[News] Vietnam honors General Vo Nguyen Giap’s 100th birthday

[Anti-Imperialist News]

Photos honor General Vo Nguyen Giap’s 100th birthday
VietNamNet Bridge - Vo Nguyen Giap, the first 
General of the Vietnam People’s Army and the 
highly talented Commander-in-Chief during the two 
resistance wars, against the French colonialists 
and the US imperialists, will be 100 years old on August 25.

http://english.vietnamnet.vn/en/society/12268/photos-honor-general-vo-nguyen-giap-s-100th-birthday.html


General Giap is the longest-living person in the military history of Vietnam.

For many years, on special holidays of the nation 
and his birthday, representatives from all walks 
of life visit General Giap to pay tribute to the 
man who devoted his whole life for the cause of national liberation.

On August 22, President of the Vietnam Fatherland 
Front Central Committee, Huynh Dam, visited 
General Giap and wished him a long life.

One day earlier, hundreds of military officers, 
intellectuals and entrepreneurs from all parts of 
the country gathered at General Giap’s house in 
Hanoi to congratulate him on this occasion of his 100th birthday.

They recalled unforgettable memories about the 
morals and talents of General Giap, who is 
informally known as “Eldest Brother of the Vietnam People’s Army”.

Numerous activities are held to celebrate General Giap’s birthday.

They include a meeting of Dien Bien war veterans 
in Ho Chi Minh City, exhibitions of photos and 
sand paintings and 3D animated film on General Giap.

The Kim Dong Publishing House launched the 
pictorial book, “General Vo Nguyen Giap, one 
century - two long marches”. Meanwhile, the Les 
Indes Savantes Pari publishing house of France 
issued the book “Vo Nguyen Giap - a life” by Alain Ruscio.

Vo Nguyen Giap is the most outstanding military 
leader beside President Ho Chi Minh. He became a 
general when he was 37. He commanded a series of 
important campaigns during the two resistance 
wars against the French colonialists and the US 
imperialists, including the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954.


The “globe shaking” Dien Bien Phu Victory is 
considered as a brilliant milestone in the cause 
of national liberation, marking the end of the 
French imperialists’ power in Indochina after 83 
years, inspiring national liberation movements in 
colonial countries and promoting General Giap as a world military figure.

American historian Cecil Curry affirmed that 
General Giap has become not only a legend, but 
also a military genius in the 20th century and is 
among the greatest military strategists of all time.

Deputy Director of the Vietnam Institute of 
Military History, Ho Khang, said General Giap 
knew to develop the tradition of the elder 
generations in the new era, using the weak to 
fight the strong, using a few to fight a crowd, 
fighting firmly, and always winning. The moral 
aim of troop commander General Giap was to 
treasure each drop of soldiers’ blood and have 
close ties with team mates and people as if they were relatives.

After the country was united, General Giap took 
various important positions in different fields 
and made many contributions to society.

A veteran and a photo book of General Giap
A veteran living in the central province of Quang 
Binh has spent 4 years collecting photos and 
articles about the life of Vietnam’s military 
commander, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and compiled them into a book.

In Dao Thong’s book which he calls a diary, the 
60-year-old man gathered more than 1,000 photos 
and articles from books, newspaper and the Internet.

The book arranged in chronological order gives a 
look at the legendary commander’s simple life, 
his humility and genius in military leadership.

Thong worked very hard. He even once rode a bike 
over 45 kilometers to Le Thuy town --- the 
General’s hometown -- to get to know about an event related to the commander.

“I used to be a soldier and I do respect our 
General, so I created this book and give it to 
him with all my love to him, especially on the 
occasion of his 100th birthday (August 25)”, Thong said.

The veteran also said he will continue his work 
and gather more books and photos about the General.

Activities to celebrate General Vo Nguyen Giap's 100th birthday

Photos of the legendary general have gone on 
display in Hanoi to mark his 100th birthday on Thursday, August 25.

The 200 photos were selected from 500 provided by 
Giap's family, individuals and military units.

The photos displayed at the exhibition are also 
printed in a pictorial on the general which will be released soon.

