Learning from the shining moral example, worthy successor to the glorious career of General Secretary Le Hong Phong

Delivering a speech at the ceremony, comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the People's Council of Nghe An province reviewed the life, career, and great contributions of General Secretary Le Hong Phong; the extremely valuable revolutionary lessons for the current cause of building and developing the homeland and the country; and at the same time called on all levels of Party committees, authorities, and organizations from the province to the grassroots, each Party member and cadre and people of all walks of life to unite and continue to strive to successfully carry out the five key tasks in the coming time.

Nghe An Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of the speech of the Provincial Party Secretary.

Panorama of the 120th Birthday Anniversary of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

- Dear Comrade Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Politburo member, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

- Dear leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front; departments, ministries, branches, central agencies, Military Region 4; cities and provinces;Nghe An provincial leaders through the ages;

- Dear Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labor;

- Dear representative of the family and relatives of General Secretary Le Hong Phongand relativesMs. Nguyen Thi Minh Khai.

- Dear delegates and all people!

With utmost respect, pride and gratitude; today, on the land of Thong Lang village, Phu Long commune in the past, where comrade Le Hong Phong was born; the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An province solemnly organized the 120th anniversary of the birth of General Secretary Le Hong Phong - a staunch communist soldier, a typical and talented leader of the Party and the Vietnamese revolution, one of the outstanding students of President Ho Chi Minh.

Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council delivered a speech commemorating the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

On behalf of the Party Committee, Government and People of Nghe An province, I would like to send my best regards and best wishes to the leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, delegates, distinguished guests and all the people.

Dear delegates! Dear people!

Throughout the history of building and defending the country, Nghe An has always been recognized as a land of "spiritual land and talented people". Harsh nature and a difficult history have forged the tradition of patriotism and the courageous character of the people of Nghe An. On this land, "Every era has famous people, every region has many heroes with great ambitions" who have made many glorious contributions to the Fatherland and brought glory to their homeland. General Secretary Le Hong Phong is one of those typical people.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attends the ceremony to celebrate the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Comrade Le Hong Phong, real name Le Huy Doan, was born in 1902 in Thong Lang village, Phu Long commune, now Hung Thong commune, Hung Nguyen district. Growing up in the humiliating fate of the people who lost their country; being an intelligent, brave person, sensitive to the political life of the time, after finishing elementary school, Le Huy Doan left his hometown for Vinh town, worked at Ben Thuy match factory, and joined the young workers' movement. The reality of working life in the factory and the enlightenment of his seniors urged Le Huy Doan to soon embark on the path of fighting to save the country and save the people.

Influenced by the movement to go abroad to save the country following the path of patriot Phan Boi Chau, in 1923, Le Huy Doan and a number of Nghe Tinh youths crossed the Truong Son mountains and forests to Thailand to meet Vietnamese patriots, with the will: "If I do not glorify the country, I will not return to my homeland". To show his courage and to sacrifice his blood to serve the Fatherland, and to keep it a secret, Le Huy Doan took the word "Hong" as his middle name and changed it to Le Hong Phong. From then on, comrade Le Hong Phong truly embarked on a journey of studying, working, and fighting with countless hardships and dangers until the last moment.

After staying in Thailand for a while, comrade Le Hong Phong went to Guangzhou, China to work in the Tam Tam Xa organization - an organization of patriotic Vietnamese intellectual youth. Here, he met leader Nguyen Ai Quoc. The image, prestige and lectures on Marxism-Leninism and proletarian revolution of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc made a strong impression on Le Hong Phong and his comrades. From then on, comrade Le Hong Phong decided to join the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association founded by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc and devoted himself to his path of national salvation.

Party and State leaders and former leaders attend the ceremony to celebrate the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Early on discovering the talent, will and revolutionary qualities of comrade Le Hong Phong, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc paid special attention; introduced and encouraged him to study military and political subjects at training schools in China and the Soviet Union; and to study revolutionary theory systematically at the Oriental University of the Communist International. In his studies and training, comrade Le Hong Phong was assessed as "an active and disciplined communist", so he was soon admitted to the Communist Party of China and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This was an important foundation for comrade Le Hong Phong to make outstanding contributions to the Party and to the cause of national independence and freedom later on.

