Hanoi

HANOI, Vietnam -- After decades of war and estrangement, the United States and Vietnam formally established diplomatic relations yesterday in a simple signing ceremony that capped the 20-year process of the United States' coming to terms with the Vietnam War.The visit by U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher was loaded with symbolism, some intentional and some not, from the moment his jet taxied past a row of Vietnamese jet fighters at Hanoi's Noi...

CU CHI, Vietnam -- Galvanized by the U.S. government's exhaustive and expensive search for its Vietnam war dead, Vietnamese families are renewing personal efforts and pushing their government to accelerate searches for the remains of more than 150,000 of their own soldiers who did not return home.Highly publicized searches by U.S. military personnel "have had a great impact on us," said Hoang Kim Lien, 34, a Hanoi resident whose brother's remains were uncovered this year in Cu Chi. "Before, we did not think it was possible.

HANOI, Vietnam -- For the first time since French gunboats sailed up the Perfume River in 1883 and made this country into a colony, Vietnam is emerging from the shadow of foreign powers and becoming able to choose its own roles.It will reach a milestone of sorts today when it becomes TC member of the organization that other Asian states originally formed to keep Vietnam at bay. Vietnamese say that their country's acceptance into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- known as ASEAN -- is proof of their country's diplomatic rehabilitation.

HANOI, Vietnam -- The re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam stands as a watershed in American history. Yet the decision will have little immediate effect on the two countries or on people with business or personal links."

It is the war we cannot forget. It is the war we do not wish to be reminded of.It is the war that ended 20 years ago. It is the war over which our citizens still fight.It is that most unusual of things in our national history and occupies that most unusual of places in our national psyche: A war we actually lost.And that is why we have punished Vietnam for so many year with our economic and diplomatic boycotts.A nation uncommonly gracious in victory, the United States has been mean-spirited in defeat.

Resumption of full diplomatic relations with Vietnam, which President Clinton is expected to announce this afternoon, will fulfill the road map of reconciliation that the Bush administration drew with that country's regime in 1991.The carefully orchestrated normalization began with the opening of a U.S. office in Hanoi that year, to seek information on servicemen missing in action from the Vietnam war. President Bush eased the embargo to permit humanitarian sales. Before leaving office, he allowed U.S. companies to open offices in Vietnam and do feasibility studies.

Archbishop Paul Nguyen Van Binh, 84, of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest Roman Catholic community, died Saturday "of old age," newspapers reported yesterday. His death adds new urgency to a long-running dispute between the Vatican and the Communist government over his replacement. Archbishop since 1960, he had been in poor health for years, but Vietnamese authorities rejected the Vatican's nominees to replace him. The xTC Vatican initially wanted to appoint the Rev. Nguyen Van Thuan, nephew of the former president of South Vietnam, Ngo Dinh Diem, but Hanoi adamantly refused.

YES, IT'S time to restore diplomatic relations with Vietnam.And it's also time to tell Americans the whole truth about the prisoners of war who didn't come home.For more than 20 years, Hanoi and Washington have sought to suppress the shameful secret that not all the American POWs were returned after the peace accords were signed in early 1973. The two governments, of course, had dissimilar motives for hiding the truth, but they shared one common desire -- to save face.A large and still-growing body of evidence shows that the Vietnamese held back prisoners in order to bargain for war reparations.

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam -- The mayor of this city, once known as Saigon, called yesterday for full reconciliation with the United States and for ending the controversies as to whether any American servicemen are still missing in action in Vietnam.Truong Tan Sang, whose official title is chairman of the People's Committee, said at a news conference, and in later remarks, that the Vietnamese "cannot understand why this [MIA] issue continues to stand between the United States and Vietnam. Do you really think we would purposely keep living prisoners of war, or their remains, from their families all these years?"

Hanoi -- In the evening, the tree-lined city is quiet. Gliding past the ornate and brightly lit Opera House, the only sound is the creaking wheels of a sole bicycle cab and the labored breathing of its driver. Gone is the incessant crash of beeping motorcycles, ringing bike bells and honking new four-wheel drives that dodge and weave through chaotic, crowded streets.Down a darkened side street, clusters of people sitting on their haunches surround charcoal cooking fires. A muted yellow light filters from the doorways of moss- and water-stained French buildings.