The Great Victory of Spring 1975 - The victory of the aspiration for independence, freedom, and national unification of the entire nation in the Ho Chi Minh era

Our nation's resistance war against the US to save the country lasted more than twenty years, from the Geneva Agreement in 1954 to the General Offensive and Uprising in the Spring of 1975, culminating in the Ho Chi Minh Campaign. Throughout the resistance war, the aspiration for independence, freedom, and national reunification was a strong driving force that helped our nation overcome all hardships and sacrifices to reach the final victory. The great victory in the Spring of 1975 was the victory of the aspiration for independence, freedom, and national reunification in the Ho Chi Minh era, demonstrated through the following aspects:

First, the victory of faith in the leadership of the Party, President Ho Chi Minh and based on the great strength of the entire nation.

The great victory in the spring of 1975 was the result of a synthesis of many factors: the wise and talented leadership of the Party, headed by the great President Ho Chi Minh; the independent, autonomous, correct, creative political and military line, suitable to the conditions of our country; the indomitable and resilient fighting and sacrificing spirit of our people, the core of which is the armed forces absolutely loyal to the Fatherland, the Party, the State and the people; the fighting solidarity, the lasting alliance of the people of the three Indochinese countries and the support of peace-loving people around the world... In which, the important role is the belief, the absolute trust of the people in the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, beloved President Ho Chi Minh and the extraordinary strength of a small nation against a giant imperialist invader.

The thousands of years of experience in building and defending the country by our ancestors, together with the experience of the resistance war against the French colonialists and the invading American imperialists, have verified the correctness of the truth: winning the hearts and minds of the people, being supported and trusted by the people will create invincible strength, overcoming all difficulties and obstacles. For our Party, the people's trust is the source of strength leading to success. Therefore, throughout the process of leading the revolutionary cause, our Party has always paid attention to maintaining and strengthening the people's trust in the Party's leadership.

According to VI Lenin, “The first task of any political party responsible for the future is to convince the majority of the people of the correctness of its program and tactics” ⁽¹⁾ , and at the same time “In every war, victory ultimately depends on the spirit of the masses who are shedding their blood on the battlefield. Faith in a just war, the realization that it is necessary to sacrifice one's life for the happiness of one's brothers, is what raises the morale of the soldiers and enables them to endure unprecedented hardships” ⁽²⁾ .

President Ho Chi Minh once emphasized: “Revolution is the cause of the masses, the victory of the revolution is due to the efforts, sacrifices, intelligence and creativity of millions of people, especially workers, farmers and revolutionary intellectuals” ⁽³⁾ ; the Party’s mass mobilization work “is to mobilize all the forces of each and every citizen, not leaving out any citizen, contributing to the entire people’s force, to carry out the work that should be done, the work assigned by the Government and the Union” ⁽⁴⁾ . The Party must lead the people to rise up to fight for self-liberation and build a new society under their control. That cause can only be carried out with the strength of the people. The people are the creators of history, the subjects of history, the makers of history... Based on determining the especially important role of the people in the revolution, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out what must be done and how to do it so that the people can promote their role in the revolutionary cause: to promote the strength of the people, it is necessary to build a great national unity bloc, practice democracy, promote the people's mastery, build a State that is truly of the people, by the people, for the people; must develop production, practice thrift, and constantly improve the material and spiritual life of the people.

On the basis of promoting the role of the people, arousing and promoting the people's strength, with correct and popular leadership, the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh have built a solid belief among the people; therefore, the people have absolute confidence in the leadership of the Party, of President Ho Chi Minh and the great strength of the entire nation. In particular, with his genius leadership ability and boundless patriotism, President Ho Chi Minh has built an immortal belief for the entire nation - belief in the future of independence, freedom and national unity.

Thanks to that, our people under the leadership of the Party have achieved great victories, such as the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, smashing the colonial and feudal domination, gaining independence and freedom, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; the victory of the resistance wars against the French colonialists and the invading American imperialists, culminating in the Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954; and the Great Spring Victory in 1975, liberating the South, unifying the country...

Second, the victory of the determination to fight to protect the Fatherland and the combined strength of the entire nation.

The great victory in the spring of 1975 is a testament to the indomitable will and combined strength of the entire Vietnamese people. In the unequal war between the Vietnamese people and the invading American imperialists - an enemy with superior strength, many times stronger in military and economic terms..., despite facing many difficulties, deprivations, hardships, and sacrifices, the indomitable will to never surrender to the enemy still shined. Every Vietnamese person was determined to fight to protect the Fatherland, to regain independence and freedom for the nation. The cadres, soldiers and people of the South, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion… stood together as one team, proactively and creatively fought, shared hardships to achieve glorious victories, causing the enemy to be amazed, terrified and defeated. In that extremely heroic fight, millions of the nation's best sons sacrificed on the battlefield and became exemplary models for the new generation of Vietnamese people - loyal to the communist ideal and dedicating their lives to the revolutionary cause.

