Interview with Tống Minh Tuấn


"At the dawn of life o­n earth, o­n the eighth of March, old To complained to God: "It is such an unfairness, your highness, that besides painful delivering, I also have to raise my offspring (how old is your daughter, To? Let me have her for my kid), while Adam has to do nothing but messing around with his concubines." God thought To was right, and because it was 3/8, he declared that: "from now o­n, women shall o­nly bear and deliver the offspring, and men shall raise them." Thus, God transplanted the women's breasts o­nto men's chests. Sadly, even with the responsibility of raising the offspring, men still leave home to hang out and neglect the offspring so often they all died. Witnessing such a catastrophe, To felt great pain and appealed for a repossession of the right to raise her offspring. God, who had been seeing the earth's populations greatly decrese, agreed to return the two hooters to women. The origin still has its evidences:

1. For surgical technology back then was still poor, the operations left two big scars o­n today's men's chests.
2. As a law of inheritance, though the hooters had been returned to old To, more than often men still want to... grab'em back."


A year ago, this kind of stories were very familiar to HAO members. They appeared frequently in box "Vuon Cuoi," and Tong Minh Tuan, or "bo chau," were often mentioned. Everyone's impression of Tuan was that he is a humorous character, a good guitar player, and an enthusiastic contributor in HAO. He fights in many battlefields, including box "Vuon Cuoi," the Economics club, the Technology club, and box "Serious Discussions." Though his popularity is unquestionable, I bet many still have great curiosity as to who this person really is in real life, or when he is offline, and whether he is as funny and enthusiastic as he is o­nline. So the Editors created this opportunity to find out more about this person.


Tong Minh Tuan was born o­n 01/02/79, same as the birth date of Batigol, his idolized football player. Tuan looks more like a successful white-collar cadre than what most people o­n HAO have imagined. He is currently working at Vietcombank, a place familiar to most of those studying abroad. When we met, he was extremely friendly and open. He had a comfortable way of talking and he looked much younger that what his age--25 says. Our interview went o­n in a friendly, intimate atmosphere.

Here is how the interview went:


PV: Bro Tuan, you're very popular o­n HAO, and you have been known as o­n of the first members of HAO. How did you come to HAO?

It was during my study in Ho Chi Minh city, around the end of 2000. I heard people talking about our Ams' site. Missing the old school, I went to check it out. Back then, there were o­nly a few people. I remember there were bro Nguyen Manh Hai, Nguyen Xuan Son--my classmate, and of course bro Mai Thanh Ha. Bro Ha had many posts during this time. This was the first time I learned about the concept of a forum, posting messages, uploading images... Of course, no deleting posts yet. hih hih.


PV: And you have been active o­n HAO ever since?

Not really. At first, though I posted a lot, I didn't really like to participate in message posting in the forum. I actually started being active in mid 2000. During this time, I was running into many people I knew o­n HAO. I was meeting friends, praising each other, and fighting each other verbally. I was so into arguing that I had got addicted to the forum before I knew it. I posted lots of funny shorts in box "vuon Cuoi" and I think people did laugh a bit. My jokes were not anything new but I wanted to turn them into something with Ams flavour. So you see, HAO members' names started to appear in my stories. It's fun to think back of those days.


PV: There have been some opinions o­n how offensive and irritating using real people names in jokes can be. What's your say o­n that?

People should not stretch too much o­n this matter. Most of the people whose names I used for my jokes are long-time members of HAO, having been friends close enough to take the jokes. So I think it is acceptable. Moreover, as you can see, because real names were used, our "Vuon Cuoi" board's atmosphere has become more intimate; the board has become more attractive and has drawn many more new members.



PV: You are known to be the author of many very dirty jokes. The fact is many people have bad impression of you. Are you worried about this at all?

Frankly, I know this well. Seeing me for the first time, some people even exclaimed: "whoa, I never knew the real Tong Minh Tuan looks this polite! I thought you were something else." Of course, I know I what that "something else" is. Many people have problems reading my jokes. Some don't bother to read my jokes. Some like my jokes so much they spend their time o­nline solely to read jokes in Vuon cuoi. It depends o­n what o­ne likes and do not like. I don't really find this a big deal. Mocking people is o­ne of my hobbies.



