Nghe An Newspaper reaches out to the soldiers on Bach Long Vi Island.

A delegation of officials and reporters from Nghe An Newspaper and the Provincial Radio and Television Station organized a visit to extend New Year greetings to the soldiers of Naval Region A and those on duty on Bach Long Vi Island. Their gifts consisted only of "cu do" candy – a specialty with the rich flavor of Nghe An province – and 50 copies of the Nghe An Spring Newspaper as New Year's gifts for the naval soldiers. Unexpectedly, these two gifts were especially appreciated by the soldiers on the island.

It's worth noting that among the hundreds of officers and soldiers who remained on duty and celebrated Tet on the island this year, many were from Nghe An province. They were deeply moved upon receiving gifts from their hometown. The Tet editions of Nghe An newspapers were passed around and read enthusiastically. Some colleagues working in the press in Hai Phong carefully reviewed the Tet edition of Nghe An newspapers and gave positive feedback on both its content and presentation style. Comrade Phan Van Dien, Editor-in-Chief of the Vietnam Navy newspaper, originally from Dien Chau, said: "I left my hometown to work in Hai Phong more than 30 years ago, and I rarely have the opportunity to return home, so I didn't know how much Nghe An had changed. Through the Party Committee's newspaper, I see that our hometown is developing very strongly. The Tet edition of Nghe An newspapers has reflected quite fully and comprehensively all aspects of the province's economic and social situation. In Hai Phong,Every Tet holiday, the Nghe An expatriate association organizes a gathering and visits each other to exchange New Year greetings. Everyone wants to know information about their hometown. Thank you, gentlemen, for this year I have this newspaper as a gift for everyone."

On this island, 130km from the mainland, books and newspapers are scarce, so even soldiers from other provinces flock to the Nghe An newspaper to find information they are interested in. Some young soldiers even bring notebooks to copy poems published in the newspaper and read them aloud to each other. Sergeant Nguyen Thanh Gian, a young soldier from the air defense unit stationed on the island, originally from Ninh Giang, Hai Duong, followed the reporter around, hesitating for a while before finally daring to ask for a copy of the Nghe An Tet newspaper as a keepsake because... he has a girlfriend he met through letters who is from Nghe An. We met several compatriots working on Bach Long Vi Island and in Naval Region A: Lieutenant Colonel Dinh Xuan Bay, working in the special propaganda and civilian affairs department of the Navy - originally from Nam Dan; Lieutenant Dau Quoc Huy, platoon leader of the T22 air defense observation post - originally from Do Luong; soldier Tran Chau Tien - originally from Da Son, Do Luong... All of them share a common longing for their homeland, especially in the days leading up to Tet. Therefore, the information and images about their homeland in the Nghe An newspaper helped them ease their homesickness.

Fifty copies of the Nghe An newspaper were an extremely meaningful gift for the soldiers on the island. Many more people continued to come wanting to receive a copy, and we had to give them even the last newspapers we intended to carry with us to read during our free time on the road, but it still wasn't enough. When they learned that, despite being in a remote location, they were the first readers to receive this year's Tet issue of the Nghe An newspaper – because we had just received them from the printing house, still smelling of fresh ink, and the newspapers hadn't even been distributed to readers yet – smiles bloomed on the soldiers' faces, filled with emotion, and we felt the happiness of being journalists.

Hoang Hao