SUBDUED REUNIFICATION DAY EVENT
Vietnam celebrates national holiday with online celebrations
ALTHOUGH Vietnam has largely lifted a nationwide lockdown to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the nation had to celebrate its Reunification Day with drastically curtailed events on Saturday.
The holiday, held every year on April 30, commemorates the 45th anniversary of the liberation of Saigon, now called Ho Chi Minh City, which marked the end of the Vietnam War.
The ceremony began at 8am in the commercial hub in Vietnam’s south here, but missing were the large parades. According to a
Nikkei Asian Review report, many related programmes and exhibitions are being held online amid the lingering risk of coronavirus infection.
Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the chairwoman of the National Assembly, and First Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh were among the high-ranking attendees from Hanoi.
Hanoi had good reason to declare victory against the coronavirus and press ahead with the online celebrations.
Vietnam is set to decide its next leadership in January during its twice-a-decade Communist Party convention, meaning leaders have to balance economic recovery and a return to normalisation with prevention of a new outbreak.
About 6,000 people participated in the main event five years ago.
This year, Vietnamese were able to follow the activities from separate locations, such as the headquarters of the municipal Party Committee, the People’s Council and People’s Committee, and the local committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
The main locations of the celebrations are at the Reunification Hall and the Tank 390 exhibition stage at the Independence Palace, the home and workplace of South Vietnam’s president during the Vietnam War.
All activities were televised nationwide and live-streamed on digital platforms.
City leaders conducted some activities last Wednesday, such as paying tribute to fallen soldiers at cemeteries and offering incense and flowers to memorialise Ton Duc Thang, the last president of North Vietnam and the first president of the reunified country.
However, public music performances have been cancelled due to the ban on large gatherings.
The Communist Party-led country considers Reunification Day a key event, this year marking the victory of North Vietnam’s military against southern forces in 1975.
The event was previously called Liberation Day but was recently renamed Reunification Day, which political observers said was a way to help Hanoi promote a reconciliation plan as well as move closer to the United States in its diplomacy.
The holiday comes after Vietnam eased restrictions meant to stop the coronavirus outbreak.