“Not far from Truong Sa…”

During this trip to Truong Sa, in addition to practical gifts, the  delegation No.7 as well as the delegation of Binh Duong province gave a great source of spiritual strength, showing the attention of the Party, State, army and people on the mainland to cadres, soldiers and people who are on duty and living on the islands of the Truong Sa archipelago and the DK1/12 platform (or called Tu Chinh).

Power from the mainland

Every time, stepping foot on the islands, I often run around their headquarters, yard area..., asked officials and soldiers about common activities there. At Fishing Boat Island B, I happened to meet Tran Thi Thai, a member of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ working delegation, who was fidgeting with potted plants by officers and soldiers on the island. Be curious about this action, I went to find out. She shared that during this working trip of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ delegation, in addition to practical gifts, members of the delegation also wanted to do a meaningful and symbolic thing to express their affection towards national sacred sea and islands. Therefore, in addition to personal items, members of the delegation also brought some land on the mainland and put it in a carefully wrapped plastic bag.

Members of Binh Duong province's delegation plant trees on Truong Sa Lon island

Visiting the islands of the Truong Sa archipelago this time, practical gifts were carefully, meticulously and solemnly prepared by the delegations. Particularly, Binh Duong’s delegation also brought green trees (barringtonia asiatica) from the mainland to plant on the island. Nguyen Loc Ha, member of provincial Party Standing Committee, Vice-Chairman of provincial People's Committee, Head of the delegation said that the delegation’s action of bringing green trees and planting them on Truong Sa also showed the message of maintaining sovereignty over national sea and islands.

“If islands with harsh natural conditions such as Truong Sa, we can turn green then that is also a way to send a message of developing Truong Sa strongly, building and defending the Fatherland more and more powerfully. The island is no longer far and arid. All of them are dressed in the green color of intense life, the blue color of the belief in firmly protecting the homeland's sacred sea and island sovereignty that the cadres, soldiers and people here are doing day and night." Mr. Ha shared.

As for the delegation of the People's Security Academy, during this trip, the Academy's Directorate directed the Youth Union of the unit to set up a plan to launch the movement of "Students of the People's Security Academy write to cadres and soldiers working on Truong Sa archipelago". The letters of the academy's students showed their love and affection to national sea and islands, sent faith to officers and soldiers on remote islands...

The movement was organized methodically with a large-scale and highly responded by students with more than 1,500 letters and more than 30 poems. The Academy conducted a thorough review and selected the best and most meaningful letters and poems to be packed into 11 books of letters sent to officers and soldiers working on 11 island points and islands where the 7th mission visited.

Raising awareness of protecting sovereignty over sea and islands

Talking to me, Major General, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Anh Vu, Deputy Director of the People's Security Academy said that the movement of writing letters to Truong Sa aimed at educating students about political ideology and raise their awareness of defending sovereignty over national sea and islands. This was also a way to convey the messages and feelings of the students of the People's Security Academy to officers and soldiers currently working on Truong Sa archipelago. The letters sent to officers and soldiers working on Truong Sa archipelago bore a lot of faith, conveying feelings to national sea and islands in general and the beloved Truong Sa in particular while sharing hardships with officers and soldiers who are guarding the country’s sacred sea and islands day and night. In addition, the letters also showed the "joint effort - unanimity" of the young generation of the People's Public Security in general and the People's Security Academy in particular for the cause of defending sovereignty over national sea and islands.

"This is just a small activity of the Ministry of Public Security's delegation during this trip, but it has a very meaningful and great spiritual value. In fact, when visiting and working on islands, along with material difficulties, officers and soldiers also have mental difficulties. The letters are really spiritual food, connecting comrades who have never met, but share a noble mission, which is to protect the Socialist Fatherland of Vietnam. It is hoped that this movement will spread widely not only among the people's police force, but also among ministries, departments, sectors and people across the country in the coming time, thereby expressing the feelings of compatriots, cadres and soldiers in the mainland to national sea and islands, officers and soldiers who are on duty to defend sovereignty of national sea and islands”, Major General, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Anh Vu shared.

Dang Thanh Tung, the State Records Management and Archives Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA), the delegation of MoHA said that over the past time, civil servants of the MoHA actively responded to the movements for national sea and islands launched by the Ministry by practical activities such as visiting and offering gifts to the army and people, contributing to building works... for Truong Sa island district. The units under the MoHA have always been proactive to advise on the implementation of regimes and policies to ensure the legitimate interests of officials, soldiers and armed forces during the process of performing tasks on national islands and archipelagos. In particular, the State Records Management and Archives Department was proactive to cooperate with the General Department of Politics under the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to organize exhibitions on archives, the “moc ban” (wood blocks) and “chau ban” (official administrative papers) of the Nguyen Dynasty, in which there are written edicts expressing the sovereignty, management, exploitation and protection of the country’s sea and islands. In the coming time, especially towards the 35th anniversary of the battle of Gac Ma, the Department will continue coordinating with the General Department of Politics, the Navy Region 4 and other relevant agencies to organize an exhibition on precious documents pertaining to sovereignty over national sea and islands being preserved by the State Records Management and Archives Department; in which there are the “moc ban” and “chau ban” (official administrative papers) of the Nguyen Dynasty showing our country's sovereignty over national sea and islands since the 18th century.

“During this trip, in addition to practical activities expressing the sacred sentiments of cadres and civil servants towards national sea and islands, the MoHA’s delegation also donated a number of Nguyen Dynasty’s official administrative papers to islands under Truong Sa archipelago, thereby contributing to the propaganda and education of patriotism, national pride and belief in justice among cadres, soldiers and people," said Mr.Tung.

Reported by Do Trong-Translated by Kim Tin