Ho Quang Loi: The path of journalism, the path of culture - Part 2: Accumulation and diffusion

Nghe An used to be a poor province, and is still not a rich province today. During the war years, it is difficult to describe all the hardships and sufferings of the people of Nghe An. Until now, I, the author of this article, always ask myself: Who was the leader with such a far-sighted vision to decide during those years of war and hardship to establish a specialized school for literature and mathematics to nurture the province's excellent students? Being poor but still daring to reduce the people's rice to raise excellent students and establish the first specialized high school in the North (now Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Nghe An) is truly a decision with strategic vision.

Journalist Ho Quang Loi and colleagues welcomed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the 10th Congress of the Vietnam Journalists Association in August 2015. Photo: Archive

Is that the origin of the tradition of studiousness and thirst for knowledge of Nghe An, the tradition of “Nghe Scholar” that once spread throughout the country? That decision, that determination was so strong that if there were no specialized schools, then specialized classes would be established! War, death, and sacrifice on the fierce front line, no matter how, but the day of victory, the day of peace, there must be talented people to build the homeland and the country. That is why later in 1974, Nghe An province established a specialized high school named after the patriot Phan Boi Chau. It must be said that the thinking of the leaders of Nghe An province at that time was ahead of its time!

Ho Quang Loi's Literature Class 1970 - 1973 was "supported by the province", due to the fierce war, he had to be sent to study at high schools in Nghi Loc district, then Thanh Chuong district when his own specialized school had not yet been established. In this literature class with him were also friends who later became quite famous, including Dr. Nguyen Sy Dung... Three years of studying at the school were truly beautiful memories of student life. Hunger, of course, but knowledge was a vast ocean that the best teachers in the province passed on to Ho Quang Loi and his friends. The school, with the kindness of the province, opened to allow excellent students like Ho Quang Loi to dream of going to far horizons. It seemed that starting from the pages of books, the teachers of this Nghe An specialized class gradually ignited the civic consciousness and social responsibility in Ho Quang Loi. From the sea of ​​Nghe An to the oceans of the five continents, it would not be far.

As Ho Quang Loi wished and his teachers expected, in the 1973 university entrance exam, he and 12 classmates got high scores and were sent to study in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries. His mother had no idea where Romania was, only that it was our side, the socialist side, but she must have been the happiest person. In his life, there were many great joys, but perhaps this was the first achievement of a dutiful son to his hard-working mother, the most meaningful and happiest!

Journalist Ho Quang Loi and poet Huu Thinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association at the book launch ceremony "Rolling Horizons". Photo: Document

The days at the Foreign Student Department at Hanoi University of Foreign Languages, having to study French and Romanian at the same time - two languages ​​that at that time he did not know a single word - were the most intense early days. The farmer's son from a poor village in Nghe An had to work very hard to catch up with his classmates, many of whom had studied French at Hanoi Pedagogical University. Nghe's intelligence and determination paid off. After a year of studying foreign languages, Ho Quang Loi was able to go to the beautiful, peaceful and poetic country of Romania to study at the University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​and Literature.

About his first days at university in that faraway country, Ho Quang Loi shared: “The professors, including the very famous Professor Paul Miclău, who was often invited to teach at the Sorbonne University in France, taught in a new way, the teacher just talked nonstop, the students could write down whatever they wanted. Seeing me sitting listening attentively without taking any notes, my Romanian girlfriend named Violeta sitting next to me felt strange and asked why. I replied that I didn’t understand anything and my face turned red with embarrassment. The next day, Violeta brought a carbon copy, and put a sheet on each page of the lecture notes. At the end of class, Violeta took out the original copy and gave it to me, she only kept the carbon copy. I was surprised and touched. Romanian people are very honest, kind, and always care about others. Just like that, she helped me every day. Combined with the pride of a man and a Vietnamese person, I studied day and night and after a while, I gradually got better at listening to lectures...”. During those 5 years of studying in your country, besides knowledge, what did you gain most valuable? Once when I asked that, Ho Quang Loi did not hesitate to share, “It is the method of independent thinking, freely proposing ideas. It seems that there is no single common answer to a problem. That answer is personal creativity that is appropriate to the nature of events and reality. 10 years of general education in our country, one year of studying at the Faculty of Overseas Students is 11, I see that your country, although also a socialist country like ours, has a different way of studying and thinking. That makes me excited”. Sometimes I think if I had not had those days of studying and forming that personal, independent thinking, would there have been a journalist like Ho Quang Loi later?

