An overview of the conference

The conference was chaired by Nguyen Xuan Thang, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council; Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Phan Xuan Thuy, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department of the Party; Le Van Loi, Vice President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

Attendees of the conference were Le Thanh Hai, former member of the Politburo, former Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Huynh Dam, former member of Party Central Committee, former Chairman of Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front; Tran Luu Quang, member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, together with representatives of many agencies, units, departments, branches and localities in the South, and nearly 300 delegates who are leading cadres, scientists.

In his welcome and opening speech to the conference, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen emphasized that under the leadership of the Party, Vietnamese revolution went through many events containing extremely valuable theoretical and practical lessons for our Party and State. The Southern uprising was one of those important events, which has left a profound mark of the South "Citadel of the Fatherland". It was also one of the practical bases for our Party to conclude the right policies leading people to the victory of the 1945 August revolution to gain independence, freedom and give birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, contributing to the great victory in spring 1975 and unification of the country.

Although unsuccessful, the glorious fighting spirit and resilient, indomitable will, daring to accept the sacrifices of the communists and people of the South still endures with the cause of building and defending the nation.

“Time is receding, our country is developing more and more. The better our country's wealth, potentials, position and prestige get, the more valuable the noble sacrifice of our nation is. Over the past 80 years, there have been many conference proceedings and history books which carefully recorded the Southern uprising, but surely there will still be many issues for us to supplement and honor to deserve the stature of our history", Secretary of the Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen emphasized.

In his introductory report, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, President of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theory Council affirmed that from the late 19th century to the time before the August Revolution of 1945, it can be said that there had never been any uprisings which were well prepared in terms of time and equipped with a large and comprehensive forces the Southern uprising.

The outbreak of the Southern uprising shook the ruling government of the French colonialists and their henchmen in the South, becoming the signal for the inevitable victory of the national uprising. Although this uprising had not reached the final victory and was suppressed by the French colonialists, many soldiers and compatriots had fallen fiercely, the revolutionary movement in the South was not receding.

“After the Southern uprising, the South became a place where the resistance war started when the French colonialists returned to invade our country in 1945. In the South, people also conducted simultaneous uprisings from the end of 1959 to early 1960, which helped the revolution transform from conservation of forces to attack. With the spirit and bloody lesson from the Southern uprising, the entire army and people of the South have reached victory, especially the general offensive that made the great victory in spring 1975”, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thang said.

The conference on the 80th anniversary of the Southern uprising Day was an opportunity for the entire Party, army and the people to review the heroic history in the struggle for national independence and express infinite gratitude to heroes and martyrs who bravely sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the fatherland and happiness of the people. The conference was also a chance to educate the patriotic and revolutionary traditions for cadres, party members and all classes of the people, especially the young generation; contribute to consolidating and fostering people's confidence in the Party's wise leadership; continue to strongly promote the tradition of patriotism, the strength of great national solidarity in the cause of continuing to promote comprehensively and synchronously the renovation, construction and defense of the socialist Vietnam Fatherland currently.

At the conference, more than 70 scientific papers focused on clarifying the historical context, policy and preparation for the uprising of the Communist Party committees and the Regional Party Committee in Southern, shedding light on the scale, nature and results of the uprising. The speeches also affirmed the indomitable and resilient tradition of the Southern people and the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national independence. At the same time, these speeches confirmed and deepened the historical significance, summarized valuable lessons for the construction and defense of Vietnam today.

The speeches unanimously affirmed that 80 years ago, under the leadership of the Southern Communist Party, the Southern uprising broke out, rocking the ruling government of the French colonialists and henchmen in Southern, becoming gunfire signaling for the inevitable victory of the national uprising, going down in history as an epic song of patriotism, willpower, fierce sacrifice and burning desire to win the independence and freedom of the Vietnamese people.

80 years have passed but the Southern uprising has still been an important milestone in the struggle for independence and freedom for the country. Along with the Bac Son uprising and the Do Luong rebellion, the Southern uprising was the signal for the national uprising, opening the armed struggle of the Vietnamese people as well as the peoples of Indochina.

Over the past 80 years, the spirit of Southern uprising has always been unceasingly forged and shined through generations, becoming a source of great strength contributing to great victories of the Southern revolution and of the whole country in the struggle for national independence and unification in the past as well as in the current cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland today.

BBT