Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Little Saigon Small Businesses Demand for Community Safety Investment in City of Oakland Mid-Cycle Budget 2022-2023

OUTRAGE Vietnamese community demands for community safety #oakland #oaklandlittlesaigon #vietnamese #vcceb

10:00 AM PST, Wednesday, June 29, 2022

Location:

Long Hing Supermarket

830 International Blvd, Oakland, CA 94606

Contact:

Julia Mai Nguyen- oaklandvnchamber@gmail.com

PRESS RELEASE

Little Saigon Small Businesses Demand for Community Safety Investment

in City of Oakland Mid-Cycle Budget 2022-2023

Wednesday, June 29, 2022 - Twenty small business owners will be gathering to demand the City of Oakland to allocate funds for community safety in Oakland Little Saigon. On Saturday, the community leaders issued a joint letter to demand immediate action from City of Oakland elected officials and department leaders. Oakland Little Saigon is located between 2nd Ave to 14th Ave along International Blvd and E.12th St. The neighborhood is also located in Beat 19X, the highest crime beat in Area 3. At the height of the Anti-AAPI violence, the residents and small business owners in Oakland Little Saigon in Eastlake experienced, and continue to experience, verbal and physical assaults, robbery, and vandalism. Our communities expressed such daily and weekly experiences as a form of violation and trauma. Interim Executive Director of Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce Julia Mai Nguyen states, “Our community has felt neglected for so long and they are fed up. The onus of resolving public safety should not be on minority and immigrant small business owners who are still trying to navigate and survive a global pandemic.”

Tuong-Vi Le, owner of International Optometry, is one of nearly 150 businesses in Oakland Little Saigon calling for immediate action from City of Oakland elected officials and department leaders. “We have witnessed and have even been victims of violent crime ourselves (assaulted robbery).”

“Over the years we’ve witnessed a lots of violent crimes from robberies, shootings, child sex trafficking, car jacking in front of our shop. Our properties have been broken into so many times, sometimes we even sleep in it til morning,” said Thinh Le, owner of Kim Viet Jewelry. “We’ve been calling, reaching out for help and it seems like the city thinks of us as a dump site. These people causing trouble also need help from the city, or they will just come back.”

Nolan Wong, owner of International Laundromat laments, “Back in February of this year I had customers of mine held up at gunpoint and beaten in front of my laundromat while they were waiting for their clothes to dry. This was in broad daylight around the 1:00 hour.”

The joint letter is a critical move for the small businesses in Oakland Little Saigon. We are days away from the City of Oakland finalizing the Mid-Cycle budget, and we are fighting for representation in these important decisions. We are requesting real investment in the following ways: OPD substation, BID funding reinstatement, and shared access to the Clinton Square Recreation Center. Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas just published her mid-cycle budget proposal yesterday and included a $110,500 allocation for Little Saigon business support and safety resources. She assures, “I look forward to continuing to partner with you as merchants, community members and organizations, and with City leaders to address our immediate needs for safety and our longer term goals for revitalizing our neighborhood, including finding solutions to activate and beautify Clinton Park, and expand equitable access to youth / family programs and the Clinton Recreation Center.”

The City Council Budget meeting will be held on Thursday at 10 am. We strongly encourage other small business owners and residents to contact their council members and elected leaders to ensure that our communities are represented in the final Mid-Cycle Budget. Join the movement to make Oakland Little Saigon a safe and welcoming place where people of all racial, ethnic, gender, sexual, and cultural backgrounds can prosper and thrive.

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The mission of the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce is to raise public awareness on the role Vietnamese small businesses play in the local economy and cultural preservation. We advocate for strong, mutually respectful communication between city governments and our diverse business community. We proudly represent over 150 Vietnamese businesses in Oakland, CA.

Sincerely,

Julia Mai Nguyen

Interim Executive Director

Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce

Monday, June 27, 2022

6-25-2022 Little Saigon Community Safety Request for City of Oakland 2022-2023 Mid-Cycle Budget Additions

June 25, 2022

Little Saigon Community Safety Request for City of Oakland 2022-2023 Mid-Cycle Budget Additions

On behalf of small business owners and community leaders of Oakland Little Saigon, the Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce is writing to the entire body of the Oakland City Council and city leaders to respond to the dire needs of our community around public safety. The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated old problems that have been festering for decades in our neighborhood: violence, illegal dumping, shoplifting, prostitution, and lack of government responses and services. Over the last few months, we have worked tirelessly with small businesses, community leaders in Chinatown, multiple media outlets, Oakland Police Department, and the office of Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas to address the high crime and lack of services in the Little Saigon neighborhood. 19X statistically has the highest crime activity in Area 3.

