Absorb the profound, heartfelt, and life-long sayings of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

At 80 years old, with nearly 57 years of Party membership, 14 years as General Secretary, over 2 years as President, and over 5 years as Chairman of the National Assembly , Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has always been deeply concerned and passionate about the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation. The General Secretary has issued many insightful, impressive, and impactful directives and speeches that resonate with the people…

During his lifetime, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made many impressive, simple, and profound statements and remarks, full of philosophical depth, that moved and inspired every Party member and every citizen, strengthening the people's trust in the Party and the State.

At the ceremony to receive the 55-year Party membership badge on February 2, 2023, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emotionally expressed his feelings for the Party by quoting a song: " If you are a flower, be a sunflower; if you are a bird, be a white dove; if you are a stone, be a diamond; if you are a person, be a communist ."

The General Secretary remembered by heart the words of the young communist Pavel Korchagin, a character in the novel "How the Steel Was Tempered" by the Russian writer Nikolai Ostrovsky: " The most precious thing a person has is life and the honor of living, because a person only lives once. One must live in such a way as to avoid regret for wasted years; to avoid shame for petty, cowardly deeds that earn the contempt of others; so that when one closes their eyes in death, they can proudly say: All their life, all their strength, they have dedicated to the noblest cause in the world - the cause of fighting for national liberation, liberating humanity, and bringing happiness to the people ."

That was his ideal in life. The General Secretary wished for that noble ideal to spread and permeate the hearts and minds of every communist party member in the country.

One thing that people will always remember about him is the admirable character of a man in the highest leadership position of the Party and State, yet still humble, simple, and extremely honest. In November 2020, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the founding of Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, the General Secretary visited his teachers and the school where he once studied, sincerely and respectfully asking permission to address them as "I"... " I report to you, teachers, that now I am the General Secretary and President of the country (in 2020 - PV), but when I come to the school, I ask your permission to still call me Nguyen Phu Trong, a former student of the school. During the ceremony, the teachers also introduced me as former student Nguyen Phu Trong. I would also like to share my feelings about my student days, about the beautiful memories with my teachers and classmates ."

To attend the class reunion, he asked someone to drive him on a motorbike. Meeting his teachers and friends, he said: " Please allow me, allow me to leave all titles and positions outside this room. I am here forever as a student of you all. I am here forever as a classmate of yours… Titles and positions are like fleeting clouds !"

The General Secretary's simplicity is also reflected in his firm yet incredibly humble words. One notable example is his speech before the National Assembly upon assuming the presidency, where he recalled his feelings upon being elected Chairman of the National Assembly with two lines of poetry: " Thinking of my fragile fate, like a dragonfly's wing / Who knows if the green mold will be square or round? " Or, upon being re-elected as General Secretary of the 13th Central Committee of the Party with almost absolute confidence, the General Secretary shared, " Now I am not very healthy, I am also getting old, and I had already asked to retire, but the Congress elected me, and I must do it; as a Party member, I must obey ."

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has many impressive articles and speeches, containing profound meanings, demonstrating his wisdom and consistent, unwavering ideology throughout his political career.

In foreign affairs, in his keynote address lasting over 60 minutes at the National Foreign Affairs Conference held in Hanoi on the morning of December 14, 2021, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong conveyed a message of determination to build a Vietnamese bamboo-style diplomacy. " The Vietnamese bamboo has a sturdy base, flexible and supple branches, yet is incredibly resilient. No wind can knock it down," the General Secretary said, quoting the poem: "With a slender trunk and delicate leaves, how can you become a fortress, O bamboo?"

One of the lasting impressions of the fight against corruption and negative phenomena from the beginning of the 11th Party Congress term to the present is the continued strengthening of Party building and rectification, closely linked to many insightful statements by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Negative Phenomena, whom many people refer to as "the great furnace burner".

At the 12th meeting of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, on the morning of July 31, 2017, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: The fight against corruption has become a movement and a trend throughout society . " When I meet with constituents, I often say: Once the furnace is hot, even fresh wood will burn. Dry wood and moderately dry wood will burn first, then the whole furnace heats up, all agencies get involved, no one stands outside. And no one can stand outside. No individual can refuse to participate, that's what success is ."