"In the 1,000-year history of the capital, the 
last 100 years were the most difficult but 
glorious with the devotion of heroes like 
President Ho Chi Minh and General Vo Nguyen 
Giap," Labor Hero Professor Vu Khieu wrote in the 
pictorial. "Among the great leaders of the time, 
Giap is the only one still living."

The photos are on display at Exhibition House, 45 
Trang Tien Street, till September 3.

Many other activities have also been launched 
before to celebrate the two special events.

The Youth Publishing House has announced to 
publish a biography titled “Vo Nguyen Giap – the 
100-year spirit” capturing the life of the General since he was a child.

The book includes photos and stories by people 
who are close to the General such as Tran Dai 
Nghia, the founder of Vietnam’s modern arms 
industry or Phung Chi Kien, one of his first comrades.

A very first Vietnamese 3D animated film, titled 
“A historical decision”, on the revolutionary war 
against French colonialists also features the 
legendary military commander. The movie has been 
finished after more than two years.

The 20-minute movie depicts the General and his 
internal struggle in a charismatic leadership 
that has scored the most significant victory in 
modern Vietnamese history, in the battle of Dien Bien Phu.

An exhibition recalling the commander’s life 
through a collection of paintings made of colored 
sand, by artist Y Lan, was held early this month 
at the Ho Chi Minh City Exhibition and Display 
House at 92 Le Thanh Ton in District 1.

************************************
Vietnam: Vietnam marks General Giap’s 100 years

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=59220&t=Vietnam%3A+++Vietnam+marks+General+Giap%92s+100+years


The famous independence hero was born August 25, 
1911 in a central-north province. His name is 
linked to the wars against the French, Japanese 
and U.S.. He is still remembered for the battle 
of Dien Bien Phu in the plain, in 1954, which 
ended the war in Indochina. He is also a vocal critic of the ...

Thursday, August 25, 2011
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Hanoi - After defeating the French, Japanese and 
Americans one after the other, he also seems to 
have defeated time itself: General Vo Nguyen 
Giap, hero of the Vietnamese, today celebrates 
his 100th birthday. He was born August 25, 1911 
in central-north Quang Binh province to a poor 
family, composed of seven siblings, some of whom 
died young. Politically active since his school 
years, he was expelled from a school in Hue for 
organizing student protests. But his name is tied 
hand in glove with the wars in Indochina in the 
second half of the 1900’s, so much so that the 
Vietnamese people consider him the second most 
important national personality, only after "Uncle" Ho Chi Minh.

Do Quy Doan, Vice Minister of Culture, recalled 
that "some of the country's most glorious and 
most important events are associated with his 
name and his cause." Yesterday, the four-star 
general received a delegation of Communist Party 
politicians and leaders, to celebrate the 
centenary. He still has a colonial-style villa in 
Hanoi, not far the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh, in 
the city center, where until three years ago he 
would still receive foreign heads of state and 
leaders. The official Viet Nam News Agency 
reports the elderly leader’s "thanks" and 
"renewed commitment" to the conquest of new objectives

His most famous military conquest dates back to 
May 1954, with the historical humiliation of the 
French army in the Dien Bien Phu plain. General 
Giap, thanks to a clever counter-offensive, cut 
the trans-Alpine lines, causing them to collapse 
and ending the war in Indochina. The Hanoi 
government this week dedicated a photo exhibition 
to his enterprise with decades-old pictures in black and white.

However, in recent years he has repeatedly 
clashed with the Vietnamese government, accusing 
them of promoting policies all too "pro-Chinese" 
to the detriment of the country's territorial and 
economic independence. Among others, the battle 
against the bauxite mining program in the Central 
Highlands, the exploitation of which (for the 
benefit of Beijing) has provoked criticism from 
scientists and environmentalists.

Finally, his accusations of corruption against 
political leaders and his criticism of the 
bureaucracy and the party led to his 
marginalization from the political scene for the 
past 25 years. In a speech to Congress in 2006 he 
repeatedly insisted on the need for transparency 
and democracy and decisive action against 
corruption. "A party that conceals its defects is 
in ruins - Giap wrote in a state newspaper - a 
party that admits its mistakes and is transparent 
is courageous, strong and honest."




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