In the North, all classes of people joined hands and united, both producing and fighting, “All for the frontline, all for the beloved South”, “Not a pound of rice is missing, not a soldier is missing”, “For the beloved South, the North works twice as hard”; hundreds of thousands of outstanding young people followed in their fathers’ footsteps, going to the battlefield in the South. The movements “Youth are three ready”, “Women are three capable”, “Fields are battlefields, hoes are weapons, farmers are soldiers, the rear competes with the front”, etc. became symbols of the indomitable will of the people in the North. With that indomitable will, the army and people of the North achieved great achievements and great miracles, the most typical of which was the “Dien Bien Phu in the air victory”.

The resistance war against American imperialism to save the country was a war between two wills. The American imperialists and their allies had the ambition to turn Vietnam into a new type of colony, "building a dike in southern Vietnam to prevent communism from spreading to Southeast Asia" ⁽⁵⁾ . But the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Party, with their steadfast will, determined to fight and win, united their hearts and joined forces, leading to a decisive victory - the Great Spring Victory of 1975, liberating the South and unifying the country.

Third, the victory of the aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification.

The great victory in the spring of 1975 was the realization of the Vietnamese people's aspiration for independence, freedom and national reunification. That aspiration had been nurtured since the early days of the Communist Party of Vietnam's birth, when the August Revolution of 1945 succeeded, and was nurtured through the years of arduous fighting in the resistance war against the French colonialists and the invading American imperialists. The Vietnamese people had to undergo great but glorious sacrifices to regain independence, freedom and national reunification. However, throughout those years, the aspiration for independence, freedom and national reunification never faded. Even when hostile forces sought every way to divide the nation, the will and aspiration for independence, freedom and national reunification always existed in the hearts of every Vietnamese person. From the North to the South, from our compatriots at home to our compatriots abroad, everyone wished for a day when the country would be peaceful, unified and no longer divided.

On the basis of the aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification of the entire nation, with a wise and correct line of autonomous resistance, our Party has mobilized the unparalleled strength of the entire nation, including both material and spiritual strength, the strength of ardent patriotism, the strength of a thousand-year-old civilized country for the resistance against the invading American imperialists. At the same time, steadfastly holding high the flag of national independence and socialism, with the viewpoint of loyal and pure international solidarity, our Party has effectively promoted the strength of the nation combined with the strength of the times. The great victory in the spring of 1975 is the symbol of the aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification, the glorious end of a historical period full of hardships and challenges, opening a new era for the Vietnamese people - the era of independence, the whole country moving towards socialism and continuing to be the fulcrum for the belief, will and aspiration to win of the entire nation in the current context.

Building faith, will and aspiration to build a prosperous and happy country in the context of the country entering a new era, an era of national growth.

General Secretary To Lam pointed out: After nearly 95 years under the leadership of the Party, the Vietnamese people have created historical miracles, going through the era of fighting for national independence and building socialism (1930 - 1975); the era of national unification and innovation (1975 - 2025). And now, we are entering the era of national growth, starting with the important event - the 14th National Party Congress. The previous era creates the premise for the next era, the next era inherits and develops the achievements of the previous era, making national independence and socialism increasingly blend and develop continuously. The Party's will blends with the people's hearts and aspirations, bringing the country forward into a new era.

The era of national development is the era of breakthrough and acceleration under the leadership of the Party, successfully building a socialist Vietnam that is rich, strong, democratic, fair, civilized, prosperous and happy; catching up with, advancing together and standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers. The top priority in the new era is to successfully implement the strategic goals by 2030, Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and high average income; by 2045 it will become a developed socialist country with high income; All people are developed comprehensively, have a prosperous, free, happy, civilized life... From now until 2030 is the most important period to establish a new world order, this is also the period, strategic opportunity, the final stage of the Vietnamese revolution to achieve the 100-year strategic goal under the leadership of the Party, creating a solid premise to achieve the goal of 100 years of founding the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The important thing is that we maximize the strength of great national unity, the efforts and high determination of the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army and the entire political system to join in, realizing the aspiration to develop a prosperous and happy country ⁽⁶⁾ .