At the press conference following the 13th National Congress on February 1, 2021, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized the unwavering spirit of the fight against corruption, stating that many officials were still being dealt with even as the Congress approached. " I said it will not stop, it will not rest, regardless of who they are, there are no forbidden zones ."

At the National Conference summarizing 10 years of anti-corruption and anti-negative practices work from 2012 to 2022 on June 30, 2022, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that the fight against corruption is increasingly going deeper, making strong progress, achieving many concrete, very important, and comprehensive results, leaving a good mark and truly " has become an irreversible movement and trend ".

Therefore, " any attitude of deference, avoidance, right-wing tendencies, 'keeping quiet for money,' or extremism, wanting to exploit criticism to attack others or cause internal disruption, is wrong ."

According to the General Secretary, building and rectifying the Party is the work of building the organization and building people; it is human affairs work, which easily touches upon people's honor, interests, and relationships. Therefore, it requires each of us to self-criticize, analyze, and dissect our own strengths and weaknesses; and to observe and evaluate others.

At various meetings, the General Secretary consistently maintained the following viewpoint: "Every party member must cleanse and correct themselves." Regarding the evaluation of cadres... "Don't mistake a chicken for a duck." "Don't mistake red for ripe." He hated parochialism, self-interest, factionalism, and cliques. "Crabs rely on their claws, fish rely on their fins." He also repeatedly advised leaders, officials, and party members: "Don't be tempted by evil gains or unscrupulous actions." What matters is morality and honor.

" Life is lived only once, so one must live in a way that avoids regret and remorse for petty, despicable, and shameless actions; what good is having a lot of money, you can't take it with you when you die. Honor is the most sacred and precious thing ," the General Secretary instructed at the National Conference of Internal Affairs Agencies on implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party on September 15, 2021.

The General Secretary has always shown special concern and devoted much effort to the cause of building and developing national culture, as evidenced by numerous articles and speeches. The General Secretary said: " Culture is the soul of the nation, reflecting its identity. As long as culture exists, the nation exists... Therefore, if culture is lost, the nation is lost ." Discussing the happiness of human life, he simply shared: " Human happiness is not just about having a lot of money, possessions, good food, and beautiful clothes, but also about richness of soul, living amidst love and compassion, truth and justice ."

These statements demonstrate the character and leadership style of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong when facing and resolving major national issues.

" We have achieved tremendous, historically significant accomplishments, developing more strongly and comprehensively than in the years before the reforms. With all humility, we can still say that our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position, and international prestige as it does today ," General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed at the opening session of the 13th National Congress of the Party on the morning of January 26, 2021, and at many important conferences where the General Secretary attended and delivered important directive speeches.

" We are descendants of Uncle Ho, the Party is the Communist Party of Vietnam, the nation is the Vietnamese nation, this country must definitely develop and move forward, it must not fall behind other countries, and we must not accept being inferior to others. We must be determined and resolute in this regard ," the General Secretary said.

Attending and speaking at the Government-Local Authorities Conferences, usually held at the beginning of the year to implement tasks, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always expressed his hope and wished the Government and authorities at all levels to strive and make efforts to achieve " Next year we must definitely achieve more accomplishments and progress than the previous year . The entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army are expecting, demanding, and looking to us, to you comrades ," the General Secretary stated.

Guided by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's directives, the Government has consistently strived to overcome difficulties and achieve better results each year. At conferences and meetings, the Prime Minister has consistently emphasized and reminded ministries, sectors, localities, and agencies to thoroughly understand the General Secretary's directives with the spirit of "only discussing action, not retreating" in the face of all difficulties and challenges, "not saying no, not saying it's difficult, not saying yes but not doing it," so that results each month are higher than the previous month, each quarter is better than the previous quarter, and growth exceeds the set targets.

The positive results in the country's socio-economic development are a testament to "turning sorrow into action," a beautiful tribute offered to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a brilliant leader who dedicated his life to the nation and its people.

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