The story sows faith to love fellow countrymen

After the victory on January 7, 1979, the day Phnom Penh was liberated, Cambodia was freed from the genocidal Democratic Kampuchea regime under the leadership of the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) established a team of experts to go on an international mission to help the Cambodian National News Agency SPK, now the Cambodian News Agency AKP.

With the spirit of “helping you is helping yourself,” during more than a decade of working with the country of pagodas and towers along with the Vietnam Volunteer Army, VNA experts at SPK have made many important contributions in training human resources, providing technical and professional support, building the organizational structure and operating SPK since its inception.

Over nearly half a century, the close and long-standing relationship between VNA and the National News Agency of Cambodia has become a living symbol of the solidarity and traditional friendship between the people of the two neighboring countries, as commented by Samdech Heng Samrin - Honorary President of the King's Supreme Advisory Council, Honorary President of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) - in a recent interview with VNA reporters in Phnom Penh.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of VNA (September 15, 1945 - September 15, 2025), VNA respectfully introduces a series of articles with the theme "Vietnam News Agency-Cambodia Friendship: Stories Only Now Told" by a group of reporters from the VNA's Phnom Penh Office, along with the memories of insiders and historical witnesses about related stories, as well as the journey of building trust in the past, creating a bridge of friendship today between the two national news agencies and the two neighboring countries of Vietnam and Cambodia.

According to the late journalist Do Phuong, former General Director and Head of the VNA expert delegation in Cambodia (1979-1981), in the days after Cambodia was liberated in the late 1970s, the machinery of the Cambodian National News Agency (SPK) started well.

On the VNA side, all five reporter teams following the Vietnamese Volunteer Army returned to Phnom Penh, joining the entire expert group at SPK with a total of over 100 people.

VNA officially established its Branch Office (now changed to have a permanent resident) in Phnom Penh with the first Branch Chief being Mr. Tran Huu Nang.

To prepare long-term human resources for the new national news agency, the SPK and VNA leadership agreed to open Vietnamese language classes in Ho Chi Minh City and select people to study radio at university in Hanoi .

VNA technicians instruct Cambodian friends on how to operate broadcasting and receiving equipment. (Photo: VNA)

During an exchange on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of VNA (September 15, 1945 - September 15, 2025), Mr. Khieu Kanharith - Direct Supreme Advisor to the King, Member of the National Assembly , Member of the Central Committee of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP), former Minister of Information of Cambodia - shared with VNA reporters in Phnom Penh a "great memory" of his about that historical period.

According to MP Khieu Kanharith, after Phnom Penh was liberated in January 1979, Cambodia needed to recruit people to train as cadres.

“At that time, people were not allowed to enter the city, Phnom Penh was only full of cadres so it was very deserted. We had to go to the grassroots to propagate, mobilize people, and find people to send for training.”

After much effort, SPK was able to mobilize and gather more than 300 people in Chroy Changvar, a suburb of Phnom Penh. However, on the opening day of the class, less than 100 people entered Phnom Penh to study. People were afraid of being tricked by Pol Pot, so they called them to study and then killed them like before.

In that situation, SPK had to mobilize people to go to the area and search in many places to gather 128 students for the first course.

After 3 weeks of studying, the students went on a field trip and during that trip, an incident arose, which was also an experience that made the young reporter and intellectual Khieu Kanharith at that time establish a strong belief in Vietnam.

From right to left: SPK General Director Chay Sa Phon, Deputy General Director Tran Thanh Xuan, volunteer soldier (son of comrade Tran Thanh Xuan), Deputy Head of the expert delegation Tran Huu Nang, engineer Truong Viet Cuong at Independence Radio Station, January 20, 1979. (Photo: VNA)

According to a senior Cambodian official, among the group of students at that time was a pregnant woman who expressed her wish not to join the group on the field trip. According to the regulations at that time, those who went on business trips were entitled to food support. The remaining members of the group all believed that if anyone did not join the group, which meant not working, they would not be entitled to food and food support like under the Khmer Rouge.

A senior CPP official shared his feelings: “We Khmer people have said that to each other. That shows that although we fought Pol Pot, we ourselves also have the same way of thinking and way of thinking as Pol Pot.”

However, at that time, a Vietnamese expert, often called Ta Que (Mr. Que), spoke up to intervene, suggesting that the pregnant woman stay and work in the office.

In the speech of the Vietnamese expert, there was a sentence that moved the young reporter Khieu Kanharith, who still remembers, loves and respects him to this day. Expert Ta Que said: "Please remember, comrades, at this time, every new life born in Cambodia is extremely precious."

Recalling that story, MP Khieu Kanharith emotionally said that Ta Que was Vietnamese but he taught Cambodians how to love living beings and their fellow countrymen.

At that moment, the members of the group suddenly understood that they should not have done that, as the mindset had been formed after more than 3 years of living with Pol Pot, that whoever did not work would not have food.

He shared: “For me personally, it was an experience, a great lesson that I will never forget. From that lesson, I believe in Vietnam because they taught us to love our fellow countrymen.”

Mr. Khieu Kanharith served as Cambodia's first Minister of Information in the 1990s, then continued to serve in this role for the last five terms, from 2003-2023.

During the early days of Cambodia’s liberation nearly 50 years ago, Khieu Kanharith, a young man in his 20s, was a reporter for Kampuchea newspaper. Although he did not work directly for the agency, in his mind, he always considered VNA experts as his teachers through the daily news bulletins of SPK at that time.

According to the senior Cambodian official, during his first days as a journalist, SPK had experts from VNA to help edit and publish daily news, so he often waited to watch SPK news to learn and compare what he was lacking to improve his professional skills.

He shared: “I learned to write news that way, because the experts at the Cambodian newspaper mainly taught me how to write editorials and how to present the newspaper. Therefore, the experts at SPK were like my own experts, like my direct teachers.”

Training course for reporters and photo editors for SPK News Agency organized by VNA, 1981. (Photo: VNA)

Speaking to VNA reporters in Phnom Penh, the Cambodian King's direct Supreme Advisor highly appreciated the support and assistance of Vietnamese experts at the SPK in the 1980s. He said that at that time, despite many difficulties, Vietnam was still willing to support the training of SPK officials, selecting and sending people for 6-month training in journalism.

According to the Cambodian politician, after returning from the training course organized by VNA, SPK students all became good journalists of Cambodia. He emphasized: “Vietnamese experts not only taught us about journalism but also how to behave, communicate in the workplace, how to work, hold meetings... In general, everything in the initial revolutionary period of our country.”

From that perspective, MP Khieu Kanharith compared VNA to the one who planted the first seeds for Cambodian journalism. He said that at that time, there were many agencies and units participating in supporting Cambodian journalism, but the role of VNA was more important.

“They sent us to Vietnam for training. They planted the seeds and created the first press framework in Cambodia. Therefore, we are all grateful and will never forget those efforts and the contributions of VNA.”./.

Part 1: From the memories of VNA experts in Cambodia...

Lesson 3: And the Chey Beaupha Friendship Bridge

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/cau-chuyen-soe-niem-tin-de-yeu-thuong-dong-bao-post1062437.vnp