Perhaps human destiny has both luck and misfortune. Several times I wanted to ask why Ho Quang Loi returned to the People's Army newspaper, how that nearly 30 years shaped the journalist Ho Quang Loi, the writer Ho Quang Loi? Was it luck or a coincidence of fate? And I knew that with his honest nature, speaking his true nature, he would answer me in the most correct and best way. But anyway, I tried to find another way to explain it.

Journalist Ho Quang Loi receives the Finnish Ambassador. Photo: Document

In 1979, after graduating from university in Romania, the young man from Quynh village in Nghe An returned home with an excellent graduation thesis, written in French about one of the typical romantic literatures of Europe, the French writer - Stendhal, author of the famous novel Red and Black. Ho Quang Loi was assigned to the People's Army newspaper when the battle to protect the northern border of our army and people was very fierce. He was assigned to the northern border, living with the soldiers to write about them, truthfully reflecting the battle to protect every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland. During this time, the pen of the Western-educated young man Ho Quang Loi was imbued with the blood and fire of war, full of love for the Fatherland. Living with the border soldiers who were still too young, he suddenly remembered his younger brother, martyr Ho Quang Loc, who sacrificed his life on the southwestern border front in 1978, and loved even more this generation of young soldiers who were ready to sacrifice their youth for the Fatherland. The nature of our people's just war from the trenches of those heroic years firmly formed in his pen the love and responsibility for the country and the people, for his army. That was an unchangeable thing throughout Ho Quang Loi's life.

Is it true that the revolutionary and determined nature of the Nghe people, the humanity of the Ho family, combined with the European civilization of his youth, combined with the glorious tradition of Uncle Ho's Army and the culture of Thang Long - Hanoi, crystallized in the talented Ho Quang Loi? I think this function is partly true, at least with the path that Ho Quang Loi once took. Nearly 30 years working for the People's Army newspaper, a strict disciplinary environment in life and journalism, but Ho Quang Loi considered this the best environment for him to practice his profession. From the Editorial Department of Party Affairs - Political Affairs, he was transferred to the International News Department right at the time of "Vietnam on the wave of current events" of the turbulent decade of 1980-1990, then of the stormy transition between two millennia, in great need of a multi-dimensional and true-to-nature view in the great river of the world that was seething and flowing.

Ho Quang Loi's excellent journalistic works appeared continuously, capturing the love and trust of readers such as: a series of commentaries on the two Gulf wars (1991, 2003); reforms, the violent upheavals leading to the collapse of the socialist regime in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1989 - 1991); the Asian financial and monetary crisis (1997-1998); the Yugoslav war - the last war in the 20th century - (1999); the horrific terrorist attack (September 11, 2001); the Afghanistan war - the first war in the 21st century (October 7, 2001); the global economic and financial crisis (2008-2009)...; foreign affairs events directly related to our country such as: Vietnam withdrawing troops from Cambodia (1989), normalizing Vietnam - China relations (1991); signing the Peace Agreement on Cambodia (1993); the US lifting the embargo on Vietnam (1994); three outstanding foreign events in July 1995: normalization of Vietnam - US relations, Vietnam joining ASEAN, Vietnam signing the Framework Agreement with the European Union; persistent and fierce struggle on the ideological - cultural front related to issues: political institutions and the leadership role of the Party, freedom, democracy, human rights, ethnicity, religion... Even early every morning, many readers lined up to buy the People's Army newspaper just to read Ho Quang Loi's sharp and engaging commentary.

