Hanoi (VNA) – Over 120 Vietnamese speakers and intelle꧑ctuals in Japan discussed and answered two major questions, namely should the Vietnamese people  stay abroad or return home?” And if they stay, what should they do to contribute to the homeland?

  Within the framework of the first Vietnam Summit in Japan 2019 in Tokyo on November 16, a discussion session, themed "Vietnamese intellectuals’ contributions to Vietnam’s development", was held. The session attracted the attention of many overseas Vietnamese with answers to two major questions: Should the Vietnamese people stay abroad or return home? And if they stay, what should they do to contribute to the homeland? More than 120 Vietnamese speakers and intellectuals in Japan attended the event, 41 percent them hesitated to decide whether they should return or live permanently in Japan. Sharing his view, speaker Cao Minh Viet, a Vingroup representative in Japan, said it depends on each person, and on feeling about place in which one lives.   Meanwhile, speaker Nguyen Thi Hong Nhung, Director of Human Resources Training and Development of FPT Japan Holdings told her own story.  It was on a cold snowy day in Tokyo when she was taking her son home from school, her young son asked a question that made her cry "Mom, in Vietnam I was taken to school by you. But why do I have to walk in the snow here like this?” Obviously, there are always many beautiful outlooks about living abroad such as a good living environment, job opportunities with high income, but whether they really bring happiness? Speaker Nguyen Hoang Thao, founder of the movements "Say no to nylon bags" and "Go Eco Hanoi" sent a message of choosing the place where one feels happy, "Everywhere is home", she said. The second question is what should be done abroad to contribute to the home country? Among participants at the event, 44 percent said they have yet to make any contribution to the homeland. Explaining about this, speaker Vu Hoang Duc, President of the Vietnam Business Association in Japan shared his own story about setting up a business from scratch abroad. According to him, Vietnam now has high demand for high-tech products, food and household appliances. As Vietnam-Japan relations are growing, the Vietnamese people need to seize opportunities for trade, he said. Cao Minh Viet said that Japan has undergone a long development process with an enormous amount of technical and technological accumulation that is applicable to Vietnam. However, it is necessary to be selective when it comes to adopting technologies, prevent turning Vietnam into the world’s technology landfill. What Vietnam needs is the transfer of quintessential values, technology from which new values will be created, he said. His message is "Be ready to commit, do not give up the goals you have chosen and you will definitely never regret about it." Speaker Nguyen Hoang Thao shared a new approach to living environment issues.   According to a survey at the event, 42 percent said that living environment such as air, food, medical care are the most important factors when considering about returning home or staying abroad. Therefore, she suggested launching environmental protection movements such as reducing plastic wastes. A clean and free-of-waste Vietnam "house" that Thao and her friends are trying to build is a positive contribution to calling the talents to return to Vietnam. Participants expressed their sentiments to the homeland and believed that with planning, goals and never-give-up spirit, the Vietnamese intellectuals could contribute to the development of Vietnam./.