General Secretary To Lam: "No force can stop our nation from surviving and developing"

On the morning of September 2, at the historic Ba Dinh Square, the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the President, the Government, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Hanoi City solemnly held the Ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025) and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025).

View of historic Ba Dinh Square on the day of the Great Festival. (Photo: THE DAI)

Attending the ceremony were comrades: General Secretary To Lam; former General Secretary Nong Duc Manh; President Luong Cuong; former Presidents: Nguyen Minh Triet, Truong Tan Sang; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man; former National Assembly Chairmen: Nguyen Sinh Hung, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; Politburo member, Standing member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu, Head of the Central Steering Committee for the celebration of major holidays and important historical events of the country; comrade Pham The Duyet, former Standing member of the Politburo, former Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; former Politburo members, former Standing members of the Secretariat: Phan Dien, Le Hong Anh, Tran Quoc Vuong; Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien.

Also attending were Politburo members, former Politburo members; Party Central Committee Secretary, former Party Central Committee Secretary; Party Central Committee members, former Party Central Committee members; comrades: Vice President, former Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister, former Deputy Prime Minister, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly , former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly; leaders of central departments, ministries, branches, mass organizations and leaders of provinces and centrally run cities; veteran revolutionary cadres, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labor, generals in the people's armed forces; representatives of war veterans, former people's police, former youth volunteers, former frontline laborers; representatives of war invalids, martyrs' families, exemplary meritorious people; delegates who are ethnic minorities, exemplary religious dignitaries; representatives of people from all walks of life and the Vietnamese community abroad.

Photos of Party and State leaders and international delegates attending the ceremony. (Photo: VNA)

The ceremony was also attended by international delegations: The high-level delegation of the Lao People's Democratic Republic led by Thongloun Sisoulith, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People's Democratic Republic ; The high-level delegation of the Kingdom of Cambodia led by Samdech Techo Hun Sen, President of the Cambodian People's Party and President of the Senate of the Kingdom of Cambodia; The delegation of the Cuban Party and State led by Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of the Republic of Cuba; The high-level delegation of the Chinese Party and State led by Zhao Leji, member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Chairman of the National People's Congress of China; The delegation of the Belarusian Party and State led by Igor Sergeenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus; The delegation of the Russian Federation was headed by Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Yakushev, Secretary of the General Council of the United Russia Political Party, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Also attending were: General Secretary of the Dominican United Left Movement; General Secretary of the Communist Party of Great Britain; representatives of political parties, Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Ministries of Defense of various countries, Ambassadors, Charge d'Affaires, Consuls General, Heads of representative offices of international organizations, defense attachés of various countries in Vietnam and many international friends who have supported the Vietnamese people in the cause of national liberation, innovation and development of the country; domestic and foreign news agencies and newspapers.

The opening was a grand drum performance combined with flag performances, folk dances, and lion and dragon dances, expressing the heroic spirit, the spirit of attack, and national pride on Independence Day. In the midst of the heroic historical space, the deep, resounding drum sounds created a majestic atmosphere, stirring up national pride in the hearts of the people.

The ceremony began with the traditional torch procession, lighting the traditional revolutionary fire. The traditional fire - a symbol of the indomitable will, immortal strength, and eternal aspiration of the Vietnamese people, forged from thousands of years of history of building and defending the country - was carried from the Ho Chi Minh Museum to Ba Dinh Square.

Traditional torch procession, lighting the traditional revolutionary pyre. (Photo: The Dai)

The torch was handed over to Lieutenant General Nguyen Duc Soat, Hero of the People's Armed Forces, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, who had an outstanding achievement of shooting down 6 enemy planes, becoming one of the heroic pilots of the Vietnam People's Army to light the torch.

The fire was lit on the pyre; a call to arms to encourage the entire Party, people and army to be one, to promote the tradition of patriotism, the strength of great national unity, and to be determined to build and firmly defend the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam.

Next, the sacred flag-raising ceremony took place with the majestic national anthem sung in unison by millions of people at Ba Dinh Square, on the streets of Hanoi as well as all over the country, from north to south to remote islands, connecting online to the ceremony. At the same time, 21 cannons were fired at My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi.

UNITY, JOINT EFFORT, UNITY, TURNING ASPIRATIONS INTO REALITY

In the solemn atmosphere of the Celebration, on behalf of the leaders of the Party, State, and Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, General Secretary To Lam read the Speech at the Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day, September 2.

General Secretary To Lam stated that 80 years ago, at the historic Ba Dinh Square, beloved President Ho Chi Minh solemnly read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the first People's Democratic State in Southeast Asia, opening an era of independence and freedom for the country. From that historic moment, the Vietnamese people embarked on a new journey: Building a People's Government, defending the Fatherland, leading the country steadily forward on the path of Socialism, for the goal of "A rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization".