To meet the immediate needs of our small businesses and community residents, we are requesting your support in four concrete ways. With the Mid-Cycle budget finalizing just days from now, we believe that our requests– which include $110,500– align with our City’s values around justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion. We see these actions as emergency measures as well as forward investment in our communities who have felt long overlooked and neglected.

1) Per the suggestion of OPD Officers Beere and Wong, we request funding to establish an OPD substation in the Little Saigon in Eastlake, preferably at the Clinton Square Recreation Center

○ Due to the current fire repair construction, we recognize it is not possible to place the substation in the recreation center at the moment. Thanks to the generosity of one of our merchants, they are offering a temporary solution while repair work is happening at the center. An office is available for OPD usage at the below market rate of $4000/month for up to twelve months in order to provide some immediate relief to the community; this monthly rent is including all utilities and internet. The maximum total cost will be $48,000 for twelve months (07/01/2022-06/30/2023).

○ We urge you to support Deputy Chief Beere and Wong for their efforts and provide necessary resources and guidance for the implementation of the 4-points crime plan. We are currently working out the public safety details with Deputy Chief Beere and clarifying the specifications on proper safety parameters for officer usage.

2. Clinton Square Community Center- We urge you to support Council President Bas in her plea to pause the new licensing agreement from being signed by the City of Oakland and VACCEB until a community negotiation is completed. For numerous years the constituents in this neighborhood have demanded a seat during this process, including a 2019 community town hall attended by 100 community members convened by Council President Bas. We have been requesting shared access to this city-owned facility that will bring more tangible benefits to our communities who are immigrants, refugees, elders, and youth– including an ideal location for a police substation. Our community even fundraised for this building when it was impacted by a fire. We have had no access to this building that is in the heart of Little Saigon, to the point we have to bring generators to events and festivals.

3. Eastlake BID $62,500 budget allocation- We request that the initial $62,500 BID allocation be reinstated immediately. Per 2019-21 budget adoption, our community was allocated $62,500 for a BID feasibility report. Due to the unprecedented length of the pandemic and its impacts, the Eastlake agreement was unable to be completed. At this point, merchants, OVCC, and community stakeholders are organized and ready to resume the effort. The community benefits from the BID will supplement critical services for neighborhood resilience.

4. Vietnamese Representation-

○ We request that the officers assigned to the Little Saigon neighborhood in Eastlake be Vietnamese-speaking. We have not had a Vietnamese-speaking officer in thirty years. Community members, particularly monolingual elderly residents, often express their inability to report violent incidents due to the language barrier. We need someone who can communicate with our community members in regular and in dire situations.

Many of our community members did not leave everything behind in Saigon, Vietnam to come to a country/city, as refugees to be treated as second-class citizens. Of the refugee population in Oakland, Vietnamese residents comprise the largest percent. This is not simply a District 2 issue, as many people across Oakland and the Bay Area visit our neighborhood to enjoy our businesses and community events. Amidst widespread panic and fear, our small businesses and community members are choosing to stay in Oakland. Small business owners are fighting for their lives every day and there is a growing pressure from both business owners and residents to arm themselves in order to feel safe or feel like they need to move.

For many years, we experienced high turnover of OPD captains, community resource officers, and neighborhood services coordinators. Small business owners have been burglarized, community members are robbed in broad daylight, and storefronts have been set aflame.

● Sun Hop Fat Supermarket has experienced daily incidents of arson, robbery, shoplifting, carjacking (one time by a 13-year old child).

● Cam Huong Deli has had multiple thefts due to shoplifting (7x in one day); employees are victims of and witnesses to robberies and violent crimes.

● Anh Hong Bo 7 Mon had a fatal shooting in front of their restaurant.

● Owner of Kim Viet Jewelry has been sleeping at the store for over 2 years now. There have been multiple burglaries, currently 10 in the past year.

