The possibility that the post World War II Ho Chi Minh was a Chinese impostor may have significant implications for Vietnam. 

Anyone who lived through the 1960's, or who has studied its history knows Ho Chi Minh as the man responsible for first driving the French out of Indo-China, leading to the separation of Vietnam into northern and southern halves and eventually causing the Vietnam War, and the United States' participation therein. For many members of the political left Ho remains a symbol of something they cherish – the defeat of America. Of course, they fail to recognize that America failed to prosecute the war against the Hanoi based North Vietnamese government to its full ability. Military historians have pointed out that if the US had attacked the Red River dams the war would have been over in a few days because the North would have lost its major source of electricity and suffered catastrophic flooding. Still, that is another story.

Recently, in an account with interesting parallels to the current US birth certificate controversy, a story has emerged to the effect that Ho Chi Minh had died in China in 1932, and that he had been replaced by a Chinese impostor. According to unidentified sources a document certifying Ho's death exists in England, and the current Vietnamese government has been working overtime to suppress any knowledge of this reaching the population at large. They are afraid of a popular revolution.

According to reports reaching the Vietnamese expatriate community Hanoi has reacted forcefully to the story as it reached the Internet and has been arresting and imprisoning anyone they believe is responsible for spreading it. Their fear that this may spark a popular uprising is real for three reasons. First, there is a centuries old antagonism between Vietnam and China because the Chinese invaded and occupied Vietnam on numerous occasions. The Vietnamese always resisted, and much popular folklore evolved over this resistance, similar in some ways to the story of William Wallace in the film "Braveheart."

Secondly, the even though many Vietnamese were angered at Ho over the institution of an authoritarian or "communist" government, he is still admired for his role in resisting the French colonial government after World War II. If this legend turned out to be based on a Chinese and not a Vietnamese nationalist, it would create certain animosity because of the past history with China, and the possibility that the impostor's job was to create a pro-Chinese, essentially colonial, government in Vietnam. This is particularly an issue today when many Vietnamese see the current government giving in to Beijing on a number of issues, including border disputes and the control of resources.

This leads us to the third issue, which is the continuing border dispute between Vietnam and China leading to, according to some sources, Vietnam giving up possession of significant amounts of territory. Probably the most important losses are the islands of Truong Sa and Hoang Sa (two of the Paracel Islands) in an oil-bearing region, and which were controlled by South Vietnam before 1975. Exploitation of these oil fields would provide significant economic benefits to Vietnam, which the nationalists would rather develop without Chinese involvement.

China's history of past occupation of Vietnam has reawakened fears that the Chinese have plans of another conquest, perhaps by politics, rather than by overt force. But China has focused a significant amount of its wealth on increasing its military capabilities so the use of force may not be out of the question, whether in fact, or as a diplomatic sledgehammer.

It is possible that China may be interested in access to the port region of Hai Phong, although with Hong Kong directly north of and not significantly distant from the Paracel Islands it is unlikely that they are looking for a new oil terminal there. More likely is an interest in Vietnam's bauxite (aluminum ore) deposits in the central highland region. Estimated at 5.4 billion tons this is the world's third largest known reserve and China is already involved in mining it. Vietnam would benefit more if they handled the mining and refining itself, but there are problems. Refining aluminum requires electricity and Vietnam doesn't have sufficient electrical infrastructure as yet, allowing the Chinese to exploit the resources to their profit rather than Vietnam's. Also problematic are the environmental issues. Bauxite is mined in open pits, which require significant environmental restoration after the mine is exhausted. The refining process creates a caustic slurry waste that needs to be disposed of safely. Neither China nor Vietnam are known as for their environmental consciousness, however, Vietnam may be more interested in preserving its own environment than China would be.

Vietnam also has an estimated at 1.7% of world's uranium reserves, as well as significant deposits of chromite, coal, fluorspar, natural gas, gold, kaolin, ilmenite (iron/titanium oxide), lead, phosphates, pyrite, crude petroleum, salt, and silica sand. The national economy is growing, but is experiencing significant difficulties ranging from local political issues to its economic position between the third world and the developed world. Having a significant aspect of its history brought into question and perhaps discovering that so much of it involves in imposter could well throw the nation into turmoil similar to that of the 1960's. This is not something that the Hanoi government wants, but with a significant number of people looking for the truth, they may have to confront it, sooner or later.

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