Actions speak louder than words, reflecting the character of a gentleman.

Historical accounts of diplomatic relations between Dai Viet and the Yuan Dynasty recount that, in the early 14th century, the chief envoy of Dai Viet, Mac Dinh Chi, was admired by the Yuan Mongol emperor and bestowed the title of "Two-Nation First-Rank Scholar" inscribed on a fan used as a test of skill. He passed the imperial examination during the reign of Tran Minh Tong and was renowned for his intelligence, honesty, and integrity. On one occasion, he was invited to the Yuan Prime Minister's residence along with envoys from other countries. In the reception room, he saw a painting depicting a very realistic sparrow perched on a bamboo branch. He rushed to examine it, only to find it was not a real sparrow. Everyone burst into laughter, but he calmly tore the painting down, ripped it into many pieces, and said: "People usually paint sparrows perched on plum branches, but no one has ever painted a sparrow perched on a bamboo branch. The sparrow symbolizes the petty person, the bamboo symbolizes the noble person. I am helping the Prime Minister eliminate the seeds of the petty person riding on the head of the noble person." Everyone rejoiced, praising his wisdom.

Mạc Đĩnh Chi served as Chief Envoy twice, the first time in 1308. This story, which took place over 700 years ago, is quite striking to me this very month of May. It turns out that the Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister had "momentarily overlooked" the image of a virtuous gentleman being trampled upon in a painting. It turns out that a Vietnamese scholar had once frankly and sincerely warned the Prime Minister and foreign dignitaries at the Prime Minister's residence about the danger of rebellion if they did not resolutely uphold the virtues of a virtuous gentleman. It also turns out that the Prime Minister of a powerful nation and the representatives of scholars from various countries at that time...disenchantIt was immediately clear that destroying the painting was destroying the seeds of great chaos, and was a warning to the world to join hands in protecting human morality.

To put it in today's terms, the Yuan Dynasty's Prime Minister and the Eastern intellectuals of that time knew how to listen and absorb truthful, frank, sincere, and ethical advice. These Confucian scholars also encountered the Buddha in the spirit of true practice, which began with combating evil within oneself."The greatest folly in life is lying," "The greatest failure in life is arrogance," "The greatest mistake in life is losing oneself," "The greatest enemy in life is oneself."These great Confucian scholars, unwilling to lose themselves, could not deceive themselves, for deceiving oneself would lead to deceiving others; they were humble and open-minded because a gentleman—a great Confucian scholar—could not be arrogant or conceited; they always affirmed their gentlemanly spirit, and therefore were always vigilant of themselves, because the greatest enemy in life is oneself.

The humanistic aspect of Confucianism's philosophy of the gentleman remains vibrant in interpersonal relationships and between nations within the international community today. The core of a gentleman's character is self-respect, which builds trust in establishing a peaceful, cooperative, friendly, and prosperous environment. A gentleman keeps his word; that is a man's honor. A gentleman cannot be two-faced, for being two-faced is the characteristic of a petty person. A gentleman's thoughts and actions are always driven by a greater cause. Greed, envy, and contempt for others—the kind of "seeing no one in his eyes"—are always opposed to the gentleman's character and are always met with ridicule, contempt, and avoidance.

China's HD 981 oil rig is illegally placed in Vietnamese waters. (Photo: AP)

How appalling it is that China's aggressive actions over the past half-month in the waters under Vietnam's sovereignty have caused deep doubts among people in both Vietnam and China, as well as the international community, about the eloquent words and noble intentions of the sixteen-word motto:Friendly neighborliness, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability.Looking towards the future“; the spirit of the four good things:"Good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners" based on the foundation of4 sauces:"Mountains and rivers are interconnected."  Lideamutual understanding,  Cultural similarities, "Destiny is interconnected"Indeed, without much thought, everyone understands the value of these positive actions in bringing about genuine friendship and sustainable development for the people of China and Vietnam, as well as the international community, in today's turbulent civilized world. A world that demands that countries act humanely and ensure trust in all areas of international relations. Therefore,S"The water's water is interconnected with the water."For thousands of years, the Vietnamese and Chinese peoples have been and will be together, and have shared many similarities."Cultural similarities."It must be said that today (not in the old days), this closeness should be a very favorable condition for the two countries to cooperate and develop. The people of both countries wholeheartedly welcome this spirit and are working together to make it a reality.

