Vietnam official says he fled to US for doctoral degree

Vietnam official says he fled to US for doctoral degree

A Vietnamese official who fled to the U.S. while on a diplomatic mission in Canada last month has told his family that he wants to stay there to study for a doctoral degree.

>> Vietnamese official flees to U.S. during mission in Canada

Tran Ngoc Phi Long, 31, vice head of the international cooperation division under the Department of Foreign Affairs in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, recently phoned his family, explaining why he had got away to the U.S. while attending an exchange session in Canada in early July.

“Our family is poor, so I will face difficulty proving my financial capability when I apply for a visa to go from Vietnam to the U.S. for doctoral studies. Therefore, I decided to flee to the U.S. to study for a PhD,” Ta Thi Dau, Long’s mother, quoted her son as saying.

Dau said her family did not know about Long’s escape to the U.S. until his department informed them of it.

Long also told his family that he is taking a training course in the U.S. so that he can be qualified as a doctoral student in 2015, Dau said.

Pham The Vinh, director of the department, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday that Long had sent a resignation letter from the U.S. to the agency, and that this case will be handled based on the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants and relevant governmental decrees.

Long will be dismissed on the grounds that he unilaterally quit his job, Vinh said, adding that the man is not a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

His division and the department have found no loss of material after Long fled to the U.S., Vinh said.

Long was a member of a Vietnamese delegation sent by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Associations to attend an exchange session held in Canada early last month, said Tran Phuoc Son, deputy director of the Can Tho City Department of Home Affairs.

He was assigned by the department’s director to join the event as a representative of the city, Son said.

Long was listed as one of the 150 local key civil servants selected to be trained abroad under a human resources development program of the Can Tho administration.

He obtained a master’s degree after being trained in the UK from January 2007 to June 15, 2009 at a total cost of VND300 million (US$14,100), covered by the city public budget, Son said.

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