The story of a Hai Duong woman who participated in editing nearly 30 books of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong

The teacher

-She hasHow many books of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong have you participated in? Are there any special requests from the General Secretary when making books?

-I was fortunate and honored to edit books by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2004. At that time, I was a young editor. The General Secretary at that time was a member of the Politburo and Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Since then, I have directly participated in editing nearly 30 books by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and books about him. Each book has its own characteristics, its own requirements, its own mission, and each leaves me with unforgettable memories of the author of the book.

Through each book, I often draw experiences and try to learn and remember the General Secretary's advice as a basis for myself to write better and more complete books in the future.

For me, editing the General Secretary's books is an honor and responsibility, therefore, I have tried to put the highest responsibility on each book.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always reminded us that books are epitaphs for life, therefore, all information in books must be accurate and must ensure scientific and political qualities; the layout must be tight, the title must be concise but must contain the content that needs to be conveyed; when editing, we must be careful in every sentence, every word, always focus on training the pen to have "a dignified and clear writing style; tight and clear arguments; sharp, accurate and highly convincing evidence"... Therefore, after each book, I often learn a lot of things, such as I learn a lot of knowledge in the book; I learn the General Secretary's thinking about making books; I learn the General Secretary's way of editing and titling articles, about meticulousness in work, about political sensitivity in making books and writing articles. I also learn from the General Secretary about ethics, interpersonal relationships, caring for people, loving subordinates; about the simple, standard lifestyle, deep and thorough thinking; about the self-study of the General Secretary when holding the highest positions in the Party and State.

Deep concern, affection

-As someone who directly participated in making many books of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for many years, can you share your feelings, memories, and most impressive and profound stories about the General Secretary?

- During the process of editing the General Secretary's books, I was fortunate to meet him many times and to receive his advice many times through his secretaries and assistants. The times we met the General Secretary directly or received his advice in making books were times that we always remembered, kept in mind, and were provisions for me to try harder and mature in my work every day. There were times when the General Secretary learned from me about book promotion, which made me be very careful in every action, to have a broad mind, to think thoroughly, and to think before and after. Every time I met the General Secretary, I learned many things from him. And every time a book was released to readers, I learned more experience.

I still remember, after a 5-year hiatus, I fulfilled my duty as a woman, not participating in editing your book manuscript. In February 2010, in his capacity as Chairman of the National Assembly, he visited and wished Happy New Year to the Truth National Political Publishing House. Surprisingly, when he went down to the hall, shaking hands with each cadre, civil servant and worker, he still recognized me and kindly asked about my children, asked if I had bought a house yet, if my husband had moved to Hanoi yet? (The thing is, at the end of 2004, I was assigned to edit your book manuscript, at that time, you were a member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. At that time, I had just gotten married, was pregnant with my first child, still had to rent a house and raise my siblings, my husband was working in the South, facing many economic difficulties). I was deeply touched by the greetings of a key leader of the Party and State, still caring about a very ordinary female editor after a period of not directly editing his book manuscript.

One thing that was also very memorable for me while editing the book"Building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity", for the article “Determined to revive and successfully build an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity". This is a very famous speech by the General Secretary giving comprehensive instructions on Vietnamese cultural issues, which has been published in newspapers and magazines since November 2021, but there is one sentence:"Culture lights the way for the nation to go."This saying is very familiar to many people, the press also mentioned it many times and everyone thought that it was President Ho Chi Minh's saying. But for a long time, we searched in President Ho Chi Minh's works but there was no such saying. Some people said that the saying was by General Secretary Truong Chinh but there was no source. But when it was printed in the General Secretary's book, and it was said by the General Secretary, we had to find the source of that saying. It took me almost a week to look up all the works of President Ho Chi Minh and General Secretary Truong Chinh but there was none. I re-read 10 volumesHo Chi Minh - biographical chronicleI don't see this sentence either. But through the setHo Chi Minh - biographical chronicle, I learned that President Ho Chi Minh attended the first National Cultural Conference in 1946. I read the newspaper again.National Salvationand found this saying. But the original saying of Uncle Ho is: "Culture must light the way for the nation to go".

I added the textRightto that sentence in this book. Just one word added completely changed the nature of that sentence. When presenting the manuscript, the General Secretary was surprised by my correction and asked me to explain why I added it. I fully reported to the General Secretary through my secretary the process of my painstaking research, and asked to footnote that sentence as follows:“Speech by President Ho Chi Minh at the First National Cultural Conference, November 24, 1946. See Cuu Quoc newspaper No. 416, November 25, 1946 (BT)”He agreed to correct it and said: “Publishing requires such meticulousness and precision.” And since then, in all of our publishing house’s books, we have corrected this sentence.

There are many more words of advice from the General Secretary to us during the process of editing and publishing his book. Each word of advice from him is very meaningful to me, so that I can try to do my job better.

intellectual height

- Through participating in writing and editing books, can you share your assessment and comments on General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong?

- Through the books that I have participated in editing and carefully reading the entire system of articles of the General Secretary in all fields, it can be affirmed that:

One is,General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a sharp-witted personality, full of courage, with a scientific and dialectical mindset, surpassing conventional thinking. He always combines words with actions, with erudite theories combined with rich and lively practical activities, for the country and the people.

Reading the entire system of articles of the General Secretary from past to present, we can see that the General Secretary is an excellent theorist. His explanations in research works, articles, speeches, and interviews are very tight, with simple language, but very convincing. He has applied theory to the practice of leadership and direction of the Party; at the same time, he has drawn experiences from rich practice into theory, into policies, guidelines, and theoretical thinking of the Party, and policies and laws of the State.

The works of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that we have listed include more than 40 books, which are tight theoretical summaries in many fields, clearly demonstrating the General Secretary's mettle, viewpoints, and consistent, steadfast stance and the strategic, yet very specific thinking of an excellent theorist and leader of our Party and nation.

Second,The General Secretary is a leader who is close to the people, understands the people, and loves the people. Reading many articles and speeches, we can see that he has a deep love for the people. The General Secretary's instructions are always aimed at the peace of the people and the lives of the people. Therefore, during the General Secretary's visits and work with the grassroots, he always takes time to visit Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, people with meritorious services to the revolution, meet and listen to the people, visit ethnic minorities; encourage wounded soldiers, families of martyrs, people with meritorious services, people in difficult circumstances, meet and talk with teenagers, children, etc.

Third,The General Secretary is a very profound, courageous, and intelligent person, but also very sociable, modest, simple, and close to everyone. His pure and simple lifestyle makes us admire and respect him even more.