After the "earth-shattering" Nghe-Tinh Soviet movement, our country's revolution was suppressed, terrorized and drowned in blood by the French colonialists. Most of the Central Committee members and regional committee members were captured or murdered by the enemy. Party organizations from the Central to the grassroots level were mostly disintegrated or paralyzed; our country's revolution faced an especially difficult and dire situation. In that situation, at the end of 1931, receiving instructions from the Communist International, comrade Le Hong Phong, in his capacity as a cadre of the Central Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party, directly shouldered the responsibility of leading and presiding over the restoration of the Party's organizational system and the revolutionary movement in Vietnam and Indochina. He convened and chaired the Conference to establish the Party's External Command Committee, thereby re-establishing the provisional Central Committee of the Party, proceeding to plan the guidelines and organize the realization of the "Action Program of the Indochinese Communist Party", actively preparing for the First Congress of the Indochinese Communist Party. With his courage, talent and burning revolutionary enthusiasm, comrade Le Hong Phong and his comrades overcame many difficulties and challenges to piece together and gradually rebuild the organization and movement, strengthen the people's trust in the Party, affirm the Party's strong vitality and leadership position, which no dark force can extinguish.

Comrade Nguyen Van Nen - Politburo member, Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee attended the ceremony to celebrate the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

In March 1935, the First National Congress of the Party was held; this event marked the restoration of the Party organization system and the Vietnamese revolutionary movement, to which comrade Le Hong Phong made great contributions. At the Congress, comrade Le Hong Phong was elected General Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party.

Thanks to the important developments of the Party, at the 7th Congress of the Communist International in 1935, our Party was recognized as an official branch of the Communist International. Comrade Le Hong Phong was elected as a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International. That event affirmed the prestige of our Party in the international communist and workers' movement; affirmed the talent and important role of Comrade Le Hong Phong in the most difficult period of the Vietnamese revolutionary movement. In his capacity as a member of the Executive Committee of the Communist International and General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Le Hong Phong continued to promote his role as a bridge between the Communist International and the Vietnamese revolution, helping the Communist International have valuable information about the revolutionary situation in Indochina and the coordination between the revolutions in the mother countries and the colonies in the common struggle against imperialism.

Leaders of central ministries and branches attended the ceremony to celebrate the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Faced with the growth of the revolutionary movement in the country, at the end of 1937, comrade Le Hong Phong returned to Saigon - Cho Lon to directly lead the revolutionary movement. With a keen political vision, sharp intelligence and rich practical experience, comrade Le Hong Phong and other Party leaders focused on restoring and developing the Party organization, seizing new revolutionary opportunities, quickly directing the change of the Party's organization and strategy, advocating the establishment of a broad People's United Front against imperialism, combining public and secret forms of struggle, propagating and enlightening the masses into a powerful revolutionary force, leading to the explosion of the climax of the democratic revolutionary struggle from 1936 to 1939, creating the premise for the uprising to seize power for the people in 1945.

Comrade Le Hong Phong's active activities and increasingly profound influence on the revolutionary movement at home and abroad had long been closely monitored by secret agents. On June 22, 1939, he was arrested by the French colonialists in Cho Lon and sentenced to 6 months in prison, and they brought him back to his hometown for house arrest. After a short time, fearing the activities and influence of comrade Le Hong Phong on the rising revolutionary movement, on January 20, 1940, he was re-arrested by the French colonialists and sentenced to 5 years in prison. At the same time, on July 30, 1940, comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai - Secretary of the Saigon - Cho Lon City Party Committee, comrade and beloved life partner of comrade Le Hong Phong, was also arrested by the enemy. In prison, comrade Le Hong Phong and comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai were brutally tortured by the enemy, and subjected to vicious psychological attacks, but both of them maintained their integrity, suppressed their private feelings, and boldly answered them: "I do not know this person", resolutely protecting the Party's secrets and fighting uncompromisingly against the enemy. Those were the last moments of meeting of the two steadfast leaders of the Party, and also the farewell of the faithful and devoted couple after short, longing days together, due to the difficult and secretive conditions of the revolution. And that was the noble symbol of a typical revolutionary family, who had devotedly strived, overcome all hardships and sacrifices, for the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation, always putting the interests of the Party, the nation and the people above all else.

A large number of people and youth union members attended the ceremony to celebrate the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Unable to subdue the spirit of the communists, the French colonialists exiled comrade Le Hong Phong to Con Dao prison. Knowing that he was a high-ranking leader of the Party, they found every way to brutally torture and abuse him. In the "hell on earth" of Con Dao, comrade Le Hong Phong lived his days of steadfastness, indomitability, upholding the spirit of a communist. Through secret contacts in prison, he persisted in propagating, consolidating, and building the Party's organization, leading the struggle to protect the lives of prisoners. The harsh prison regime and the continuous, cruel torture of the enemy weakened his health, and comrade Le Hong Phong breathed his last, before leaving a message: "Please report to the Party that, until the last minute, Le Hong Phong still had faith in the glorious victory of the revolution." The indomitable sacrifice of comrade Le Hong Phong has instilled strong faith and strong will in comrades and teammates to continue fighting until the day the revolution wins.

