VISITING VIETNAM CLINTON'S TRIP STIRS UP MIXED FEELINGS LOCALLY.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

CANOGA PARK - Standing outside his family-owned restaurant on De Soto Avenue, Ferris Nguyen said President Clinton's trip to Vietnam today bodes well for his former homeland.

And Nguyen's 62-year-old father, Tong, who opened Bale Valley Restaurant 17 years ago, said he hopes Clinton's trip will help loosen the communist government's clampdown on speech, religion and other human rights.

The last American president to visit the country was Richard Nixon in 1969 during the Vietnam War, the longest war in American history. Some 58,000 Americans died in the unpopular conflict, which ended in 1975 with the fall of Saigon, South Vietnam's capital, and the reunification of the country under communist rule. Saigon was later renamed Ho Chi Minh City.

``I'm kind of glad he is taking the trip because it will help the people in Vietnam out more,'' said Ferris Nguyen, 34, who fled the former capital of South Vietnam in 1978. ``Right now the government controls the business. With the president going, it would open it up for a lot of small entrepreneurs like us.''

Some other Vietnamese immigrants in the Southland also said they supported Clinton's trip to Vietnam, where he's expected to discuss issues such as trade and American soldiers still listed as missing in action.

``It will make for better relations between Vietnam and America,'' said Dan Nguyen, 32, of Chatsworth. ``It's a good opportunity, I think, for the Vietnamese community. The president of the United States visiting Vietnam is a big thing.''

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 52,594 Vietnamese living in Los Angeles County in April 1999. Orange County, however, boasts the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam - 71,822.

Da Duong, 25, who left Vietnam five years ago, expects the presidential visit to stir up business opportunities and promote human rights in Vietnam.

``It'll open new relations between the U.S. and Vietnam for more businesses in Vietnam to enter the U.S. market and for the Vietnamese government to open (up) in terms of freedom,'' he said.

Some Vietnam War veterans, however, haven't got past the fact that Clinton actively opposed the war and dodged the military draft.

``It might improve relations between Vietnam and the U.S., but it's more for his own personal grandstanding,'' said Richard Pratt, 57, of Chatsworth, an Army veteran who saw combat in Vietnam in 1967.

Russell Hall, 67, of Northridge said he didn't see the trip's value.

``This is nothing but a PR event,'' said Hall, who also was stationed in Vietnam in 1967 in the Army. ``He is building his legacy, as far as I am concerned. All we are going to do with his trip over there is give them more money, and we are going to pay for it.''

Clinton lifted the trade embargo on Vietnam in 1994, and a year later the United States restored full diplomatic relations with its former foe.

For some in the Vietnamese community who no longer have ties with their ancestral country, the president's trip was just a headline.

``I don't care,'' said Lan Nguyen, 36, who was busily answering calls in a dentist's office. ``I left there 10 years ago.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) While outside a restaurant in the Valley, Du Tran, 21, left, and Da Duong, 25, talk about President Clinton's visit to Vietnam.

(2) - Ferris Nguyen

Former Vietnam resident

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer