Words go hand in hand with actions is to behave according to the character of a gentleman.

In the history of diplomatic relations between Dai Viet and the Yuan Dynasty, there is a story that, in the early 14th century, the Chief Envoy of Dai Viet, Mac Dinh Chi, was admired by the Yuan Mongol King and awarded the title of "Luong Quoc Trang Nguyen" inscribed on a fan to test his talent. He passed the Trang Nguyen exam under the Tran Minh Tong Dynasty, and was famous for his intelligence, frankness, and integrity. Once, the Prime Minister of the Yuan Dynasty invited him to his private residence with the envoys of other countries. In the living room, he saw a very realistic painting of a sparrow perched on a bamboo tree. He rushed over to see it, but it turned out to be not a real sparrow. Everyone laughed out loud, he calmly tore the painting down, tore it into many pieces, and slowly said: "People usually paint sparrows perched on apricot branches, but no one has ever painted sparrows perched on bamboo branches. Sparrows symbolize villains, bamboo symbolizes gentlemen, I help the Prime Minister eliminate the seeds of villains riding on the heads of gentlemen." Everyone was happy, and everyone praised it as right.

Mac Dinh Chi was the Chief Envoy twice, the first time in 1308. The story that took place more than 700 years ago was quite impressive to me in this very month of May. It turned out that the Prime Minister of the Yuan Dynasty had "momentarily neglected" to let the image of a gentleman be trampled through the painting. It turned out that a Dai Viet scholar had once frankly and sincerely warned the Prime Minister and foreign guests at the Prime Minister's house about the risk of chaos if they were not determined to uphold the gentlemanly way. It also turned out that the Prime Minister of a great country and the representative of scholars from other countries at that timedisenchantIt is immediately clear that destroying the painting is destroying the seeds of chaos, and is a warning to the world to join hands to protect human morality.

In today's language, the Yuan Dynasty Prime Minister and the Eastern intellectuals at that time knew how to listen and accept correct, straightforward, sincere, and humane words. Those Confucian scholars also met the Buddha in the spirit of true cultivation, whose starting point was to fight against evil from within themselves:“The greatest ignorance in life is lying”, “The greatest failure in life is arrogance”, “The greatest mistake in life is losing yourself”, “The greatest enemy in life is yourself”.Those great Confucian scholars did not want to lose themselves, so they could not lie to themselves, because lying to themselves would mean lying to others; they were humble and inquisitive because a gentleman-great Confucian scholar cannot be arrogant or conceited; they always affirmed their gentlemanly spirit, so they were always vigilant with themselves, because the greatest enemy in life is oneself.

The humanism in the Confucian theory of gentlemen on this point is still having a strong vitality in the relationship between people and between countries in the international community today. The core of the gentleman's personality is self-respect to build trust in establishing an environment of peace, cooperation, friendship and development. The gentleman says and does, that is the honor of a human being. The gentleman cannot be two-faced because being two-faced is the character of a petty person. The gentleman has a process of thinking and acting always for the greater good. Greed, jealousy, looking down on the world in the style of "lower eyes no one" (in my eyes there is no one) is always in opposition to the gentleman's personality and is always ridiculed, despised and shunned by the world.

China's HD 981 drilling rig illegally placed in Vietnam's waters/Photo: AP

How disgusting it is when China's aggressive actions over the past half month in the waters under Vietnam's sovereignty have made people in both Vietnam and China and the international community deeply doubt the good words and beautiful ideas of the spirit of the 16 words: "Friendly neighbors, comprehensive cooperation, long-term stability,looking to the future“; 4 good spirit:“Good neighbors, good friends, good comrades, good partners” on the basis of “4 sauces”:"Mountains and waters are connected,  Lmeaningmutual understanding,  Similar culture, "Relational Fate". Indeed, without much thought, everyone understands that the value of the above good things will bring true friendship and sustainable development to the people of China and Vietnam and the international community in today's changing civilized world. A world that requires countries to act humanely and ensure trust in all areas of international relations. Because "S"thank you for your kindness"that for thousands of years the two peoples of Vietnam and China have been/will be together and have had many "Similar culture”.It must be said that today (not once upon a time) this closeness should be a very favorable condition for the two countries to cooperate and develop. The people of the two countries welcome this spirit and join hands to turn it into reality.