PV: So Vuon Cuoi is your nurturing ground, right?

It's not like that. My impression in the box is probably so strong (and dirty) that it gives people that idea. I actually spent time participating in many other Boards, such as the "Serious Discussions" board and the "Economics" board. I remember, back in the old days, there were just a few people in the "Economics" board. To post an interesting topic in this board was a difficult task. I am very glad to see the number of people contributing posts to this board increase, making the board a lot more active. Being a mod of boards such as this o­ne really made me proud. That's why back then, I used to posts replies like there's no tomorrow whenever someone poses a question, though I wasn't sure whether my answers were right or not (laugh).



PV: As an alumnus as well as a long-time committed member of HAO, how would you evaluate Ams students, especially those who are members of HAO?

Generations of Ams have a common and easily identified trait, which is their uniqueness. They are very active, smart, and modern. More importantly, those who have graduated are proud of their school. That is indeed very grateful of them. For me, I have made closest friends with those who are from Ams.

Nonetheless, though our people are very creative and active, but due to extremely early exposure to Western cultures, they have not been able to refrain from certain twisted ideas and philosophies. I'm not talking about all of Ams students; however, many students recently returned from abroad have taken very negative views of Viet Nam. They pay too much attention to the bad side of things at home, neglecting all the achievements our nation has made to this day. So I would really like the HAO youth to take a more mature view of things. I really hope that HAO will become the place to provide good guidance for Amsers and all students in general.



PV: Thank you. We should switch to personal stuff--your perspectives. It seems like you haven't been very active lately, how so?

That's true. I have been busy with a lot of personal issues. I'm participating in a book donation. The goal of this donation is to motivate students abroad to donate books that are interesting and valuable, with the attempt to advocate learning and introducing new perspectives to Vietnamese students. Besides that, when books are available, some others and I are going to translate them into Vietnamese, so it would be more convenient for people to refer to them.

But still, I have been following topics in HAO. Our young students are now very active, and I really like to read their writings in HAO. I have learned a lot from them.


PV: I heard you are also running a charity?

Ah, "charity" is too serious a name for this. Some friends of mine and I intend to help a little friend who is in a very tough situation. His/her parents, grandparents, and siblings all have strange mental diseases. Despite this, this person is very strong-spirited, a good students who has gained a lot of achievements. We are just trying to get people to help this kid out with financial support. Soon, I will directly deliver our gift to this little kid.


PV : That sounds really moving. Your life must be really meaningful then? What are your plans for the nearest future? Jobs or family, for instance?

Ah, I also plan to continue my education. I want to complete a doctorate degree in economics. Marriage is way far ahead. It will probably happen after I get to 30, because no o­ne has ever asked to marry me yet(laugh).



PV: So what's your definition of a happy life?

A happy life is the life in which you are free to follow your interests. I am a nature-loving person; I like to travel to different places, observing objects and matters to gain more life experience. Often I find happiness with a digital camera in hand, riding my motorbike everywhere, and it'd be even better with a girl sitting in the back (laugh).



PV: That sounds really romantic. Talking about girls, people are very curious about your woman. If I'm not wrong, "it" all started in last year's HAO Meeting, right?

Hih hih, if you do say so, that's right. It's a very romantic story. My girlfriend is also a contributor in HAO, and now she has gone abroad to study.



PV: Whoa, that's real cool. So HAO was the love bridge for you guys? I like that. When is the same thing gonna happen to me? Well, I guess this much interview is enough to help people learn a great deal about you. I wish you success in your work, happiness with your beloved, and great enthusiasm with HAO.

Thank you.


March 2004

Interview conducted by Lê Thu Quỳnh, Nga 00-03
Translated by Trần Anh Dũng, Anh3 00-03
Edited by Quynh My
Posted by Nguyen Thu Hien, Van 98-01