No French? No problem for La Francophonie By Deborah Charles HANOI, Nov 13 (Reuters) - What do Laos, Romania, Nigeria and Canada have in common? They are all members of La Francophonie, a group of 49 nations committed to furthering the French language. The group is holding a biennial meeting in Vietnam. Although many of the members, like the three Asian states and several central European nations in the group, do not speak French as a first or even second language, they have joined this club which has become one of a growing number of organisations grouped by various common interests. La Francophonie used to be a group of countries whose main goal was to make sure the French language did not die out. But with the increasing acceptance of countries where French is not spoken, the focus has changed. "The question of language is not the most important here," said Philippe Delalande, Asia-Pacific director for the Agence de La Francophonie. "There should be a sufficient number of French speakers in the country, but more importantly there must be an ability and a desire to learn." He contrasted La Francophonie with the British Commonwealth, saying membership in the French-speaking club was not limited to former colonies of France. He said although French is used as the main language of cooperation between the countries in the group, it is not the main criteria for joining. This is obvious in Vietnam, the first Asian host of the Francophone summit. Previous summits have been held in Europe, North America and Africa -- the continent with the most Francophone member states. Although Vietnam was colonised by France, most ties to its former rulers have disappeared. The baguettes sold by street vendors and the berets worn by Vietnamese men belie the fact that less than 0.1 percent of the 77 million citizens in the country speak French fluently. The communist country has done its best in the run-up to the November 14-16 summit, giving crash courses in French to hotel workers and people hired to greet the summiteers. Laos and Cambodia, the other two Asian members of the grouping which represents about 450 million people, were also colonised by the French. They, too, have few remaining French speakers although French-language signs are still common in both countries. As for central European countries like Moldova, Romania and observer nation Poland -- they just want to join the group and are welcome, Delalande said, as long as they show a desire to work with the other countries for the same final goal. "The goal of this community is to arrive at certain common cultural, economic and linguistic agreements," Delalande said. France Still Wants Piece of Vietnam By Ian Stewart, Associated Press Writer HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- Baguettes to berets, Vietnam has kept all it wants of its French colonial past -- all, that is, but the language. Reviled by revolutionary hero Ho Chi Minh and virtually eradicated by the communists, French has never quite recovered its place as a linguistic imperative in Vietnam - - not that the Francophiles aren't trying. France, once the colonial master of Indochina, is keen to re-exert at least a little influence over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. If nothing else, Paris wants French to emerge as the region's unofficial second language. For Vietnam, where less than 1 percent of its 76 million people have a functional command of French, Paris has a long way to go. What's worse, the new lingua franca of business and trade in Vietnam is English. Ministry of Education figures show English students outnumber those studying French by a 10-to-1 ratio. "Everywhere we go in Vietnam we can use English," says 21-year-old college student Nguyen Thi Hong Dao. "French is pretty and romantic sounding, but on the street English is more useful." Those of the estimated 70,000 people who do speak French in Vietnam are predominantly 70 years old and up. That hasn't stopped Paris and its linguistic allies from converging on Vietnam for the seventh Francophone summit. At the top of the agenda? What else, French. French President Jacques Chirac and leaders from 48 French-speaking countries -- or countries where at least a few people speak French -- will converge on Vietnam this weekend. France's summit aim? Preserve the French language while trying to stem the growing tide toward English. Asked in French recently why Vietnam was playing host to the summit, Premier Phan Van Khai strained to hear his interpreter's translation into Vietnamese. "It shows our partnership with France," was the prime minister's response. It's a partnership underwritten in development aid. For Vietnam, one of Asia's poorest countries, the Francophone summit is a financial windfall. France has spent millions of dollars in extra development donations to spruce up Hanoi, once dubbed the "Paris of the Orient." Vietnam has left much of the financing to Paris. The city has a fresh coat of paint, roads have been repaved and even a few French signs have been erected. The French government has committed about $100 million for Vietnam in 1997 alone, French diplomat Philippe Beaudry said. Along with business and infrastructure aid, France is helping develop French television and radio programming in Vietnam. Paris supports Vietnam's only French-language newspaper. In the weeks leading up the summit, the French embassy in Hanoi sponsored Francophone quizzes, French literature symposiums, French cooking lectures, French music appreciation festivals and, of course, French lessons. Today's aid and yesterday's colonial heritage have left Hanoi with more than just a hint of its French past. It's been 47 years since the French colonists left Vietnam after the communists handed them a humiliating and bloody defeat at Dien Bien Phu. But today, as four decades ago, the elite from the French