Ho Chi Minh's thought on patriotic emulation has great significance.

President Ho Chi Minh visited and spoke at the 4th Congress of Heroes and Emulation Fighters Against the US to Save the Country (December 30, 1966)

Ho Chi Minh's thought on patriotic emulation has great significance in directing, orienting, attracting and motivating our entire Party, people and army to unite, strive, not afraid of sacrifices and hardships, and be ready to devote all of our intelligence and strength to the cause of national liberation, national reunification and building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Whatever you do, you need to compete with each other.

73 years ago, on June 11, 1948, when the resistance war against French colonialism entered a fierce stage, President Ho Chi Minh issued a "Call for Patriotic Emulation" to mobilize human and material resources for the cause of resistance and nation building. In the call, he emphasized: "It is the duty of the Vietnamese people, regardless of whether they are scholars, farmers, workers, merchants, or soldiers, whatever they do, to compete with each other... Every Vietnamese person, regardless of age, gender, rich or poor, big or small, must become a fighter on the front lines, military, economic, political, and cultural". The purpose of patriotic emulation is to bring happiness to the people, so that "all people have enough food and clothing, all people know how to read and write, all troops have enough food and weapons to destroy foreign invaders, the whole country will be unified and completely independent".

President Ho Chi Minh also emphasized: "Emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation, those who emulate are the most patriotic". That viewpoint is the great driving force that makes the patriotic emulation movement have extremely strong spiritual strength, exist for a long time, develop continuously, and be closely associated with the development of the nation. It can be seen that President Ho Chi Minh's viewpoint of emulation is patriotism is built on the traditional foundation of the history and culture of the Vietnamese nation, which is patriotism, the indomitable will of the Vietnamese people. He took emulation as the driving force to promote patriotism, through the emulation movement to foster and enhance patriotism, making patriotism manifest in concrete actions in production and combat. On the contrary, patriotism promotes the emulation movement.

Regarding how to organize patriotic emulation movements, according to President Ho Chi Minh, "We must rely on the people's strength and spirit to bring happiness to the people"; patriotic emulation movements need to be diverse, arousing patriotism, self-awareness, creativity and strength of all classes of people in each revolutionary stage.

Regarding the motto of patriotic emulation, He pointed out: "compete, not compete" so we need to unite, be friendly and help each other to achieve high results. "Help those who are still behind and those groups who are still not able to keep up with the current high level"; emulation must be associated with the work of commendation; commendation is the result of the emulation movement; rewarding the right person, the right job, in a timely manner will motivate, educate and promote the emulation movement to develop continuously.

Along with the call for patriotic emulation, on June 1, 1948, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 195-SL on the establishment of the Central Patriotic Emulation Campaign Committee and Patriotic Emulation Campaign Committees at all levels. During the patriotic emulation movement, President Ho Chi Minh always closely followed every step of the movement. He emphasized: “Emulation must have the right leadership. Before the emulation, it is necessary to prepare fully (explaining and promoting, reviewing the plans of each group and each person). During the emulation, it is necessary to practically urge, help, and make corrections. After the emulation period, it is necessary to practically inspect, summarize, and disseminate experiences, reward exemplary people, and support those who are incompetent.”

Contribute significantly to the construction, protection and development of the country

The tractor awarded by President Ho Chi Minh to Dai Phong Cooperative (Le Thuy District, Quang Binh Province), the origin of the Dai Phong Wind emulation movement in agriculture, made the first plowing (June 1961) to the joy of the cooperative members. Photo: VNA

President Ho Chi Minh's call for patriotic emulation originated from the interests of the people, bringing prosperity, happiness and independence to the people, which is the greatest aspiration of every Vietnamese person. Therefore, the emulation movement has been widely participated and responded to by all classes of people.

Right from the first days of its launch, the movement took place vigorously, spreading throughout the country, with many specific movements: "Increase production and save", "Three responsibilities", "Three readiness", "Five volunteers"... Thanks to that, our country gradually overcame the immediate difficulties, hunger and illiteracy were gradually pushed back, initially ensuring the necessary material conditions for the resistance.

During the resistance war against French colonialism and American imperialism, many patriotic emulation movements resonated greatly, bringing about many outstanding achievements, contributing to the struggle for national liberation, such as: "Resistance rice jar" movement, "Destroy hunger, destroy illiteracy, destroy foreign invaders" movement, "Three ready" youth, "Three capable" women, "Dai Phong wind", "Duong Hai waves", "Three first flag", "Bac Ly drum"...

Entering the period of innovation, to better meet the requirements of building and protecting the country, sectors and levels have launched many large emulation movements, such as: "Good farmers in production and business", "Youth starting a business", "Repaying gratitude", "For beloved Hoang Sa and Truong Sa"... These movements play an important role in helping the whole nation successfully carry out socio-economic tasks, strengthen national defense and security, and enhance international integration.

Nowadays, many effective and practical emulation movements continue to contribute to social security and economic development such as: "The whole country joins hands to build new rural areas", the model "One commune, one product" (OCOP), the model "Building a model new rural area", the movement "The whole country joins hands for the poor, leaving no one behind", the movement "Enterprise integration and development"...

Along with the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws on emulation and rewards, Ho Chi Minh's thought on patriotic emulation has great significance in directing and orienting patriotic emulation movements and rewards; attracting and motivating the entire Party, people and army to unite, strive, regardless of sacrifice and hardship, ready to devote all their intelligence and strength to the cause of national liberation, national reunification and building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

According to VNA