Politics
The Len Duong organization stems from overseas Vietnamese in multiple countries, and have been involved in diaspora politics, where the issue of concern was the sole Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) holding authoritarian power over the entire country. These political groups justify their actions by claiming that human rights abuses in Vietnam are caused by the CPV.
Len Duong, among other groups, has organised campaigns speaking out against the detention of dissidents who call for additional political freedoms and multi-party elections (see Bloc 8406). The formation of political parties in Vietnam are prohibited by law. These kinds of critical statements against the CPV is the reason why the website is banned in Vietnam, which the government considers defaming.
Like most overseas Vietnamese political groups, Len Duong does not use the official flag of Vietnam and instead endorses the flag of South Vietnam, which is banned in Vietnam.
The initial formation of the Conference can be substantially attributed to these political activities. But while some of the conference activities are based around these political policies, others are based around the organisation's purpose to provide a platform to address issues concerning Vietnamese youth living in Vietnam and abroad, as well as to create a global social network among attendees through social mixers. Recent conferences have moved more to the left towards reconciliation, and have been attended by international students from Vietnam studying overseas.
Read more about this topic: International Vietnamese Youth Conference
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