But, it turns out that's not the case. If China truly wanted to uphold those principles, it wouldn't have acted that way towards Vietnam. Many questions are now being raised surrounding China's aggressive actions and encroachment on Vietnam's sovereignty. Several questions arising from real-life situations are demanding that we think carefully and act with clear judgment:

- Are the commitments to building friendship between the two Parties, the two States, and the peoples of the two countries being betrayed by Chinese leaders, or is this merely a ploy to conceal their deeply ingrained and sinister plot?

- In the 21st century, human civilization has reached the pinnacle of self-awareness, so why does China not only fail to respect the 16-character Declaration and the spirit of the Four Goods, especially the Declaration with Vietnam on the Six Guiding Principles for resolving the South China Sea issue, but also ignore international law and practices to which it is a signatory member state?

- Why, amidst escalating tensions in the South China Sea, have military units in Guangxi and Yunnan provinces bordering Vietnam begun to shift to Level 3 combat readiness? (According to Taiwan News Agency, May 15) Although this information has not been officially announced by China, we need to be extremely vigilant because this move by China demonstrates a masterful use of cunning and insidious tactics, and we have learned lessons from the past.

- Why did the Global Times, a major mainstream newspaper and mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, publish an article on May 14th titled "If Vietnam wants to taste the lessons of history again, they will one day get their wish," a threatening tone from those with ambitions of territorial expansion and aggression?

Not only Vietnamese people, but also many international opinions today can answer these questions. Simply put, the perpetrators of these conspiracies are too blatant and show too much disregard for justice and morality.

The Vietnamese people have always yearned for peace. Vietnamese coast guard officers exercise restraint because of this desire for peace. Over the past period, the patriotism of the Vietnamese people has also demonstrated this yearning for peace. Young and old, men and women, students, intellectuals, workers, and the people of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hue… and all strata of society and social organizations have expressed strong opposition to China's aggressive actions. Many religious institutions, such as Buddhists and Catholics, have prayed for national peace and prosperity, protested against China's aggressive actions, and organized fundraising to support the soldiers who are persistently fighting to protect the country's sovereignty. Vietnamese people abroad have also raised a wave of protests against China, receiving support from their communities.

Our government has persistently demanded positive responses from China, following numerous telephone conversations between our Foreign Ministers to frankly affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over the Paracel and Spratly Islands, resolutely demanding that China withdraw the HD-981 drilling rig and its escort vessels from Vietnam's sovereign territory, as well as cease violating Vietnam's sovereign airspace.

At this moment, the combination of national strength and the strength of the times is an urgent requirement. For thousands of years, our nation's strength has been national unity. This remains true today. Only through national unity can we have the strength to raise the banner of righteousness and achieve victory. Answering the questions raised above will shed light on China's expansionist and hegemonic ambitions. The clearer the issue becomes, the greater the vigilance required, and the more urgent the need for national unity becomes.

Any manifestation of negligence, incitement by malicious individuals to assault and plunder the property of Chinese-owned businesses and other enterprises, as has happened recently, harms national unity and international solidarity. At the same time, malicious individuals are exploiting this phenomenon to exaggerate, falsely accuse, and distort the truth, hindering our struggle to protect our maritime sovereignty. The consequence is a weakening of national strength at this time. In essence, these are blind, ignorant, uncivilized actions, demonstrating a lack of vigilance in the cause of national defense. Genuine patriotism demands an immediate end to such actions.

Hopefully, the political system at all levels, especially the leaders, will pay closer attention and demonstrate a higher sense of responsibility after the Prime Minister's directive, to avoid a situation where the drums beat in one direction and the trumpets blow in the opposite! We have justice on our side, we have the support of progressive public opinion worldwide, including progressive public opinion in China, so let us unite to intelligently and culturally drive away the sparrows perched on the bamboo grove in our garden, acting according to justice and morality, and be gentlemen in the long struggle against those who violate our sovereignty and invade our country.