In 1991, the first National Press Award of the Vietnam Journalists Association was held, with only 3 individual awards in three categories: print, television and photojournalism, in which the award for print was given to a series of commentary articles on the Gulf War by journalist Ho Quang Loi. This was a prestigious award in the Vietnamese press for a journalist who was only 35 years old at that time. It was even more honorable when the jury of 18 people carefully "weighed" each work, including famous journalists such as Huu Tho, Do Phuong, Phan Quang, Tran Cong Man... By 2009, Ho Quang Loi had won 9 National and National Press Awards, including 4 consecutive years in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, he continuously won the A Prize.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung awarded the first National Press Award (2006) to journalist Ho Quang Loi. Photo: VD

People say good land attracts birds, after 30 years at the People's Army newspaper, Ho Quang Loi rose to the rank of Colonel, the position of Deputy Editor-in-Chief, it was truly "good land". One day, the organization suddenly suggested that he become the Editor-in-Chief of the Hanoi Moi newspaper. It must be said that this was a difficult decision. Having spent his whole life in the military environment, he had matured and become famous, now moving to the civilian environment was truly a painful thing. After that, with the consensus of the leaders of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense, and with the encouragement and motivation of the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, Ho Quang Loi reluctantly said goodbye to his comrades and took up the position of Editor-in-Chief of the Hanoi Moi newspaper.

His fate seemed to be that he often encountered “storms” at his new job. 2008 was the year Hanoi expanded its administrative boundaries, merging Ha Tay into the capital. At the beginning of the year, there was an unprecedented cold spell, cattle and buffalo died like straw. At the end of the year, there was a terrible historic flood, turning the streets into rivers, and the whole of Hanoi was submerged in water. Then, the land claims of religious origin in Nha Chung, Thai Ha, and Nui Che were very complicated, and the Hanoi Moi newspaper had to continuously fight. Furthermore, the Ha Tay newspaper merged with the Hanoi Moi newspaper, and the Tin Chieu newspaper belonging to the Hanoi Moi newspaper had to close down. Internally, there were still many complicated problems that could not be resolved overnight. Ho Quang Loi wittily said: “Members of the three cooperatives now gathered together to cultivate only one field, the new Hanoi. How can we arrange things properly, from organization, position, jobs, to income for nearly 300 people?” Challenges, challenges and challenges...

The story of Colonel Ho Quang Loi transferring to work in the civilian environment, becoming Editor-in-Chief of the newspaper of the Heroic Capital, a thousand years of culture, the newspaper named by Uncle Ho himself, the newspaper of the "city for peace" in the hearts of international friends, is followed with interest by everyone. There is another challenge, which is the hope and expectation of the leaders of the City Party Committee, of his close colleagues at home and abroad, of the public when Hanoi is in the years of busy work preparing for the 1000th anniversary.

Those new things created pressure and fierce challenges for him. To do this job well is not just about changing habits and working style, but more deeply, it is a story of courage, intelligence and cultural level.

Everyone in the capital's journalism industry knows that choosing an editor-in-chief who writes well, is sharp, and has a reputation for the profession like Ho Quang Loi is a wonderful thing. It can be said that when he first became editor-in-chief of the Hanoi Moi newspaper, Ho Quang Loi accumulated nearly 30 years of experience working for the People's Army newspaper, but that was not enough. He mobilized all his knowledge and life experience to devote himself to the capital's newspaper. And then, the Hanoi Moi newspaper next to Hoan Kiem Lake in the years under the talented, dynamic, and determined hands of Ho Quang Loi, people clearly saw the appearance of a newspaper that was innovative, clean, and elegant in form, especially in content that approached the demanding demands of readers. The trust of the capital's readers gradually increased every morning with the combative, quick, and sharp pace of the Hanoi Moi newspaper. What would trust be if not the most valuable asset of a newspaper in the reform period, the period of fierce information competition of a "special commodity"? A newspaper of the Capital Party Committee that is both correct and good, of course the voice of the City Party Committee will reach the people most naturally and effectively. At that time, colleagues and readers assessed that Editor-in-Chief Ho Quang Loi had breathed new life into the Hanoi editorial office - solidarity, eagerness, creativity, passion, dedication. It can be said that Ho Quang Loi brought the newspaper true glory.

