Vitality of patriotic emulation movement

Decree No. 195-SL dated June 1, 1948 on the establishment of the "Central Patriotic Emulation Movement Committee", signed by President Ho (documentary photo)

After the victory in the fall and winter of 1947, the Vietnamese army grew stronger and developed, the French suffered a heavy defeat and no longer had the illusion of a quick victory as they had declared. Knowing that the resistance war was still full of hardships and needed good long-term mental and material preparation, on June 11, 1948, President Ho Chi Minh issued an "Appeal for Patriotic Emulation".

With about 400 words, concise and easy to understand, President Ho Chi Minh started by asking the question: "What is the purpose of patriotic emulation?", then he immediately answered: "To destroy hunger. To destroy ignorance. To destroy foreign invaders...".

In June 1948, Vietnam had only gained independence for 3 years, also after a year and a half of our people's resistance war, the central headquarters had withdrawn to Viet Bac, the big cities and urban areas were still in the enemy's temporarily occupied areas.

As the supreme commander, President Ho realized that at that time, the people's lives in the liberated areas were still poor. The people did not have enough food and warm clothes, so how could they have enough food to feed the army to fight the enemy? Therefore, he put the eradication of hunger first, then the eradication of ignorance and foreign invaders. His concept was: "An ignorant nation will be a weak nation", "A well-fed nation will have a strong army, the army will have enough food to fight and kill the enemy".

He proposed a competitive measure: "Every Vietnamese citizen, regardless of age, young, male or female; regardless of rich or poor, big or small, must become a fighter on a front: military, economic, political, cultural. Carry out a slogan: All people's resistance,/All-round resistance./In the Patriotic Emulation, we: Both resist,/And build the nation."

As the President, he did not issue an order but a heartfelt, earnest appeal from a citizen to the country. He used the word "I beg" which sounded very close and emotional: "To achieve that good result, I beg: The elders compete to urge their children and grandchildren to enthusiastically participate in all work;/The children compete to study and help adults;/The rich people compete to expand their businesses;/The workers and farmers compete to produce;/The intellectuals and professionals compete to compose and invent;/The government employees compete to work wholeheartedly and serve the people;/The soldiers and militia compete to kill many enemies and capture many guns./In short, everyone competes, everyone participates in the resistance war and nation building".

Responding to that call, the whole country has launched a widespread and comprehensive patriotic emulation movement. Many typical examples have appeared everywhere.

On the front lines, there were many examples of heroic sacrifices, saving ammunition, and capturing enemy guns to make achievements. Many heroes and emulation soldiers of the whole army were honored and rewarded by President Ho. In the rear, the liberated areas, people increased production, fought for good rice to pay taxes to feed the army... Scientists, doctors, engineers, artists also brought their talents and intelligence to serve the resistance. Typical examples include engineer Tran Dai Nghia, doctor Dang Van Ngu, tank heroes Cu Chinh Lan, La Van Cau, Phan Dinh Giot... who were passed down in the countryside. All of them contributed to the Dien Bien Phu victory in 1954 that shook the world.

President Ho Chi Minh with delegates attending the First National Congress of Emulation Fighters and Exemplary Cadres, 1952 (documentary photo)

In the North, there were many emulation movements such as "Three bests" (in the army), "Coastal Waves" (in industry), "Great Wind" (in agriculture), "Two good" (in education)... When the US war escalated in the North, there were movements such as "Youth three ready", "Women three capable", "Five ton field", "Not one pound of rice missing, not one soldier missing"...

After the reunification of the country, the patriotic emulation movement was still maintained and innovated. The multi-sector economy flourished, intelligence was promoted, and production capacity was liberated. Every inch of land, every square meter of lakes and ponds was thoroughly exploited to enrich ourselves.

The country is in the period of renovation, the patriotic emulation movement has many new features. Many heroic units and heroic individuals of labor in the renovation period are appearing in all industries and localities. The whole country is competing to study and follow the example of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style, building new rural areas, building civilized, green, clean and beautiful urban areas...

On the basis of Ho Chi Minh's thought on patriotic emulation, the Party and State have issued, supplemented and perfected many policies and laws on emulation and reward work to meet the requirements of the new situation.

Over the past years, cadres, party members and people of Hai Duong have had many practical emulation movements in many fields. The movements have contributed to improving the material and spiritual life of the people; preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the homeland; firmly consolidating national defense and security and spreading and multiplying typical advanced examples in the community.

On September 30, 2020, Hai Duong successfully organized the 5th Patriotic Emulation Congress, praising and honoring typical advanced collectives and individuals representing all levels, sectors and classes of people. Hundreds of individuals and collectives in the province have been awarded medals of various ranks by the State and certificates of merit by the Prime Minister. In particular, the Party and State have conferred and posthumously awarded noble titles to 2 Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, 908 Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, 456 Independence Medals to families with many martyrs who sacrificed their lives to protect the Fatherland... Most recently, Hai Duong had 5 typical advanced collectives and individuals in studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style honored at the exhibition "Simple but noble examples".

HA LINH SONG