General Secretary To Lam delivers a speech at the ceremony. (Photo: Duy Linh)

The General Secretary affirmed that all victories of the Vietnamese revolution are associated with the correct and wise leadership of the Party and Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style. Our Party has always been steadfast in the goal of national independence associated with socialism; creatively applying and developing Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's ideology in accordance with the country's reality in each period; putting the interests of the Fatherland and the people first and foremost. Thanks to that, our nation has overcome countless difficulties and challenges; our country has transformed from a colony into an independent and unified nation, steadily advancing towards modernity and deep integration; its position and prestige have been increasingly affirmed in the international arena.

The task of protecting the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Fatherland; maintaining security, order and social safety for rapid and sustainable national development; and constantly improving the people's lives and happiness is our command to act. Successfully achieving these three goals is fulfilling Uncle Ho's wish before he passed away: "My final wish is: for our entire Party and people to unite and strive to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam, and to make a worthy contribution to the cause of the world revolution."

The General Secretary affirmed that, over the 80-year journey full of hardships but heroic, under the glorious flag of the Party, with the light of Ho Chi Minh guiding the way, relying on the strength of the people and the great national unity bloc, there is no difficulty or challenge that our people cannot overcome; there is no noble goal that our nation cannot achieve. Therefore, there is no obstacle, no reason that can stop us from reaching peace, prosperity, and the eternal existence and development of our nation.

The General Secretary said that looking to the future, our Party aims to make Vietnam a strong, prosperous and happy country by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the country. That is the aspiration of the entire nation, an oath of honor before history and the people.

The General Secretary called on the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, and our compatriots at home and abroad, through concrete and practical actions, to unite, join hands, and be of one mind, turning aspirations into reality; to make more efforts and be more determined; to highly promote Vietnamese intelligence, creativity, and mettle; and to successfully carry out the goals and tasks set by the Party and State and expected by the people.

“We are determined and persistent in defending the independence, freedom, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and every inch of the sacred land of the Fatherland with the combined strength of the entire nation: political, economic, cultural, scientific, technological, military, foreign affairs strength, and the strength of the people. We want to be friends and reliable partners with all countries in the world. We respect international law and the United Nations Charter; resolve disagreements and disputes by peaceful means. We absolutely will not give in to any plots and actions that violate independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity; and resolutely protect the interests of the nation and the people,” the General Secretary emphasized.

Majestic parade, parade in the air, on land, and at sea

After the commemorative speech by General Secretary To Lam, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Nghia, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam People's Army, directed the parade program with the participation of 6 forces including more than 30,000 people.

The parade force includes 4 Honor Guards; 43 groups representing the people's armed forces (26 Army groups, 17 Police groups); 4 foreign military groups, including China, Russia, Laos, Cambodia; military vehicles, artillery, and special police vehicles; sea parade force; 12 mass parade groups; 1 Culture-Sports group.

The flight formations opened the parade. (Photo: VNA)

The parade program begins with a welcome air show, followed by the parade of the blocks in order: parade of the honor guard blocks, parade of the walking blocks, the Vietnam People's Army blocks first, the foreign army blocks (China, Russia, Laos, Cambodia), then the militia, guerrillas, and the police blocks.

After the parade, the walking group marched to the parade section of military vehicles, special police vehicles and the masses. After passing the stage, the parade groups spread out to the central streets of the capital Hanoi.

In particular, through television, people across the country witnessed for the first time a parade at sea, held at Cam Ranh military base (Khanh Hoa) and broadcast live on the main screen at Ba Dinh Square.

The parade at sea featured the Kilo 636 submarine, missile frigates, missile boats, anti-submarine frigates, various types of coast guard, fisheries surveillance, military medical, border guard, maritime militia and helicopters.

The ships lined up to salute the flag and review the parade formation at sea in A, V, and diamond shapes. All of this affirms that we have the ability to fight effectively, contributing to firmly protecting the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the Fatherland in the new period.

The armed forces paraded at sea for the first time.

In the sacred atmosphere of the Anniversary, our Party, State, people and army respectfully remember and pay tribute to the great President Ho Chi Minh - Genius Leader, National Liberation Hero, World Cultural Celebrity, Beloved Father of the People's Armed Forces.

At the same time, we remember and express gratitude to the senior leaders, heroic martyrs, heroic Vietnamese mothers, heroes of the People's Armed Forces, heroes of labor; wounded soldiers, compatriots, soldiers nationwide and international friends who sacrificed, contributed and gave valuable help to the revolutionary cause of our nation.

The spirit of the August Revolution and the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam are immortal, forever the pride and motivation urging the entire Vietnamese people to continue the indomitable spirit and aspiration for Independence - Freedom - Happiness of their ancestors, fostering their mettle, intelligence, strong innovation, constant creativity, and determination to build a comprehensively and sustainably developed Vietnam in the new era - the era of the Vietnamese people's rise.

Source: https://vpctn.gov.vn/tin-tuc-su-kien/hoat-dong-cua-chu-tich-nuoc/tong-bi-thu-to-lam-khong-luc-can-nao-co-the-ngan-buoc-dan-toc-ta-truong-ton-va-phat-trien-.html