Bui Thanh Tung is now living in the southern outskirts of Paris. He has been one of the most active members in the association of Vietnamese people in France for many years. He also closely follows Vietnam development through mass media and his return visits to the country.

Talking with our VOV correspondent in Paris, Mr Tung expressed his delight at Vietnam’s recent changes and development, particularly in the past year.

“2006 was a year of many important events for Vietnam,” Mr Tung said. “The most significant event was Vietnam’s becoming the 150^th member of the World Trade Organisation – an event which drew a lot of attention from the Vietnamese community in France. This is also a source of pride for overseas Vietnamese living in France, as the country’s position has been constantly enhanced in the international arena. Vietnam’s successfully hosting of APEC 14 in Hanoi last November also inspired pride for Vietnamese people in Paris. The number of Vietnamese people travelling home is now increasing as they realise that Vietnam is developing strongly.

Tran Van Lang has also been an active member of the association of Vienamese people in France since its debut. Talking about the development of the country, Mr Lang said that only by returning to Vietnam could he truly has realised how strongly the country’s economy has grown.

“I travelled from North to South,” Mr Lang said. “Wherever I went, I saw smiling faces. People look happy with their better-off lives. Over the past 20 years of renovation, Vietnam has achieved great successes. All over the country, children are well dressed and well educated. I feel so happy.”

Tran Minh Quang is a well-known painter within the Vietnamese community in France. He travels to Vietnam quite often and after each return he releases lively art works featuring his impressions of Vietnam’s changes.

“Vietnam has developed dramatically, particularly its economic growth rate” Mr Quang said. “I think that in the coming period, Vietnamese people’s living conditions will continue to be improved.”

Vietnamese people living in Marseilles also closely follow changes in the homeland through mass media such as Radio the Voice of Vietnam and Vietnam Television and are pleased to know that their compatriots’ living standards have been greatly improved.

Nguyen Van Hung, president of the Vietnamese Community Chapter in Marseilles, said that Vietnamese people living in Marseilles are really delighted at recent Vietnam’s development in all fields, including economics and culture and they all turn their hearts to the homeland, Mr Hung said.

And many more Vietnamese people living in Paris, Lyon, Grenoble, Toulouse, Cahors or Brest feel happy about Vietnam’s rapid development and proud of being Vietnamese.