94 years ago, there was a very special Spring. The Spring of 1930 was not only the Spring of the laws of the universe but also the Spring of ideals, love, and the desire for happiness. That Spring was the flower and fruit of countless months of hardship and toil in the cold, long nights in a foreign land and the lurking of the enemy to search, research, and choose the revolutionary path for the Vietnamese people. That Spring was permeated and crystallized by the salty taste of sweat, the spicy taste of tears, the bitter taste of love, the ups and downs of emotions of the patriotic youth at that time. That was the Spring of the covenant on the combination of Marxism-Leninism with the workers' movement and the Vietnamese patriotic movement, led, organized, and chaired by Nguyen Ai Quoc.
To have that beautiful Spring, the young man Nguyen Ai Quoc had painstakingly researched, analyzed and selected. He did not follow the path of national salvation of his predecessors, because he realized: Mr. Phan Chu Trinh asked the French to carry out reform, "no different from asking the enemy for mercy"; Mr. Phan Boi Chau hoped that Japan would help to expel the French, "no different from letting a tiger in the front door and a leopard in the back door"; Mr. Hoang Hoa Tham directly fought against the French but "still had a feudalistic streak".”[1]Nguyen Ai Quoc studied the French Revolution of 1789 with hisDeclaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizenand slogan“Liberty, equality, fraternity”famous; North American revolution withDeclaration of Independencein 1776, the Declaration of Human Rights and several other bourgeois revolutions, but he realized that these still could not meet the revolutionary needs of the Vietnamese people. Finally, he found and decided to follow the October Revolution of 1917 in Russia of Lenin - the leader of the world proletariat - who inherited and developed the great legacy of Marx - Engels.
After a period of preparation in theory, organization and personnel, Nguyen Ai Quoc convened and chaired the Conference to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam in February 1930 in Kowloon - Hong Kong - China, approvingBrief Platform, Brief Strategy, Brief Program and Brief Charterof the Party drafted by Him, which clearly defined the revolutionary line of Vietnam. He also issued an appeal on the occasion of the Party's founding. The documents approved by the Conference wereFirst political platformof the Party.
The birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam signaled the end of the “dark night” of slavery and misery under the invading boots of foreign enemies; opened a great turning point for the Vietnamese revolution, ending the crisis of leadership and direction. As President Ho Chi Minh concluded: “Our Party is truly great. Since the day it was invaded by French imperialism, our country has been a colony, our people have been slaves to their country, our Fatherland has been trampled under the iron heels of the cruel enemy. For decades without the Party, the situation was as dark as if there was no way out.” “The red flag of the Party shone like the rising sun, tearing apart the dark night, illuminating the way for our people to steadily advance on the path to victory.”[2].
The Party was born, clearly outlining the correct revolutionary path, gathering forces, uniting and unifying the entire nation with the same ideology, awareness and revolutionary actions, and achieving great victories. Furthermore, the Party advocated that the Vietnamese revolution was a part of the world revolutionary movement, so it gained great support from the world revolution and made many positive contributions to the common struggle of the world's people for peace, national independence and social progress. Over 94 years with 13 congresses, our Party led the revolution, overcame all difficulties and challenges, and achieved great victories.
One is,The victory of the August Revolution in 1945, smashing the domination of French colonialism and feudalism, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam), bringing our nation into an era of independence and freedom. The Party, based on the specific situation in the country and the world, skillfully handled many relationships, especially the relationship between the national task and the democratic task, mobilizing the strength of the entire people, taking advantage of favorable international opportunities. When the opportunity came, our Party quickly raised high the flag of national independence, inciting the masses to revolt in parts, leading to a general uprising to seize power throughout the country, bringing about the victory of the August Revolution in 1945. During those 15 years, the Party had to operate secretly. Every day, every hour, the Party had to confront the extremely barbaric terror policy of the French colonialists. Many leaders and party members heroically sacrificed their lives, but because of their deep belief that in the end the Party would definitely win and the revolution would definitely succeed, the number of party members grew and the party's strength grew stronger.
