"South Vietnam had to be built from scratch and, from the very beginning, depended far too much on the Western superpowers. As in the case of a person on public welfare, this dependency, which became greater with each day, was quite difficult to shake"

In this quote, Nguyen Cao Ky is describing the state of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He describes that the country needed to be entirely reconstructed after years of dispute and destruction. Nevertheless, from the very start, South Vietnam relied heavily on the support and help of Western superpowers. This dependence on outside help resembled a person who depends on public welfare. As time went on, this dependence just grew stronger and it ended up being increasingly challenging for South Vietnam to break away from it. This quote highlights the vulnerability and fragility of South Vietnam during this tumultuous time.