● The Lucky 7 Cigarettes experienced arson and car collision into the storefront; the owner says she is constantly living in fear.

Exhausted from the harassment and trauma, small businesses in Little Saigon have mobilized themselves to demand urgent actions from our elected leaders and the police. Our stories are featured on ABC7 and NBC Bay Area. OVCC has started a fundraiser to provide small businesses cameras and had multiple community meetings on public safety. We have started a social media task force to create accounts in order to bring light to the dire situation in Little Saigon. We are urging for regular community meetings and increased communication and transparency from Little Saigon Community Leaders.

The recognition of our lives and dignity must be reflected in clear, measurable actions by our elected officials and city leaders. We understand that the city of Oakland has many problems, and we want to be part of the solution. We need you, our elected leaders, to be part of the solution and prioritize our communities. Your action will not only enable Oakland small businesses of color to emerge from this crisis stronger, but restore the hope and trust that has been lost in Little Saigon.

On behalf of over 150 businesses in Oakland Little Saigon, Dr. Jennifer Tran, OVCC President Lynn Truong, Sun Hop Fat Supermarket Julia Mai Nguyen, OVCC Interim Executive Director Thinh Le, Kim Viet Jewelry Vinny Manguyen, OVCC Vice President Anna Wong, OVCC Secretary/ Saigon Printing Phuc Tran, OVCC Chairman Jim Chinh Nguyen, The Unity Council Business Assistance Senior Business Advisor Randall Whitney, Community Advocate Oanh Trinh, Lucky’s Cigarettes Sung Duong, OVCC Treasurer/Mai’s TV David Dang, OVCC Director of Operations/Dang’s Home Innovation Chien Nguyen, Quickly’s Dr. Tuong-Vi Le, International Optometry Minh Dam, International Pediatrics Bruce Vuong, Quality Tech Auto Repair Lele Quach, Cam Huong Deli Vanh-Hanh Nguyen, Mekong Realty Kim-Ai Thi Nguyen, Anh Hong Restaurant Mot Le, Da Nang Quan Tuan & Trang Nguyen, Pho Vy Tien Dam, Pho King Gary Thanh Thai, Thanh Ky Restaurant Lien Nguyen, The Unity Council Business Assistance Business Advisor Nolan Wong, International Laundromat Thanh Tran, US Tours Kim Tuyen Tran, Property Owner Simon Liu, V&J Fusion Kathy Dwyer, Community Advocate Diep Nguyen, Pho Mekong

CC: Oakland City Council Members Hon. Libby Schaaf, Mayor Mr. Ed Reiskin, City Administrator Mr. LeRonne Armstrong, Chief of Police Micah Hinkle, Economic & Workforce Development

https://vietusadaily.org/cac-chu-doanh-nghiep-o-little-saigon-cua-oakland-chan-ngan-vi-toi-pham-hang-ngay/?fbclid=IwAR2mZ3tn42ogQ9KkUi-flmUUZxi1OQdqRcGFobNdETBzo3U6EXO3ZQ7vj7k

Source:

Sing Tao Daily

Viet USA Daily

Monday, January 31, 2022

GIÁO DÂN TOÀN CẦU BẤT BÌNH VỀ QUYẾT ĐỊNH CỦA GIÁM MỤC QUỐC DOANH NGUYỄN HỮU LONG: "LINH MỤC ĐẶNG HỮU NAM KHÔNG ĐƯỢC DÂNG LỄ NỮA"

CÔNG GIÁO QUỐC DOANH

Giám Mục Anphongsô Nguyễn Hữu Long (Wikipedia)

GIÁO DÂN TOÀN CẦU BẤT BÌNH VỀ QUYẾT ĐỊNH CỦA

GIÁM MỤC QUỐC DOANH NGUYỄN HỮU LONG:

"LINH MỤC ĐẶNG HỮU NAM KHÔNG ĐƯỢC DÂNG LỄ NỮA"

“Con đã thi hành lời Chúa dạy Phải vâng lời Thiên Chúa hơn là phần lời người phàm. Thứ hai là Thánh Phaolô bảo phải rao truyền chân lý lúc thuận tiện cũng như lúc không thuận tiện, và thứ ba nữa là sứ mạng ngôn sứ mà con đã lãnh nhận trong chức linh mục, và thứ tư là cái lợi của Đức Cha con phải làm để cho Đức Cha có lợi. Bốn cái điều đó đi song song với nhau. Xin Đức Cha cầu nguyện và chúc lành cho con.

