General Secretary Le Duan 'Still full of love and justice'

During his lifetime, comrade Le Duan often said that people must work, have love and reason to live. That is the philosophy of life. His wish is to successfully build a strong socialist society, where people are well-off and happy, in which there is love for each other.

General Secretary Le Duan talks with cadres and workers of Dong Nai Livestock Enterprise (January 1980). (Photo: VNA archive)

Therefore, in the process of leading and directing the construction of socialism, he always considered the construction and development of culture and people as an important task. He always believed that people do not only live with food and clothing, but also have emotional life, cultural life, which are closely linked to the history and fine traditions of the nation. He spent a lot of time researching the people, history, culture and traditions of the Vietnamese nation. He summarized one of the best qualities of the Vietnamese people as: "Love the country, love the family, love the people, love yourself."

According to comrade Le Duan, making an ideological and cultural revolution is to reform reason, at the same time reform emotions, to build a new system of reason and emotion. Talking about building and nurturing people's emotions, comrade Le Duan emphasized first of all educating compassion, because according to him, "compassion for people is the morality of life, the morality of being human," "the root of morality and theory is compassion." The strength of a revolutionary lies in his ideals, and at the same time in the aspiration for love for his fellow countrymen, meaning that patriotism must be associated with love for the people, must have love and responsibility for the people.

For the youth, comrade Le Duan required that they practice a humane lifestyle, knowing how to appreciate love and justice. Speaking to party members in the education sector, comrade Le Duan reminded: if teachers want to teach students to be good people, they must truly love people, "the more they love people, the more they love their profession." Comrade Le Duan's opinions on the humanism of the Vietnamese people in history, on the example of heroic Vietnamese mothers, on the compassion and charity of Buddhism are profound.

The heartfelt things that Comrade Le Duan said about humanity - love and responsibility - were also things that he consistently demonstrated in his life. Regarding intelligence, he was once known as "The lamp of two hundred candles."

In terms of personality, Le Duan was a great example of devotion, loyalty, sacrifice, and self-sacrifice for the cause of national liberation, national reunification, and for the ideals of socialism and communism. His noble revolutionary qualities were demonstrated in his spirit of relentless revolutionary offensive, always rushing to the forefront, facing the enemy, defying all the fierce challenges of imperialist prisons, of the long and arduous life in war zones, of the years of secret activities in enemy-controlled areas; upholding his indomitable will, ready to sacrifice his life for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, for the happiness of the people.

Emotionally, he is a benevolent and open-minded person. Towards the people, the masses, and human beings in general, he has sympathy, love, harmony, and great power of persuasion and encouragement. Towards his staff, he is attached and takes care of them wholeheartedly as if they were family members, always with full devotion and love.

After the country's reunification, comrade Le Duan returned to the South many times to visit and thank the families who had sheltered and protected him in Rach Gia, Ca Mau, Ben Tre, Bac Lieu, and the inner city of Saigon...

In the years after the country's peaceful reunification, in his position as General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Le Duan often advised and reminded cadres, Party members and people across the country: "To live is to love labor, be rich in compassion and respect justice." In Comrade Le Duan's thought, these three concepts are organically, dialectically and inseparably linked. Because only through labor and through labor can we gradually build good relationships between people, giving rise to love for country and home, love for others and love for oneself, which are great feelings that create the beauty of the Vietnamese people, lifestyle and culture.

In 1976, he returned to visit Hau Kien village, Trieu Thanh commune, Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province after many years of separation. He visited each house, shook hands with the elderly, hugged and kissed the children. He was moved and could not hold back his tears at the sight of ruined houses, dry fields and burnt grass, devastated villages... He felt sad for his compatriots who had made many sacrifices and losses during the resistance war, and now the country had been liberated but their families still did not have enough food and clothes...

More than 30 years since comrade Le Duan passed away, the homeland has made great strides in its construction and development. There is still the image of a man who is always loyal to the country, filial to the people, simple, close, and faithful to his compatriots. It is these qualities that have created the personality, stature and spirit of comrade Le Duan. That is also the lasting value that the late General Secretary Le Duan contributed to the history of the Vietnamese revolution.

Poet To Huu wrote about him:

"Compatriots and comrades miss you.

The son of the poor village of Sai market

A few thatched huts

Hot sand hill Trieu Hai

One meal of porridge, one meal of vegetables, helping each other through thick and thin

Heart still full of love and justice"./.

According to Vietnam+