Thirty-five years ago, the now Ho Chi Minh City, the last strategicdestination of the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, witnessed the completetriumph of Vietnam’s war against the US aggressors which led to thecountry’s reunification.
Attending the celebration were Party, State and Fatherland Frontleaders, revolutionary veterans, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, heroes ofthe armed and labour forces, and representatives of all social strata ofHCM City.
Speaking at the event, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee LeThanh Hai said “In our history of wars against foreign aggressors, theencounter with the US imperialists was extremely fierce and took thelongest time. For the complete victory, the Vietnamese people hadsurmounted enormous difficulties and fiercest challenges.”
By launching the general offensive with the historic Ho Chi Minhcampaign reaching its climax on April 30, 1975, the army, in conjunctionwith the people, fought hard and achieved the south’s total liberation,resulting in national reunification, Hai emphasized.
“This victory will live forever as one of the most glorious pages in ourhistory and it stands as a shining symbol of the nation’srevolutionary heroism and the brainpower of the people. It figures asone of the most outstanding events of the 20th century, bearinginternational significance and representing a profound subject fordiscussion,” Hai remarked.
The Party secretary of the country’s biggest economic hub went on to saythat since the Great Spring Victory, the people of HCM City have firmlyupheld the revolutionary spirit and solidarity they had during the warto develop the city.
Having pursued renewal for over 25 years, at present, HCM City isamong a few cities in the world that has registered a two-digit economicgrowth rate consecutively over the past years.
With its contribution of 20 percent to the nation’s GDP and 30 percentto the State budget, the city has confirmed its role as a driving forcebehind the development of the national economy.
On behalf of the Party and State, State President Nguyen Minh Trietpresented the Gold Star Order to Ho Chi Minh City . This is thesecond time the State’s highest distinction went to the city.
The celebration was highlighted by parades of the armed forces, warveterans, workers, farmers, professionals, young people and children,women, businesspeople, and representatives of other forces.
The 15-minute fireworks were set off at 9 pm the same day in thecountry’s major cities and localities to mark the event.
The event was also attended by many foreign guests and internationalfriends of Vietnam.
It was covered by hundreds of members of the media, including 52 foreignreporters from 24 press agencies of 12 countries./.