Updated date: 04/28/2025 21:07:32
DTO - At the ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the complete liberation of the South and national reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025) and the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Dong Thap province, comrade Le Quoc Phong - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap province delivered an important speech. Dong Thap Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text.
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Comrade Le Quoc Phong spoke at the ceremony.
In the heroic, excited and proud atmosphere of the whole nation welcoming the “Unification Day”, today, Dong Thap province solemnly held the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South, National Reunification and the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of Dong Thap province.
On April 30, 50 years ago, the people of Dong Thap and the people of the whole country were filled with joy when the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign achieved its final victory, liberating Saigon - Gia Dinh, liberating the South, ending the resistance war against the US to save the country that lasted more than 20 years.
The April 30 victory was a historical milestone of epochal significance, permanently ending the yoke of imperialism, ending the war, restoring peace , unifying the country, opening a new era for the Vietnamese people - the era of independence, unification, and the whole country moving towards socialism.
In the joy of peace, independence and unity today, we respectfully remember the great President Ho Chi Minh, who has worked hard to nurture many generations of revolutionaries, who directly led the Vietnamese revolution from one victory to another, who always loved the South, always looked forward to the day the South was liberated, the North and the South reunited as one family. The day that he looked forward to could visit the people of the South and certainly would visit the resting place of Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Sinh Sac, his beloved father, in our homeland of Dong Thap. At this solemn moment, we also reserve special feelings of respect to remember the many cadres, soldiers, army and people of Vietnam who contributed their efforts, devoted their lives, followed the Party, followed Uncle Ho to make the revolution, defeated many invaders.
To achieve the Great Victory of Spring 1975 was a difficult but glorious journey of the army and people in all regions of the country. Joining the revolutionary flow in the South, the revolutionary movement in Dong Thap was formed very early and continuously developed.
Since the US - Diem regime established its domination, the people of Dong Thap have bravely stood up to fight through movements such as: Demanding general election negotiations, eliminating evil and traitors, fighting terrorism, arresting and imprisoning patriots. In particular, the victory at Giong Thi Dam - Go Quan Cung became an important turning point, contributing to igniting the uprising movement throughout the South and defeating the enemy's Staley - Taylor Plan. Besides, there were resounding victories, defeating the enemy's modern tactics such as "helicopter transport", "armored vehicle transport", typically the battle of sinking 37 US ships on Nguyen Van Tiep canal, defeating the "small fleet on the river" tactic, affirming the resilient spirit and strategic talent of our army and people on the Dong Thap Muoi battlefield.
During the 21-year resistance war against the US to save the country, the army and people of Dong Thap fought steadfastly through more than 16,000 large and small battles, with victory after victory contributing to the historic day of April 30, 1975, together with the whole country. With their great sacrifices and contributions in the resistance war, the people and armed forces of many localities in Dong Thap were honored by the Party and State with the title of "Hero of the People's Armed Forces"; 68 collectives and 41 individuals were recognized as heroes, 1,151 Heroic Vietnamese Mothers and more than 27,000 Orders and Medals of various types. Each title, each medal, each victory is imbued with the sweat and blood of many generations of soldiers and people of Dong Thap.
We will never forget, forever remember and be grateful to the 18,410 martyrs; 7,730 wounded and sick soldiers, 2,158 people arrested and imprisoned for their revolutionary ideals and countless patriotic Dong Thap people who loved, nurtured and protected the cadres and soldiers during the years of resistance. The outstanding children of the Land of Pink Lotus have continued to write the heroic and proud pages of history of the steadfast and traditional Dong Thap land, becoming a symbol of patriotism, ready to devote themselves and sacrifice for the Fatherland and the People; a convincing proof of the close bond between the Party and the people, between the army and the people; and shining examples for future generations, especially the young generation, to follow.
The resistance war against the US to save the country was full of difficulties, hardships and fierceness, but it left the Party Committee, government, army and people of Dong Thap with many valuable lessons that remain valuable today and in the future. These are: lessons of firmly grasping and absolutely believing in the Party's correct revolutionary guidelines and methods; trusting the people, relying on the people, building a people's heart position, promoting the tradition of patriotism and revolutionary heroism; the strength of great national unity and people's war; creativity, dynamism, self-reliance, self-strengthening, perseverance in "sticking to it"; daring to think, daring to do, daring to take responsibility, for the Party and for the people.
