48 years of national reunification: We will rebuild our country more beautifully!

In April, every Vietnamese person on their journey from North to South feels the most sacred value of the country.

In front of President Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, colorful flags and large banners celebrate the 48th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2023). Photo: Hoang Hieu/VNA

The country is extremely beautiful, from the Dong Van stone plateau through the two banks of Ben Hai to Ca Mau Cape, from the majestic Truong Son range opening up the vast sea of the Fatherland with Con Dao, Phu Quoc, Truong Sa, Hoang Sa... Cherishing the extremely valuable values of independence, unity, and peace , every Vietnamese person yearns to realize the dream of building a "more dignified, more beautiful" nation as President Ho Chi Minh's last wish. From Hanoi to the South, through Dong Ha city (Quang Tri) about ten kilometers is Ben Hai river, Hien Luong bridge. Walking up the 186 ironwood planks that paved the bridge, a historical witness to the pain of the country's division for more than 20 years, one can understand and imagine the strength of a nation that yearns for peace, a will and aspiration to gain independence and freedom, to have a beautiful Vietnam like today. Quang Tri was once like the "navel" of bombs and bullets during a turbulent historical period. The smoke and fire of American and puppet bombs once stretched hundreds of kilometers from Cua Viet through Dong Ha to the eastern bank of the Mekong River in Laos. The town and the ancient citadel of Quang Tri alone, in 81 days and nights in 1972, had to endure 328,000 tons of bombs and bullets, equivalent to the destructive power of 7 atomic bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima, Japan. There were days when the number of US bombs dropped in Quang Tri far exceeded the number of US bombs dropped in the entire South in 1968 - 1969. On both banks of Ben Hai, the fierceness of war penetrated deep into every corner, every house and every human life. The ultimate pain of separation and separation can be seen from the system of historical war relics here. That pain, after 48 years, still smolders, reminded by the nostalgia of tourists, locals and veterans about this land when visiting their comrades and the old battlefield. As the folk song of Quang Tri people has been very good for generations: "Don't complain about your difficult fate, my friend/ As long as you have skin, hair will grow, and trees will sprout", after the war, Quang Tri entered into reconstruction, construction and development. Thanks to the hands and minds of people, the "bomb bag, bullet navel" is rising day by day on a new path, on the journey to promote industrialization and modernization. Standing on Hien Luong bridge, the sight is the green of fruit trees, spacious and solid houses. The bomb craters of Vinh Linh and Gio Linh in the past are now high-rise buildings next to fruit-laden gardens. The Cua Viet and Cua Tung seas have become resorts with many tourist areas, services, beautiful beaches and bustling ships going out to sea and clinging to the sea. Along National Highway 9, many factories, industrial production facilities and large-scale, high-tech crop cultivation areas have sprung up. From Ben Hai, go deep into the Truong Son range to feel the transformation of the great forest. National target programs on new rural construction and priority development policies have contributed significantly to changing the face of this particularly difficult area. In this new life, ethnic minorities here are gradually escaping poverty and striving to become rich legitimately. This is clearly seen in Huong Hoa district, where a large number of Van Kieu people live. The rate of well-off and good households is increasing. The rate of poor households in the whole district decreases by an average of 2.5-3% per year, and communes and villages with particularly difficult circumstances decrease by over 5% per year. One of the typical examples of the aspiration to escape poverty of ethnic minorities here is Thanh commune - a border area of Huong Hoa district. The commune has more than 800 households with over 4,000 people, mainly Pa Co - Van Kieu people. In recent years, the commune has developed new economic models with new crops, livestock and products such as bananas, passion fruit, climbing eggplant... for export to China, ASEAN countries and domestic consumption. These effective models have created a new wind for the local agricultural market. And in Thanh commune, many households are talking about getting rich. As the simple words of Mr. Ho Khua, Chairman of the Farmers' Association of Thanh commune said: Instead of the self-sufficient, self-sufficient, "real jungle" lifestyle of the past, now, the life of the Pa Co - Van Kieu people is more stable and more prosperous. All of these changes are thanks to the major policies of the Party and the State and the will not to accept poverty of the Pa Co - Van Kieu people. The new path, new life, new wishes in the Truong Son range in particular and Quang Tri in general, according to Mr. Ha Sy Dong, Permanent Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee: That is, Quang Tri has overcome countless difficulties, gradually healed the wounds of war, pushed back poverty, backwardness and achieved outstanding results. And although there are still many difficulties, Quang Tri has many unique advantages and great development opportunities. That opportunity can be clearly seen from Quang Tri as the starting point on the main artery of the East-West Economic Corridor (EWEC) towards Vietnam, connecting with Laos - Thailand - Myanmar through Lao Bao International Border Gate to Cua Viet seaport, My Thuy port and the gateway to the East Sea of related countries in the extended Mekong sub-region. This is a very favorable condition for Vietnam as well as Quang Tri in particular to expand economic cooperation in the region, trade goods, international transportation, develop trade, services and tourism with countries in the region. EWEC brings opportunities for countries on the route to promote regional cooperation and improve people's living standards...

Leaving Quang Tri, crossing the Truong Son range along the Ho Chi Minh Trail is the Southeast region. After the National Reunification Day, Ho Chi Minh City and the five provinces of Ba Ria - Vung Tau , Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai and Tay Ninh have made strong and steady steps on the path of construction and development. The Southeast region has always been the leading center of innovation, dynamism and creativity of the whole country, the economic locomotive and the largest center of industrial - tourism - service development in the country with the core being the special urban area of Ho Chi Minh City. During that time, the generation of people born in the Southeast region since the day the two regions of the North and South reunited, many have now become leaders, managers, scientists, businessmen, intellectuals, and famous artists not only domestically but also internationally. They truly, together with the previous generation and the next generation, have formed the pillars in the development of the Southeast region and the country today and in the upcoming journey. In order for the Southeast region to continue to create breakthrough changes in the new development stage, the Politburo and the Government have recently issued new resolutions and action programs with a vision to 2045. This land continues to be built and developed into a leading economic, financial, commercial, educational - training, high-quality human resource development, science - technology, innovation, digital transformation center of the country and Southeast Asia, playing a leading role in linking the development of the Mekong Delta, Central Highlands, South Central Coast and the whole country. In particular, Ho Chi Minh City "brilliant with the name of Gold" is a center of knowledge economy, international finance, with a development level on par with major cities in Asia, playing the role of a growth pole of the Southeast region and the whole country. The determination to build the Southeast region, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed, is a continuous task of the entire political system, which is very important for the development of localities in the region and the whole country. 48 years after April 30, 1975, the echoes of history are still blending with present life, becoming a source of pride and valuable baggage for the people of the whole country to continue entering a new period of development. The sound of the belief in rebuilding the Fatherland "ten times better, rebuilding it more beautifully" from the Great Spring Victory of that year is resounding throughout the three regions of the North - Central - South. The burning dream of a thousand years now is that the people will be well-off, the country will be strong and prosperous, and the whole nation is yearning to realize it. That is also the realization of the will and advice of President Ho Chi Minh, "After defeating the Americans, we will build it more than ten times today!".

Hanh Quynh (Vietnam News Agency)