Activities in Celebration of 60 Years of China-Vietnam Diplomatic Relations

Vietnam and China are joined by mountains and rivers” was the song heard most at the 2010 Friendship Gala of the Chinese and Vietnamese People. To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations， the CPAFFC， Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) and Vietnam-China Friendship Association (VCFA) co- sponsored a friendship gala in Hanoi in December 2010. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and China-Vietnam Friendship Association (CVFA) President Wang Jinshan led a delegation of 110 members from Beijing， Anhui， Guangxi， Yunnan and Shandong to participate. Truong Tan Sang， permanent member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)， met them. Tong Thi Phong， Vice Chairperson of the Vietnamese National Assembly， and Hoang Binh Quan， Director of the External Relations Commission of the CPV Central Committee， attended the gala opening ceremony.

In the two-day gathering， a variety of colorful activities including presentation of books on China-Vietnam friendship， seminars on education and social policies in the two countries， donation of audiovisual equipment to Hanoi University， visit to enterprises and the China-Vietnam friendship evening party were held. The two sides reviewed the traditional bilateral friendship， looked forward to the prospects for further development and cooperation， and expressed their wishes for further deepening the “Comrade plus Brother” friendship between the two peoples. CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and VUFO President Vu Xuan Hong signed the 2011-2012 Memorandum on Cooperation between the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations. Chinese artists from the Hefei Song and Dance Ensemble and Vietnamese artists gave wonderful performances to create an atmosphere of warm friendship.

Presentation of Books on China-Vietnam Friendship

At the book presentation， three books on China-Vietnam friendship， namely A Selection of Records of Nanning Yucai School， A Selection of Records of Guilin Yucai School， and an album Chairman Ho Chi Minh in Guangdong and Hong Kong were introduced.

The Nanning Yucai School， called Khu Hoc Xa Trung Uong in Vietnamese， was established in October 1951. At that time， Vietnam needed urgently to train a large number of cadres for the increasingly expanding liberated areas and educated professionals for the country’s reconstruction after the victory. At the request of Chairman Ho Chi Minh， Chairman Mao Zedong agreed that Vietnam could set up this cadre school in Nanning， Guangxi Province. The students were mainly revolutionary cadres and youth from various parts of Vietnam. The Chinese side provided advisors and logistical support and the Vietnamese side was in charge of the school management and teaching. In 1954， Nanning Yucai School was moved to the site of what is now the Western Campus of Guangxi University. In the autumn of 1958， it moved to Vietnam. In its seven years in China， the school trained about 6，000 teachers and cadres for Vietnam. The Guilin Yucai School was founded in March 1953. The Organization Department of the CPV Central Committee had set up a children’s school on the slopes of Lushan in Jiangxi Province， but the cold conditions led to it being moved to Guilin at the end of 1953. Vietnamese called it the Vietnam Lushan-Guilin Children School. By the end of 1958， it had trained more than 1，000 cadres for Vietnam， many of whom later became the backbone of the Vietnamese revolution and national construction. At the original site of the school， on the campus of Guangxi Normal University in Guilin， the Vietnamese School Memorial Hall was built. The two books edited and published by the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences reflect in detail through archival records and pictures the life of the Vietnamese comrades studying in the 1950s and 1960s. Their publication was one of the activities of the China-Vietnam Friendship Year.

The Chinese-Vietnamese bilingual album Chairman Ho Chi Minh in Guangdong and Hong Kong published by the World Affairs Press reflects the close revolutionary ties between China and Vietnam and profound friendship between Chairman Ho Chi Minh and the Chinese people.

Quite a number of the Vietnamese participants at the book presentation had studied in Yucai School. When opening the books， many of them were moved to tears as memories revived of the days when they fought side by side with the Chinese people.

Seminars on Education and Social Policies in China and Vietnam

The two seminars were favorably received by the participants. Experts and scholars from educational and social policy departments and research institutes of the two countries exchanged views on compulsory education， vocational education， higher education as well as social safety net， ageing of population， working technique， etc.

Donation of Audiovisual Equipment to Hanoi University

During the friendship gala， representatives of the two sides went to Hanoi University to attend a ceremony marking the donation of audiovisual equipment， provided by Mr. Lam Kin Chung， council member of the China-ASEAN Association， which is to be used for distance learning by the Computer Department of Hanoi University. The university’s president said the donation fully demonstrated the Chinese people’s friendly feelings towards the Vietnamese people. In future， his teachers would be able to conduct cooperation in teaching and scientific research with their Chinese colleagues and Vietnamese students would be able to have video communication with Chinese students， thus further enhancing mutual understanding between the young people of the two countries. After the ceremony， Hanoi University conferred the title of honorary professor upon Mr. Lam Kin Chung.

Signing of the 2011-2012 Memorandum on Cooperation

Between CPAFFC and VUFO

Activities with great social influence cosponsored by the CPAFFC and the VUFO in recent years have been praised by the leaders of the two countries and welcomed by the two peoples. During the gala， the two friendship organizations signed the 2011-2012 Memorandum on Cooperation. They pledged to continue with well-known activities such as China-Vietnam Friendship Bringing Light Tour， the China-Vietnam Border Friendship Gala， the Friendship Gala of the Chinese and Vietnamese People and the Chinese and VietnamesePeople Friendship Forum， create new projects and strengthen coordination and cooperation in bilateral and multilateral activities to push the cause of China-Vietnam friendship to a new height.

In her speech at the opening ceremony of the gala， Tong Thi Phong said such events contributed to strengthening the traditional “Comrade plus Brother” friendship forged and nurtured by Chairman Ho Chi Minh and Chairman Mao Zedong and other revolutionaries of the older generation. Vu Xuan Hong， meanwhile， said the historical experience and feelings of our two peoples confirmed the belief that to develop friendly and all-round cooperative relations between our two countries， an indispensable condition for each country’s development， needed sincerity and wisdom of both sides and accorded with the common aspirations and basic interests of the two peoples.

Chen Haosu said: “The gala has further shortened the distance between the hearts of our two peoples. We feel more deeply that our two peoples treasure the traditional friendship between our two countries. The gala was further evidence of the ‘comrade plus brother’ friendship between the two peoples and would provide fresh experience for the development of bilateral friendship.”