CNN's Kelly Wallace on the scene in Hanoi, Vietnam

Wallace

As a White House correspondent for CNN, Kelly Wallace reports on presidential activities both nationally and internationally. She is in Hanoi covering the first visit by a U.S. president.

Q: Talk of trade highlights President Clinton's visit. Do the Vietnamese people see any paradox in dealing with what was for years a sworn enemy?

WALLACE: It's interesting -- there seems to be a lot of curiosity on the part of the Vietnamese people about the visit. Hundreds of Vietnamese people lined up as the president and Chelsea drove in their motorcade from the airport to their hotel. Most of those people were younger than 30, and more than half of Vietnam's population was born after the war. The younger people seem to be curious and excited about the visit, and about the potential of opening up the country to the U.S. and the world. But for the people who lived through the war -- who saw the pain and suffering and deaths firsthand, there are still some deep wounds.

So it will be interesting during this visit to see, overall, how the Vietnamese people respond, and whether those still with some resentment see this as a chance to open up to the rest of the world.

Q: The first lady is to focus on women's issues in talks in Hanoi. How is that being received?

WALLACE: What will be interesting to see, is Hillary Rodham Clinton playing two roles -- as first lady she will be with her husband at the state dinner and other events, but she is also here as a new U.S. senator-elect from the state of New York. She will focus on an issue that's she's paid a great deal of attention to as first lady, and also something she talked about in her campaign, which is empowering women and lifting people up from poverty.

In Hanoi, she'll focus on microcredit programs, which give small loans to often-poor women to help them start businesses. So while there will be lots of attention on how Bill Clinton, an anti-war protester as a young man, is received in Vietnam, there also will be a lot of focus on how Mrs. Clinton handles her new role with her more traditional one in this historic visit to Vietnam.

Q: Apparently Hanoi's youth turned out to glimpse President Clinton's motorcade. Did the people know Chelsea is traveling with her father? Is she doing anything special for the Vietnam visit?

WALLACE: Chelsea is definitely here with her father. She walked with him off Air Force One as they arrived in Hanoi, the president looking somewhat reflective, and Chelsea, as she often does, holding his hand. We would expect Chelsea to spend time with both her mother and her father on this trip. I believe she will be with Mrs. Clinton visiting women in local villages, and I believe she will be on hand when the president delivers his address to the people of Vietnam at a local university in Hanoi. I don't expect Chelsea to hold any events of her own, but at every stop she is likely to be quite a star attraction, and she is one who always takes time to talk to people in the crowd. I would expect that her time in Vietnam would not be any different.

Q: There are reports that the Vietnamese are showing great curiosity for all the Americans traveling to Hanoi, with one American news photographer even getting kissed. Do you notice yourself drawing attention?

WALLACE: I just walked out on the street to get to my live shot location, and many people were saying hello, looking closely at me, asking me if I want to get a ride or want to buy what they're selling. I think Americans do draw a lot of attention. Certainly, as the whole White House press corps is here, as well as White House staff, all of us are likely to get lots of attention from the Vietnamese people.

Talking to colleagues on the plane as we arrived here, many had never been to Vietnam before, and everyone looked forward to reporting not just on the president's historic visit, but on this country and the people and the extraordinary changes that have been made here over the past 25 years. The Vietnam War touches everybody, so it is a very powerful place in our own history.

Q: Are veterans of the war with the United States visible and obvious in Hanoi?

WALLACE: It will be interesting to see during our visit if veterans in Vietnam are as recognizable as in the United States, or as vocal about the war and the aftermath. In the United States there are some conflicting feelings about Mr. Clinton's visit: Some think he shouldn't be here because of the positions he took opposing the war as a young man, but others believe some healing can be accomplished by seeing Vietnam move forward, reforming its economy and its political system. And they believe Mr. Clinton's visit, potentially, can help bring about some of those changes. It is unclear if there are similar conflicting feelings on the part of veterans here in Vietnam. That issue would be interesting to explore as we go through this three-day trip.

Q: Does it appear the U.S. election controversy weighs on the president as he travels around the globe?

WALLACE: It is a subject that continues to come up, even as the president tries to turn his attention to other matters. In Brunei, many of the Asia Pacific rim leaders asked him about the unresolved election; reporters constantly ask the president about it. Mr. Clinton says he did not sense any anxiety on the part of the leaders about what is going on in the United States. Basically he told them what he has been telling the American people, that the process is under way and everything will work out in the end.

But while the president is trying to say little publicly, privately he is definitely focused on this. His senior advisers are in daily touch with the Gore campaign and are giving him regular updates about the recount in Florida. He may be half way around the world, but his thoughts are still clearly close to home.

For more ASIANOW news, myCNN.com will bring you news from the areas and subjects you select.

See related sites about Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian media sites

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.