FLAG of the Republic of Vietnam (File photo).

By Jim Tortolano/Orange County Tribune

Two agenda items regarding the flying of American and Vietnamese flags in the City of Westminster that took up more than two hours of argument at the Jan. 10 meeting of the city council sped through on Wednesday night in 21 minutes.

The council gave its approval on 5-0 votes both on the display of American flags on major city streets and in the civic center around patriotic holidays and on the display of the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam around the time of the Tet lunar new year.

The American holidays would be observed by the hanging of flags on utility poles along Westminster Boulevard between Bolsa Chica Road and Bushard Street and along All American Way and 13th Street and from All American Way to Beach Boulevard annually, beginning on the Friday before Memorial Day and through the July 4 holiday and from Nov. 1-14.

“We have fallen short for so long in our history in the City of Westminster,” said Councilmember Carlos Manzo (District 2). While the city has observed many Vietnamese historical and cultural events, “we’ve done next to nothing to celebrate American history.”
“It’s long overdue,” said Vice Mayor Kimberly Ho.

The item that took up much time and discussion two weeks ago centered on which day represented the date of the independence of the former Republic of (South) Vietnam. This time, the debate was over how many days to fly the gold and red banner at the city hall.

The original proposal by Councilmember Amy Phan West (District 1) was to fly the Vietnamese flag for a total of 10 days; three days leading up to the lunar new year and seven after. The intent, said West, was to allow visitors from other areas – who may have traveled a long distance – to better enjoy the experience of seeing the flag.

Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen wanted to reduce the days to six; three days before and three days after. A compromise of seven days – three and four – didn’t get traction and the six-day alternative (three before and three after) was finally approved on a 5-0 vote.

The next meeting of the council will be held on Wednesday, Feb, 14.