Over the past 20 years, Linh was President of the Vietnamese Students’ Association in the RoK (2007-2012) and then President of the General Association of Vietnamese people in the RoK (2010-2017). Therefore, during the two visits of comrade Nguyen Phu Trong to the RoK, he had chance to meet and talk with the Vietnamese leader.
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General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and outstanding overseas Vietnamese returning homeland to attend the "Homeland Spring 2018" program (Photo: qdnd.vn) |
Linh still remembered that right after arriving in RoK as part of the state visit, even though it was late in the afternoon, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the senior delegation of Vietnam visited the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK and met with representatives of the Vietnamese community in the country.
Uncle Trong inquired after overseas Vietnamese (OVs) and shared information related to the situational developments related to socio-economic, defense, security and external affairs of the country and the Party and State’s guidelines and policies. The Vietnamese Party leader expressed his hope that OVs in the RoK would always join hands with the Party and State to bring the Vietnam-RoK strategic cooperative partnership to more substantial and effective development, especially in economic, trade, and investment fields.
On behalf of the Vietnamese community in the RoK, Linh presented a bouquet of flowers to the General Secretary. The comrade’s advice has been engraved in his mind. As a young community, the Vietnamese community in the RoK would face many difficulties and challenges in the progress of building and development. However, Uncle Trong hope that Linh and Vietnamese people in the RoK will stay united to build a stronger community, contributing to promoting Vietnam-RoK relations and boosting the homeland’s development.
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General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in a photo with Korean expatriates during his visit to the RoK in 2014 (Dr. Tran Hai Linh is sitting second, from the right) (Photo provided by the author) |
Later, Dr. Linh was invited to return homeland many times to attend major programs and had an opportunity to meet General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. On the afternoon of January 26, 2019, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong and his spouse, together with overseas Vietnamese, attended the “Xuan Que Huong 2019” (Homeland Spring 2019) program and performed the carp release ritual at Sword Lake, a tradition of the Vietnamese people on the occasion of “Ong Cong, Ong Tao” (Land Genie and Kitchen Gods).
After the ritual, Uncle Trong had a talk with OVs and encouraged them to heighten solidarity and overcome difficulties to integrate into the host country, while preserving national cultural identity and always carrying a deep love for the homeland. Especially, Uncle Trong held Linh’s hands tightly and told him to try harder. Those words of the leader of the Vietnamese Party and State who always gave a lot of attention and love to the overseas Vietnamese community are still in his mind.
Dr. Tran Hai Linh underscored that like other Vietnamese people at home and abroad, it can be affirmed that throughout his life, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has tirelessly dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause of the Party and our country. His directions have shown a strategic vision for national development and his drastic orders in the fight against corruption and waste have created absolute trust of people in the Party’s leadership, making contribution to promoting the power of great national unity.
Translated by Quynh Oanh