“Còn nếu như con nói về chính trị thì liệu đã đủ cớ để mà Đức Cha cho con ngưng mục vụ không? Con vẫn nói, con biết, tùy từng người nhưng cá nhân con thì Đức Cha yên tâm bởi vì con là Linh Mục, con hiểu rằng giáo xứ là của Đức Cha, quyền là Đức Cha có, quyết định của Đức Cha thì con phải vâng lời. Bởi vì sao? Bởi vì ngày chịu chức con đã thề trước tòa Chúa là phải vâng lời Giám Mục của mình mà Đức Cha là Giám Mục của con.

“Vậy con chỉ có một việc, đó là bàn thảo rồi cầu nguyện để những quyết định của Đức Cha đúng đắn nhất, có lợi nhất cho Giáo Hội. Còn với con, những quyết định của Đức Cha dù bất lợi hay bất công với con, con vẫn sẵn sàng vâng lời.”

LM Đặng Hữu Nam

LM Phêrô Nguyễn Văn Khải (Dòng Chúa Cứu Thế) cho biết

quyết định của Đức Cha Nguyễn Hữu Long là sai lầm. (YouTube)

Giám Mục Nguyễn Hữu Long phải biết, rất nhiều Giám Mục, Linh Mục Công Giáo như các Đức Tổng Giám Mục Nguyễn Kim Điền, Đức TGM Ngô Quang Kiệt, Đức cha Hoàng Đức Oanh, cha Nguyễn Hữu Giải, cha Nguyễn Văn Lý, cha Nguyễn Văn Khải, cha Đinh HỮu Thoại, cha Đặng Hữu Nam đã và đang hiên ngang nói lên sự thật với Đảng và nhà nước Cộng sản Việt Nam

“Không phải [bị] huyền chức, cũng chẳng phải vạ tuyệt thông! Vì quyền lực!”

Trên face book của Linh Mục Đặng Hữu Nam, thuộc địa phận Vinh, một gương mặt nổi tiếng đấu tranh cho môi trường và nhân quyền, ngày 31 tháng 12 2021, có dòng trạng thái như sau: NGÀY CUỐI CÙNG CỦA NĂM 2021 ĐỨC CHA ANPHONG NGUYỄN HỮU LONG GẶP VÀ THÔNG BÁO: TỪ HÔM NAY, NHÀ CHÁU “KHÔNG PHẢI DÂNG LỄ” NỮA! XIN MỌI NGƯỜI THÊM LỜI CẦU NGUYỆN CHO NHÀ CHÁU!

Đức Giám Mục Nguyễn Hữu Long thay thế Đức Cha Nguyễn Thái Hợp đảm nhận vai trò giám mục chính tòa Giáo phận Vinh, từ ngày 12 Tháng 2. 2019. Ngày 17/6/2020 văn phòng giáo phận Vinh thông báo về việc “thuyên chuyển và bổ nhiệm” các linh mục trong giáo phận, cha Đặng Hữu Nam, lúc đó đang là cha xứ Mỹ Khánh về tòa giám mục, tạm nghỉ mục vụ.

Trước đó, từ năm 2016, Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh Nghệ An, qua công văn ngày 7 tháng 10, gửi Giám Mục Nguyễn Thái Hợp, lúc đó là Giám Mục Giáo Phận Vinh, đã đề nghị “chấn chỉnh các hoạt động mục vụ của Linh Mục Đặng Hữu Nam và không bố trí Linh Mục Đặng Hữu Nam tiếp tục hoạt động mục vụ trên địa bàn tỉnh Nghệ An”

