina Nguyen, a freshman at the University of Southern California, in Biloxi, Mississippi, also became interested in politics only after Trump was elected.
“I definitely believe in climate change and issues like gay rights,” Gina said. “But even some of the biggest problems right now, like abortion, marijuana, I never thought about before 2016.”
Gina said her mother’s indifference to politics was the reason why she never thought about politics. Although she moved to the US in 1995, this was the first year she registered to vote. Gina said her mother only registered after hearing about the raiding and rioting in the anti-racist protest movement Black Lives Matter (BLM).
Although Gina supported BLM and was in the group that voted for Biden, her mother voted for Trump.
“I tried to talk to my mom about this but it was very difficult,” Gina said. “If I try to explain my point of view, the conversation turns angry and angry, it excites Mom. So I’m scared to talk about this topic.”
Alex Luu, a 24-year-old poet in the San Gabriel Valley, describes himself as “a democrat in a house full of conservatives”. However, he is not worried about his parents voting for Trump in November because they did not vote.
Luu’s parents tend to be conservative, but they are frustrated about how Trump’s delayed response to Covid-19. They also disliked the fact that he called Covid-19 “the Chinese virus” or “the Wuhan virus”, increasing hatred against Asians. However, these feelings were not enough to get them to vote.
Two thirds of Vietnamese-American voters said they consider the job and the economy “extremely important” issue in the upcoming election. This rate is higher than all other groups in the survey.
Like Gina, Luu will vote for Biden, though he will vote for any Democratic candidate. Luu appreciated candidates for prison reform, devoting more budget to education and advocating for people of color. Luu also grew up with a conservative mindset due to the influence of his parents.
“My father is the head of his family and groups of friends, so a lot of what he says, everyone agrees,” Luu said.
His opinion changed in his senior year, when he performed at poetry competitions for the first time and heard about the experiences of other people of color.
“That’s when I gain empathy for other people, with different classes and their struggles,” Luu said. “My friends and I don’t discuss politics at school.”
“The lack of political discussions is a common problem among the elderly Vietnamese-American community”, said Joe Nam Do, community organizer for the Washington Mayor’s Office of Asia and Pacific Affairs.
“Unfortunately, I think a lot of Vietnamese Americans are indifferent and won’t vote,” Do said. “I think this reflects what you see a lot in America: the enthusiasm on Trump’s side, the bleak support for a Biden that doesn’t inspire.”
Due to the assumption that many Vietnamese voters support Trump simply because of his tough stance towards China, something Gina also sees in her mother. Relations with China seem to be one of the most important issues for older Vietnamese voters.
In the survey above, a third of Vietnamese people said that American foreign policy in Asia was a “critically important” issue, the highest percentage among Asian groups.
Gina and Henry emphasized that the influence of friends and social media drove Vietnamese conservatism. While Gina’s mother discussed current affairs with friends at her temple, Henry’s parents learned about politics through pro-Trump videos on YouTube. Since his parents were not in college, they developed negative views on immigration based solely on these channels of information.
Luu believes that the lack of voter access is another reason why his parents neglect the presidential election. About half of those surveyed said they had not had any contact with either Democrats or Republicans in the past year.
“My parents think as long as we take care of ourselves, we will be fine. This country will function as it is and we just need to be fine,” said Luu. “I feel that the politicians have not done their best to raise awareness of the problems that really affect us.”
Luu hopes for a younger generation of Vietnamese origin that is more active and politically active. “The fate of the country depends on the strength of each of us,” Luu said. “Why waste such a historical moment?”.