expatriate community mingle over gin and tonics and gossip at the colonial-era Metropole Hotel's long bar. To escape the crowded and dusty streets, privileged foreigners and wealthy Vietnamese head to the recently reopened Hanoi Opera house -- carefully fashioned after a French model. But in Vietnam and elsewhere in Indochina, France's linguistic and cultural blitz sometimes meets with resistance. In the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, a few years ago, more than 1,000 students staged a street demonstration to protest having to study French at the Institute of Technology. Back in Hanoi, the Vietnamese have no illusions over language. "Learn English to find a job," said Deputy Prime Minister Ton Nu Thi Minh. "But don't stop there, learn French, it might also be useful." U.S. Flies Typhoon Aid to Vietnam By Ian Stewart, Associated Press Writer HANOI, Vietnam (AP) -- A U.S. Air Force cargo plane filled with $460,000 worth of food, medicine and other aid for typhoon victims landed Wednesday in southern Vietnam -- the first major U.S. donation to Vietnam since the communists seized Saigon in 1975. "The Vietnamese government issued an appeal to the international community and this was an area where we could help," said Dennis Harter, U.S. Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission. Tens of thousands of families remain homeless after Typhoon Linda slammed Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau and Kien Giang provinces earlier this month. Linda killed at least 435 people, according to the Central Committee for Flood and Storm Control. Several thousand more people are missing. The storm caused more than $450 million in damage, flattening entire villages. The United Nations, which is coordinating the relief effort, estimates Vietnam needs at least $12 million in immediate assistance. In all, the United States is donating more than $600,000 in aid to typhoon victims. France and South Korea have both offered about $100,000, while Switzerland donated $400,000 earlier this week. Also Wednesday, French President Jacques Chirac arrived in the Vietnamese capital, looking to extend France's influence over its former colony. U.S. Ambassador Pete Peterson met Wednesday with Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Vu Khoan to deliver a check for $25,000, the U.S. Embassy said. On Tuesday, a chartered commercial flight from Guam delivered about $65,000 worth of medicine and other supplies, Harter said. Additionally, the U.S. government is supplying about $85,000 worth of meteorological equipment to help Vietnam improve its ability to detect the size and pattern of storms. One reason for Typhoon Linda's impact on southern Vietnam was that the region was caught unprepared for its size and speed. "This is such a big national tragedy," said Kim Cuong, a popular Vietnamese actress helping to raise relief funds. "It means so much to have the kindness of the Americans. I'm so happy to hear that they are saving a place for us in their hearts." The arrival of the U.S. C-141 in Ho Chi Minh City marked the first major U.S. donation to Vietnam since 1975, when communists overran the city, then known as Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam. French President Chirac is in Vietnam for two days of joint meetings and a weekend summit of leaders from French- speaking countries. Once an enemy of communist Vietnam, France now maintains a close relationship, offering millions of dollars worth of aid, technical assistance and language training. A strong advocate of Vietnam's effort to liberalize its command economy, Chirac has urged Hanoi to continue with reforms -- a theme he will push during his visit. Vietnam was the crowning jewel in France's network of colonies through the late 1800s and much of the 1900s. But communist unrest and the Japanese occupation of French Indochina during World War II dramatically weakened France's hold on its colony. Although Paris fought to reassert its authority over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos at the end of World War II, communist forces led by revolutionary hero Ho Chi Minh eventually toppled French rule and seized control of Hanoi in 1954. Manila to Provide Assistance to Laos, Myanmar MANILA (Nov. 12) XINHUA - President Fidel Ramos said today that the Philippines is preparing a package of development assistance and technical support to assist Laos and Myanmar in tapping the potentials of their respective peoples. Speaking at his regular press conference at the Presidential Palace, Ramos said the package, in fulfillment of his commitment made during a visit to Laos and Myanmar on October 15-18, will be unveiled shortly. He said the Philippines, which holds the current chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has a responsibility to help in the development of the two new ASEAN members, which joined the regional grouping in July. The other members of ASEAN are Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. According to Ramos, the Philippines will help promote Laos' managerial skills through the establishment of scholarships in Philippine management schools and the cooperation between Philippine universities and the National University of Laos. The Philippines would also provide English training programs for Laos, help enhance Laos' women empowerment, and help Laos develop agriculture and rebuild the country's banking system, he said. Ramos said the human resource development package for Myanmar covers training on development planning and project evaluation, upgrading courses for technology instructors, skills supervising training, master programs in management and graduate programs in development economics. Ramos said a journalist training program has been added to the assistance package for Myanmar at the request of the editor of Myanmar's sole English-language newspaper.