Uproar over restaurant name Uncle Ho restaurant
STAFF at a Brisbane restaurant closed its doors today after reportedly receiving death threats, as protesters condemned management over its insensitive choice of name.
Channel 7 has reported that Fortitude Valley’s Uncle Ho restaurant and bar closed its doors early as protesters incensed by its name - a reference to Vietnamese dictator Ho Chi Minh - refused to leave.
Management have also reportedly told the TV network that it will now change the restaurant’s name.
EARLIER: Protesters have gathered in Fortitude Valley to protest the name of a new Brisbane eatery, claiming it adversely references a communist dictator.
Queensland members of the Vietnamese community in Australia argue Vietnamese restaurant and bar Uncle Ho, which opened in Fortitude Valley last month, gives nightmares to families who fled Vietnam’s communist regime by referencing leader Ho Chi Minh.
Queensland chapter president Dr Bui Cuong said between 150 and 200 people would stage a protest outside the restaurant today and would continue to organise objections until the owner changed the name.
“The communist people called him Uncle Ho. That is Ho Chi Minh. He is a mass murderer, a dictator,” Dr Bui told The Sunday Mail.
“People can support the communists, but the Vietnamese people here are the people who ran away from them. We don’t want anything to do with the communists.”
In the 20 years after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, about 2 million people left the country in a mass exodus to escape the communist regime, headed by Ho Chi Minh, with hundreds of thousands dying on the journey.
Dr Bui said he voiced their concern to restaurant director Anna Demirbek, but claimed she declined to change the name because it was “too much money”.
“I have nothing against her, but I am very against the name Uncle Ho because that brings back the bad memories, the nightmares for people who lost their families. Every time they think about it, they cry,” he said.
“If they still don’t change the name after the protest, we will protest again and again until the name is changed.
“521 soldiers from Australia and New Zealand died fighting against Ho Chi Minh and the communist army. Why would you bring the name Uncle Ho?”
Ms Demirbek declined to comment.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/uproar-over-restaurant-name/news-story/26c43b25ddaff6a13ff987a2d73e47eb
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3532012/Restaurant-called-Uncle-Ho-slammed-Vietnamese-community.html
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'Uncle Ho' restaurant slammed as community members say the name reminds them of communist leader Ho Chi Min - and 'gives refugees nightmares'
- Vietnamese community has slammed restaurant called 'Uncle Ho'
- They claim name is a 'culturally insensitive' reference to Ho Chi Minh
- Communist leader was president of North Vietnam from 1945 until 1969
- Restaurant reportedly refused to change name because it is 'expensive'
A restaurant called 'Uncle Ho' has been slammed by the Vietnamese community who claim the name is a 'culturally insensitive' reference to communist leader Ho Chi Minh.
Hundreds are expected to protest outside the Vietnamese-style street food eatery in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, and demand a name change.
Dr Bui Cuong, who escaped from Vietnam during the war, said the name gives refugees who fled the country 'nightmares'.
'The communist people called him Uncle Ho. That is Ho Chi Minh. He is a mass murderer, a dictator,' Dr Bui told The Sunday Mail.
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A restaurant called 'Uncle Ho' has been slammed by the Vietnamese community who claim the name is a 'culturally insensitive' reference to communist leader Ho Chi Minh
'I am very against the name Uncle Ho because that brings back the bad memories, the nightmares for people who lost their families. Every time they think about it, they cry.'
The restaurant has reportedly refused to change the name because it is 'too expensive' and argued that there's 'two sides to the story'.
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'We love your passion for our food and drink and there's two sides to the story we think,' the owner wrote on Facebook.
Ho Chi Minh led the Vietnamese nationalist movement for more than three decades, fighting against Japanese, French and US-backed South Vietnamese forces.
Hundreds are expected to protest outside the Vietnamese-style street food eatery in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, and demand a name change
Dr Bui Cuong (left), who escaped from Vietnam during the war, said the name Ho Chi Minh (right) gives refugees who fled the country 'nightmares'
He remained president of North Vietnam from 1945 until his death in 1969. In July 1976, Saigon was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the leader.
In the 20 years after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, around two million people left the country in a mass exodus to escape the communist regime, with hundreds of thousands dying on the journey.
Dozens of people have vented their frustration at the name of the restaurant and said they would continue to protest until it is changed.
Kristina Vu told Seven News: 'It is completely disrespectful to the memory of those who died because of this person.'
One Facebook user commented: 'Why not open a restaurant called Uncle Osama bin Laden or Uncle Hitler.'
Another said: 'That is so culturally insensitive'.
Jade Pham, whose father was placed in a prison camp during Ho Chi Minh's regime, said the name was a 'slap in the face'.
'Ho Chi Minh was a dictator and murderer. Would this business owner have considered opening a Nazi-themed restaurant called 'Uncle Hitler'? I don't think so,' she said.
'Now seeing 'Uncle Ho' so lightly thrown around is like a slap in the face, adding insult to injury. My dad risked his life fleeing by fishing boat to get away from this man.'
The restaurant has been contacted for a comment.
In the 20 years after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, around two million people left the country in a mass exodus to escape the communist regime, with hundreds of thousands dying on the journey
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/109198473848083476937/albums/6271908778315435009
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