Oakland (Special to ZennieReport.com) – Author’s Note: On Jul 29, 2023, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao look a large contengent from Oakland to Vietnam on a trade mission. There has never been an English-written account from anyone who went on the trip other than Mayor Thao herself. Until now.
This is an important presentation because it focuses on a controversial trip. One led by a man some call “Trash King”: Mr. David Duong – Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of California Waste Solutions USA (CWS) and Vietnam Waste Treatment Company Limited (VWS).
The trip was controversial because Mr. Duong was accused of running a “garbage sweatshop” in 2014, charging “unjust” fees to Oaklanders in 2017, and then was the focus of a political money-laundering lawsuit in 2020. But, the other story of Mr. Duong and his family’s small garbage-handling firm has the classic rags-to-riches movie line.
According to this account by The Oakland Post written in 2018:
CWS is a minority business owned by the Duong family from Vietnam. They barely escaped the ravages of the Vietnam War on a small boat in 1977 after losing the family’s paper mill. David, the eldest of the seven Duong children, was 16 years old when the family left Saigon with only the clothes on their backs. After spending nearly two years in a refugee camp in the Philippines, they arrived in San Francisco. The 16-member Duong family squeezed into two small studio apartments. At 19, David and his siblings collected recyclables every night for three years after school and saved enough to purchase their first warehouse. Today, CWS employs more than 300 people at Oakland and San Jose locations.
The Oakland Post
This post is not to reopen old wounds, or even point a new finger at Duong strictly because of his association with Mayor Thao. But it’s just to tell the actual story of what happened on the trip, and simply because a number of people have pointed to this trip as one not being investigated by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission.
They’re rightly upset that the Oakland Public Ethics Commission is slow to investigate cases that have been open for years, in particular one started in 2022 by the Oakland Public Ethics Commission against Andy and David Duong of the same CWS and for laundering money via “straw donors” to Oakland councilmember campaign committees, contributing a total of $8,000. Or the one Zennie62Media has featured involving the District 4 Councilmember and Oakland Mayoral Candidate Sheng Thao’s alleged violations of the civil rights of her aide LeAna Powell.
But the Ethics Commission did advance a hasty investigation of people alleged to be involved in laundering money to the Mayor Sheng Thao Recall Campaign. Since the PECs’ budget is controlled by Mayor Thao, the actions in reducing it are certainly questionable, and that’s putting it lightly. But all of that should not automatically mean that David Duong has done anything wrong. It’s just the imagery of Duong going from the 2022 investigation to a 2023 trip to Vietnam taking Mayor Thao and 52 people has raised some eyebrows.
In preparation for this post, I learned that over the years David Duong and his family have been unfairly raked over the coals in a fashion that has to be called reckless and racist. It’s no surprise that David Duong has won defamation of character lawsuits in Vietnam. Moreover, tired of what he see as years of false accusations, Duong threatened to sue The Oaklandside if its coverage focused on him, saying “If you report that I am the target here, it will be libel or slander.”
Here’s the full story of the trip to Vietnam from the perspective of a Vietnamese news reporter, and provided to Zennie62Media, Inc.. I edited it to be better understood by you, the reader.
David Duong Talks About His Trip To Vietnam With The Mayor Of Oakland And A Giant Group
Recently, a California state business delegation led by Ms. Sheng Thao – Mayor of Oakland City (USA) paid a courtesy visit to ministries, branches, and leaders of Hanoi City. This is an activity co-organized by the Consul General of Vietnam in San Francisco and Mr. David Duong – Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of California Waste Solutions USA (CWS) and Vietnam Waste Treatment Company Limited (VWS).
A reporter from VTC News in Vietnam spoke with Mr. David Duong to find out more information about this special visit.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh took souvenir photos with a delegation of officials and businesses from the state of California, USA, on the afternoon of August 1. (Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac).
Talking about the reason why the Mayor of Oakland City and the California business delegation (USA) chose Vietnam on this trip, Mr. David Duong said: “Actually, this trip is very good, very meaningful and we look forward to good results. As you know, Oakland is currently the third largest port city in the US and one of the major cities in the San Francisco – Oakland – San Jose Bay area. In particular, San Jose is an electronic valley city, and San Francisco is an economic city. Ms. Sheng Thao – Mayor of Oakland City, is a H’mong (Lao) person born in America. In early 2023, after coming to power, Ms. Sheng Thao wanted to boost the city’s economy and many people wanted her to take a trip to China.”
David Duoug, continued: “However, I met and proposed to the Mayor that: ” Currently, the US-China economic cooperation relationship is facing obstacles for many reasons. Meanwhile, after the COVID-19 pandemic, many American manufacturers have chosen Vietnam as a raw material supplier. It’s best for you to come to Vietnam .”
David Duong, continued: “I also told the Mayor When I return to Vietnam, I will not “roll out the red carpet” like when she went to China, but I will welcome her into reality. I want to connect with businesses, not just go there. shake hands, get acquainted,And luckily, I successfully convinced Ms. Sheng Thao, along with the Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco, to create this trip. Luckily, the Mayor chose me as a consultant to take the group there.”
David Duong And Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs Personally Arranged The Trip Itenerary For Mayor Thao
VTC News Reporter asked David Duong “What is the main purpose of this visit, Sir?”
David Duong said “Normally, delegations led by officials visiting foreign countries will be arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, going this way will be a lot of formality, so I proposed to Mayor Sheng Thao that some tasks will be arranged by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while some tasks will be arranged by me to be more practical.”
David Duong, continued: “Initially, the delegation was expected to consist of 15 people, but then many people registered. Currently, there are 52 people coming to Vietnam, including real estate investment enterprises, financial investment enterprises, medical enterprises, and import-export enterprises.”
