Lai Chau is the 53rd locality in the country to host the exhibition, themed “Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa—Historical and Legal Evidence,” said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tong Thanh Hai, who is also head of the exhibition organising committee.
On display are documents, objects, publications and nearly 100 maps which were collected by local and international researchers and scholars.
The exhibited materials are in Han (classical Chinese), Nom (Vietnamese ideographic script), Vietnamese and French languages issued by Vietnamese feudal states, the French government in Indochina (on behalf of the then Vietnamese state), and other foreign states.
Notably, there are 65 maps testifying to Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos announced by Vietnam and Western countries from the 17th Century to the present.
All these exhibits have affirmed the process Vietnam has continuously exercised and defended its sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.
In addition, four atlases and 30 maps published by Chinese states in various periods also showed that China did not manage the two archipelagoes.
The event helps raise public awareness of firmly safeguarding the country’s sacred sea and island sovereignty as well as rejecting China’s groundless sovereignty claims over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, said Hai.
After the exhibition concluded on January 17, all the maps and documents will be presented to the province for further display.
