MELBOURNE – The City of Yarra has decided to formally recognise the Vietnamese Yellow Flag – also known as ‘Co Vang’ – as symbolic of the identity and contributions of Vietnamese Australian people, the local council said on its website.

The decision was in response to a request from the Victorian Chapter of the Vietnamese Community in Australia (VCA).

Yarra has become the third city after Dandenong and Maribyrnong to recognise the flag of the former Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam).

The yellow flag with three horizontal red stripes ceased to exist as a state symbol in 1975, when the fall of Saigon signalled the end of the Vietnam War.

The council said on its website that it took into consideration the “profound contribution” that Vietnamese immigrants have made to Yarra’s culture and economy over the past 40 years.

VCA state president Vivienne Nguyen told TiVi Tuan-san in an email, she welcomed the council’s latest announcement.

“To me, the Yellow Flag does not belong exclusively to Vietnamese refugees, but any Vietnamese overseas who love freedom and want to see freedom in Vietnam,” she said.

“What’s really significant about this initiative in Yarra is that the team is led by a group of 5 second generation Aussies of Viet background who want to pay tribute to those who worked hard for them, to those who died, so they can live and to proudly display their identity.”

VCA has also requested for the flag to fly above Richmond Town Hall on Vietnamese Veterans Day every year on June 19.

“We want to show our identity, our heritage, our pride in this multicultural society where diversity and inclusion are the foundation of public policies, innovation and harmony,” Ms Nguyen said.

Yarra Council has yet to reach a final decision on the matter.

– TiVi Tuan-san