Two security guards checked bags and padded down hundreds of visitors this evening at the Hmong Cultural and Community Center.

The tight security was for a rare visit from Vang Pao, a former major general in the Royal Lao Army.
Pao was indicted on federal charges last year in an alleged conspiracy plot to overthrow the current Communist government in Laos.

Yet for many Hmong in La Crosse and across the state, the federal indictment has not dimmed their support for the man they view as the leader of their transplanted community in the U.S.

HMAA board member Mai Nhia Vue credits Pao’s work with the CIA decades ago with allowing people like her parents to flee Laos to the United States.

“I wouldn’t be here in this country if it weren’t for him,” she said.

A visit by Pao is akin to meeting Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, she said.

“It’s a big thing, especially when he doesn’t come out much,” Vue said, “and not to a small town, unless something big is happening.”

For more on this story, see Friday's Tribune or check back at www.lacrossetribune.com.

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