In that context, building the belief, will and aspiration for victory for the entire nation continues to play an important role. Fifty years ago, the Great Victory of Spring 1975, culminating in the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign, was a great achievement, demonstrating the belief, will and aspiration for independence, freedom and national unification of our nation. Today, the belief, will and aspiration of the entire nation are still the fulcrum for our country to reap new achievements. That is the belief in the leadership of the Party, the management of the State and the strength of great national unity. That is the will and aspiration for breakthrough development and acceleration under the leadership of the Party to successfully build a socialist Vietnam that is prosperous, strong, democratic, equitable, civilized, prosperous and happy; to catch up with, progress together with, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers.

To build, consolidate and promote the belief, will and aspirations of the entire nation in the current context, it is necessary to focus on implementing the following main solutions:

The first, Building and rectifying the Party and a clean and strong political system is a key, important and regular task, aiming to improve the Party's leadership and governing capacity, and strengthen the effectiveness and efficiency of the political system. Resolutely fight against individualism, prevent, repel and strictly handle cadres and Party members who have degraded in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle, and manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party; closely and harmoniously combine "building" and "fighting"; in which "building" is a fundamental, strategic and long-term task, "fighting" is an important, urgent and regular task.

Only when the Party and the political system are clean and strong can they contribute to building, consolidating and promoting the people's trust, the will and aspiration for victory of the nation, as President Ho Chi Minh once affirmed: "A nation, a party and each individual, who were great yesterday, had great appeal, will not necessarily be loved and praised by everyone today and tomorrow, if their hearts are no longer pure, if they fall into individualism" ⁽⁷⁾ .

The 13th National Party Congress determined: “Strengthening the building and rectification of a clean and strong Party and political system; arousing the aspiration to develop the country, promoting the will and strength of great national unity combined with the strength of the times; continuing to comprehensively and synchronously promote the renovation process; firmly building and defending the Fatherland, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; striving to make our country a developed country with a socialist orientation by the middle of the 21st century” ⁽⁸⁾ .

To build and rectify a clean and strong Party and political system, directly contributing to building, consolidating and promoting people's trust, the will and aspiration for victory of the nation, it is necessary to:

Firstly , continue to innovate and improve the quality of political and ideological education, self-criticism and criticism, creating positive changes in the awareness and actions of cadres and party members. Improve the quality of activities of party organizations and socio-political organizations. Timely detect and resolutely fight against signs of degradation, "self-evolution", "self-transformation". Promote studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle in conjunction with building and rectifying the Party and a clean and strong political system. Be steadfast in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's ideology, continue to research, develop and creatively apply Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's ideology in accordance with the reality of Vietnamese society. Strengthen the protection of the Party's ideological foundation, promote the role and responsibility of Party organizations, agencies, organizations in the political system, press agencies and the people in protecting the Party's ideological foundation, and fight against erroneous and hostile viewpoints. Focus on building the Party in terms of ethics, promote the responsibility of setting examples, the sense of self-cultivation and training of cadres and Party members, especially leaders, managers and heads at all levels, strictly implement the Central Committee's regulations on setting examples and what Party members are not allowed to do. The higher the position of cadres and Party members, the more they must set examples, be pioneers and role models.

Second, Focus on building a contingent of cadres at all levels, especially at the strategic level and leaders, associated with innovation and restructuring of the political system's apparatus to be "streamlined - compact - strong - effective - efficient - effective". Cadre work is the "key of the key", which is decisive for all successes of our country's revolution both in the short and long term. It is necessary to focus on building a contingent of cadres at all levels with revolutionary ideals, strong political will, pure moral qualities, wholeheartedly serving the Fatherland and the people, with the capacity and qualifications to meet the requirements and tasks. Implement well the policy of encouraging and protecting dynamic, creative cadres, daring to think, daring to speak, daring to do, daring to take responsibility, daring to innovate, daring to face difficulties and challenges, and daring to act for the common good . Pay attention to building a contingent of scientific cadres, female cadres, young cadres, ethnic minority cadres, and state-owned enterprise management cadres. Strictly implement the principle of democratic centralism, promote democracy associated with enhancing the responsibility of Party committees and leaders in personnel work. Strengthen control of power in personnel work in a practical and effective manner. Improve the quality of personnel assessment work. Timely dismiss, resign, and replace cadres with limited capacity, low prestige, and those who have made mistakes. Innovate and improve the effectiveness of planning and rotating cadres. Proactively detect, train, and foster sources of leaders and managers at all levels.