Đề nghị của Uỷ Ban Nhân dân tỉnh Nghệ An không được Đức Giám Mục Nguyễn Thái Hợp chấp thuận. Ngày 7/2/2018 theo quyết định bổ nhiệm và thuyên chuyển nhiệm sở thường niên một số các linh mục trong tỉnh Nghệ An của toà Giám Mục, Đức Cha Nguyễn Thái Hợp đã điều chuyển nhiều linh mục đến các giáo xứ khác nhau, LM Đặng Hữu Nam về phục vụ tại xứ Mỹ Khánh. LM Đặng Hữu Nam là người tranh đấu, bất đồng chính kiến với chính quyền Việt Nam. Ông bắt đầu nổi tiếng trong giới đấu tranh cho môi trường và nhân quyền khi còn là Linh mục chánh xứ giáo xứ Phú Yên, xã An Hòa, huyện Quỳnh Lưu, Nghệ An dẫn đầu hàng trăm người đi nộp đơn kiện liên quan đến thảm họa môi trường của nhà máy Formosa – Đài Loan, xả thải trái phép ở Hà Tĩnh gây ô nhiễm môi trường trầm trọng hàng trăm cây số bờ biển dọc theo miền Trung, từ tỉnh Hà Tĩnh đến Thừa Thiên Huế, làm cá chết hàng loạt, ảnh hưởng nghiêm trọng đến cuộc sống của hàng trăm ngàn người theo nghề đánh cá và làm muối.

Ông cũng lên tiếng bênh vực quyền con người và phản đối việc người dân bị đóng quá nhiều thứ thuế. Ông đã từng bị công an mặc thường phục trong đó có trưởng công an xã An Hoà đánh đập, từng bị công an mật vụ Hà Nội bắt giam.

Chính quyền địa phương, qua hội Cờ Đỏ, cũng từng tổ chức hàng ngàn người trong hội phụ nữ, cựu chiến binh, đoàn thanh niên biểu tình phản đối ông rao giảng với giáo dân, “Ngày 30 tháng 4 là ngày mà dân tộc Việt Nam mất đi tự do, ngày mà người dân không có quyền làm người, ngày đã làm cho đất nước tang thương, ngày đã đưa đất nước trở thành lạc hậu, nghèo đói, ngày mà Việt Nam mất đi cơ hội phát triển, ngày đã tạo nên bất công trên mọi miền đất nước…”

Trả lời những comments của người theo dõi trên trang Facebook của ông, Linh Mục Nam viết: [Ông] Không phải [bị] huyền chức, cũng chẳng phải vạ tuyệt thông! Vì quyền lực!

Với câu hỏi của Joseph Le [một linh muc] “Không phải dâng lễ nữa là sao? – không phải dâng lễ nữa ở đâu vì có người dâng lễ rồi. – không phải dâng lễ nữa vì không còn là linh mục nữa. Điều này phải có một phán quyết Huyền chức sau khi đã điều tra kỹ lưỡng. – không phải dâng lễ nữa ngay tức khắc khi linh mục vi phạm một vạ tuyệt thông tiền kết. Cha ở trường hợp nào?”

Cha Nam trả lời: “Không nằm trong những trường này! Ngài đưa ra một tập những bài viết của con trên facebook, bảo con không xứng làm lm, con tranh luận … ngài lấy quyền “tôi đưa cha sang ở nhà hưu, đi đâu phải xin phép, được phép mới được đi, không cho phép thì không được đi. Từ hôm nay cha không được dâng lễ và cử hành các bí tích”! Con đòi quyết định vì:

1- Không có quyết định hành chính nào bằng miệng, phải có văn bản!

2- Đó là hồ sơ cá nhân con có quyền được cung cấp!

Ngài trả lời: – Hôm nay chưa có, tôi sẽ làm! – Để tôi hỏi các Đức Cha có phải làm không!”

Trả lời Tạ Duy Tuyền, Linh Mục Nam viết, “Không phải vì tội hay vạ! Tôi [Đức Cha Long] lấy quyền không cho cha dâng lễ nữa!” Cũng trả lời Tạ Duy Tuyền, Linh Mục Nam viết: “Vì 2 status: Thời đại thư ký lớn hơn lãnh đạo. Mà lãnh đạo cũng cần phải xem lại mình!; Đang rước dầu, đức cha dừng lại bắt tay linh mục chủ tịch ủy ban đoàn kết tỉnh!”

Trả lời yêu cầu được phỏng vấn về chuyện này của Việt Nam Thời Báo, Linh Mục Đặng Hữu Nam cho biết: “Đang chờ quyết định cuối. Cho khất vài ngày.”./.

Quang Nguyên (VNTB)

Tags: LM-dang-huu-nam

East Lake Neighborhood Watch