[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 97 (Friday, June 7, 2024)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E599-E600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING DR. YANG DAO

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, June 7, 2024

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate 
Dr. Yang Dao for a lifetime of achievements spanning over five decades 
of public service and community contributions to the multi-Lao ethnic 
people of Laos and the Hmong American Diaspora community in the United 
States and beyond. Born on September 7, 1943, to Yang Mi Nou and Her 
Kei in the Xieng Khouang Province during the Royal Kingdom of Laos, Dr. 
Yang Dao was educated in the time of the French colonial administration 
of Indochina, received a high school diploma in June 1964, and 
graduated with a bachelor's degree (baccalaureate francaise) from the 
University of Paris in 1968. With funding support from the United 
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Dr. 
Yang Dao went on to complete a doctoral program in 1972, becoming the 
first Hmong in history to receive a PhD in Social Science from The 
Sorbonne University in France.
  After completing his graduate studies, Dr. Yang Dao returned to the 
Royal Kingdom of Laos to serve the government in many important roles, 
including as the Director of Human Resources in the Ministry of 
Planning from 1972 to 1974, and was later appointed by the King of 
Laos, His Majesty King Sisavang Vatthana as a member of the National 
Political Consultative Council (National Assembly) from 1974 to 1975 
during the last unity coalition government consisting of the Royalist 
and Neo Lao Hat Sak (Pathet Lao) political factions.
  The fall of Laos to the communist Pathet Lao in May 1975 forced 
hundreds of thousands of Lao, Hmong, and other multi-ethnic

[[Page E600]]

refugees to flee to the neighboring country Thailand by crossing the 
mighty Mekong River, where Dr. Yang Dao and his family joined the 
exodus of refugees in seeking safety. In July 1976, Dr. Yang Dao's 
family resettled to France and later migrated to the State of Minnesota 
(USA) in 1983.
  Upon his arrival in the United States, Dr. Yang Dao joined the 
faculty at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus as an Adjunct 
Professor teaching Southeast Asian Anthropology and History. He went on 
to teach at many local Twin Cities higher education institutions 
including Hamline University, and Metropolitan State University. 
Throughout his career, Dr. Yang Dao has authored many books, including 
Hmong History, Culture, and Spirituality at a Glance Through Speeches 
released in 2023, Hmong at the Turning Point (1993-French and English), 
and first Hmong-French Dictionary (1964). He has also co-authored many 
books and has written extensively in academic periodicals and Journals.
  Dr. Yang Dao is also a well-known public speaker who has participated 
in many national and international conferences in the United States, 
France, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and China. He speaks Hmong, Lao, 
French, English, Thai, Vietnamese and Cantonese (Chinese). Dr. Yang Dao 
is also a prolific artist and composer who has created albums and 
popular songs from Sib Pab Ciaj Vaj (Hmong unity) to Nkauj Hnub Twj 
Tuaj Ci lab (Hmong face a bright new dawn)
  As one of the very few surviving officials of the Royal Lao 
government, Dr. Yang Dao is still very active in civic engagement, 
frequently traveling internationally to foster public diplomacy by 
promoting peace and encouraging educational and cultural exchanges.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in this well-deserved tribute to Dr. Yang 
Dao, for his lifetime of service to Hmong Americans in Minnesota and 
across the United States of America.

                          ____________________