Vietnam's first female National Assembly Chairwoman: An ordinary official

"Seeing her riding a motorbike across the fields to reach the victims faster, I felt like she was more of a neighbor than a Minister."

In 2007, the Can Tho bridge approach collapsed during the construction phase. At that time, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan was the Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.Hearing the news, even though she was preparing for a trip abroad, she canceled it to fly back to Can Tho.

At that time, most of the leaders were guided by the traffic police to go around Can Tho to Ninh Kieu wharf, get off the highway to go to the scene. With such a long way around, the leaders were able to take a car all the way to the wharf.

She did not choose that route but suggested going by road to get to the scene faster and to reach the victims' families more conveniently.

Many local officials said that if she went straight, she would have to stand in the sun for more than 30 minutes and the only means of transport she could use was a motorbike. Despite their advice, she borrowed a conical hat and asked a Honda driver to take her. The local officials had to scramble to find motorbikes to follow behind.

Looking at her riding a motorbike across the field, I felt like she was more of a neighbor than a female minister.

So I got her simple portrait.

According to Ho Chi Minh City Law