A special art performance was held in the northern province of Hung Yen on June 30 to mark the 100th birth anniversary of the late Party chief Nguyen Van Linh.

The programme with various forms of singing and dancing and documentary images honoured the life and revolutionary career of the late leader, as well as his efforts in national construction and Doi Moi (renewal) process.

A crowd of famous singers and professional and amateur artists from central theatres and local troupes and students were participated in the event.

Nguyen Van Linh, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam from 1986 to 1991, is known as a staunch communist and reformist leader who strongly promoted the Doi Moi process in Vietnam.

Born as Nguyen Van Cuc on July 1, 1915 into a civil servant family in Hanoi, Nguyen Van Linh joined the patriotic movement at the age of 14.

After national reunification, Nguyen Van Linh served as Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. He was elected Party General Secretary at the 6th National Party Congress in December 1986, and became the first Party leader to lead and organize the implementation of the Party resolution on Doi Moi, which marked a historic turning point in Vietnam’s revolutionary cause.

Nguyen Van Linh initiated and pursued the principles of Doi Moi while keeping to the socialist orientation, maintaining and promoting the Party’s leadership and respecting and bringing into full play the people’s right to mastery as reflected in the motto “people know, people discuss, people do and people inspect.”

The Doi Moi process has reaped important achievements and created a firm foundation for the country to develop rapidly.

He and the Party Central Committee also devoted great efforts to cleaning up Party and State mechanisms, creating a flow of fresh air to society. His column “Things to be done immediately” on Nhan Dan newspaper won public approval for attacking negative phenomena in the community and creating an open and democratic social atmosphere.

Nguyen Van Linh passed away on April 28, 1998.

He was praised by both the Party and the people as a staunch and prestigious communist and an outstanding student of President Ho Chi Minh.-VNA