Journalist Ho Quang Loi and journalist Thai Duy. Photo: Document

With determination and democracy, with exemplary behavior and personal prestige, he and his colleagues in the newspaper rolled up their sleeves, comprehensively reformed the editorial office, bringing the newspaper of the Hanoi Party Committee to a modern and cultural appearance, which was highly appreciated by the City Party Committee, loved and welcomed by the Party members and readers of the Capital. In particular, Ho Quang Loi directed, directly organized and wrote a series of articles to fight against cases of disregard for the law and discipline, negative cases, corruption, and stagnation of some cadres and civil servants that were "disgraceful" to the Capital. Those cases went to the end, right and wrong were clearly identified, helping the City leaders to handle them resolutely, and the people of the Capital warmly welcomed them. The beauty of those struggles was the humane spirit, the struggle to build, the struggle to develop. There was absolutely no personal or factional issues in the cases that the Hanoi Moi newspaper pursued. It must be said that Hanoians and readers are very astute, they can immediately distinguish the motives of Editor-in-Chief Ho Quang Loi in terms of pure morality, the heart of a journalist facing issues that are "a cold test" of belief. It can be said that being a reporter, a Deputy Editor-in-Chief, having good articles, having a series of excellent articles that won the highest awards, is already very difficult. But anyway, the work at this time still has a personal character, a personal mark. As for the position of Editor-in-Chief, journalism is at a different level, a different cultural level, a different level of thinking. I know that Editor-in-Chief Ho Quang Loi has mobilized the total talent, enthusiasm, and determination of a press leader in the market economy era to bring the newspaper of the Capital Party Committee to a new position. He sincerely confided that in order to do so, in addition to the efforts of the editorial staff, it was fortunate that the Hanoi Moi newspaper always received the support of the city's leaders, especially the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi, who was very knowledgeable about journalism, both directing and encouraging, and at the same time being a support for the Editorial Board and reporters when entering difficult battles against wrongdoings and negative behaviors. When I met him at that time, he once confided, his eyes looking cheerful: Imagine, early in the morning, in front of the sacred Hoan Kiem Lake, holding the newly printed Hanoi newspaper alone, turning each page, feeling the excitement of emotions surging like flesh and blood. I love the newspaper and perhaps live wholeheartedly with it...

However, having only been Editor-in-Chief of Hanoi Newspaper for less than two and a half years, Ho Quang Loi was suddenly transferred to become Head of the Propaganda Department of the Hanoi Party Committee. It must be said that this was a surprise, because usually, professional journalists, passionate about their work like Ho Quang Loi, few people want to become propagandists, even though they know they will be promoted. The position of Head of the Propaganda Department of the Hanoi Party Committee will participate in the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, a position equivalent to Deputy Minister. Ho Quang Loi repeatedly expressed "please consider my wish to become a journalist". This time, Secretary of the Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi intervened, he advised Ho Quang Loi to become a propagandist, but not to give up journalism but to lead, orient the press, continue to do journalism with a different, broader approach. Moreover, Hanoi is now preparing for the 1000th anniversary celebration, is busy with hundreds of things, and is in dire need of a Head of the Propaganda Department with the capacity to shoulder the work with the City's leaders. The Secretary of the City Party Committee confided that when he was the Standing Deputy Head of the Central Committee for Ideology and Culture (now the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education), he only read the newspaper and knew about Ho Quang Loi's name and talent, but did not know his face. Later, he proposed to bring him back to join the leadership of the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education. Unfortunately, that opportunity passed. Now that they have worked together in the city and know Ho Quang Loi's talent and skills, the City Party Committee wants him to contribute more and more practically to the Capital, which is in dire need of intellectual and culturally-minded cadres... Once again, with a gentle and sincere voice, Secretary of the City Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi successfully persuaded and "uprooted" Ho Quang Loi from the Hanoi Moi newspaper to become the Head of the City Party Committee's Propaganda and Education Department.

