At the ceremony, Politburo Member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang, alongside leaders of the City Party Committee, the People's Committee, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front Committee, and the Con Dao Special Zone, as well as numerous local residents and visitors, offered incense, laid flowers, and lit candles in memory of the heroic martyrs at Hang Duong Cemetery in Con Dao.
Con Dao was once known as "hell on earth" due to the prison system established by colonialists and imperialists. However, it also functioned as a revolutionary school for countless generations of patriots. It is also the final resting place of more than 200,000 heroic martyrs and patriotic revolutionaries.
Since liberation, Con Dao has undergone a profound transformation and has become a jewel in the East Sea/South China Sea, serving as a strong and vital strategic outpostst of the Fatherland.
At the tribute ceremony, Nguyen Manh Cuong, Alternate Member of the Party Central Committee and Member of the Standing Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, as well as Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, affirmed that the Party and the State have always enacted preferential policies for people who rendered meritorious service to the revolution, policy beneficiary families, and families of those who contributed to the nation.
In Ho Chi Minh City, all living Heroic Vietnamese Mothers are currently supported by units and organisations, while all communes, wards, and special zones have effectively executed initiatives supporting people who rendered meritorious service to the revolution. The movement to care for wounded soldiers, sick soldiers, families of martyrs, and those who have rendered meritorious services to the revolution is also being assiduously cultivated, demonstrating the affection, responsibility, and tradition of "drinking water, remembering the source" of the nation. In particular, the 500-day-and-night intensive campaign to search for and collect the remains of martyrs is being pursued with the utmost determination.
In the period ahead, the Party Committee, authorities, and the people of the city will continue to uphold the glorious tradition, and remain steadfast in tranforming Ho Chi Minh City into a civilised, modern, and compassionate city.
Following the official ceremony, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang and other city leaders offered incense and lit candles to honour the graves of heroic martyrs and patriotic revolutionaries at Hang Duong Cemetery.
Also on the evening of July 25, an art programme honouring the heroic martyrs, themed "Stars of the Fatherland", was staged at the April 30 Stadium on Nguyen Hue Street in the Con Dao Special Zone. The programme drew a large audience of local residents and visitors.
Earlier that afternoon, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang visited the family of Nguyen Xuan Vien, aged 82, a former political prisoner in Con Dao. He expressed his profound gratitude for the hardships and sacrifices endured by Nguyen Xuan Vien in the struggle for national independence. He also warmly enquired about Vien's health and encouraged the steadfast revolutionary soldier to continue living a fulfilling and healthy life while serving an inspiring role model for the younger generation.
On the same day, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Le Quoc Phong visited and presented gifts to the family of war invalid Pham Quyet Thang, residing in Con Dao. Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Dang Minh Thong also visited and presented gifts to the family of Luong Thi Ngu, the widow of martyr Nguyen Dinh Lien, whose hometown is Thanh Chuong District, Nghe An Province.
The leaders of Ho Chi Minh City expressed their hope that these families would continue to uphold the revolutionary traditions bequeathed by previous generations and guide today’s younger generation in following their exemplary path.
