WESTMINSTER, CA – Rain or shine Khuong Tran and his friends can be found sitting and talking about daily news outside of Z Café in Westminster, also known as Little Saigon to the Vietnamese community who resides there.

“I’m retired now. So every morning, our group of friends who are Vietnamese refugees like myself come out to talk, drink coffee and read newspapers,” said Khuong Tran, who emigrated to the United States 42 years ago. 

While he and his friends don’t share their drinks, they do share their thoughts on what they read in Nguoi Viet Daily news, which is the oldest and largest Vietnamese daily publication in the United States. 

“I really like Nguoi Viet Daily News because it has news about Vietnam. It keeps us updated with what’s going on in this country. I also like the columns by Ngo Dan Dung,” said Tran.

One of Tran’s favorite journalists from Nguoi Viet goes by the pen name, Ngo Nhan Dung. He is an editor and well-known columnist for the newspaper, which is headquartered just a couple blocks away from the café. The journalist’s real name is Toan Do. 

“Most people want to use their mother tongue so one way to do it is to have friends, talking, but the best way is to read,” said Do. 

Do was invited to join the team by Yen Ngoc Do, the late founder of Nguoi Viet Daily news, who began the publication in his garage more than 40 years ago. Now the company has 70 employees and prints 10,000 copies every night at a press plant located in Riverside. Every month, the paper’s website gets hundreds of thousands of hits from readers all over the world.

“The Vietnamese at a certain age, 50 years or older, they have their Vietnamese taste. They think is what is important for them, it’s not the same as other readers of the local newspaper,” said Do. 

The senior journalist says he’s passionate about his column where he writes about United States politics and what’s going on in Vietnam politically and economically. 

“Like all other writers, we have to love the language. We have to love the words. When you write, you want to choose the word and make the best possible word to fit to what you want to say. That really is a kind of a passion,” said Do.

One word at a time, Do and the journalists at Nguoi Viet use their words to inform Vietnamese communities in Little Saigon, other parts of the world and back in their home country of Vietnam.