The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on Sept. 8 inaugurated a stele house in
memory of its experiences prior to the Dien Bien Phu victory which put
an end to the French presence in Vietnam.
The project has been built on the Khau Linh hill in the northern
mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, where VNA was headquartered
during the 1952-54 period.
VNA General Director
Tran Mai Huong said at the inauguration ceremony that the project bore a
historic significance as it would hand down the glorious history of the
nation’s only newswire from generation to generation.
“From this woodland, the VNA staff overcame numerous wartime
difficulties to update audiences on domestic and international news
items and photos every minute,” said the news agency leader.
He emphasised that with VNA’s regular supply of information,
President Ho Chi Minh and other Party and Government leaders working in
the remote Viet Bac (northern Vietnamese) revolutionary base had managed
to closely follow domestic and international developments and make the
right decisions.
Huong expressed thanks to local
authorities and ethnic minority groups for their assistance to VNA staff
during the wartime period - which was full of hardships - as well as in
the recent construction of the memorial house.
In
reply, Tran Ngoc Thuc, Vice Chairman of the Tuyen Quang People’s
Committee, said it was a great honour for the province to house a
revolutionary base, offices of the Party Central Committee, President Ho
Chi Minh and other Government agencies, including the VNA, during the
anti-French struggle for national salvation.
He also expressed a desire for further development of relations between the province and the VNA.
The stele house in memory of the VNA’s former office was located
within the former Tan Trao revolutionary base, which has been turned
into a site of historic interest.
The project, covering 57 sq. m., has been built with financial contributions by VNA staff.
The VNA relics were recognised by the Ministry of Culture and
Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as a
national site of relics in 2001./.
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