Third, strengthen the work of inspection, supervision and party discipline; resolutely and persistently fight against corruption, negativity and waste; strictly handle officials and party members who violate the law. Raise awareness and responsibility of Party committees, party organizations, officials, party members, union members and association members in the fight against corruption, negativity and waste. Focus on fighting against ideological, moral and lifestyle degradation of officials, party members, civil servants and public employees. Promote and improve the effectiveness of detecting and handling corruption, negativity and waste at localities and grassroots levels. Strengthen inspection, examination and supervision in conjunction with the responsibility of leaders in preventing and combating corruption, negativity and waste.

Fourth, promote the role and responsibility of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, socio-political organizations and truly rely on the people in building and rectifying a clean and strong Party and political system.

Monday, arouse and strongly promote the will and aspiration for breakthrough development and acceleration under the leadership of the Party to successfully build a socialist Vietnam that is rich, strong, democratic, fair, civilized, prosperous and happy; to catch up with, progress together with, and stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers, accordingly it is necessary to carry out:

Firstly , raising the awareness of party organizations, state agencies and the whole society about arousing patriotism and national self-reliance in the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland. In the current context, patriotism and national self-reliance in building and defending the Fatherland are the will and aspiration for breakthrough development and acceleration under the leadership of the Party to successfully build a socialist Vietnam that is rich, strong, democratic, fair, civilized, prosperous and happy; catching up with, advancing together with, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers.

Second, Do a good job of propagating and educating the tradition of patriotism and revolution, encouraging and building national pride and self-esteem, contributing to creating a firm belief among the people in the country's development path, the leadership of the Party and the management of the State; mobilize the entire nation to actively participate in contributing to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, determined to successfully realize the goal and aspiration for developing a prosperous and happy country. Promote cultural, artistic, physical education, sports, press, radio and television activities in propagating, educating, encouraging and motivating the spirit of patriotism, the will of national self-reliance and the aspiration for developing a prosperous and happy country.

Third, focus on improving the quality of education on patriotism and national self-reliance, building and strengthening confidence in the path to socialism. Focus on educating the nation's historical and cultural traditions, promoting the spirit of national pride, self-respect, and national self-reliance for the young generation in building and developing the country. Create, form, and promote the motivation to strive, rise up, and make new achievements in labor, economic development, scientific and technological research, cultural, literary and artistic creation, etc. Create a favorable environment to encourage the young generation to study, experience and develop, improve themselves, contributing to promoting the development of high-quality human resources, meeting the requirements of building and defending the Fatherland in the new situation. Improve the quality of training high-quality human resources; have policies to attract, use and treat talented people, prepare the necessary premises so that they can work in a "multicultural" environment and integrate internationally in the spirit of independence and autonomy for the benefit of the nation and people.

Fourth, increase investment in infrastructure, technology and techniques to carry out the task of arousing patriotism, building confidence and will for the entire nation to build and develop the country. On December 22, 2024, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW "On breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation"; in which, it emphasized: Science, technology, innovation and digital transformation development are decisive factors in the development of countries; are the prerequisites and the best opportunities for our country to develop richly and powerfully in the new era, the era of national development. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW sets out tasks and solutions for effective propaganda and education to raise awareness and determination to develop science, technology and innovation, and carry out digital transformation in the entire political system, among people and businesses, creating trust and new momentum in society. Accordingly, it is necessary to widely deploy the "digital learning" movement, popularize and improve scientific, technological and digital knowledge among cadres, civil servants and people; start-up movements, innovation, improvement, work efficiency improvement, labor productivity improvement; at the same time, arouse the spirit of autonomy, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-reliance, national pride, promote Vietnamese intelligence to successfully implement the goals and tasks of developing science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation./.

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(1) VI Lenin: Complete Works , National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2005, vol. 36, p. 208
(2) VI Lenin: Complete Works, op. cit. , vol. 41, p. 147
(3) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works , National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2011, vol. 14, p. 467
(4) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit. , vol. 6, p. 232
(5) See: Ngo Vuong Anh: “The song of victory echoes forever - Part 1: The historic confrontation”, Nhan Dan Electronic Newspaper , April 29, 2020, https://nhandan.vn/bai-1-cuoc-doi-dau-lich-su-post456835.html
(6) See: Professor, Dr. To Lam: " Aspiration to rise in the new era", Government Electronic Newspaper , December 31, 2024, https://baochinhphu.vn/khat-vong-vuon-minh-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-102241231135349188.htm
(7) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, op. cit. , vol. 15, p. 672
(8) Documents of the 13th National Congress of Delegates , National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2021, vol. I, p. 57

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