The August Revolution of 1945 was the first great victory of our people under the leadership of the Party. It ended more than 80 years of French colonial rule and nearly 5 years of Japanese fascist domination; the government returned to the people, ending the feudal regime in Vietnam that had existed for thousands of years. Our people rose from the status of slaves to become masters of the country and of life. This was the first successful experiment of Marxism-Leninism in a colonial country in Asia, and at the same time can be seen as the third step in the process of realizing scientific socialism. If we consider the Paris Commune of 1871 as tangible evidence of the Marxist-Engels theory of a new type of state, then the October Revolution of Russia in 1917 was the realization of Marxism developed by Lenin in new conditions. The August Revolution of 1945 was the product of Leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh in the process of developing and creatively applying Marxism-Leninism to Vietnamese reality.
Second,The victories of the resistance wars against invaders, culminating in the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory in 1954 and the Great Spring Victory in 1975, liberated the nation, unified the country, protected the Fatherland, and fulfilled international obligations. The newly born Democratic Republic of Vietnam had to face countless difficulties.
Faced with a "thousand pounds hanging by a thread", President Ho Chi Minh and our Party, only 15 years old, promoted their creativity to the highest level, skillfully and steadily steered the Vietnamese revolutionary boat through the rapids, to the shore of glory. The Party and Uncle Ho led our people into the second resistance war against the French colonialists with the policy of both resistance and nation building, implementing the motto of all people, comprehensive, long-term, self-reliance. Finally, with 56 days and nights"digging mountains, sleeping in tunnels, constant rain, rice balls, blood mixed with mud, unwavering courage, unwavering will",We achieved the resounding Dien Bien Phu Victory that shook the world, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement, withdraw their troops, restore peace on the basis of recognizing the national sovereignty of the three Indochinese countries, and successfully ended the resistance war against the invading French colonialists.
However, due to the comparison of forces and the complicated world political situation at that time, our country was temporarily divided into two regions with two different regimes: the North was liberated, moving towards socialism; the South was temporarily dominated by the US imperialists and their lackeys. The national democratic revolutionary cause of our people throughout the country was not yet completed, because the US imperialists and their lackeys continuously carried out their plot to permanently divide our country, turning it into a new type of colony. The Vietnamese people had to both worry about healing the wounds of war, restoring the economy, and gradually moving the North towards socialism, while continuing to promote the people's national democratic revolution in the South, moving towards peaceful reunification of the country. During that process, our Party has promoted the spirit of independence and self-reliance to the highest degree, determined appropriate steps for the new situation, set out the correct path, led the people to simultaneously carry out the two tasks of the Socialist Revolution in the North and the National Democratic Revolution in the South, and led the country steadily towards victory.
Under the guidance of the Party, through 21 years of heroic fighting (1954-1975), we defeated the war strategies of the US imperialists and their puppet and vassal forces. The great victory in the spring of 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, ended the resistance war against the US to save the country, liberate the South, and unify the Fatherland. This victory brought our nation into an era of independence and unification, the whole country moving towards socialism, and at the same time "fundamentally changing the situation in Southeast Asia, benefiting the forces of peace and progress, making an important contribution to easing the general situation in the world and consolidating international security".[3].
Third,The victory of the renovation, industrialization, modernization and international integration, continued to gradually transition the country to socialism with new, correct awareness and thinking, suitable to the reality of Vietnam. At the end of the resistance war against the US to save the country, with the courage continuously tempered through the reality of revolutionary war, our Party continued to put forth policies and guidelines to lead the people to overcome the consequences of war, build and develop the country in all fields. During that process, the Party also led the people to fight against two wars of aggression at the southwestern and northern borders, protect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and carry out international duties. However, in the face of the requirements of the revolutionary tasks of the new period, the long-term maintenance of the centralized, bureaucratic, subsidized management mechanism when it was no longer suitable to reality and had revealed certain limitations and weaknesses, our country had a period of stagnation and socio-economic crisis in the early years of the whole country building socialism. But what is truly proud is that our Party promptly summarized the reality, found the causes and solutions, outlined the path to national renewal, and opened a new great turning point.