In the first months after liberation, Dong Thap faced many difficulties and challenges. Natural conditions with many unfavorable factors, the economy mainly relied on agriculture, fragmented production, infrastructure in all fields was among the weakest in the country. Rice output in 1975 was estimated at about 270 thousand tons, not enough to eat, the rate of poor and hungry households was very high. Promoting valuable lessons from the great victory of the resistance war against the US to save the country, the Party Committee, government and people of Dong Thap gradually overcame difficulties, took advantage of strengths and potentials to develop the economy - society, maintain national security and defense, and make Dong Thap increasingly developed.
After 50 years, we have achieved great and comprehensive achievements in many aspects. From a locality lacking infrastructure, technical human resources and almost no scientific research activities. Now there has been clear progress, especially in agriculture and processing industry. Digital transformation has made many remarkable advances, especially in agriculture, the application of smart rice cultivation and automation has been effectively implemented; many research projects focus on crop varieties, livestock and post-harvest preservation; rice output has reached 3.34 million tons/year (12.3 times higher than 50 years ago); the value chains of key industries of the province have developed strongly; the rice, tra fish, fruit and ornamental flower industries not only contribute a lot to the economic development of Dong Thap but also play a leading role in industry development nationwide.
The province's agricultural products have been present in more than 150 countries, including demanding markets such as the US, Japan, Korea and the EU... Up to now, all communes and districts have met new rural standards, many communes have met advanced new rural standards and are rapidly progressing towards completing model new rural criteria. The innovative startup ecosystem has been formed, digital transformation has been strongly promoted, being one of three localities nationwide to receive the title of "Typical Locality in Building a Startup Ecosystem"; being one of the few localities to maintain provincial competitiveness in the group of 5 leading provinces nationwide for more than 15 years. The work of caring for the poor and disadvantaged has attracted the attention and participation of many forces in society with many good and creative ways. Thanks to that, the poverty rate has decreased sharply and it is expected that by the end of July 2025, we will complete the elimination of temporary and dilapidated houses for poor and near-poor households in the whole province.
In the field of health and education, from more than 80% of the population being illiterate, lacking facilities; lacking staff, low qualifications. Up to now, the education system has developed strongly in terms of scale, quality and vocational training; the number of schools meeting national standards has increased, the teaching staff has met new requirements. Cao Lanh City and Sa Dec City are 2 of 5 cities nationwide recognized by UNESCO as members of the "Global Learning Network". The health system from the province to the grassroots level is increasingly complete; the medical staff has been strengthened in quantity and expertise; the quality of medical examination and treatment has been improved, many new techniques have been deployed.
The cultural environment has been improved, traditional cultural values have been promoted with attention to devoting resources to preserving cultural heritages and historical relics; restoring and developing folk festivals. High-performance sports and mass sports have achieved many positive results. Tourism has developed, products have become increasingly diverse, with unique characteristics of the Land of Pink Lotus. Historical sites and key tourist destinations have basically positioned their typical products, developing the domestic tourist market through events and festivals such as the Lotus Festival, Mango Festival, Tra Fish Festival, Flower - Ornamental Festival. The spirit and image of "Dong Thap - Pure as the soul of lotus" has been strongly spread and increasingly affirmed, contributing to the formation of one of the most successful local identity values in Vietnam.
It can be said that the 50-year journey of Dong Thap, from a very low starting point but with the outstanding efforts of the Party Committee, the government and the people of Dong Thap, by conquering unfavorable nature, by exploiting indigenous resources, by inheriting and promoting the qualities of Dong Thap people: "Patriotism, solidarity, honesty, self-reliance, diligence, cooperation, loyalty, dynamism, creativity"; we have turned the aspiration to escape poverty, the aspiration to develop, the aspiration to affirm the unique value of the land of lotus in the common development of the Mekong Delta and the whole country into reality.
The country is entering a new journey, an era of strong development and breakthrough, contributing to the completion of the common historical mission of the whole nation. Dong Thap is also transforming itself in a new stage with higher demands in development, stronger aspirations in a newer, larger development space, with more expanded potential.
