Truong Cong Anh: The one who cultivates 'green shoots' in ideological and cultural work

In early 1980, I was assigned to Vinh City Party Committee to work in the Propaganda Department (now called Propaganda Education), then transferred to the office, and then transferred to the Organization Department until my retirement. It has been 35 years since then, but I still remember the memories of my early days at the Propaganda Department of Vinh City Party Committee.

Those were the days when the resistance war against the US had ended in victory, the country had not been unified for long, the bureaucratic subsidy mechanism had not been abolished, Vinh city was rebuilding from the ruins. It must be said that difficulties piled on difficulties. Civil servants were allocated one kilo of sugar, one kilo of meat, more than ten kilos of food each month, half of which was bo bo (grain noodles) or dried cassava. The committee had to contact the base to borrow fields to produce and improve their lives, leaving behind anecdotes, folk songs and proverbs that made people laugh and cry: “Bo bo then bo bo again/Bo to fill the stomach to follow the buffalo”, “TV pants, advisor car” (pants patched like a TV screen, bicycle with broken tires, advisors string worms into the rim).

Comrade Truong Cong Anh - former Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department. Photo: Mai Hoa

The “Leader”, who took the lead in “destroying hunger” for his brothers and sisters so that “only when we have food can we uphold our religion” at that time was comrade Truong Cong Anh. As a member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda Department, he also rolled up his pants and went to the fields to plow, harrow, plant and harvest with everyone. With a simple, rustic, yet profound and humorous style, he created a harmonious, happy and warm atmosphere in the Department like a family.

At that time, the workplace was also the place to live and most officials and civil servants ate at the communal dining hall. Mr. Truong Cong Anh did not eat and live at the office but after work often stayed behind to do some work for the group or himself. I witnessed many noons when he was alone with his Czechoslovakian women's bicycle and a small sharpener going behind the dining hall to dig up casuarina trees (people had cut down the trees to keep them) and then tied them to the back of his bike to carry them home.

The image of the thin, scholarly-looking head of the department, who was always diligently doing the hard work of “digging soil, storing wood”, now called “cuu van”, still haunts me, even though at that time even university teachers had to take advantage of the time to ride their bicycles. Later, I realized that: Our ancestors advised “Study well, plow well”, “Where there is a will, there is a way”, Mr. Truong Cong Anh was imbued with those golden words in his blood, so he was passionate and diligent in working, both intellectually and physically. That helped him accumulate a lot of knowledge in books as well as in practice to become an exemplary propaganda officer, an excellent reporter of the city and of his province. At meetings as well as on forums or in newspapers and media, he has profound and unique opinions, simple and rustic speeches and articles that are very intellectual but very practical, as a contributor wrote in the "Vinh City News" Spring At Mui 2015: "I really appreciate Mr. Truong Cong Anh's articles, his articles are both profound and mention new issues that are arising in practice. The articles not only demonstrate his level, knowledge, and understanding, but also demonstrate his style of expression, providing specific practical solutions, and guiding the removal of difficulties from the grassroots level in the hamlet party cell, which they really need...".

Traditional meeting of former Ideology - Culture officials of Vinh city (Comrade Truong Cong Anh sits 4th, right). Photo: NVCC

Thanks to his determination, diligence, and hard work, he has achieved success in ideological and cultural work and a number of other fields. He has grown up and held important positions and high positions in the province: Provincial Party Committee member, Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee member, Principal of the Provincial Political School, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Party Civil Affairs Agencies (now the Party Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Agencies Bloc), Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department. Although he was a "big official", he was sociable and simple. Everyone who saw him was happy, cheerful, and very interested in listening to his humorous, gentle, yet subtle and attractive speeches, talks, and lectures.

Imbued with Uncle Ho's teaching that "Cadres are loyal servants of the people", upon retirement, he was willing to be a "public servant", accepting the position of Party cell secretary and some small positions in the ward, in the block and being an active collaborator of the "Vinh City News". Not "Old people living peacefully, not paying attention to worldly affairs", not afraid of old age and weakness, he and some people campaigned to establish the Liaison Committee of Former Propaganda of Vinh City Party Committee, then expanded to Former Ideological - Cultural Cadres of Vinh City and took the lead, together with his brothers, joining hands to "dig up" negative, stagnant, backwardness; cultivating green shoots of ideological - cultural work, making the city increasingly rich, joyful; increasingly green, clean, beautiful.