David Duong, continued: “The delegation consists of many different components, including 2 banks (one large bank with total capital of about 60-65 billion USD and one bank with capital of 2.5 billion USD). The goal of these two banks is to learn about Vietnamese businesses exporting goods to the US to see what the quality of the goods is, so that they can sponsor import companies in the US, in order to promote import and export of goods. more transparent and faster.”
David Duong, continued: “After finishing the journey in Hanoi, we will go to Da Nang, this is a city that the Mayor in particular and the delegation in general are especially interested in because Oakland has signed a treaty with Da Nang since 2005. the time Prime Minister Phan Van Khai passed there. However, after that signing, later Mayors did not pay much attention to international trade issues.
David Duong, continued: “So we want to “warm up” the partnership with Da Nang, connecting Da Nang port with Oakland port. After the pandemic, the global economy fell into crisis and difficulties, Oakland and Vietnam were not out of that spiral. Through diplomacy, we hope to create reciprocal trade.
David Duong, continued: “Especially after this trip, Oakland will establish a specialized group on investment issues, helping all Vietnamese businesses to quickly process their products when bringing products through Oakland port. On the contrary, American products exported from Oakland port to Vietnam also face many advantages.”
VTC News Reporter: “What do you expect from this business trip?” David Duong: “I always think that we must do more to export more Vietnamese goods to the US as well as more US goods to Vietnam. Because new goods are the reality, if there are many goods exported, we will produce more, creating more jobs for workers. Businesses that produce more will pay more taxes to the city, helping the city have more budget to implement other social issues.”
David Duong: “Especially in the group, I brought along famous movie actors. I want them to come to Vietnam, I urge them to produce films with many scenes in Vietnam in the future. In my opinion, if you want to promote Vietnam’s image widely and be known by more people, there is no faster and more effective way than going into movies.
David Duong, continued: “Let’s look at our neighbor China, many American films are produced in this country, with the participation of Chinese people. China’s images are included in many big movies, this is a great way to market and promote the country.”
VTC News Reporter: “Will there be any agreements signed during this trip, sir?” David Duong: “On the afternoon of July 31, the working group had a meeting with Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee Tran Sy Thanh. At the meeting, the Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee welcomed the visit of the California state business delegation to Vietnam to seek investment and cooperation opportunities with Hanoi, pledging that the Capital government is ready to cooperate and support. Support and create conditions to promote new projects in the area, further contributing to the development of bilateral and local relations.”
David Duong, continued: “Mr. Tran Sy Thanh also proposed that if the signing cannot be done immediately, the two sides need to discuss some cooperation between Hanoi and Oakland to reach an agreement, then the signing will be done online. On August 2, in Da Nang, the delegation will sign agreements with Da Nang port and with Truong Hai Group Joint Stock Company (THACO). Personally, I also agreed to sign a contract to support the production of equipment in the environmental and recycling industry with THACO.”
David Duong, continued: “When the delegation returns to Long An province, they will sign for Long An port and Oakland port to support each other with all products and goods entering and leaving the port. I know that Long An port is the place to export a lot of agricultural products.
VietJet Airline Wanted To Sign Contract To Fly In And Out Of Oakland International Airport
At the same time, I contacted VietJet airline, they wanted to sign a contract to have direct flights to the US, specifically to Oakland city. Oakland airport’s location is very convenient, with convenient travel distance to neighboring cities. We encourage the next Vietnamese airline that has direct flights to the US to return to Oakland. VietJet is ready.
In particular, also on this trip, the California state business delegation will support the organization of an exchange program between American businesses investing in Vietnam and domestic businesses taking place in Ho Chi Minh City, on a large scale. about 150 people.
David Duong, continued: “The two sides connect, through the office of the Mayor of Oakland, there will be a team in charge of the signing issue, cooperating with the support of the Oakland government as well as the local government – where domestic businesses operate.”
VTC News Reporter: “Everyone knows that he has relationships with very high officials in the US, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. So in your conversations with American politicians, do you often mention Vietnam?
David Duong, continued: “My luck is that I started a business and have been doing business in the US for decades, so I have very good relationships with officials, from the time they first called for elections, until they were gradually promoted. These are deep, intimate relationships.”
David Duong, continued: “Of course, we are a business and cannot interfere in the political relationship between the two sides, but every time I meet my friends who are American officials, I often talk about Vietnam. And every time they have questions or want to learn more about Vietnam, they will call me. Recently, at a dinner with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and 4-5 other friends, I also told him that when he becomes Speaker of the House, he should invite the Chairman of the Vietnamese National Assembly to visit the US.”
David Duong, continued: “Or in a conversation with Chairman of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, I also talked about Vietnam and explained to him some questions about Vietnam – US relations.I told him: “Vietnam always wants to promote relations with the US, but Vietnam wants to step slowly to be effective. If we step too quickly, we will stumble.” When I meet American officials, I always say what’s best for my country.”
Reporter: “What are some of your upcoming projects in Vietnam?” David Duong: “Currently, we do many professions but our expertise is still collecting and processing trash and recycling scrap. In Vietnam, we have the Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex for Ho Chi Minh City, which has been relatively successful so far, partly thanks to the maximum support from all levels of government.”
David Duong, continued: “In the near future, we will implement a project assigned by the Government and Long An province to become a green environmental technology park. In this project, I hope to bring all the latest technology. In particular, I want to build that project on a model that calls for many Vietnamese people living in the US to invest. Because when they invest, they will have a source of income to travel back and forth, and if they invest, they will want to return to Vietnam. They are proud to invest in safe, large-scale projects with contracts with the State.
David Duong, continued: “I still have a concern, many generations of Vietnamese Americans have a vacation every year but do not choose Vietnam, Vietnam is not on their list of choices. I find it painful because it is my hometown.”