While Hon Lien is now a successful businesswoman, active in community service, and a Milpitas City Council member running for mayor, her backstory began long ago and far away.
Hon Lien grew up in Bac Lieu, a coastal city in the southern part of South Vietnam. Her father was from China and married her mother in Vietnam, and they had eleven children. They escaped from Vietnam by boat in 1978. Lien says, “My family spent 13 months in a Malaysian refugee camp and resettled in the United States on December 26, 1979. That evening, having delivered my family to freedom, my father suffered a stroke and died shortly after.” Hon began work at age 14 to help support her family as she attended George Washington High School in San Francisco. After graduating, she attended San Francisco City College for two years.
In 1987 Hon Lien co-founded Sunnyvale Seafood Corp., which distributed seafood throughout the Bay Area and California. By 2003, it had 55 employees and $60 million in revenue. She has started many businesses and been successful in most. In 2002, she started L&D Enterprise in Vietnam, which manufactures, packages and exports food products to the United States and Europe. Due to her business experience, she was asked to serve on the board for the Lincoln Law School.
After living in San Jose, Hon Lien moved to Milpitas in 2009 and began working in banking. Her business success allowed her to become active in the community and help others. She joined the Milpitas Rotary Club and served two terms as its President. She and her brother organized a project that has provided over 20,000 refurbished wheelchairs and hospital beds to clinics and hospitals in Vietnam.
Lien served as a member of the Milpitas Planning Commission and then six years on the Milpitas Unified School District board. In 2022 she won election to the Milpitas City Council with a strong first place finish among eight candidates.
Hon’s priorities as mayor will include improving public safety, where she wants to make sure that the police and fire departments have the resources to do their jobs properly. She will also work to increase affordable housing and restore confidence in the city government. The latter is much needed in a council notorious for discord in recent years. She will emphasize improving transparency and cooperation.
Hon Lien says, “I am determined to repay our nation for the opportunity to have a good life. I believe in the American dream and that is why I have decided to dedicate myself to serving our community.” Hon and her husband have four adult children – a son who lives with them and three daughters out on their own. You can learn more about Hon Lien’s campaign for Milpitas mayor on her campaign website, HonforMayor.com.