President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday marked abroad

Vietnamese communities abroad have commemorated President Ho Chi Minh on the occasion of his 129th birthday (May 19) with a series of activities.

President Ho Chi Minh's birthday was observed in Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile, on May 19. (Photo: VNA)
President Ho Chi Minh's birthday was observed in Santiago de Chile, the capital of Chile, on May 19. (Photo: VNA)

The contributions made by President Ho Chi Minh to Vietnam’s freedom and independence as well as to the communist ideal and world peace and justice were highlighted at a meeting in Santiago, the capital of Chile, on May 19.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Chile Nguyen Ngoc Son spoke about the late President’s tireless struggle for Vietnam’s independence and freedom and the happiness of the Vietnamese people, as well as for independence and freedom of all oppressed nations.

He announced that the Vietnamese Government has decided to cooperate with the authorities of Cerro Navia, a commune in the capital city where there is a park named after President Ho Chi Minh, to carry out the upgrade of the Ho Chi Minh Park this year.

Son told his guests at the event that the Vietnamese Government has decided to partner with Cerro Navia’s authorities and handed over Geleximco Group’s donations to the locality to carry out the project. It is scheduled to be completed ahead of the Vietnamese delegation’s visit to Chile for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Week in November.

Also on May 19, Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Tao Thi Thanh Huong and the Vietnamese community in the Southeast Asian country laid flowers at the Ho Chi Minh Statue in the Asian Civilisation Museum Park on the occasion of the late President’s 129th birthday and 50-year implementation of his testament.

On the same day, the Vietnamese Embassy in Laos, the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association Central Committee, the General Association of Vietnamese in Laos and the Laos-Vietnam Friendship Association in Khammuon province held a ceremony in memory of the late President on the occasion of his birth anniversary.

The embassy in France held a ceremony to mark the late President’s birth anniversary in Paris on May 17, with the participation of the staff of the embassy and Vietnam’s representative offices.

Following the ceremony, the delegation laid flowers at House No. 9 on Compoint alley in Paris’s 17th arrondissement, where President Ho Chi Minh lived and worked from 1921 to 1923 as part of his search for the way for national salvation.

The embassy has also joined hands with authorities of the outskirts of Montreuil city to organise a similar at the Ho Chi Minh Space in Montreau Park. The Ho Chi Minh Space, which was unveiled on May 19, 2005 at the Museum of Living History, is preserving valuable objects transferred from House No. 9. The space, together with President Ho Chi Minh’s monument at Montreau Park, has been seen as a vivid manifestation of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and France.

Meanwhile, officials from the Vietnamese Embassy and representative offices, along with Vietnamese in the UK on May 18 gathered at New Zealand Building in London to celebrate President Ho Chi Minh’s 129th birthday and 108 years since he left Vietnam to seek ways for national salvation (June 5).

The New Zealand Building was built on the foundation of the famous Carlton Hotel in the centre of London, where President Ho Chi Minh worked during his time in the UK from 1913-1917.

The same day, a seminar was held in Okayama prefecture’s Mimasaka – the first Japanese city to place President Ho Chi Minh’s statue.