Hanoi Capital - Great Transformations

Former Politburo member, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi.

On this occasion, Kinh te & Do thi Newspaper had a conversation with former Politburo member, former Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi about his memories of Hanoi, and also affirmed his belief in a Capital that will develop further in the future.

Every historic October, Hanoi is filled with proud emotions remembering the heroic atmosphere of the days when the victorious army marched to liberate the capital. Having lived and worked in Hanoi for many years, how do you feel at this moment?

- I have lived, studied and worked in the Capital for more than fifty years. I have experienced memorable years, from "a time of bombs and bullets, a time of glory", then the years of peace, Hanoi rose up in the renovation process. I love and am proud of this land. That love and affection has grown over the years, very natural but also very special. I love the culture, love the people, love the unique beauty of the Capital. Over the past thousands of years, on the land of Thang Long - Hanoi, more than a dozen wars against foreign invaders have been fought and ended in triumph. The day of taking over - Liberation of the Capital October 10, 1954 - one of the shining milestones that has gone down in history, opening a new period of the Ho Chi Minh era.

Over the past 70 years, the thousand-year-old tradition of culture and the enormous strength of the whole country have helped the Party Committee, government and people of the Capital to fight, build and develop, creating miracles representing the national spirit, building the Capital to be increasingly civilized and modern, worthy of the trust and love of the people of the whole country.

The historic October days are an opportunity for us to review the glorious historical tradition, look back at the development process of the Capital, to further love this land where the soul of the mountains and rivers has been preserved for thousands of years, where patriotism, love of peace, friendship and the desire to rise up converge and shine. I think that everyone who was born, lived, worked or knew Hanoi shares that feeling. In war or in peace, every time we have to leave Hanoi... everyone always remembers, always loves, and is always proud of this place.

Because our Hanoi is a very special capital, first of all, it is the capital of a thousand years of civilization, the "City for Peace" as honored by UNESCO; it is the capital that, even in the midst of the fire of war, was once praised by the world as the "Capital of conscience and human dignity",... those names and expressions are all very typical and proud characteristics of the capital Hanoi.

Ten years, two terms as the head of the Capital Party Committee, not a long period of time in the development process of Hanoi, but that was the period when the Capital Hanoi had great changes and many marks on the development path, continuing the glorious past. This was mentioned by you in the book “In Search of a Star”, in the chapter “Ten years, a slice of time…”. Could you share about the memorable memories in that “slice of time”?

- In the book “In Search of a Star”, I also wrote and “reported” truthfully and vividly the work and events, which are also the marks and memories that I was once attached to in my position as Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Many times I thought to myself, how lucky I was to work and contribute right at the time when Thang Long - Hanoi turned one thousand years old, Hanoi expanded its administrative boundaries, Hanoi built the Capital Law, Hanoi innovated, developed and integrated… That was the period when Hanoi strongly rose up in the renovation process. That was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to live and contribute…

It was also a decade in which Hanoi rose to the occasion and faced many challenges. Many modern, spacious and impressive construction projects were completed and many more are still in progress. Ten years, an extremely large amount of work, with many events and witnesses. That is a great and extremely proud achievement of the Party Committee and the People of Hanoi.

Living in a period of extremely vibrant development, I truly feel the heat, the collision, the influence, the multi-dimensional impact through each job, each day, each month, each year... Through the pages of the book, I have expressed my thoughts in memorable moments, events, and issues. The unprecedented workload and difficulties at the time when Hanoi expanded its administrative boundaries, from organizational and personnel work, concerns for socio-economic development, improving people's lives to the issue of how to both preserve the identity of the two cultural regions and still create a common culture of Hanoi after the expansion.

And the "behind the scenes" stories of preparations for the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, things that seem small, seem easy but are not easy, not small at all: choosing gifts for the occasion of the Great Festival, the process of composing a 1,000-word letter to the future, the story of Hanoi building five welcome gates... Along with that are hundreds of key projects for the Great Festival that need to be completed along with countless stories and tasks that must be handled delicately, thorny, and sensitively...

10 years as Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, as I wrote, is a personal experience, contemplation and conclusion: "Hanoi's work is as much as the water of the Red River" or the difficulties and challenges bearing Hanoi's own mark expressed in the saying "Hanoi cannot be rushed" is often understood to mean that Hanoi officials are stagnant, not dynamic and resourceful.

 

For Hanoi, the City of a Thousand Years of Civilization, the Heroic City, the City for Peace, the Creative City, the cultural factor always plays a particularly important role. Hanoi may not be the leading city in terms of economy, but it must be the leading city, the leading city in terms of culture, a place of gathering and shining, representing Vietnamese culture; and must always identify culture as an important endogenous resource to build the Capital for sustainable development. These are all issues of utmost importance to the cause of building an increasingly civilized and modern Capital.

Former Politburo member, Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi

But those who have ever sat in the leadership chair in the Capital will understand that all dynamism and resourcefulness here always face extremely careful consideration. We must learn, listen, grasp, forecast... before making a decision. And whatever happens in the Capital will receive many opinions from the press, public opinion, scientists, retirees, leaders at all levels, sectors, and even international movements and opinions... Listening to public opinion is extremely necessary, but if we listen too much but do not dare to make a decision, the work will not be completed.

