Market Dives When Prime Minister Rings Bell





It was 9:30 on Thursday, June 23, 2005, when Prime Minister, Phan Van Khai, of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, in the company of John Thain, President of the New York Stock Exchange, rang the opening bell.  The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is governed by a repressive, communist regime, headed by Prime Minister Khai, which, according to our State Department, is among the top ten nations of the world with significant human rights violations.  In an effort to keep the People's Republic of China within the net and obtain the benefits of a cheap labor pool to save money for major U.S. corporations, the United States is compromising the freedom of the people of Vietnam and the economy of the United States.

The Vietnamese communists never fully accounted for American prisoners of war and missing in action since the Vietnam War and continue the facade of digging up remains for financial benefit, which the predecessors of this communist regime did to France after the first Indochina War.

Ironically, it was also Prime Minister Khai, who now seeks to have Vietnam become a member of the World Trade Organization, he whom rather than offer condolences to the United States of America for the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, said: "America got what it deserved."  So much for our efforts to be kind to the communists during the Clinton administration.

After meeting with economic opportunists like Bill Gates, convictionless political opportunists likes Senators John McCain and John F. Kerry, and the liberals of Harvard and MIT, the final blow was "ringing the bell," the very same bell rung by policemen and firefighters after 9/11.  Only President Bush had some accord with Prime Minister Khai regarding religious freedom, but it may be that the President was conned into thinking that Khai was a choir boy rather than viewing him as a cruel, deceitful, oppressive communist.

The market which had been rising steadily before Khai's visit declined during his visit, dropping over 100 points after the "ringing of the bell."  Perhaps this is the "street's" reaction to the NYSE dignifying Khai's visit.  Perhaps investors decided to unloada stock on those corporations doing business in Vietnam or perhaps investors decided to reduce to cash because they lost faith in the "captains of industry."  In any event, the market fell when Khai "rang the bell." 

As they say in Vietnam:  "Sin loi."

John Molloy
Vietnam Combat Veteran
WTC Survivor 2/26/93 & 9/11/01

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Vietnamese government's civil rights violations, see the Washington Times, Commentary Forum, June 12, 2005:  "Vietnam: When will they ever learn?" by Mike Benge, former POW.