70 years of deep affection between Thanh Hoa and the North

Thanh Hoa and the North are the great rear, the cradle that nurtures and trains human resources for the Southern revolution, contributing to the completion of the national liberation cause, unifying the country. Inheriting deep affection and heavy gratitude, localities and today's generations continue to stand shoulder to shoulder to overcome challenges, actively exploit potentials, and together with the whole country affirm Vietnam's position in the era of national development.

Deep love

After the historic Dien Bien Phu victory on May 7, 1954, which “resounded throughout the five continents and shook the world”, the French colonialists signed the Geneva Agreement to cease hostilities in Vietnam. Our Party and President Ho Chi Minh decided to organize a historic military-civilian movement. Thanh Hoa was honored to be assigned the task of welcoming the southern compatriots, cadres, soldiers and students.

The province has established dozens of reception stations, built clinics and hospitals to examine, treat and provide health care for the people in the south. In addition to exploiting and transporting tens of thousands of bamboo trees, reeds and timber to the lowlands to build houses and camps, and prepare conditions for reception, local people in Thanh Hoa province donated and provided food, clothing, blankets and other necessary conditions, ensuring that the people, cadres, soldiers and students in the south quickly stabilize their lives.

Thanh Hoa welcomed compatriots, cadres, soldiers and students from the South to the North at Lach Hoi in 1954.

At Hoi port, from September 1954 to May 1955, Thanh Hoa province welcomed 47,346 cadres and soldiers, 1,775 wounded soldiers, 5,922 students and 1,443 families of southern cadres regrouping to the North.

After a thoughtful and safe reception, 2,631 students staying in Thanh Hoa were arranged to study at schools in localities in the province; 225 elderly people from Binh Dinh province were received by the Party Committee, authorities and people of Vinh Hoa and Vinh Phuc communes, Vinh Loc district, and taken to their families for care; 90 families of soldiers and Party civil servants were arranged jobs and workplaces in localities; 1,743 workers returned to five construction sites.

The farms: Lam Son, Sao Vang, Yen My, Thong Nhat, Phuc Do, Van Du, Thach Thanh, many construction sites and production facilities in Thanh Hoa province were built and made great contributions by cadres, soldiers and people from the South.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Tan Phat, former Permanent Deputy Minister of Education and Training, from 1954 to 1973, 39,000 southern students were sent to the north to study through many channels. A system of boarding schools was established in the north and neighboring countries, carrying out the task of raising and educating the children, especially teaching and learning in the direction of comprehensive development: intelligence, morality, physique, aesthetics, living with ideals, patriotism, and national pride were placed at the top.

The warm North-South sentiment of the entire Party, army and people; the care, concern and heart of the cadres, government and people of the North, including the people of all ethnic groups in Thanh Hoa province, have added spiritual strength and encouraged generations of students, cadres, soldiers and people of the South to strive to study, work, produce and join hands to build socialism in the North and fight for national reunification.

Southern students returned to their homeland and sacrificed their lives in the struggle for national liberation.

“Living in the heart of the North, touching the chest and hearing the heart silently reminding”, many generations of cadres, soldiers, and students volunteered to go to the hot battlefield in the South. Le Anh Xuan and the generation of students at that time returned to the South to fight and could “leave nothing for himself before leaving, only the Vietnamese standing posture engraved in the century”.

Martyrs and heroes of the Vietnamese Air Force: Vo Van Man, Nguyen Van Bay, Dong Van De, Tran Thien Luong, Nguyen Van Lung, Tran Van Mao, Nguyen Quoc Hien... along with millions of outstanding children have been and are together with "The Fatherland flying up to the boundless spring".

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Khanh Toan, representative of the Central Southern Student Liaison Committee, former member of the Party Central Committee, former Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security, noted: From the 1960s onwards, southern students graduated from universities at home and abroad, and began to directly participate in the construction of socialism in the North, fighting to liberate the South and unify the country.

Especially after the end of the resistance war against the US to save the country, the cadre force of southern students was mobilized to return to support the south, directly participating in the takeover and effective management of all work in the newly liberated areas.

Heavy meaning

In response to the deep affection of the people of Thanh Hoa and the people of the North, among the generations of southern students trained by the Party and State, many have become high-ranking leaders of the Party, State and localities, generals, senior officers, teachers, doctors, scientists, successful businessmen, famous artists... who have been contributing and dedicating themselves to the cause of innovation, construction and protection of the Fatherland.

