Saigon For Saigon Movement Announces 2026 Year of Saigon Commemoration Events on 50th Anniversary of Saigon Name Change

Community-Led Historic Reflection Series Includes “Saigon Day” Celebration and “A Night in Remembrance of Saigon” in Southern California, USA

WESTMINSTER, CA, UNITED STATES, March 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- On the morning of Saturday, February 21, 2026, spectators attending the Tết Parade celebrating the “Year of the Horse” Lunar New Year in Little Saigon, Westminster City, Southern California, USA, warmly applauded the parade float of the National Movement To Restore The Name Saigon. Although founded exactly 30 years ago, this marked the first time the Movement officially participated in the traditional Tết Parade of the Vietnamese community in Orange County, widely regarded as the capital of overseas Vietnamese refugees from communism.

Almost 51 years ago, on April 30, 1975, through deceptive propaganda and the systematic use of violence, the North Vietnamese Communists completed their invasion of South Vietnam, placing the entire country under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party. During the transitional period that followed, a puppet regime known as the “Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam” was established to conceal the true nature of this forcible takeover.

On April 25, 1976, a so-called “general election,” purely symbolic, was held in both regions. From June 24 to July 3, 1976, the newly convened National Assembly met and decided to unify the country at the state level, simultaneously renaming the nation the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Notably, during this session, on July 2, 1976, the Communist Party imposed the renaming of Saigon to “Ho Chi Minh City.” From that moment on, the people of South Vietnam were compelled to bear an alien name associated with a figure whom, until April 30, 1975, they knew only as a symbol of violence, repression, and direct responsibility for the atrocities of the 1968 Tet Offensive massacre.

On September 2, 2005, Father Andrew Le Huu Nguyen, a former political prisoner who endured thirteen years of imprisonment in Communist re-education camps and who was then living in exile in New Zealand, published an article entitled “Thirty Years Without the Name Saigon.” The essay expressed the shared pain and longing of the people of South Vietnam over the renaming of Saigon, while nurturing the hope that, one day, this historic name would be restored to the Vietnamese nation.

Just five months later, in response to widespread public support, the NATIONAL MOVEMENT TO RESTORE THE NAME SAIGON—commonly known as the SAIGON FOR SAIGON MOVEMENT —was officially launched in the city of Westminster, California, on January 15, 2006, under the slogan:
“Determined to eliminate the name Ho Chi Minh – Persistent in restoring the name Saigon.”

Throughout 2006, the Movement expanded to numerous cities across the United States and Canada. On July 2, 2006, the Movement’s First World Congress was held in Little Saigon, marking the 30th anniversary of Saigon’s renaming, with many international delegations participating at the Vietnamese American War Memorial Park.

Subsequently, the Movement was introduced in Europe, New Zealand, and Australia during 2006 and 2007. In May 2007, the Second World Congress was convened in Paris, France. Alongside advocacy activities, the Movement undertook concrete initiatives, including the publication of two Saigon Anthologies and a global petition campaign requesting that the Holy See restore the name Archdiocese of Saigon, which was changed to Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City on November 23, 1976. A total of 37,046 signatures were collected, including 4,628 signatures from individuals inside Vietnam.

In July 2009, the Movement released the documentary film “The Truth About Ho Chi Minh,” which drew significant public attention from its premiere in Little Saigon. The Third World Congress was held in Houston, Texas, on May 15, 2010, during which the English-language version of the film— “Ho Chi Minh: The Man and the Myth”—was officially introduced.

The year 2026 marks the 50th anniversary of the forcible renaming of Saigon. On this occasion, the National Movement to Restore the Name Saigon has expanded its scope and unified its efforts with seven organizations: the Great Viet Party (Đại Việt Quốc Dân Đảng), the Humanist Socialist Party (Đảng Nhân Bản Xã Hội), Assembly For Democracy Of Vietnam (Họp Mặt Dân Chủ), the Vietnam Democracy Federation (Lực Lượng Dân Tộc Cứu Nguy Tổ Quốc), the Vietnam Human Rights Network (Mạng Lưới Nhân Quyền Việt Nam), the Overseas Vietnamese Catholic Movement (Phong Trào Giáo Dân Việt Nam Hải Ngoại), and the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng).

In addition to Father Andrew Le Huu Nguyen, founder and representative of the Movement, its activities also receive spiritual guidance and moral support from Venerable Thich Minh Tuyen, the Third Supreme Patriarch of the World Mendicant Buddhist Sangha.

In this spirit, in his New Year’s message dated January 1, 2026, Father Andrew Le Huu Nguyen announced three major initiatives of the Saigon For Saigon Movement: the launch of a campaign designating 2026 as “The Year of Saigon”; the organization of “Saigon Day” on Sunday, July 5, 2026, at the Vietnamese-American War Memorial Park in Westminster, California; and the hosting of “A Night in Remembrance of Saigon” later that same day in Southern California, USA.

For further information, please contact:
Mr. Liem Ly
Executive Director, Saigon For Saigon Movement
Tel: 1(408)567-4493
Email: contact@saigon4saigon.org
Website: https://saigon4saigon.org/

LIEM THANH LY
Saigon4saigon Movement
+1 480-567-4493
email us here
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LỊCH SỬ HÌNH THÀNH VÀ HOẠT ĐỘNG CỦA PHONG TRÀO QUỐC DÂN ĐÒI TRẢ TÊN SÀI GÒN

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