Evaluating the talented, loyal, and indomitable cadres during the Party building period, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Our comrades such as comrade Tran Phu, comrade Ngo Gia Tu, comrade Le Hong Phong, comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, comrade Ha Huy Tap, comrade Nguyen Van Cu, comrade Hoang Van Thu and hundreds of thousands of other comrades put the interests of the Party, the revolution, the class, and the nation above all else, first and foremost. Those comrades had deep and firm faith in the great force and glorious future of the class and the nation. Those comrades were happy to sacrifice everything, even their lives, for the Party, for the class, for the nation. Those comrades watered the revolutionary tree with their blood and bones, so the revolutionary tree has blossomed and borne beautiful fruit as it does today.”

Dear delegates!Dear all people!

Forty years old, nearly 20 years of continuous, heroic and enthusiastic activities, comrade Le Hong Phong devoted everything to the glorious revolutionary cause of our Party and people. History will forever remember the great contributions of comrade Le Hong Phong - a staunch communist soldier, an outstanding leader of the Party and the Vietnamese revolution. Celebrating the 120th birthday of General Secretary Le Hong Phong, we are proud and grateful to the outstanding son of the nation and of Nghe An homeland. We understand and remember the extremely valuable revolutionary lessons for the current cause of building and developing our homeland and country.

Vietnamese Heroic Mothers attend the 120th Birthday Anniversary of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Studying and following the example of General Secretary Le Hong Phong, first of all, is learning about the ardent patriotism, burning desire, will to fight for independence and freedom for the nation, prosperity and happiness for the people; that is the quickness and enthusiasm for revolutionary ideals, steadfastness with Marxism-Leninism, the ideology of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh; always proactively and actively applying theories creatively to the practice of revolutionary struggle and from the practice of the movement to develop guidelines and strategies, summarize theories closely, promptly and correctly.

Studying comrade Le Hong Phong means learning about the spirit of overcoming all circumstances to acquire knowledge of human culture, accept revolutionary theories, and strive to grasp modern military expertise and techniques. Born in a poor rural area in a backward country due to colonial and feudal regimes, he rose to become a refined and humane intellectual, a pilot, a steadfast soldier of the international communist and workers' movement; a Marxist-Leninist theorist with many great works, making an important contribution to building the ideological foundation, strategy, and revolutionary tactics of our Party and the international communist movement.

Studying and following the example of General Secretary Le Hong Phong means studying the Party's sense of organization and discipline, the spirit of criticism and self-criticism; the lesson of the seamless connection between true patriotism and pure proletarian internationalism; seizing the opportunity and support of the international communist and workers' movement for the revolutionary struggle of our Party and our people. That is the spirit of setting a shining example of communist morality, pure comradely solidarity, always being dedicated and closely following the revolutionary movement, the close connection between the Party's leadership and the masses, always believing in and promoting the great strength of the masses for the struggle for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the prosperity and happiness of the people.

Studying and following the example of General Secretary Le Hong Phong means studying and training the steadfast and indomitable will of a communist, not discouraged in difficulties, not faltering in dangers, not wavering in challenges, not fearing death; regardless of any circumstances, always maintaining the integrity and shining the morality of a Party member, a Party leader; That is the wholehearted love for family, the specific, thoughtful and humane concern for relatives, comrades and workers; being a noble example, ready to sacrifice one's own happiness and life for the revolutionary cause of the Party, the nation and the people.

Dear delegates and all people!

Promoting the tradition of the heroic Soviet homeland, learning from the example of the great President Ho Chi Minh, General Secretary Le Hong Phong and generations of revolutionary predecessors, the Party Committee and people of Nghe An have been persistent, tenacious, overcoming difficulties and challenges and made many important contributions through revolutionary periods, contributing with the people of the whole country to gain glorious victories in the revolution to liberate the nation, unify the Fatherland, and build a rich, beautiful and civilized homeland.

After 10 years of implementing Resolution No. 26 of the Politburo, Nghe An province has achieved quite comprehensive achievements in all aspects. The scale of the economy is increasingly expanding, currently ranking 10th in the country. The economy maintains a fairly good growth rate, averaging 7.28% in the period 2014 - 2019, and 8.44% in the first 6 months of 2022; annual budget revenue reaches and exceeds the assigned estimate, with 13,400 billion VND in the first 8 months of this year. The economic structure has shifted in a positive direction. Agriculture, rural areas and farmers have improved a lot, and it is one of the typical provinces in the country with proactive and creative ways in building new rural areas. Some areas have gradually become the center of the North Central region, such as health, education and training, science and technology... Hunger eradication, poverty reduction, job creation, and social security have been effectively implemented. National defense and security have been ensured; national sovereignty, territorial borders continue to be maintained, and foreign relations have been strengthened and expanded. These achievements are very important, creating a solid foundation for the province's development in the coming years.

