The teacher of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong arrived in a wheelchair to pay respects to her student.
Early in the morning of July 26th, 92-year-old Dang Thi Phuc, a primary school teacher of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, was overcome with emotion as she arrived in a wheelchair to pay her respects to her former student at the National Funeral Home (5 Tran Thanh Tong Street, Hanoi).
Amidst the long lines of people paying their respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong since early this morning, the image of his teacher, Dang Thi Phuc, arriving in a wheelchair, moved everyone deeply. Before the General Secretary's coffin, Ms. Dang Thi Phuc wept uncontrollably, taking hesitant steps on her trembling legs.
At her advanced age, Ms. Dang Thi Phuc confided: "When Trong was sick, I couldn't visit him. When he passed away, I didn't even get to see him one last time. I considered Trong like a younger brother, so I feel heartbroken as if I've lost a close relative. I mourn the loss of an honest and compassionate leader."
Teacher Dang Thi Phuc once taught General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in the 4th grade. The class had 48 students, but Ms. Phuc was particularly impressed with Trong because, despite being the youngest, he was the best student and actively participated in class discussions.
After finishing 4th grade, Trong transferred to Nguyen Gia Thieu School, and Ms. Phuc also moved to Hanoi. The two lost contact from then on. In 2001, after attending a reunion with her former 4th-grade students, Ms. Phuc was very happy to hear that her little student had become successful.
According to teacher Phuc, on important holidays for teachers or Lunar New Year, the General Secretary, despite being busy with important matters, still remembered to send his best wishes to his former teacher. In the Lunar New Year of 2024, she still received greetings from her former students.
Sharing with a reporter from Nhan Dan Newspaper, Ms. Tran Thi Xuan Phuong, daughter of teacher Phuc, said: "When she received the news of the General Secretary's death, she was very sad. She asked everyone she met: 'Let me visit, let me pay my respects to him, let me visit his family.' Last night she kept crying: 'He should have come to pay his respects to me. But now I have to go to pay my respects to him.'"