Tran Thang has hosted a slew of study-abroad seminars and activities for Vietnamese students, found several old maps proving Vietnam’s sovereignty, and introduced the country’s history and culture to the US without ever asking for something in return.

As the chairman of the New-York based Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education, he has collected dozens of made-in-China maps which do not include Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands in the territory of China.

Over the last few weeks, Thang has slept only few hours each day. His remaining time has been spent looking for old maps published in China without Truong Sa and Hoang Sa.

As soon as he learned of a person selling a China-made atlas, he asked for leave and drove four hours from Connecticut to New York to meet the map seller.

Thang said the atlas was as big as a table and included dozens of pages, and was published in 1933. He opened each page of the very detailed atlas, showing each province and area of China. Tibet was also listed in these maps.

He felt happy and relieved to find that none of the atlas’ pages included Truong Sa or Hoang Sa . According to the maps, the southernmost point of China stops at Hainan Island.

The more time he spent seeking maps, the more cheerful he was. He has uncovered a score of maps, made by prestigious publishers since 1800 onward, proving that Truong Sa and Hoang Sa belong to Vietnam.

After asking history experts for advices, Thang paid thousands of US dollars to buy nearly 60 maps, although at that time he did not know who to transfer them to.

Professor Tran Van Khe said that Thang has been a man of the community since he was a student at the University of Connecticut, where he was elected chairman of the Student Association. He has also worked hard to introduce Vietnamese culture to the US.

Half a year after Thang invited Professor Tran Van Khe to talk about Vietnamese traditional music at his university for the first time in May 1995, he and several friends created Nhip Song Magazine. Ever since, the magazine has been published annually around the time of the lunar New Year festival, with the collaboration of several researchers and experts.

After graduating and working at Pratt & Whitney Company for a short period, Thang and several intellectuals established the Institute for Vietnamese Culture and Education (IVCE), which he is the chairman of.

Thang said that the institute was established because of the significant role of culture and education in Vietnam’s development.

During its first few years, IVCE faced many difficulties, with only a few activities being held, until Thang promoted film screening at universities.

IVCE now carries out 5-6 film screening programs a year together with artist exchanges. Via these programs, several Vietnamese films have been introduced to the US, including Doi Cat (Sand life), Me Thao – thoi vang bong (Glorious time in Me Thao Hamlet), Vua bai rac (King of the dump), Mua len trau (Buffalo boy), Chuyen cua Pao (Story of Pao), Song trong so hai (Living in fear), Trang noi day gieng (The moon at the bottom of the well), Dung dot (Don’t burn it), and Canh dong bat tan (Floating lives).

According to Ton Nu Thi Ninh, former chairwoman of the National Assembly Committee for Foreign Relations, since the beginning, Thang has done as much as possible to connect the community and never claimed anything in return for his efforts.

Thang regularly returns to Vietnam to host activities for students who are planning to study abroad. Thang and other members of IVCE organize numerous study abroad seminars, attracting students in cities like Ho Chi Minh, Can Tho, Hanoi, Nha Trang, and Da Nang, as well as other provinces nationwide.

He has also mobilized overseas and Vietnamese students from well-known universities to share their study experience and teach English to thousands of students free of charge.

When he became too busy organizing activities at the institution, Thang asked to leave Pratt & Whitney.

“I will return to work when I run out of money,” he said.

Tran Duc Anh Son, a culture researcher, said that Thang has silently done a lot to introduce Vietnam’s history and culture to American scholars and students, but has never asked for payment or weighed the pros and cons of his devotion.