Promoting revolutionary traditions, firmly overcoming difficulties, constantly striving to build Lam Dong homeland to become more and more developed, civilized and modern (*)

(LĐ online) - On the evening of April 3, at the Ceremony to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lam Dong Liberation Day (April 3, 1975 - April 3, 2025), comrade Tran Hong Thai - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee gave an important speech reviewing the heroic history of the Party Committee, army and people of Lam Dong province through the revolutionary struggles.

Lam Dong Electronic Newspaper would like to introduce the full text of the speech of the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

Comrade Tran Hong Thai - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee reviewed the heroic history of the Party Committee, army and people of Lam Dong province through the revolutionary struggles.

- Dear General Phan Van Giang - Politburo member, Minister of National Defense ;

- Dear Comrade Nguyen Duc Hai - Member of the Party Central Committee, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly ;

- Dear comrades of the Party Central Committee; comrades of the leaders of the Central Committee's departments, ministries and branches; leaders of the provinces and cities;

- Dear leaders and former leaders of Lam Dong province through the periods;

- Dear Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, veteran revolutionary cadres, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces; generals, officers, and veterans;

- Dear delegates, distinguished guests; dear compatriots and comrades!

Today, in the heroic atmosphere of the historic April days, the entire Party, the entire army and the people of all ethnic groups in Lam Dong province are excited and proud to solemnly organize the 50th Anniversary of Lam Dong Liberation Day (April 3, 1975 - April 3, 2025) towards the 50th Anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2025). On behalf of the Party Committee, the government and the people of Lam Dong province, I would like to respectfully send to the leaders and former leaders of the Party and State; leaders of the central and local departments, ministries and branches; veteran revolutionary cadres, heroic Vietnamese mothers, heroes of the People's Armed Forces; generals, officers, veterans; leaders and former leaders of Lam Dong province through the periods; leaders of localities and units inside and outside the province; Dear delegates and all compatriots and comrades, my warmest welcome.

In this sacred moment, we respectfully bow to commemorate the great merits and express our infinite gratitude to our beloved President Ho Chi Minh - who devoted his entire life to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, the happiness of the People and the peace and progress of humanity. We engrave in our hearts and are grateful for the great merits of the heroic martyrs, the heroic Vietnamese Mothers, the Heroes of the People's Armed Forces; generations of cadres, generals, officers, soldiers, youth volunteers, wounded and sick soldiers, families of martyrs, and the entire armed forces and people who have devoted themselves to fighting, bravely sacrificing themselves in the cause of national liberation.

Dear delegates and compatriots, comrades!

On this day exactly 50 years ago, April 3, 1975, the revolutionary flag flew in front of the Governor's Palace of Tuyen Duc Province, now the headquarters of the People's Committee of Lam Dong Province, marking an important historical milestone: Da Lat - Tuyen Duc - Lam Dong was completely liberated.

As we all know, due to its geographical location, natural landscape and unique climate, Lam Dong - Da Lat is an important strategic area through the ages. In the early 20th century, the French wanted to turn this wild mountainous area into their resort. When World War II broke out, France was occupied by the Germans, and the Governor-General of Indochina Decoux intended to build Da Lat into a place of refuge for French officials. In the early 1950s, Lam Dong - Da Lat was the land of the Royal Dynasty, and from 1954 to 1975, Lam Dong - Da Lat was not only a tourist - resort place but also one of the cultural, scientific and technical centers of the Southern government.

During the resistance war against the US to save the country, the Party Committee and people of Lam Dong-Da Lat steadfastly held on, mobilized the people to carry out political struggles, carry out enemy propaganda work and step up armed struggles. During the 20 years of fighting the US, the great victory of the army and people of Lam Dong-Da Lat was to turn the enemy's rear into our rear. Cadres held on, people dug secret tunnels to hide cadres and soldiers, stockpiled weapons and food, cared for wounded soldiers, provided manpower and resources for the resistance... and contributed significantly to the victory of the Great Spring Victory in 1975, completely liberating the South and reunifying the country.

Let's go back in history to see that more clearly: On March 25, 1975, after liberating La Nga and Dinh Quan on Highway 20, Regiment 141, along with anti-aircraft artillery units, artillery and the light command post of Division 7, marched along Highway 20 to occupy positions northwest of Bao Loc. At 2:00 p.m. on March 27, Battalion 5 of Regiment 209 opened fire to capture Da Huoai sub-region. At the same time, Company 11 of Battalion 6 and 3 tanks attacked Madagui post and destroyed the posts from Madagui to Da Huoai sub-region. After capturing Da Huoai sub-region, Battalion 5 captured and protected Dam M'Re bridge and Da Huoai bridge for the Division's formation to march. Leveraging the power of tanks and artillery, the motorized units successively destroyed the outposts in Kim Hung, Dam M'Re, and Ba Co Pass, quickly crossing Bao Loc Pass to advance to B'Lao town.

