Hung Cao and To Lam – A Symbolic Confrontation in Ba Dinh On November 2, 2025, at the headquarters of the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hanoi, U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao — a refugee from Saigon in 1975 and now a symbol of freedom and the rule of law — faced General Secretary To Lam, the embodiment of an authoritarian, police-state system. The meeting, held within the framework of the U.S.–Vietnam Defense Dialogue marking the 30th anniversary of normalized relations, not only rein