But, it turns out that is not the case. If China wanted to be sincere with the above spirit, it would not have done that to Vietnam. Many questions are raised at this time surrounding China’s aggressive actions, invading Vietnam’s sovereignty. Some questions from real life are requiring us to think in order to act soberly:

- Are the commitments to building friendship between the two Parties, two States and two peoples being betrayed by Chinese leaders or is this just a trick to conceal their deep-rooted evil plot?

- In the 21st century, human civilization has reached the peak of self-enlightenment, but why does China not only not respect the 16-word Spiritual Declaration and the spirit of the 4 goods, especially the Declaration with Vietnam on 6 guiding principles to resolve the East Sea issue, but also ignore international laws and practices to which they are a member country committed?

- Why, in the context of escalating tensions in the East Sea, have military units in the two provinces of Guangxi and Yunnan bordering Vietnam begun to move to level 3 combat readiness? (According to Taiwan News Agency on May 15)? Although this information has not been officially announced by China, we need to be extremely vigilant because this move by China is a "master" of sinister calculations and tricks and we have learned lessons from the past.

- Why did the "Global Times" - a major official newspaper, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, on May 14 publish an article titled "If Vietnam wants to re-taste the lesson of history, they will one day be satisfied", a threatening tone of those with ambitions of territorial expansion and invasion?

Not only Vietnamese people, but also many international public opinions today can answer the above questions. Simply, the authors of those conspiracies are too obvious and too disregard justice and morality.

The Vietnamese people always aspire for peace. The Vietnamese Coast Guard soldiers know how to restrain themselves because of their desire for peace. In recent times, the patriotism of the Vietnamese people has also shown their desire for peace. The young and old, men and women, students, intellectuals, workers and people of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Hue... and all walks of life, social organizations have all expressed their strong opposition to China's invasion. Many religious establishments such as Buddhism and Catholicism have prayed for national peace and security, protested against China's invasion, and at the same time, organized material donations to support soldiers who are persistently fighting to protect the country's sovereignty. Vietnamese people living abroad have raised a wave of protests against China and have been supported by the local people.

Our State persistently requested that China respond positively, after many times our Foreign Minister made phone calls to frankly affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, resolutely requesting that China withdraw the HD-981 drilling rig and its escort ships from Vietnam's sovereign zone, as well as stop violating Vietnam's sovereign flight zone.

At this time, the combination of national strength with the strength of the times is an urgent requirement. The strength of our nation over the past thousands of years has been Great National Unity. It is still the same today. Only national unity can have strength, can raise high the banner of justice for victory. Answering the above questions is to clarify China's plot of expansion and hegemony. The clearer the issue, the higher the vigilance must be and the need for national unity is more urgent than ever.

Any manifestation of losing vigilance, listening to bad guys inciting and inciting to assault and loot the property of enterprises of Chinese origin and other enterprises as recently has harmed the Great National Unity and international solidarity. At the same time, bad guys are taking advantage of that phenomenon to exaggerate, slander, distort, causing difficulties for us in the fight to protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands. The consequence is to reduce the strength of the nation at this time. In fact, these are blind, ignorant, uncivilized actions, losing vigilance in the cause of protecting the Fatherland. True patriotism demands an immediate end to similar actions.

I hope that the political system at all levels, especially the leaders, need to pay closer attention and demonstrate a higher sense of responsibility after the Prime Minister issued an official dispatch, so as not to fall into a situation where the drums beat one way and the trumpets blow the other! We have justice, we are supported by progressive public opinion around the world, including progressive public opinion in China, so let's unite to chase away the sparrows that are perching on the bamboo clumps in our garden in an intelligent, cultured, just and moral way, to act like gentlemen in the long-term struggle against those who violate our sovereignty and invade our country.