The national scientific conference "200 Years of the Vinh Te Canal - Historical Value and Future Vision" aims to clarify the historical role of the Vinh Te Canal in contributing to socio-economic development, protecting sovereignty, and maintaining security and national defense in the southwestern border region of the country. Through this, it proposes solutions to enhance the value of the Vinh Te Canal for the region in the future.
In his opening remarks at the seminar, Le Hong Quang, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Secretary of the An Giang Provincial Party Committee, affirmed that the Vinh Te Canal project is a testament to the wisdom and ingenuity of our ancestors in conquering nature, demonstrating strategic vision in asserting territorial sovereignty, reclaiming the southern land, developing the economy, fostering diplomacy, and strengthening national defense. The Vinh Te Canal also affirms the great achievements in the career of the renowned official Thoai Ngoc Hau and his wife Chau Thi Te.
Over two centuries, the Vinh Te Canal has played a particularly important role in many aspects, serving as a vital transportation artery connecting various regions and facilitating the transport and trade of goods. Simultaneously, it provides freshwater and alluvial soil for the rice paddies of the entire Long Xuyen Quadrangle region. Above all, the Vinh Te Canal acts as a solid natural defense line protecting the southwestern border of the country.
Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the An Giang Provincial Party Committee Le Hong Quang delivered the opening speech at the workshop.At this workshop, delegates listened to presentations, exchanged ideas, and engaged in insightful and highly scientific discussions on the historical value and role of the Vinh Te Canal in maintaining national defense and security, promoting socio-economic development, and making recommendations and proposals for maximizing the canal's immense value both now and in the future. This valuable source of information and scientific basis will assist An Giang province in managing, exploiting, and preserving the Vinh Te Canal, as well as formulating development policies related to it, contributing to the overall development of An Giang province in the coming years.
Professor Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tran, former Vice Chairman of the State Science Committee and former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs Committee, presented a paper entitled "Vinh Te Canal and the Economic, Social, and Environmental Transformation of the Long Xuyen Quadrangle Sub-region".
Professor Nguyen Van Kim, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Council and former Vice Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, presented a paper entitled "Vinh Te Canal - Historical and Cultural Value".
Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, presented a paper titled "Archival Documents on the Vinh Te Canal (An Giang) - Scientific Value and Directions for Exploitation".Presenting a paper on the topic "Archival Documents on the Vinh Te Canal (An Giang): Scientific Value and Directions for Exploitation," Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, introduced several archival sources related to the Vinh Te Canal and the southwestern region of Vietnam. Through the introduction and preliminary assessment of the value of these sources, the paper suggested some directions for exploiting archival materials to serve in-depth research on this unique canal and the southwestern region of Vietnam.
According to Nguyen Dynasty archives, the Vinh Te Canal was recognized not only as a border and military defense line, but also as an important trade and economic exploitation route in the Southwestern region of Vietnam. These Nguyen Dynasty documents provide information on the organization and distribution of food and finances for the militia involved in digging the canal, and describe the security and trade situation of the canal within the context of the border region.
Documents from the French colonial period, such as official gazettes and administrative maps, show that the French continued to exploit and develop the Vinh Te Canal. Detailed maps of the Southern region help record the location, geographical features, and importance of the Vinh Te Canal in the regional administrative and commercial system.
According to Professor Hoang Anh Tuan, archival documents on the Vinh Te Canal (Nguyen Dynasty imperial records, administrative documents in French, maps) are of immense value. This body of documents is valuable both for academic research and as a foundation for applied scientific research. For academic research, the diverse types of documents and rich content can create a promising foundation and prospects for the development of interdisciplinary research with multiple approaches: historical approach, socio-ecological approach, geo-economic approach, etc. For applied scientific research, highly reliable sources of documents will provide a solid foundation for formulating policies and development strategies with a holistic and sustainable development perspective for the Vinh Te Canal area.
In his closing remarks at the conference, Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee Ho Van Mung emphasized that, after more than a day of intensive work with a serious and highly responsible spirit, the national-level scientific conference "200 Years of Vinh Te Canal - Historical Values and Future Vision" had completed its planned content and program. This was an important conference with great significance in announcing the results and achievements of scientific research; at the same time, it was also an opportunity to promote and publicize the outstanding historical values of the Vinh Te Canal and An Giang province.
An Giang province will consider all contributions, especially the valuable suggestions from delegates, and will study and select them for future implementation, based on a summary of practical experience. The scientific reports submitted to the conference will be compiled, printed as a reference book, and widely disseminated to share the 200-year historical value of the Vinh Te Canal so that younger generations can better understand and appreciate the historical and traditional land of An Giang.
It is understood that the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, will be the unit supporting An Giang province in building a database to preserve and exploit the value of the Vinh Te Canal on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of this historical project.
An Giang Newspaper:An Giang organizes the national scientific conference "200 years of Vinh Te Canal - Historical Value and Future Vision"
