At a calligraphy class in Hanoi, Hoang Thi Thanh Huyen slides her brush across the page to form the letters and tonal marks of Vietnam's unique modern script, in part a legacy of French colonial rule.
The history of romanized Vietnamese, or "Quoc Ngu," links the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, colonization by the French and the rise to power of the Communist Party.
It is now reflected in the country's "bamboo diplomacy" approach of seeking strength through flexibility, or looking to stay on good terms with the world's major powers.
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