Our Party has constantly developed theoretical thinking on socialism and the path to socialism in Vietnam; supplemented and perfected the guidelines for comprehensive national construction, Party building and rectification. Nearly 40 years of renovation, promoting industrialization, modernization and international integration have brought the country many proud achievements, becoming a developing country with an increasingly enhanced position in the international arena. The material and spiritual life of the people has improved significantly; democracy in society continues to expand; politics and society are stable; national defense and security are maintained...
Vietnam is considered by international friends as a typical example of participating in the international economic integration process, with the most attractive level of investment in the ASEAN bloc. From a backward agricultural economy with a GDP of only 14 billion USD in 1990, 116 billion USD in 2010, by 2022 the total GDP will reach 409 billion USD. GDP per capita in 1990 was only 250 USD, in 2010 it reached 1,331 USD, by 2022 it will reach 4,110 USD. To date, Vietnam has diplomatic relations with 189/193 countries; economic, trade and investment relations with 224 countries and territories; signed 16 new generation Free Trade Agreements (FTAs); has 16 strategic partners, including 11 comprehensive strategic partners; participated in more than 500 bilateral and multilateral international agreements.
The great victories of the revolution over the past 94 years are the victories of the invincible fighting strength of our people for independence, freedom, and socialism under the leadership of the Party. That is a vivid reality, a testament to the role and greatness of our Party. President Ho Chi Minh once wrote:“Our Party is great because apart from the interests of the class, the people, and the nation, our Party has no other interests.” “As long as there is one Vietnamese person being exploited or poor, the Party will still be saddened, thinking that it is because it has not fulfilled its duty.”[4].
We always remember President Ho Chi Minh's advice:“When you eat the fruit, remember the person who planted the tree. In today's jubilant celebration, we must remember the heroes and martyrs of our Party and our people.”. For the Party to be born and mature, it is inevitable that there must be great contributions from patriots who worked tirelessly and many cadres and party members who devoted and sacrificed their lives. To enjoy the prosperous, free, happy, and peaceful life of an independent and unified Vietnam today, we cannot forget the gratitude to those who created it and fell under the enemy's bombs and bullets, even leaving their blood and bones in the borderlands, in the wild forests and poisonous waters.
Welcoming this Spring, we must remember the past Spring, raise a glass of warm Spring wine, wish each other a prosperous new year, and be even more grateful to the Party, Uncle Ho, heroes, martyrs, and people with revolutionary merit. Be grateful to aspire, strive, contribute, and contribute to building a rich and beautiful country, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers; resolutely fight and refute erroneous and hostile viewpoints, and the degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, "self-transformation", "self-transformation".
On September 2, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh solemnly declared to the world that:“Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence and in fact has become a free and independent country. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to devote all their spirit and strength, their lives and property, to maintain that freedom and independence.”. That proclamation has, is, and continues to stimulate national pride, the desire for strength, prosperity, and happiness. The 2021-2030 socio-economic development strategy defines: "Arouse the aspiration to develop the country, strongly promote the cultural values, Vietnamese people, and the strength of the times, mobilize all resources, develop rapidly and sustainably on the basis of science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation, strive to become a developing country with modern industry and high average income by 2030 and become a developed country with high income by 2045". The responsibility of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army is to join hands and unite to achieve that goal, which is also to repay those who have contributed and to demonstrate against the destructive arguments, demanding "political pluralism, multi-party opposition", and the illusion of "the collapse of the Communist Party's mission".
The Communist Party of Vietnam is the Party of the entire nation, deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, rooted from the historical foundation of the revolution to the evidence of great victories. Gratitude to the Party, Uncle Ho and those who have contributed to the revolution must be associated with the aspiration for a strong Vietnam. Making the people rich, the country strong, democratic, fair, civilized and happy is the most practical way to repay gratitude. Welcoming the New Year, adding new motivation, heightening responsibility, realizing the aspiration to build a strong country, that is to continue and promote the Spring strength of 94 years ago.
[1] Tran Dan Tien: Stories about President Ho's life and activities, Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1975, pp.12-13.
[2] Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, Volume 12, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.401
[3] The world praises the great victory of our people, Truth Publishing House, Hanoi, 1977, p.23.
[4] Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, Volume 12, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.402.