I do not have enough knowledge to properly assess Ho Quang Loi's contributions to Hanoi during the nearly 6 years he held the position of Head of the Propaganda Department. I only know that this is a broad field, as Professor, Hero of Labor Vu Khieu said: "Ho Quang Loi is the Head of the Propaganda Department, overseeing the activities and development of the capital's culture, under the leadership of the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Propaganda is the abbreviation of propaganda, literature, training, and education, the four cultural fields of the Party: Propaganda, literature and arts, training and education...". During those years, I only knew that Ho Quang Loi worked with the speed and intensity of someone who was exhausted, but it is difficult to know the results comprehensively. But I would like to quote Professor Vu Khieu, a highly respected culturalist and an outstanding citizen of the capital, commenting on Ho Quang Loi as follows: “Faced with such a heavy task, he constantly consciously updated himself in studying, reading, researching, mastering cultural theory and closely following the cultural practices of the capital. Since then, he has become an erudite person in the cultural field. As a journalist living and working in the capital of a thousand years of culture, journalist Ho Quang Loi, together with the city's leaders, has devoted much effort to preparing for the Millennium Festival and is still striving every day for the multifaceted cultural work of the vast contemporary Hanoi. He continues to create works with intense, lingering emotions before the New Year's Eve between the passing millennium and the coming millennium.” That is Professor Vu Khieu's comment on the book "Vietnam on the wave of the times" by Ho Quang Loi published by Hanoi Publishing House in 2012). Also in this article, for the first time, Professor Vu Khieu did not hesitate to use the phrase "Ho Quang Loi is a journalist and writer, a steadfast politician, a learned culturalist". I know that Professor Vu Khieu worked continuously and for a long time with Ho Quang Loi and the city's leaders to research major cultural works during Hanoi's 1000th anniversary of Thang Long and left special marks on the capital. Surely this respected and famous professor was very considerate when commenting on a journalist of the generation 40 years younger than him.

Head of the Propaganda Department Ho Quang Loi awarded the 70-year Party membership badge on May 19 to veteran party members of Hai Ba Trung district. Photo: Document

I think, with 8 years (2008-2016), Ho Quang Loi joined the army and worked in Hanoi in two positions: Editor-in-Chief of Hanoi Moi newspaper and Head of the Propaganda Department of the City Party Committee, it can be said that he mobilized his talent, intelligence, and time for great, continuous, and new tasks. It would not be too much for someone to say that Ho Quang Loi has accumulated his whole life to one day return to contribute to Hanoi. That learning and integration process took place on the level of knowledge, courage, emotion, and style. The effectiveness of the work that he devoted himself to with a passionate love for Hanoi, where the son of Nghe An lived for more than 40 years in the cultural atmosphere of Thang Long, perhaps only Hanoi leaders and his colleagues can evaluate more accurately.

But I know, many journalist colleagues, many cultural researchers have highly appreciated your contributions to Hanoi. Poet Bang Viet, in the introduction to the book "Current events and culture" published in 2019 by Ho Quang Loi, wrote: "Culture must take people as the center with the goal of comprehensive and sustainable development, which has been clearly stated in the Party's Resolutions, but perhaps the following emphasis is really the core thesis, as a discovery of author Ho Quang Loi, which he really appreciates: "Human perfection needs and can only be achieved in culture and through culture". That radical and drastic way of speaking may sound a bit extreme, but if you think carefully, it is the ultimate goal, the optimal solution... This thesis pushes cultural officials, artists who work as "soul engineers" in all fields of literature and art to a very high position and responsibility, in the cause of building new people for future society... Author Ho Quang Loi, a sharp, erudite and intelligent international commentator, has reaped many achievements. resounding success; this time it has made another outstanding contribution to the formation of an extremely important and core thesis on culture and the role of culture in current events, as well as its irreplaceable significance for human perfection, in a society that is developing, renewing and integrating like a storm in our country today".

As for me, Ho Quang Loi, in those 8 years and the following years, devoted to the Capital all the knowledge he had accumulated throughout his life and offered it with rare enthusiasm and sincerity. For example, as a journalist, he contributed with many other talented people to beautify and enrich Hanoi in his own way. The most visible manifestation was the luxurious beauty of Hanoi through sparkling and captivating literary pages, some of which were selected and printed in his book "Hanoi - The construction with the spirit of the times" published in 2014 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital.

In my opinion, Ho Quang Loi's newspaper and writings over the years have contributed to renewing Hanoi in a luxurious and modern direction. In turn, Hanoi has also contributed to promoting Ho Quang Loi - a typical talented intellectual from Nghe An - during the years he was fortunate enough to contribute to the Capital. Ho Quang Loi has accumulated to spread, then recharged his energy to unexpectedly take on the position of Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam Journalists Association.

(To be continued)

Hanoi, August 2021

>> Part 3: "Teachers, friends"