Concert to mark National Day, Japan-Mekong; Uncle Ho documentary airs on TV; Musical performance in commemoration of late President Ho; Vietnam-Hungary friendship meeting held in Hanoi

A concert, “Cherry Blossom – Apricot Blossom”, will be held September 1 at Legend Hotel, HCMC, to mark Vietnam National Day and a cultural exchange program, Japan - Mekong 2009.

Artists play bronze drums at the opening day of the Japan-Vietnam Culture Exchange Program in Hoi An Town on August 14. (Photo: Thanh Nien)
Sixteen Japanese and 18 Vietnamese musicians will perform.

Vietnamese audiences will enjoy “Japan’s Four Seasons,” a work by Japanese composer Masaki Hayakawa in the Baroc style and traditional Japanese melody.

Tokuhisa Masanori from Japan and Darren Anthony from Australia will conduct.

Vietnam annually organizes festivals for Vietnam – Japan Culture Exchange Day, with an aim to strengthen friendly ties between the two nations.

Uncle Ho documentary airs on TV

A Thai-produced 12-episode documentary about the late President Ho Chi Minh will be broadcast on VTV1 and VTV4 beginning on September 2.

Made by the National Broadcasting Services of Thailand (NBT), each episode of Ho Chi Minh – A Great Person of the Vietnamese People, will focus on a different aspect of Uncle Ho’s life and career, seen as a mirror on an entire nation.

The documentary, which was originally aired in Thailand between October 2008 and January 2009 as part of NBT’s Legends of the World programme, also puts a unique focus on Ho Chi Minh’s activities in Thailand in 1928-29 and his close relationship with the late Thai prime minister, Pridi Banomyong.

The documentary was directed by Dr Aitdhiruth Surachettapong from Thaksin University and produced by All Seasons International Co Ltd. Surachettapong has filmed a number of documentaries about Viet Nam.

Musical performance in commemoration of late President Ho

A musical performance entitled “Ho Chi Minh- a life devoted to the nation and people” was held in Hanoi on August 29 to mark the 40th anniversary of implementing the testament of late President Ho Chi Minh (1969-2009) and the 64th anniversary of National Day (September 2).

In his speech, To Huy Rua, the Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Head of the Party Commission for Information and Education said, “Late President Ho Chi Minh was the first Vietnamese person who creatively applied and developed Marxist-Leninism in Vietnam’s practical reality. He was the founder and trainer of the Communist Party of Vietnam- an experienced and intellectual vanguard of the Vietnamese working class, which led the Vietnamese revolution from one victory to another”.

The 40th anniversary of implementing the testament of late President Ho Chi Minh is also part of activities in the run-up to the 120th anniversary of his birthday and the 20th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of him as a national hero and Vietnam’s great cultural activist, Hua said.

The performance is a practical activity, showing Vietnamese people’s profound affection and gratitude towards for President Ho Chi Minh through the significant achievements they have made during the past 40 years.

Vietnam-Hungary friendship meeting held in Hanoi

The Vietnam - Hungary Friendship Association Central Committee held a meeting in Hanoi on August 29 to celebrate Hungary’s National Day (August 20) and Vietnam’s National Day (September 2) in the presence of Hungarian Ambassador Vizi Lazlo.

Addressing the function, the association’s President Nguyen Dang Vang stressed that Vietnamese people, who have studied and worked in Hungary or who currently live there, have been actively contributing to cooperation between the two countries, especially in economics, culture, science and education.

Hungary provides Vietnam with about 500,000 EUR in non-refundable aid each year to carry out projects in the natural sciences, medicine, agriculture and technology.

There has been a constant increase in two-way trade between Vietnam and Hungary, from US$38.4 million in 2004 to US$90.57 million in 2007 and about US$100 million in 2008.

As many as 4,000 Vietnamese people are currently studying and living in Hungary. Another 4,000 people have lived there in the past, with most of them being scientific experts at various levels.

PV