There is a Cultural House Nguyen Phu Trong

His big heart just stopped beating after 80 years of age, 57 years of Party membership, including 30 years in the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, with more than 13 years as General Secretary.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong with people of Thuong Dien village, Vinh Quang commune, Vinh Bao district at the Great National Unity Day of Hai Phong city, afternoon of November 15, 2017. (Photo: VNA)

In Vietnam as well as many countries around the world, since 13:38 on July 19, 2024, there have been the same words and special feelings for him: A shining example, a model of revolutionary morality of a communist soldier; a sharp, intelligent politician, an excellent theorist of the Communist Party of Vietnam; a person who devoted his whole life to the ideals of national independence and socialism, for the happiness of the people... All of those precious good qualities of a person in a country with a culture rich in national identity like Vietnam, are they also the qualities of a cultural politician? Therefore, when the official makes a judgment, everyone wants to call him culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong, an idol for spiritual life.

The first thing that is said about that man - a culturalist through many news sites, both individuals and agencies, organizations, domestic and foreign, all recorded under the image of the Vietnamese national flag at half-mast, his immortal saying "Honor is the most sacred and noble thing". That manifesto was not once he spoke at the National Conference summarizing 10 years of work in preventing and combating corruption and negativity (June 30, 2022), but many times before and after that, he often advised cadres and party members, using the cultural story about the character Pavel in the novel How the Steel Was Tempered with the declaration "A person only lives once. We must live so as not to feel regret for the years we have lived in vain, wasted, so as not to be ashamed of our mean and cowardly past, so that when we close our eyes, we can say: All my life, all my strength, I have devoted to the most beautiful cause in the world, the cause of fighting for the liberation of mankind".

It seems that many generations and forces fighting for freedom, independence and liberation in many nations in the 20th century still took that image as an idol, and used that passionate words to inspire each other.

In National Cultural Conference In Hanoi on November 24, 2021, listening more clearly to the speech of culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong about the character and personality of a cultural person in general, he said as if confiding: "The most precious thing for a person is life and the honor of living, because, a person only lives once".

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong beats gongs with Muong ethnic people during the National Great Unity Day in Cau hamlet, Bac Son commune, Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh province (November 13, 2011). (Photo: VNA)

The cultural figure in his role as General Secretary of a ruling Party has made efforts to revive culture, build an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity, which has been implemented synchronously by sectors, levels and localities nationwide in all areas of the country's socio-economic life. He is one of the General Secretaries who has breathed a cultural wind into the renovation process to promote the achievements of the Vietnamese revolution, first of all in the construction and development of the socio-economy.

He, together with the Party, Government and National Assembly, vigorously implemented President Ho Chi Minh's determined testament (1966): "On the day of victory, our people will rebuild our country to be more beautiful and dignified" and his Testament (1969): "The Party needs to have a very good plan to develop the economy and culture, in order to constantly improve the people's lives".

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong taking the lead in firmly pursuing the policy of expanding international cooperation, strengthening integration, establishing a transparent Vietnam and maintaining a high economic growth rate over the past many years (even when the post-pandemic world has a gray economic picture). Is that the embodiment of contemporary Vietnamese culture-economy-society, with culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong being one of the editors who has the ability to sketch bright colors?

On the other hand, in the socio-political cultural picture, there is still much work to be done in the "fight" against corruption and negativity; There, we also see the political culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong being compared to a "General" leading troops into battle with the words "declaring war, "no forbidden areas", "no exceptions"; "fresh wood, dry wood", even "high-class steel" must burn here. Culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong has become a "great furnace stoker", year by year, month by month, wave by wave of "casting a spell" on all types of corrupt and negative "enemies", regardless of who they are, both incumbent and retired, both high-ranking officials, in all fields of work... are all caught. Therefore, the people and officials mourn the brave, courageous, and courageous "general", and are more determined to support and follow him with the essence of the Party building and rectification work, but with the heart of a cultural worker "Handling one case to alert the whole region, punishing a few people to save thousands".

But isn't it strange that the whole world admires the real image of cultural figure Nguyen Phu Trong receiving three heads of state, from the world's largest countries (US President, General Secretary, President of China, President of Russia) in three flexible ways of the "bamboo" diplomatic school initiated by him - General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, when all three great powers came to Vietnam without prior arrangement within a year; all five members of the United Nations Security Council, all seven comprehensive strategic partners and more than 190 partners in general, everyone believes and acknowledges a Vietnam "in Mr. Trong's time", a country "that has never had the potential, foundation, position and international prestige like today". Is that also the embodiment of contemporary Vietnamese diplomatic culture?

Until the last day when he was the 88th person in Vietnam to receive the highest award of the Party and State of Vietnam - the Gold Star Medal, culturalist Nguyen Phu Trong had completed his career for the people and the country - a career that partly began with his Associate Doctoral thesis in 1983 with the topic "Research on the guidelines of the Communist Party of Vietnam in strengthening relations with the people". That culturalist included a historical scientist, an educator, a politician, a theorist, a leader, a exemplary military leader for the entire political system of a country of hundreds of millions of people.

That cultural figure also set a shining example of morality and integrity, because he wanted to be the experiment and basis for the ability to implement when institutionalizing the work of cadres, gradually bringing the work of cadres into order, in line with the Party's orientation that "cadres are the key of the key". He and the Central Executive Committee planned and led the successful implementation of strategic policies on Party building and rectification; fighting, preventing and combating corruption and negativity, along with constantly training revolutionary morality, mettle, intellectual level, promoting the traditional relationship closely attached to the people.

Therefore, for a long time, we have clearly seen the everyday portrait of that close, practical, and sincere cultural figure. He returned to his old school, Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, visited his old teacher Le Duc Giang, wrote a handwritten letter to his old teacher Dang Thi Phuc; he waded through the dry rice fields in Giong Trom district, Ben Tre when visiting and sharing difficulties with farmers in the historic drought and salinity year of 2016; he visited the family of war invalid Dinh Phi who had a particularly difficult situation in Tung Ke 2 village, Ayun commune, Chu Se district (Gia Lai); he wore brocade and danced traditional dances of ethnic minorities in Kon Ro Bang 2 village, Vinh Quang commune, Kon Tum city in 2017; he met with voters to listen to their thoughts and answered their questions in accordance with the role of a representative of the people (not a "citizen's official")...

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong with prestigious delegates, intellectuals, and typical ethnic minority businessmen nationwide (Hanoi, December 18, 2017). (Photo: VNA)

Even more simple and close is the image of his small family like millions of traditional Vietnamese families: the wife is a civil servant in the place of residence, the daughter and son are civil servants, no one buys a super car like rich kids, or trendy young people... It is even more beautiful and meaningful when someone took a picture of him sitting at home wrapping Chung cake on Lunar New Year (2019)...

There is a Korean named Cho Chul Hyeon who wrote the book "General Secretary of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong" - the first book in the world written specifically about him, published in Korean in May 2024, and was being published in Vietnamese in July 2024 when he heard the news of the General Secretary's passing. Emphasizing that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was an excellent student of President Ho Chi Minh, a communist thinker with profound theories, Cho Chul Hyeon was very subtle when choosing three phrases "Northern Scholar", "Bamboo Diplomacy", "The Furnace Man" to call them the great "Legacies" that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong left for the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnamese nation and the Vietnamese people; Cho Chul Hyeon also said "not only the young generation of Vietnam but also people around the world have many things to learn from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong".

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