During those ten years, I was very happy to have participated in contributing with the Hanoi Party Committee to successfully complete the tasks assigned by the Party, the State and the People. Ten years have passed, the stature and appearance of the beloved capital Hanoi has changed and grown day by day. Now, every time I walk on the new modern bridges spanning the Red River and look towards the inner city of Hanoi, the panoramic view of a capital that is growing in both height and width appears before everyone's eyes with so many new constructions springing up. People who have been away and now return may find it difficult to recognize the old place.

For me personally, I am always haunted by debts, unfinished work, and even work with shortcomings and defects. With my love and attachment to the Capital, every morning and evening when I go back and forth on the streets of Hanoi, I always have the joy and pride of being a citizen of the Capital Hanoi, of participating in the contributions, of sharing the joys and sorrows, and of witnessing our Capital Hanoi becoming more and more dignified and beautiful as Uncle Ho always wished.

70 years since the milestone of October 10, 1954, the capital Hanoi has made great strides in development, becoming a major urban area of ​​the country and the world. Photo: Pham Hung

As you said, up to now everyone has seen that Hanoi is on the path of strong development in terms of economy, culture, life; the harmony of cultural nuances, of different regions... What is your personal opinion about the comprehensive changes of Hanoi up to today?

- Hanoi, along with the whole country, is in the process of industrialization and modernization; changing and growing every day. Everyone can feel the strong development of Hanoi, not only the high growth rate, being the locomotive, the driving force of the development of the Northern Key Economic Zone and increasingly playing an important role in the economy of the whole country. Especially, after 2008, implementing the policy of expanding administrative boundaries, Hanoi has the space to develop, building a civilized, modern capital, worthy of a country with the largest population in the country.

According to data released by the General Statistics Office in early April 2024, the living standards and average income per capita in Hanoi by 2022 have increased significantly over the past 10 years.

Another mark is the great change in the appearance of the capital in both urban and rural areas. A green, civilized, modern urban space is gradually becoming a reality with many new urban areas emerging, ring roads, radial axes, large bridges, elevated railways and Metro lines... The appearance of Hanoi's countryside is changing rapidly towards becoming more and more civilized and modern, where traditional cultural values ​​are still preserved and promoted.

Up to now, the whole city has 382/382 communes meeting new rural standards, 186 communes meeting advanced new rural standards and 68 communes meeting model new rural standards. 18/18 districts and towns have completed the task of building new rural areas. That is a truly proud achievement of the capital Hanoi.

In the process of international integration, Hanoi is increasingly affirming its position when having friendly and cooperative relations with many capitals and cities in the world. In communication language, many times just saying the name Hanoi, people in the world think they are talking about Vietnam. That shows the position and influence of the capital Hanoi. Every year, many large-scale economic and cultural foreign affairs events hosted by the capital Hanoi or organized in the area receive high appreciation from international friends. Along with the title "City for Peace", Hanoi is also the first locality in Vietnam to be recognized by UNESCO as a member of the "Creative Cities Network"; along with that, Hanoi is also aiming to develop a "Smart City"...

It is a great pride that our Capital has been rated by the world as a safe and attractive destination for many years. Heads of state of many countries during their visits to Vietnam can comfortably walk, cycle, and enjoy Hanoi's street food. There are really not many Capitals in the world that have such a safe and peaceful environment.

As the political, cultural and economic center of the country, Hanoi has a lot of potential and advantages for development. According to you, from the 70th anniversary of Liberation, what resources should Hanoi focus on exploiting to build the Capital more civilized and modern?

- Hanoi still has a lot of potential and advantages in terms of human resources, knowledge, science and technology, natural conditions, investment attraction ability, etc. These are resources that need to be further aroused and promoted. On the other hand, in the development process, it has been shown that progress in the cultural and social fields is not synchronous and commensurate with economic development. Living standards have been raised, but behavioral culture is also raising issues that need attention. The management of construction order and planning still has many shortcomings; imbalance in urban development, social infrastructure cannot keep up with the development of housing and population. There are still some places lacking schools, many old apartment buildings are degraded, the city wants to renovate and build new ones but has not been able to do so, and the problem of environmental pollution, etc. There is still a lot of work to do ahead.

There are many expectations, everyone wants Hanoi to do things faster and better. The capital is in the process of rapid urbanization, and the problems that arise are inevitable. To solve this problem, in addition to the direct responsibility of the city, it is necessary to have a stronger and more synchronous participation of central ministries and branches, such as urgently relocating the headquarters of ministries, branches, schools, and hospitals out of the inner city...

Everyone needs to be fully aware of the position, role, obligations, powers and responsibilities of the Capital Hanoi “as the national political and administrative nerve center, the heart of the whole country, a major center of culture, science, education, economy and international transactions”. In fact, these issues have been affirmed not only in the Capital Law, Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW of the Politburo “on the direction and tasks of developing the Capital Hanoi until 2030, with a vision to 2045” and also in the Constitution.

Besides the common points of authority and responsibility like other provinces and cities, Hanoi Capital has its own specific and objective requirements and demands. There are many tasks that the Capital must undertake that other localities do not have to do or are not assigned. Not to mention the differences in scale and nature of the organizational and management tasks in large-scale urban areas.

The National Assembly recently passed the Capital Law (amended), which includes strong decentralization provisions, giving Hanoi special and superior mechanisms, policies and powers. Along with that, there are mechanisms and policies to encourage officials, especially leaders, to promote a sense of responsibility, to dare to think, to dare to do, to dare to take responsibility, for the development of the Capital.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://kinhtedothi.vn/thu-do-ha-noi-nhung-buoc-chuyen-minh-lon-lao.html