Campaign encourages public to live by moral standards set by Uncle Ho

President Ho Chi Minh always cared for others. For him, the struggle for independence came first. People remember his kindness and classical Oriental approach to life. He pinned his hopes on each individual. His simple life and exemplary morals still guide Viet Nam’s future, as Nguyen Thanh Ha reports.
Major General Phan Van Xoan, the former chief of President Ho Chi Minh’s bodyguard for many years, said that a Politburo campaign to promote Uncle Ho’s exemplary morals would be welcomed by all Vietnamese.
"The campaign is needed to encourage people in our modern society, particularly the younger generations, to improve their ethics and responsibilities to the country," Xoan said.
Xoan called for a long-term movement to promote the campaign so all Vietnamese would be inspired by the President’s upright life and turn against any wrongdoing or corruption.
"Party members and Government employees should be the first to become President Ho’s good followers, setting an example for other citizens," Xoan said.
He said he not only appreciated the campaign, but that it should have been launched much earlier.
Asked how he himself had followed President Ho’s exemplary standards, Xoan said although he was retired in 1992, he remembered his words: "If you are still strong at heart and healthy, you should contribute further effort for the country."
Xoan set up the Long Hai Company to provide guard services.
"We aim to help the State protect Viet Nam’s security by providing professional bodyguard forces at factories, high-rise buildings, banks, schools and other public and private establishments.
"Apart from this, I often run a monthly course to educate staff on how to provide good safeguards for the people. I tell them many stories I learned from President Ho during my time as his bodyguard.
"Most of my 3,000 staff members are now good followers of President Ho and have a high responsibility for their job," Xoan said.
One employee, Nguyen Van Tin, bravely rescued 20 people during a devasting fire at the International Trade Centre in HCM City last year.
Former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet said Long Hai workers were always ready to serve the people, setting an example for others.
Tran Duc Trung, who lives in HCM City’s 92 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, told how administration reform in Tan Phu Ward had led to less conflict over road development. He said more than 100 roads and cross-roads in Tan Phu had been opened because of the speed at which the area had been cleared of houses and buildings, generally a tricky problem because it involves shifting so many people.
"Urbanisation is an urgent task for Tan Phu’s socio-economic development, but if based only on State budgets alone, infrastructure projects would run slowly," said Huynh Van Hanh, the district chairman.
"To solve the problem, we mobilise local people to join in. Government officials have to set a good example. Everything relating to the projects must be discussed with local people and carried out with their help.
Uncle to all: Uncle Ho visits ethnic minority children in the northwestern region in 1960.
Getting his feet wet: President Ho Chi Minh tries out a rice-planting machine at the Ha Noi Department of Agriculture and Forestry in July 1960.
Future-minded: President Ho visits Tuan Chau island in 1965. The island is now a key tourist destination in the Ha Long Bay area.
The Tan Phu experience followed the ideology of President Ho. "We asked ourselves how we could learn to live closely with local people, share their hardships and improve their living standards," Hanh said. "It’s a pity that many places do not follow this guide very well."
Nguyen Duc Long at 34 Tue Tinh Street, Ha Noi, recalled how revolutionary artist Huynh Van Thuan twice did not hesitate to deliver the rights to his house and car to the Government. (Thuan was the man who painted the portrait of President Ho used on Viet Nam’s first currencies.)
The first time Thuan gave up his home was after the South’s liberation in 1975. Thuan returned to Sai Gon after 30 years away and was elected chief of the Southern Department of Fine Arts.
He was allocated a villa in the city centre as a home, but returned the use of the building and a car to the Government when assigned to work in the north. His family leased a much smaller home in Ha Noi.
The second move was from his house at 237 Tay Son Street, Ha Noi, to a smaller flat in Thang Long International Village. This was to create a favourable atmosphere for ground clearance for an overhead bridge at the busy Nga Tu So intersection.
Thuan said he was deeply impressed by President Ho’s attitude and he was sad when he saw other Party members and Government officials try to switch houses they leased from the State into their own name.
There are many ways to follow President Ho’s example. According to Tran Thi Phuong in O Cho Dua Ward in Ha Noi’s Dong Da District, every Vietnamese should do one good thing a day.
For example, every staff member at her office are asked to strictly follow office rules, such as no smoking in public places, appearing at work on time, and not having too many private conversations during working hours.
"The campaign becomes more significant if every staff member obeys the rules," Phuong said.
Nguyen Ngoc Tuyen at 12 Quang Trung Ward in Ha Dong City in Ha Tay Province recalls a story about planting trees by President Ho at Dong Vang Hill in Ba Vi District.
In 1969, Uncle Ho, who had launched a campaign to plant trees during the annual Tet festival, went to the home of an elderly man called Kinh, who lives at Dong Vang Hill in Vat Lai Village.
"The President was rather weak at the time. After planting a tree, local people gave him a watering pot with little water in it because they thought he would not be able to handle a full container," Kinh said. "President Ho was unhappy about that, saying the tree would die if it was given little to drink."
The story has been handed down from generation to generation and locals still ask each other to plant trees when spring comes.
"Thanks to Uncle Ho, our village is now in a beautiful setting. It is surrounded by trees and tourists often visit it," Kinh said.
The campaign to follow President Ho’s example was launched by the Politburo late last year. It is aimed at reviving traditional moral values, ethics and lifestyles, driving back corruption, red tape and waste. It it also aimed at formulating and developing a socialist-oriented attitude among Vietnamese and creating a progressive society.
A steering board has been set up to conduct the campaign over four years, starting on the anniversary of the Party’s founding on February 3.
The 14-member steering board is under the leadership of the General Secretary of the Party, Nong Duc Manh. A support section has also been established to help the steering board. — VNS