VietNamNet Bridge – The American Journal “Christian Science Monitor” recently published an article on the collection of maps proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands of a Vietnamese American, Mr. Tran Dinh Thang.

The East Sea disputes 

Mr. Tran Dinh Thang.

This is the first article in the U.S. that has the statement "Paracel and Spratly Islands belong to Vietnam" though it was personally made by Thang.

Thang has collected 150 maps and three Chinese ancient atlases, which indicate that the Paracels and the Spratlys were never a part of China.
Below is the article of Mai Ngoc Chau, who is studying M.A of Journalism in Boston about Thang.

Obligation to keep the country

In 1995 Tran Dinh Thang invited Prof. Tran Van Khe, an expert on traditional Vietnamese music to give a talk at the University of Connecticut (UConn). That summer, the distinguished professor, who taught at the Sorbonne University in Paris, visited the UConn campus.

His talk became part of UConn history. It drew an audience of more than 300, but one-third of them were protesters against Vietnam's government.

At that time Thang was a third-year mechanical engineering student and served as chairman of the Vietnamese Student Association. The incident didn't discourage Thang. Instead, he realized meeting with a Vietnamese cultural icon had aroused his love for his home country.

"[Professor Khe's] talks gave me inner strength to pursue cultural exchanges," says Thang, who's gone on to host talks on Vietnam at other Connecticut universities, found a Vietnamese magazine, and help Vietnamese students come to the United States to study.

Now his passion for all things Vietnamese has combined with another passion: collecting old maps. Thang has collected 150 ancient Chinese maps and three ancient atlases that indicate that the Paracel and Spratly Islands in the East Sea have never been part of China, as it has long claimed, but instead belong to Vietnam.

Experts on the East Sea say that if the dispute over the islands were taken to the International Court of Justice, Thang's map collection might be used as historical evidence to disprove China's claim.

"As a Vietnamese, I have the obligation to preserve my country," says Thang, who adds that he often finds his inspirations turning into actions "no matter day or night."

Thang arrived in America with his parents in 1991. After settling in West Hartford, Thang continued his studies in mechanical engineering at UConn. He received a second degree in management and engineering before working first for Electric Boat and then Pratt & Whitney.

Last summer, Thang expanded his passion for Vietnamese antiquities into a new area. It drew little interest from fellow collectors, but it made headlines in Vietnam.

One evening last July, Thang checked the news from Vietnam. His eyes landed on a headline that read "Ancient map proves Vietnam's sovereignty over Paracel and Spratly Islands."

He devoured the story. An idea flashed through his mind. He turned to eBay and typed in terms such as "Chinese maps," "Indies maps," and "Hainan Island."

"The story that a researcher in Vietnam found and donated a 1904 Chinese map drawn by the Chinese under the Qing regime from the 18th to 19th century inspired me to search for Chinese maps published by Western countries," Thang says. "Western people's works are often based on scientific grounds, so I think ancient maps they depicted could be scientific evidence to prove Vietnam's sovereignty."

Since that summer evening, Thang has continued his online search, called historians, and consulted East Sea experts from the US to Vietnam. His collection eventually grew to total 150 maps and three atlases. They were published in England, the US, France, Germany, Canada, Scotland, Australia, India, and China from 1626 to 1980.

"Some 80 maps and three atlases indicate the frontier of southern China is Hainan Island, and 50 maps indicate the Paracel and Spratly Islands belong to Vietnam," he says.

"Thang's findings provide us with more scientific and historical evidence to prove Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracels) and Truong Sa (Spratlys), and refute China's groundless claim over these two islands," says Dr. Tran Duc Anh Son, deputy head of the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development.

Thang's collection shows contradictions to China's claim to "indisputable sovereignty" over the islands, adds Carl Thayer, a professor emeritus at the University of New South Wales in Australia and an expert on the East Sea.

Heart in Vietnam

Together with friends in 1996 he started a Vietnamese magazine to promote awareness of Vietnam's culture called Nhip Song (Rhythm of Life). The 124-page annual features Vietnamese history, society, literature, and art, and draws on the expertise of many Vietnamese scholars and artists in the US, Vietnam, and elsewhere. The magazine reaches out to Vietnamese-Americans of all political positions.

In 2000 Thang brought his cultural exchanges to a new level. Backed by several high-profile overseas Vietnamese scholars, he founded the Institute for Vietnamese Culture & Education (IVCE).

Besides presenting cultural programs, his nonprofit group travels to Vietnam to offer workshops on how to participate in student exchanges in the US and assistance with exchange program applications.

"We believe students who have the opportunity to study abroad will bring back with them ideas and concepts from American universities that can contribute to the development of Vietnam," says Thang, who still serves as president of IVCE.

For the past 12 years, Thang has shuttled between the US and Vietnam, holding about 60 summer workshops on "studying in America" with help from hundreds of Vietnamese-Americans, who offer guidance based on their firsthand experiences. Dozens of Vietnamese and US universities have now partnered with IVCE to exchange delegations and establish cooperative programs.

At the same time, IVCE has presented 44 events across the US, introducing audiences to Vietnamese classical music, folk art, painting, literature, documentaries, and feature films.

"He lives in America, but his heart is in Vietnam," says Hong Anh, a movie star and film producer in Vietnam who joined Thang in November 2012 to tour American universities in the Northeast.

"Thang has been devoted to many programs benefiting Vietnam in different ways," says Professor Khe, who has become his mentor. "But he never boasts about what he's done."

Thang says he is glad that last November he donated his map collection on the Paracel and Spratly Islands to the Da Nang Institute for Socio-Economic Development. "No one forced me, but I feel the obligation to work for my country," he says. "It's a mission in my life."

Lao Dong