The future of the nation knows how to nurture great aspirations

Today is a great day, Reunification Day. Half a century ago, five Liberation Army troops entered Saigon, tanks broke through the gates of the Independence Palace, the Liberation flag flew in the sky at noon on April 30, 1975, and the radio broadcast the announcement of the unconditional surrender of the puppet President Duong Van Minh. The dream of reunification that lasted 21 years came true, the Vietnamese people entered an era of peace and renewal with the ambition of a future of a powerful nation.

The Independence Palace today has become a special historical relic - a place that preserves the golden mark of April 30, 1975, the end of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, liberating the South and unifying the country. This is also the meaning of the current name of this building, Reunification Hall. Photo: VNA

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Reunification Day, we can see the great turning point of history. In 1954, when the Geneva Agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam was signed, the Vietnamese people did not care which side of the latitude they lived on. Because "Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese people are one", they only knew that the French colonialists had to withdraw from Vietnam and two years later there would be a general election to unify the country. However, while the northern bank of the Ben Hai River enjoyed peace and built socialism, the southern bank became a new type of colony of the American empire.

The puppet government was set up by the US to divide the country. The evil gang oppressed our people, massacred former resistance fighters. The US army and its vassals entered the South and also carried out barbaric acts. These were the My Lai massacre, Agent Orange, the consequences of which are still painful after more than half a century. These were carpet bombings, determined to "bring the North back to the Stone Age".

In the face of the enemy's plot, the Party and Uncle Ho affirmed: "Central, South, and North are all our territories, our country will definitely be unified, and our people will definitely be liberated." He clearly stated "fight to drive out the Americans, fight to overthrow the puppets." And the path of struggle, the revolutionary goal, and the burning desire of our nation is unification.

Since then, people from the North went to the South, people from the South went to the North, together they sacrificed their blood and bones to protect the Fatherland. Under the wise leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our army and people gradually defeated the new war strategies of the American imperialists in the South and the destructive war in the North. Just over 2 years after the "Americans left", we "defeated the puppets" at noon on April 30, 1975. The South was completely liberated, the country entered the era of national independence, unification and building socialism.

It can be said that in the storm of 21 years of resistance, Vietnam has become a symbol of “conscience and reason for living” for many countries fighting for national liberation. But to create “Vietnam’s standing” are immense losses. Millions of outstanding children forever lie in the motherland’s heart in all fierce battlefields, from North to South, from high mountains to vast seas, from the Central Highlands to coastal plains. Many people return with wounds and illnesses on their bodies, with memories of war deeply imprinted in their minds.

The war has passed 50 years, the wounds have healed, the painful but heroic memories will forever be preserved in one way or another. The past is also closing to move towards a developed Vietnam. From being former enemies, Vietnam and the United States have normalized, established diplomatic relations in 1995 and established a Comprehensive Partnership in 2013 and most recently upgraded the relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development. The continued strong development of Vietnam - United States relations is in line with the common interests and aspirations of the people of the two countries and contributes to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region as well as in the world.

Bach Dang Wharf Park area on Ton Duc Thang Street, Ben Nghe Ward (Ho Chi Minh City). Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA

Under the leadership of the Party, the country has overcome difficulties and challenges to create new milestones. We have escaped poverty and backward thinking through the Doi Moi process in 1986. And now, our Party is aiming for the biggest goal of turning Vietnam into a high-income developed country by 2045.

On the 20-year journey to this distant destination, we are preparing well for many things. The immediate goal is to achieve economic growth of 8% or more by 2025, and to organize well the Party Congresses at all levels for the 2025-2030 term towards the 14th National Congress of the Party. Our Party has also made very meaningful "need-to-do" decisions. That is, to exempt tuition fees for students from kindergarten to high school; to increase health insurance support for people in difficult circumstances. That is, to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide in 2025; to implement social policies that demonstrate the superiority of socialism for workers, people in difficult circumstances, people with meritorious services to the revolution, people in resistance zones, war-torn areas...

In a strategic vision for the long-term development of the country, our Party advocates streamlining the organizational apparatus to build a creative and people-serving State. In that vision, the Southern provinces will soon be reduced from 22 provinces and cities to 9 provinces and cities. As with Ho Chi Minh City, it is planned to merge Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and Binh Duong province into the City, named Ho Chi Minh City, with the political and administrative center located in Ho Chi Minh City today.

This revolution is expected to create a diverse development space; create a foundation for forming a large economic center in the future; create new dynamics, new potentials, and new spaces for development. The new strength will certainly multiply many times!

But while being proud of the achievements we have made, we also need to calmly acknowledge the weaknesses that are holding the country back. These are corruption, negativity, bureaucracy, and waste that are persistent and take many forms.

That is also the resilience and competitiveness of the economy that are still limited. Then the context of global trade competition poses potential challenges to the country's exports and investments...

And we also need to clearly see the risk of falling behind when we are discussing the new growth model in Vietnam, the core issues and strategies, the world is "going too far". Many countries have factories and ports "without lights", operating with robots, artificial intelligence, fully automated, no direct human, working all day and night, no breaks, no shifts, non-stop... just in terms of time alone, productivity has increased 3-4 times.

If we don't change, it will be difficult to catch up. There are many problems that if we don't take care of now, it will be difficult to achieve!

Special art program “Spring of Reunification”, evening of April 29, 2025, in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA

Looking straight at the truth, seeing more clearly the strengths and weaknesses is to continue to rise up, to walk steadily on the road ahead. As the 6th Party Congress once called for "Looking straight at the truth, assessing the truth correctly, speaking the truth clearly" to determine the right goals and tasks, to turn the situation around, to overcome difficulties and move the country forward.

Today, under the leadership of the Party, our people are yearning to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers. Today, the people are most concerned with policies on “national security and people’s livelihood”.

If the Victory of April 30, 1975 was the crystallization of the blood and heroic sacrifices of millions of compatriots and soldiers across the country, and the victory of the aspiration for unity, independence, freedom and peace, then this moment is the decisive moment for the new era of the country and the destiny of the nation, requiring the crystallization of intelligence, solidarity, joint efforts and unanimity of the entire Party, the entire army and the entire people.

The path to the new era is full of challenges, but as General Secretary To Lam affirmed, "the future belongs to those nations that know how to nurture great aspirations and act together for the common good."

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