Former students from the South exchanged with leaders of the Central Propaganda Department and Thanh Hoa province.

Inheriting and nurturing deep and loyal ties, Thanh Hoa proactively expands relations, enhances investment promotion, connectivity, and comprehensive cooperation with localities across the country, southern provinces and cities; enhances and develops the tradition of Thanh Hoa-Quang Nam and Thanh Hoa-Hoi An city twinning.

Implementing the innovation policy, Thanh Hoa province boldly proposed and was supported by the Ministry of National Defense, ministries, branches and relevant agencies to organize the exploitation of the Tho Xuan-Ho Chi Minh City civil aviation route. From here, the aviation bridge continued to be connected and developed to many provinces and cities in the country. Tho Xuan civil airport was interested in developing into an international airport according to the approved plan.

Tho Xuan Civil Airport, Thanh Hoa Province.

At the beginning of this term, in the context of facing the Covid-19 pandemic, along with proactively preventing and fighting the epidemic early and from afar, closely coordinating with other provinces to control and contain the epidemic; all levels, sectors, and ethnic minorities of Thanh Hoa province continued to join hands and contribute to Ho Chi Minh City and the southern provinces to control and repel the epidemic.

Having defeated the pandemic, Thanh Hoa is the locality that organized a national investment promotion conference early; announced its identity and proactively implemented many solutions to realize the motto: Thanh tourism - the beauty of four seasons. During this period, many more southern enterprises invested in Thanh Hoa, many children far from home contributed their efforts, were unanimous, and did many practical things in building new rural areas, advanced new rural areas, and exemplary rural areas.

Generations of compatriots, cadres, soldiers, students, and southern compatriots who have gathered, worked, studied, and worked in Thanh Hoa continue to contribute their opinions, turn to Thanh Hoa to encourage and motivate comrades, teammates, and colleagues, participate in social security activities, accompany fishermen to go offshore, stick to the sea, firmly protect the sea and sky of the Fatherland, and protect aquatic resources and marine biodiversity.

During the war, localities and people shared food, clothes, sheltered and helped each other; in peace, the Party Committee and people of Thanh Hoa and other provinces and cities continued to join hands, unite, cooperate and effectively exploit the potential and advantages of each locality, multiplying the strength and endogenous motivation of the great national solidarity bloc.

Over the past 70 years, Thanh Hoa has quickly overcome the consequences of war, promoted socio-economic development, and achieved great and comprehensive achievements in all fields. Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Doan Anh informed: In the period of 2021-2023, Thanh Hoa achieved an average growth rate of 9.69%/year and in the first 9 months of 2024, it increased by 12.46%. The annual state budget revenue always exceeds the estimate, the economic scale currently ranks 8th in the country.

Socio-economic infrastructure has been invested in and increasingly improved. Culture and society have made progress, national defense and security have been maintained. The work of building and rectifying the Party and the political system has achieved many important results.

A scene recreating Thanh Hoa welcoming southern compatriots, cadres, soldiers and students.

Based on the aspirations of the cadres, soldiers, and students in the South, generations of cadres and people in the province, Thanh Hoa built a plan, coordinated with the Southern Alumni Association Liaison Committee to mobilize social resources and allocate budget to build, complete, and put into operation the Memorial Area for Southern compatriots, cadres, soldiers, and students who gathered in the North in Quang Tien Ward, Sam Son City. The project records events and historical values, honors deep affection, creates more tourist destinations, spreads revolutionary traditions, patriotism, and humanistic meanings among generations of Vietnamese people.

I hope that cadres, compatriots in the South, scientists, experts, and people across the country will continue to collect and add documents to the Memorial Area, so that this place can truly become a "red address" in revolutionary tradition education, an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists; Comrade Nguyen Trong Nghia, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Propaganda Department emphasized: The 70th anniversary of welcoming compatriots, cadres, soldiers, and students from the South to the North (1954-2024) is an opportunity for the entire Party, people, and army, including the Party Committee, government, and people of Thanh Hoa province to review the heroic history of the nation; to promote the patriotic tradition, the spirit of "self-reliance, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, and national pride", high political determination, great efforts, and drastic actions to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Congress of the Party; Solidarity and unity to successfully organize Party Congresses at all levels towards the 14th National Party Congress - a Congress of important significance, a turning point, a special milestone on the country's development path, opening a new era - the era of the Vietnamese people's rise.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/70-nam-sau-nang-nghia-tinh-post839336.html