General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: Intelligence, talent, courage and morality

Sharing his thoughts about his outstanding student, Professor Ha Minh Duc was very measured but also full of pride when mentioning "Mr. Trong" because "he holds an important position, while I am just a teacher."
 

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Professor Ha Minh Duc at the ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations. The photo is kept at Professor Ha Minh Duc's residence.

The student was quiet and diligent.

I was his homeroom teacher for four consecutive years. I also have some memories of the General Secretary, mainly from my time in school and a few memorable encounters. The memories I'm sharing about Mr. Trong, I've mentioned in a few places already, so there might be some overlap.

I was Mr. Trong's class teacher from 1963 to 1967. I monitored the class and taught specialized courses. During that period, many others taught in class K8, such as Mr. Nguyen Tai Can, Mr. Dinh Gia Khanh, Ms. Le Hong Sam, Mr. Nguyen Kim Dinh, Mr. Nguyen Truong Lich... Class K8 had nearly 100 students, including a few from the Library School, some from Germany and the Soviet Union, and mostly students who had passed the university entrance exams, so the class was very large. Among such a large class, there were also many talented people. Some wrote excellent poetry, like Mr. Vu Duy Thong, and Mr. Ngo The Oanh, who was formerly in charge of the magazine.VerseThere was also Mr. Ly Sinh Su, who was in the same class as Mr. Trong. I noticed that most of them went on to work in journalism. They were very enthusiastic. But Mr. Trong was very quiet; he was reserved and diligent in his studies.

"Remembering the evacuation period / Gathered around friends / A small, slender young man / Only focused on studying"(Poem by Ha Minh Duc). It seems his aspirations were set from his time in school. He may have held some positions within the class, I don't remember clearly, such as working with the Youth Union. He was a Party sympathizer, so when he was about to graduate, he was admitted to the Party. This was something new and special, because during his studies, he had clearly demonstrated the qualities of a Party member, so he was admitted before graduation. After graduating, Mr. Trong chose the right place: working at a magazine.CommunistAt the magazine, Mr. Trong is also exceptionally talented. Starting as a staff member, after many years, he became the Editor-in-Chief of that magazine. He has written many articles. His writing skills are excellent.

The times when teacher and students met again.

I remember once, during the 75th anniversary celebration of the Union of Literary and Artistic Associations, they invited me to speak, but I declined. They said that I should speak as a veteran writer, and I couldn't refuse. When I went up to speak, Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong was seated in the audience. When Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong entered the hall, everyone stood there to greet him. I stood there too. On the way in, he saw me, put his arm around my shoulder, and said to me, "Teacher and student, we meet again!"

I met him several times. I met him every time he was elected General Secretary because our K8 class held a reunion, and I congratulated him. The most notable occasion was at the banyan tree in the newspaper's grounds.PeopleAt that time, he was elected General Secretary for the third time, the K8 class was celebrating their 55th anniversary of graduation and borrowed newspapers.PeopleWe set up the meeting place. The whole class sat waiting for him under the banyan tree. It was so much fun! When he came to me, I stood up, and he gently pressed my shoulder down and said, "Sit down, teacher!" My classmates all rushed forward to greet him. Trinh Ho Khoa, who was leaning on his cane at the time, said, "This is Trinh Ho Khoa!" and he came over and hugged him. Ms. Ho Hoa, a student from Saigon, also said, "This is Ho Hoa!" and he raised his hand in response. He knew so many names, remembering all his friends' names. Afterwards, when we went into the main hall, I gave a congratulatory speech. I said that the class was very honored to have Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong as General Secretary for the third time. This was not by chance, but because of his worthy qualities, especially those qualities demonstrated in his four strengths: intelligence, talent, courage, and morality. I also mentioned that Comrade Phu Trong has many initiatives in many activities.

Firstly, in terms of foreign relations, the image of the Vietnamese bamboo is one of both strength and flexibility. Secondly, domestically, the focus is on the national policy of criticizing and eliminating corruption. Thirdly, in cultural work, he chaired the 3rd National Cultural Conference. At the first meeting in 1946, President Ho Chi Minh said, "Culture must illuminate the path for the nation to follow." The second time was during the resistance war, with the report "Marxism and Vietnamese Culture" by Mr. Truong Chinh. The third time was when Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong built an advanced culture rich in national identity. At that time, he responded, saying, "I thank Professor Ha Minh Duc for his insightful and precise opinions, down to every word."

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a former student of the Faculty of Literature, Class 8, Hanoi University (second from the left, photographed in February 1965 at Me Tri dormitory, Hanoi). Photo: VNU

The mark of the Comprehensive Literature Department

The University of Hanoi used to be very famous. I remember once, Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong and a few others were discussing, for fun, why people liked going to the University of Hanoi. Everyone present was important, mostly former or current students of the University. At that time, everyone stated that people liked it because the University of Hanoi didn't just teach the subject itself, but also taught life skills – that's one reason. Secondly, the University of Hanoi taught things from which one could derive other ideas. Thirdly, the University of Hanoi had very talented professors. I asked Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong for his opinion, and he agreed with that assessment. What I just recounted is a story from my first meeting with Mr. Phu Trong when he was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2012.

It's not easy to recognize the influence of the Faculty of Literature on Nguyen Phu Trong because Literature is a general specialization, not as easily distinguished as natural sciences or medicine. However, it can be said that Mr. Trong's writing ability is partly due to his Literature background. This is very important. Writing leaves behind books for posterity. After President Ho Chi Minh, people often mention Truong Chinh, Le Duan, and Pham Van Dong; the fourth person to mention must be Mr. Trong. Mr. Trong has written at least six books; I may not remember the exact number. One is on the Vietnamese revolutionary path towards socialism, the second on military affairs, one on diplomacy, one on culture, and one recently published. It's not easy to write such thick books. Writing books is very difficult, not easy at all.

Besides his writing ability, Mr. Trong possessed the ability to use language selectively, appropriately to the context. His language was refined, literary, and very standard. The Faculty of Literature deserves credit for this. Mr. Trong loved literature; he even wrote poetry. The Faculty of Literature supported him in both writing and speaking. Mr. Trong spoke very appropriately. His choice of focusing on folk elements in To Huu's poetry for his graduation thesis was not a random one. He demonstrated his love for his country and his people. Choosing To Huu's poetry alone shows his love for the nation, but going even deeper by exploring the influence of folk poetry means loving the nation twice. He deeply valued folk literature. This very fact reflects that sentiment. His life was like a straight highway, always contributing wherever he went until his passing.