Youth Union members attend the 120th birthday anniversary of General Secretary Le Hong Phong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Dear delegates and all people!

Delighted with the results achieved, seriously assessing, Nghe An is still not a "fair" province of the country; economic development is not commensurate with its potential and advantages. Infrastructure has not met development requirements, the lives of a part of the population are still difficult. Political security and social order and safety are still potentially complicated, especially in special areas. Although there have been changes in administrative reform, they are not really clear.

On the occasion of the 120th anniversary of the birth of General Secretary Le Hong Phong, proud and grateful for the great contributions of Comrade to the revolutionary cause; learning from and following the shining moral example and to worthily continue the glorious career of Comrade Le Hong Phong and his revolutionary predecessors, on behalf of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, I earnestly call on all levels of Party committees, authorities, and organizations from the province to the grassroots, each Party member and cadre and people of all walks of life to unite and continue to strive to successfully carry out the following key tasks:

The first:Upholding the will and aspiration to build and develop a rich, civilized homeland; building a proactive, positive, innovative and creative spirit with a strategic vision, making greater efforts and greater determination, bringing the province to develop rapidly and sustainably; striving to make Nghe An a fairly developed province in the Northern region by 2025; and a fairly developed province in the whole country by 2030, turning the "Aspiration for Lam River" into the "Miracle of Lam River" in the homeland of beloved Uncle Ho.

Monday:Continue to thoroughly grasp and persistently implement the action programs of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress. Focus on removing bottlenecks, creating breakthrough development momentum, especially in airport and seaport infrastructure, administrative reform, and training high-quality labor resources; resolutely, creatively, flexibly, and effectively implement tasks and solutions to recover and develop the socio-economy after the Covid-19 pandemic wave, creating a solid momentum for victory.

Tuesday:Pay attention to promoting and enriching the cultural values ​​of Nghe An, especially the good qualities, traditions and character of Nghe An people on the front of building a homeland and country that is "more dignified and more beautiful". That is the tradition of studiousness, hard work and determination to succeed; the qualities of resilience, strong will and high determination. That is the character of sincerity, gentleness and sophistication; bravery but dynamic and creative; intelligence, understanding but humble and kind... This is one of the positive factors for the construction and development of the province today.

Wednesday:Focus on socio-economic development closely linked with ensuring national defense and security, political stability, social order and safety, maintaining sovereignty over borders and islands. Strengthen the fight against crime and social evils; pay attention to social security, a prosperous, happy and peaceful life for the people.

Thursday:Regularly take care of Party building work in all aspects. Continue to seriously and effectively carry out Party building and rectification in conjunction with studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle and regulations on setting examples. Focus on building a contingent of cadres and Party members, especially key cadres at all levels, who are truly pioneering and exemplary, always cultivating revolutionary ethics, sense of organization and discipline, with sufficient responsibility and capacity to complete tasks well; strive to be worthy of the Party, the Fatherland and the people, and preserve for themselves the most sacred thing, which is honor, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has deeply advised and reminded.

Dear delegates and all people!

To forever remember the contributions of the steadfast communist soldier, the outstanding leader of the Party and the Vietnamese revolution, Nghe An province has built and inaugurated the General Secretary Le Hong Phong Memorial Area, becoming an important red address to educate patriotism and revolutionary ideals for generations of cadres, party members and people today and tomorrow. Many schools and solemn streets in Nghe An province and localities across the country have been honored to be named after comrade Le Hong Phong, reminding each person to make more efforts to study and work every day to be more worthy of his example and contributions.

On this occasion, on behalf of the Party Committee, Government and People of the whole province, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front, departments, ministries, branches, central agencies, Military Region 4, localities, units and compatriots and comrades nationwide who have given their affection, attention and valuable help to Nghe An; I hope that in the coming time, we will continue to receive more attention, support and help from comrades and compatriots nationwide for the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh, the homeland of General Secretary Le Hong Phong and many senior leaders of the revolution.

Best wishesleaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front,Dear delegatestogetherall people health, happiness and victory.

Thank you very much!

(Title by Nghe An Newspaper)

Thai Thanh Quy (Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the People's Council of Nghe An province