The importance of Hanoi’s identity was reaffirmed today [July 1] when Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, met with constituents in the city. 

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the Communist Party of Vietnam (C), Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung (R), Major General Nguyen Quoc Duyet, and Head of the Hanoi Capital Command at the meeting. Photos: Thanh Hai

“It’s necessary to promote the tradition of Hanoians who are pompous, elegant, civilized, and heroic to make the capital city great,” the Party chief said.

For this reason, he asked the city to have cultural strategies to preserve the heritage, which are regarded as motivation for the development and responsibilities of the next generations.

The view was shared at the meeting with voters in the city's inner districts of Ba Dinh, Dong Da, and Hai Ba Trung, who gathered to be briefed on the results of the National Assembly’s 5th session, the 15th term.  

The meeting marked the participation of the Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung, Chairman of the People’s Council Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Chairwoman of the Fatherland Front – Hanoi Nguyen Lan Huong, Deputy Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Ha Minh Hai, and Lieutenant General Nguyen Hai Trung, Director of the city Public Security, Major General Nguyen Quoc Duyet, Head of the Hanoi Capital Command.

The Party chief, Hanoi leaders, and voters at the meeting.

At the meeting, voters raised other issues related to the power price hike, which they said was not timely, in addition to the increasing prices of water, tuition, and essential goods, affecting low-income families.

The voters were also concerned about the graft fight, which should be stronger to win people’s trust in the leadership. 

Vu Thi Thanh in Nga Tu So Ward, Dong Da District, said the power price hike during scorching weather caused heated discussion.

Meanwhile, the voters were also concerned about the graft fight, which should be stronger to win people’s trust in the leadership. Hoang Thanh Hong in Ba Dinh District highly appreciated the leadership’s determination to fight against corruption which ensures no exception, including high-ranking officials.

According to Phung Huy Dan in Dong Da District, to make the fight possible, it is necessary to have a reasonable remuneration policy and create favorable conditions and motivation for the staff actively engaged in anti-corruption work.

Regarding the graft fight, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung said the city had highlighted the drive by setting up a Standing Committee on Anti-Corruption. After a year of operation, it managed the proceedings of 54 cases. Of 27 new cases, two were related to land tenure, and the remaining were related to registration centers.

Dinh Tien Dung stressed the importance of prevention in the graft fight and cooperation among relevant agencies to appraise corruption cases. 

Creating artistic works and raising elegant, civilized individuals to meet the needs of sustainable development in the city's center is a task of Hanoi for more civility in society.

To date, Hanoi has developed various plans to protect and promote its rich cultural heritage to support the city's socioeconomic development.

According to Emily Nguyen, civility has higher stakes in Hanoi because it must highlight and reflect the city's millennia-old history. “The distinction of Hanoi’s elegant and civilized descendants would thereby confirm Hanoi’s continuing prominence in Vietnamese history, from the past to the present,” Nguyen said in the book titled Urban Dreams and Agrarian Renovations: Examining the and Practices of Peri-urban Land Conversion in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The words "elegant" and "distinguished" are frequently used in the city's development plans, suggesting that Hanoi's civilization must be more than just contemporary and moral; it must also be promoted.