By Christina Knight
For the Northwest Asian Weekly

Major General Nguyen Cao Ky said he was "happy to be home again" in Seattle when he made an appearance at the Elliott Bay Book Company last Thursday. Some 150 community members welcomed him with a standing ovation, eager to hear about his latest book, "Buddha's Child: My Fight to Save Vietnam."

In the book, Ky chronicles his life as a former prime minister of Vietnam. He offers what he says is a "candid" perspective are "truths" about the two tumultuous decades Vietnam experienced. He said he is finally able to reveal the "Vietnam side."

As the only surviving leader of Vietnam, Ky said he must tell an accurate story. "I have to tell the story before it's too late," he said.

Ky, now 73, was born in North Vietnam in 1930. He trained as a pilot in France and returned to Vietnam in 1954. Beginning in 1955, he held a series of commands in the South Vietnamese Air Force.

In June 1965, at age 35, Ky began a three-year term as the prime minister of the former Republic of Vietnam. From 1967 to 1971, he served as vice president. For seven years, "under pressure from all sides," his goal was to unite Vietnam, Ky said.

In 1975, after the communist takeover of Vietnam, Ky retired from politics and came to the United States. He lived in Seattle for two years and then moved to California, where he has lived with his wife and six children for the past 30 years.

Instead of reading a passage from his book, Ky invited questions from the audience. He was asked to assess the status of Vietnam's current government.

"You can no longer say they are communists," he said. "No matter what they call themselves, Vietnam is on a path toward a free market."

Another question concerned his plans to return to Vietnam. Ky said he wants to return to help contribute to economic growth and promote education. He is focused on the future, not the past.

"I am not going home to consolidate the communist regime," he said.

This question led Ky to reflect briefly on his youth and on how he has changed. He confessed that he was once a follower of Ho Chi Minh, the North Vietnamese communist leader. Looking back, he said communism "was not the right thing for the Vietnamese people."

At one point, the conversation turned to the Paris Peace Talks and Ky's role as prime minister. He spoke of the extreme pressures he faced.

"(The) American delegation always pressured the Vietnamese to accept demands from the other side," he said.

Ky spoke frankly about his role as prime minister. He said that when he took the position, the American government did not support him. Only later did he establish a good working relationship with the administration and become close to President Lyndon Johnson. He said that Johnson treated him "as an equal."

Before leaving the podium, Ky admonished all Vietnamese to think about the future. "It is time to forget the past," he said. "A new page of history has turned."