In the new period, Dong Thap will focus on mobilizing all resources, removing bottlenecks, effectively exploiting potentials and typical strengths to make a breakthrough, aiming to become a pioneer province in building ecological agriculture, modern countryside, civilized farmers; innovating and transforming the economic structure towards modernity, opening up opportunities for new economic sectors: ecological economy, green economy, marine economy, freshwater economy, adaptive agriculture, multimodal transport and health care centers. In the vision to 2030, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam and 2045, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam), Dong Thap strives to become a locality with positive, double-digit growth, among the leading groups in the Mekong Delta region in many fields: Agriculture, processing industry, application of science and technology in production, digital transformation, startups, innovation and there will be no more poor households in Dong Thap province.
To achieve that great goal, there are many things that need to be deployed and implemented. Dong Thap will focus on quickly and effectively implementing the Central's policies and guidelines, evaluating and supplementing the new development space planning. Identifying new strategic breakthrough groups in science and technology, agriculture, infrastructure, and quality human resources for the new period, focusing on developing technical infrastructure, forming a comprehensive economic zone at the international border gate, promoting border trade and developing the marine economy in new development conditions; improving the quality and completing transport infrastructure, regional connectivity and expanding the development space in the spirit of a new Dong Thap province with new potentials and new advantages, this is considered a new turning point in development.
Dong Thap will promote all resources for development, including continuing to pay attention to and support the creation of conditions for the development of the private economy, one of the most important driving forces of the economy, focusing on promoting strong enterprises, leading in key product groups and supporting small and medium enterprises in terms of quantity, quality of operations and development.
Along with economic development, Dong Thap continues to prioritize and invest resources in education and health development. We strive to become a locality with the leading interest in education and health in the region with improved quality, all people have access to necessary services to ensure health. With the efforts of the Province, the health of the people, the learning conditions of the people of the lotus land will receive the highest investment and call for investment resources, the most timely support. In the new development space, the cultural values and people of Dong Thap, focusing on affection, dynamism, and creativity, will continue to be preserved, nurtured and developed.
For the new journey to be filled with new successes, the solidarity, unanimity, and active participation of the people play an important role and are the decisive factors. Dong Thap people have been known to the people of the whole country with many models promoting the spirit of self-reliance, self-control, overcoming difficulties, diligence, cooperation, and association for mutual development. More than ever, in this new stage of development, those valuable experiences and qualities need to continue to be promoted to create great endogenous strength, with the help of friends near and far to create new miracles and new achievements.
With the consensus of the people, I hope that the entire political system of the province, from the province to the grassroots, will strengthen its closeness, dedication, innovation in thinking, working methods, enhance responsibility, capacity, creativity, accompany the people, dare to do for the people, for the common development of Dong Thap - Land of Pink Lotus. Let's work together with the highest determination to build Dong Thap into a place worth living, worth visiting, worth investing - a place where civilization and modernity converge but still preserve the cultural beauty and affection of the people of Dong Thap Muoi, the Southwest region.
With what we have done to have a peaceful and unified April 30, 1975; with what we have done over 50 years of building, protecting and developing Dong Thap, we can completely trust in the new journey, in the immediate future, we will well implement the project of arranging provincial and communal administrative units in Dong Thap, carefully prepare for the province's merger, prepare and successfully organize the Party Congresses at all levels and the Dong Thap Provincial Party Congress for the 2025-2030 term, towards the 14th National Congress of the Party. A new Dong Thap with a two-level local government, streamlined, efficient, effective, and effective, serving the people better, creating a driving force for rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, will develop faster and faster, contributing worthily with the whole country to enter the "New Development Era - The Era of the Vietnamese people's rise".
On behalf of the provincial leaders, I would like to respectfully send to the heroic Vietnamese mothers, heroes of the People's armed forces, leaders, cadres, soldiers and all the people of the province my best wishes for health, happiness and success.
Wish my homeland Dong Thap more and more development and prosperity.
Thanks a lot!
Comrade Le Quoc Phong
Member of the Central Executive Committee of the Party,
Secretary of Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee,
Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Dong Thap province
Source: https://baodongthap.vn/chinh-tri/bai-phat-bieu-cua-bi-thu-tinh-uy-le-quoc-phong-tai-le-ky-niem-50-nam-ngay-giai-phong-mien-nam-thong-131080.aspx
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