A touching television programme in the night of June 8 raised people's awareness of the role and strategic position of Vietnam's sea and islands as well as praised people's pride and love of the nation's sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

The bridge linked Bien Dong Park in Da Nang and Ly Son Island district, and was broadcast live on VTV1 and Youtube, and then re-broadcast on VTV4, VTV6 and VTV Da Nang.

The show gathered various artists from the National Symphony Orchestra, Japanese director Honna Tetsuji, Sol Art children's choir, violinist Bui Cong Duy, and noted singers Uyen Linh, Pham Thu Ha and Dinh Huong.

Beside live reports from the area near China's illegal Haiyang Shiyou-981 oil rig - which is operating illegally on Vietnam's special economic zone and continental shelf - the show also included interviews with fishermen who spend days at sea trying to make a living.

"Our life has always been connected to the sea. We learned how to fish from our ancestors, and will hand the career job down to the next generations," said Duong Quynh, whose family has lived and fished off Ly Son Island for 20 generations.

Elderly Nguyen Thi Duong cried as her son returned home following a fishing trip that he set off for in early May. Many Vietnamese fishermen have been beaten and robbed by Chinese people, and she is more concerned about his safe concern rather than a good catch.

The show also looked at various historical evidence proving Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands displayed at Da Nang Museum including a Sovereignty Mark set by King Gia Long in 1816 to confirm the Nguyen dynasty's reign over the Hoang Sa Islands, a Chinese atlas published in 1933 showing that China's southernmost territory ends at Hainan Island and various photos featuring Vietnamese people living on the Hoang Sa Islands.

The show featured the handing over of surveillance cameras and fresh-water filters to the Coast Guard and Fisheries Surveillance ships.-VNA