Nhan Dan introduces some of the wholehearted opinions of Vietnamese expatriates.
Le Hong Quan, commissioner in charge of information and communication at the OV Association in Angola:
Trusting the Party’s leadership
Angola accommodates a large community of Vietnamese expatriates. OVs in the African country have participated in many programmes to support compatriots at home, in response to appeals from the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Specifically, we joined a number of projects on making donations to assist the families of soldiers stationed on the Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands, helping them feel secure in performing the task of defending the country.
During every Tet , the Vietnamese Embassy and the OV Association in Angola organise gatherings to extend greetings to the OV community, recalling their fond feelings for the homeland and enabling younger generations there to better understand and contribute to preserving Vietnam’s traditional culture. This year, celebratory activities were organised on a smaller scale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they still made clear the Party and State’s care for OVs.
I am very proud and honoured to be one of the outstanding expatriates awarded Tet gifts from Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc via the State Committee on OV Affairs. With expatriates’ economic, medical and infrastructure conditions in Angola remaining poor, we wish for further attention and facilitation from the Vietnamese Government in organising rescue flights to repatriate OVs in disadvantaged regions. As a citizen living far from the motherland for years and now returning to contribute to the country, I believe that under the leadership of thoughtful, virtuous, talented Party and State leaders, Vietnam will continue to grow strongly and further improve its position in the international arena.
Bui Van Hieu, deputy head of the organisation – administrative – event department at the OV Association in the Republic of Korea (RoK) cum chairman of the OV Association in Hwaseong City:
Always preserving national cultural beauty
I was born and grew up in the mountainous district of Ba Thuoc, Thanh Hoa Province. Despite currently living and working in the RoK, I am always interested in and closely follow the domestic situation in the homeland. I am extremely happy that the 13th National Party Congress concluded successfully, selecting the most worthy cadres to lead the country. I firmly believe that the team of leaders elected from the congress will bring the nation to even greater strides forward. The OV community always maintains its trust in the Party and expects the Party and State to pay more attention to expatriates abroad and ethnic minorities in Vietnam’s remote and isolated areas, especially amidst the rapid and strong spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The OV community in the RoK has always held practical activities to preserve and promote the cultural beauty of the nation. We organise community Tet celebrations for Vietnamese workers and students in the RoK, as well as football competitions, sports festivals and tours to strengthen internal solidarity. Since 2012, we have organised Ao dai shows and cuisine events cooking traditional Vietnamese dishes. The OV community in the RoK always strives to uphold the spirit of mutual love and compassion, uniting together and supporting each other. We have opened Vietnamese language classes for children from multicultural families, while helping compatriots in difficulty and mobilising support for flood victims in Vietnam’s central region. OVs have also participated in voluntary activities, such as cleaning up nursing homes at weekends and streets in densely populated areas. Through these diverse and useful activities, we believe that positive traditional cultural values will be promoted and passed on to future generations.
Pham Canh Toan, chairman of the Vietnamese Youth and Student Association in California (US):
Wishing to contribute to national construction and development
Every year, the Vietnam Youth and Student Association in the US as a whole and California state in particular organises Tet celebration activities, such as the Chung cake making contest and calligraphy festivals, in order to preserve and advertise Vietnam’s traditional cultural beauty. This year, in the context of COVID-19, the association organised virtual contests to maintain connectivity and ensure the safety of the OV community.
Through the State Committee on OV Affairs, the Vietnam Youth and Student Association in the US donated US$2,000 to support flood victims in central Vietnam. The association also sent representatives to the third Global Young Vietnamese Intellectual Forum 2020, seeking to strengthen connections between young Vietnamese intellectuals at home and abroad.
Vietnam has placed an increasing focus on connecting networks of OVs to facilitate the development of trade and the exchange of knowledge, experience and goods, thus laying the foundation for cooperation and development in various areas, including science, technology and education. I hope that the Vietnamese expatriates, with the desire to contribute to the homeland, will have many opportunities to make their contribution to the cause of national construction and development. Faced with the transformation to the digital economy and the digital society globally, the 13th National Party Congress played a very important role in guiding development and setting out tasks so that each Vietnamese can join hands to build and develop the fatherland. I believe the Party and State will lead the country to even greater development and prosperity.