At exactly 6:00 a.m. on March 28, tank, artillery, and infantry units simultaneously attacked B'Lao town; at 8:30 a.m. on March 28, 1975, B'Lao town was liberated. When they heard that our army had liberated B'Lao town, the enemy in Di Linh was extremely confused and agitated. The 5th Reconnaissance Company of the Military Region seized the opportunity to attack and occupy the Di Linh district and Pasteur hill. The enemy here quickly disintegrated and retreated along Highway 20 to Tam Bo - Dai Ninh. On March 28, 1975, Lam Dong province (old) was completely liberated.

After Lam Dong province was liberated, the forward command of the Regional Party Committee and Military Region 6 decided to continue attacking and pursuing the enemy, implementing the plan to liberate Tuyen Duc - Da Lat. On the night of April 2, 1975, Duc Trong district was liberated. At 8:20 a.m. on April 3, 1975, the revolutionary flag flew at the headquarters of the puppet government, Da Lat town and Tuyen Duc province were completely liberated.

The general offensive and uprising of the army and people of the two provinces of Lam Dong (old) and Tuyen Duc ended in victory. With the great support of the main force of the Region and the armed forces of Military Region 6, the army and people of the two provinces destroyed and disintegrated more than 27,000 enemy soldiers, captured 10 sub-regions, sub-regions, district capitals and hundreds of posts, liberating more than 300,000 people. After the liberation, the army and people of the two provinces continued to hunt down the remnants of the army, called on 20,757 puppet soldiers and authorities to present themselves, captured 1,230 of them, and seized 11,355 guns of various types.

The liberation of Lam Dong, Tuyen Duc - Da Lat had great historical significance, creating favorable conditions for the main units to continue attacking the enemy, liberating the remaining provinces of Zone VI connecting National Highway 1A and Road 20 to support human and material resources for our army and people to advance to liberate Saigon, through the historic Ho Chi Minh campaign to completely liberate the South and unify the country.

In a short time after the liberation, the administrative organization of the two provinces of Lam Dong (old) and Tuyen Duc changed many times. On September 20, 1975, the Politburo issued a Resolution on abolishing the zones and merging provinces; the provinces of Lam Dong, Tuyen Duc, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, and Binh Tuy were merged into Thuan Lam province, with the provincial capital located in Phan Rang town.

On January 6, 1976, the Central Party Secretariat issued a Resolution on the dissolution of Thuan Lam province and the merger of Lam Dong, Tuyen Duc provinces and Da Lat city into Lam Dong province. Party organizations, government and mass organizations from the province to the grassroots level were quickly stabilized and the People's leadership in the province stood side by side with the Central Highlands provinces and the whole country to initially transition to socialism, gradually building a prosperous homeland.

Dear delegates and compatriots, comrades!

After 1975, along with the whole country, Lam Dong immediately embarked on the task of overcoming the consequences of war, building and developing the local socio-economy. Being a mountainous province with a large area and a sparse population, most of the area was abandoned, the people's lives faced many difficulties. In addition, the fierce sabotage of the Fulro remnants caused many losses in blood and effort of the people and local authorities...

As a mountainous province, mainly producing agriculture and forestry, the economic structure and labor allocation are seriously unbalanced. Food production is not enough to eat, each year the Central Government has to support 40,000 - 50,000 tons of rice; tens of thousands of people are unemployed. The economic base has over 6,000 hectares of tea, nearly 30 tea processing facilities; coffee growing area is about 1,000 hectares; there are nearly 3,000 hectares of vegetables, flowers and fruit trees; nearly 2,000 hectares of food crops produced locally to meet the food needs of the people. Industry and handicrafts have some small-scale mechanical repair and processing facilities in Da Lat and Bao Loc, while most other localities have not developed. Industrial facilities and techniques are poor, with only two porcelain factories and some wood sawmills with outdated machinery and equipment.

Lam Dong's economy after liberation was mainly small-scale production. The technical infrastructure was poor, the road system was not repaired or maintained during the war, so it was seriously degraded, including the only road 20 connecting Da Lat with Saigon and the extended road 21. The electricity system had only one small hydroelectric plant supplying electricity to the centers of Da Lat, Don Duong, Duc Trong and one thermal power plant only enough to supply a few thousand households in Bao Loc town for a few hours a day. The clean water system could only supply a few households in the center of Da Lat and Bao Loc, but in the dry season there was also a serious shortage of water for daily use.

