My name is Mike and I am a Vietnamese-American. I am the son of Vietnamese immigrants who were also Vietnamese refugees after the war. 

Recently, Apple Inc. released an update to the iOS firmware which added a handful of new emojis. Among these new emojis were a handful of new international flags. In their previous emoji update they had the current flag of Vietnam, the one officially recognized by the UN. This flag however is not the one that Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam recognize. This flag represents an oppressive government that caused them to flee their homeland. 

When I heard that there would be new flags in the emojis I was highly anticipating that we would finally receive the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag. The Yellow flag with three stripes. The flag that represented South Vietnam prior to the end of the Vietnam War. The flag that many refugees wrapped themselves in before jumping overboard when they heard that they would have to give it up if they wanted to be helped as it was no longer a recognized flag in the UN. This flag that means so much to each an every Vietnamese heart abroad. We did not receive this flag and our representation continues to be overlooked. 

That is why I am making this petition today. To request that Apple Inc. and Unicode add the Vietnamese Heritage and Freedom Flag into their next update. I request that our representation, even if it is a small gesture in the form of an emoji, becomes a priority.