It all started with work. One day in 1990, Professor Bui Duy Tan called me to his office to ask for a favor. He said: “You know Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong, right? Go and invite him to teach the Literature Faculty, specializing in Journalism. Our Faculty has always invited veteran journalist Quang Dam to teach, but he went to Saigon to visit relatives, so it will be a long time before he comes back. Mr. Phu Trong has written a book on Journalism, which is very good and professional. Keep up the good work.”
I ran to the Communist Magazine and asked to meet him. He enthusiastically accepted: “Oh, there is nothing better than being able to serve our Faculty’s students. Tell Mr. Tan that I am a student and I will respond. What an honor!”
After discussing the teaching schedule, it came to travel. He said: "Consider my teaching at the Faculty as a personal matter, I will find a way to get there, not using the office car."
I knew that at that time, he was the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Magazine, with the rank of Department Head, and had a public car. I cautiously said: “Hey, why don’t you take me by bike? I only have a bike!”. He said: “That would be great! It’s better than the Thai Nguyen evacuation! Our family only has one motorbike, she goes to work.”
So as scheduled, I drove him to My Dinh to teach. I rode a bike but my legs were short, so if I wanted him to sit in front, I had to pull the bike close to the sidewalk and put my feet down. He told me to just get on the bike, and I ran after him and jumped on the back.
On the way to school, my brothers confided in me, knowing my situation as a single mother with a child, so at noon the rice was cold. He invited me to wait for him on Nguyen Thuong Hien street at 11 o'clock and then go to his house to eat. "As a teaching staff, I am familiar with the situation." From then on, on teaching days, I went to the 3rd floor of the dormitory where he lived and ate rice cooked by Ms. Man. Water spinach, fish sauce and 10 slices of thinly sliced pork belly. She was like a caring older sister, often pushing the plate of meat closer to me and saying: "Teacher, eat your rice!"
Then, I received a message to receive a gift. I cycled to the house of poet Vu Duy Thong, a classmate of class 8 of the Faculty of Literature. I saw a newspaper package, opened it and saw an old, moss-green suit jacket. He said Phu Trong sent it because it fit me. Old but well-worn. I learned to wear a suit since then. When I put it on, I felt more presentable and more human.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong takes a souvenir photo at the meeting of Literature class 8 (1963-1967), Faculty of Literature, Hanoi National University
The second story was in 2001, I received a phone call from him to wait in front of lane 160, a friend's car came to pick me up, let's go to Van Tho, Thai Nguyen, visit the place where our Faculty evacuated during the Anti-American War, I'll go for fun. So a few cars set off. After the visit, in the afternoon, the ladies suggested spending another night by the lake because they were all retired, the opportunity was not much left.
That night we lit a fire and I heard something strange. People pointed to the opposite mountainside, dimly lit by the moonlight, and said:
Back then, male students climbed mountains, cut bamboo to build huts for studying. Phu Trong and Nguyen Van Thinh were like two teachers, thinner but still carried 10 bamboo trees like us, going back and forth, arriving late to rest. Our brothers teased us as "teachers" and "ladylike scholars". At that time, there was an old man from Thai Binh, who had settled in Van Tho before 1945, who came to ask for tobacco because he had gotten wet in the forest.
Hearing everyone teasing him, he stood up, pointed at Nguyen Phu Trong and said: "Don't tease him. That is the King, you are just people."
Then he turned to Van Giang, a Quang Ngai native who had gathered there. He spoke with a strong, country accent, so we called him “Giăng Van Giang” because when we called the roll, he said, “Giăng Giang is here!”. He said, “And this guy will be a hero on the battlefield…but…”. He hugged Van Giang’s shoulder and shook him.
That's right, in 1968, our Jean Valjean went to the battlefield to write as a reporter and died. And now it's so true, Phu Trong is the Secretary of the City Party Committee, we are now all citizens of the Capital.
Mr. Trong just sat still, smiled and put back the firewood that rolled out.
As a person who loves to write, when I saw something strange, I immediately wrote an article, hoping to earn some money. But being cautious, I immediately asked some K8 brothers and Mr. Phu Trong. Mr. Vu Duy Thong advised: "Everyone in my class knows the true story. But don't print it. Aren't you afraid that people will think you're flattering your superiors?" Mr. Duy Thong was working at the Department of Culture and Ideology at that time, in charge of Education and Journalism, so I followed his advice, even though I felt a strange regret for the memory.
The third recent event was the reception of Professor Nguyen Tai Can's ashes from Russia, according to his last wish to return to his hometown Thanh Chuong. Mr. Phu Trong knew and sent a message: "Mr. Can is your teacher but also my teacher. Please give me an appointment so I can send a flower basket to pay my respects."
On the day of the pick-up, I also forgot to mention. A convoy of cars went from Hanoi along the Ho Chi Minh trail. When we reached Nghia Dan, the organizers called me to ask why we hadn’t seen the General Secretary’s flowers yet. On the car, I called him. He said: “Done, honey! The car is on its way from Vinh.” It turned out he remembered better than me. When the car reached Do Luong flower garden, we rested for a bit, then the phone rang and the flowers were up, so we hurried back.
Regarding the General Secretary's personal life, I will only talk about his personal side. He is a gentle senior, full of compassion, sympathetic to everyone. Second, he is serious and dedicated to his work. Looking at the handwritings left from his student days that are archived, one can see that his handwriting reflects his character. Third, he is a person who firmly believes in his own opinions, is very principled in his work, but puts those principles in the complexity of the situation and is flexible. Fourth, he is devoted to the common work, takes work efficiency as the main thing, but is patient, does not embellish or "pretend" for himself. Fifth, he is steadfast in his heart, has a thorough thinking to enter the game with great determination. Sixth, he is certainly a clean politician in the spirit of "self-discipline and courtesy". The General Secretary is a person who has acted for 62 years without rest, is a referee but always puts "heart" and "feeling" first.
Also a personal matter, when he was Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, through Professor Phung Huu Phu, he told me to go to the Party Committee to work, I refused because I was not qualified and not sharp enough, not broad enough in thinking to accept the job. I said: "Our teachers kept me at school to research and teach. I am almost 50 years old, it is very awkward to change jobs". He said right away on the phone: "Then I will make you pay. Introduce me to someone". And I successfully introduced her, that was People's Artist Xuan Yen.
I think that each person has a different profession. Politics is also a profession. Being a politician is extremely difficult, even dangerous. We are in a different profession, so we must be very careful and respectful when commenting on other professions.