With the attention and support of the Central Government, the efforts of the Party Committee, the Government, the Fatherland Front, the organizations and the people of all ethnic groups in the province, we have focused on socio-economic development and stabilizing people's lives. We have identified localities with favorable natural conditions for agricultural production, land reclamation, restoration, and development of crops and livestock with strengths, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, and gradually helped Lam Dong overcome all difficulties and challenges for development.

With the determination to concentrate all resources to help Lam Dong escape from the state of slow development (2005 - 2010 period); develop rapidly and sustainably (2010 - 2015 and 2015 - 2020 periods); become a fairly developed province in the country (2020 - 2025 period), Lam Dong Provincial Party Committee always determines to focus on socio-economic development, focusing on developing agricultural economy in a multi-sector and multi-field direction based on the competitive advantages of key crops; at the same time, develop tourism, identifying it as a driving economic sector in the local economy. Take advantage of local resources and effectively exploit the central government's investment funds from programs and projects to develop ethnic minority and mountainous areas; National target programs to develop local socio-economy in a sustainable direction.

Thanks to the solidarity, joint efforts, unanimity, high determination and support of the people and businesses, the socio-economic development situation in the province in 2024 has achieved positive results, becoming a fairly developed province in the country. GRDP per capita reached 103.6 million VND; the average labor productivity growth rate reached 21%. The agricultural sector continued to be the pillar of the economy, increasing by 5.1%, ensuring the supply of food for domestic consumption and export. Budget revenue was 13,100 billion VND.

Tourism continues to be a bright spot in the province's socio-economic development; many large-scale festivals, events, national sports tournaments... In particular, the 10th Da Lat Flower Festival was successful, continuing to affirm Da Lat city as the Flower Festival city of Vietnam, a creative city in the field of music by UNESCO and a city in the Group of 5 impressive Festival cities in Asia; Lien Khuong Airport was recognized as an international airport; the transport infrastructure system continues to receive investment, upgrading and completion to create smooth traffic conditions; the public transport system continues to develop, shortening travel time, creating convenience for people and tourists when visiting and relaxing in Lam Dong.

The planning of Lam Dong province for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, has been announced; the investment progress of expressway projects in the province is being accelerated (in particular, as a gift to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lam Dong's liberation, on March 31, 2024, Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee approved the Investment Decision for the Bao Loc - Lien Khuong Expressway project, partially realizing the decades-old dream of Lam Dong people, connecting Lam Dong with Ho Chi Minh City, with the key economic region in the South for Lam Dong to take off, rise high, and grow with the country); key projects and works are being prioritized for investment capital; The emulation movement "The Party Committee, government, army and people of Lam Dong province unite, determined to overcome difficulties, rise up with the country" is being strongly implemented, creating conditions to unleash new resources, promote the socio-economic development process in the period of 2021-2025, create a breakthrough for 2025 and lay the foundation for the period of 2026-2030; aiming to build Lam Dong province into a destination worth visiting, worth living, affirming its position and role in the Central Highlands and the whole country.

Dear delegates and compatriots, comrades!

The 50th anniversary of Lam Dong Liberation Day, towards the 50th anniversary of the liberation of the South and national reunification is an opportunity for us to review the heroic history of the nation, look back on the journey of striving to build and develop the country.

With strong belief and aspiration for development, the Party Committee, government, army and people of Lam Dong province will continue to promote the revolutionary tradition; firmly overcome difficulties and challenges; best exploit potentials and strengths, mobilize all resources; constantly strive to build Lam Dong homeland to become a politically strong, economically rich, strong in national defense and security; increasingly develop civilization and modernity, creating a solid foundation together with the whole country to enter the "New Era - The Era of the Vietnamese people's rise".

Once again, on behalf of the Party Committee, the Government and the People of all ethnic groups in Lam Dong province, I would like to respectfully thank and wish General Phan Van Giang - Politburo member, Minister of National Defense; Comrade Nguyen Duc Hai - Party Central Committee member, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly and other leaders and former leaders of the Party and State; leaders of central and local departments, ministries and branches; veteran revolutionary cadres, heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces; generals, officers, veterans; leaders and former leaders of Lam Dong province through the periods; leaders of localities and units inside and outside the province; distinguished delegates and all compatriots and comrades good health, happiness and success.

Long live the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam!

Long live the Socialist Republic of Vietnam!

Great President Ho Chi Minh lives forever in our cause.

Thank you very much!

^{(*) Title given by the editorial board}

Source: http://baolamdong.vn/chinh-tri/202504/phat-huy-truyen-thong-cach-mang-vung-vang-vuot-qua-kho-khan-khong-ngung-no-luc-xay-dung-que-huong-lam-dong-ngay-cang-phat-trien-van-minh-hien-dai-7d57bbf/