Liberation Day celebrated

Thua Thien Hue — A meeting was held yesterday to mark the 35th anniversary of the liberation of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue, on March 26, 1975. Addressing the meeting, Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Ngoc Thien said local residents were proud to be living in one of the three localities to "hold high the flag for national salvation against US aggressors".
"During the struggle for national independence and reunification, the province saw more than 18,000 combatants lose their lives, while 11,000 others were maimed and more than 6,000 officers and Party members imprisoned while tens of thousands of ordinary citizens killed," said Thien.
Thirty-five years after its liberation, the province has recorded rapid and comprehensive economic growth. In 2009, budget collection topped VND 2.7 trillion (US$ 1.5 million) while per capita GDP reached an average of $1,000.
Thien said one of the province's main tasks for this year was to further restructure its economy, aiming for industry to account for 37.5 per cent of the economy, the services sector accounting for 45.5 per cent and agriculture providing 17 per cent.
"We expect Thua Thien-Hue to become a city under the direct management of the central government during the next few years," he said.
Addressing the meeting, Minister of Defence Phung Quang Thanh said he was full of praise for the great contributions of the province's people and army during the war and the achievements gained by the people during the past 35 years.
"In the last 35 years, you have successfully carried out the two important tasks of national construction and defence," said Thanh.
He asked the province to uphold the tradition of solidarity to achieve more successes in various areas, including economics and national security, as well as in turning the province into a centre for economics, culture, health, education and training.
Celebrations to mark the 35th liberation anniversary were also held in Da Nang City, where a meeting drew the participation of many senior Party and Government officials.
Earlier on Thursday, an exhibition titled "Da Nang 2010 – new development period" was inaugurated.
Addressing the opening ceremony, Phung Tan Viet, vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee, said the citizens of Da Nang should be proud of the city's achievements during the past 35 years.
"Da Nang has been recognised as a socio-economic centre for the central region, including the Central Highlands," he said.
"It holds a very important position at the end of the East-West Corridor – a prime inter-section in the region and internationally.
"Da Nang has adopted special preferential policies to attract more investment to the city and encourage different economic sectors to contribute to the city's economic development.
Viet said the exhibition provided a good opportunity for Da Nang businesspeople to seek partners from nearby provinces or from abroad.
"It is also a good occasion to introduce the city's potentials to the outsiders, including tourists," he said.
More than 50 pavilions from Japan, Australia, South Africa, Thailand, Laos and other countries are displaying their products at the show, which features a special pavilion from the off-shore island district of Hoang Sa (Paracel). The exhibition will close next Monday.
To mark the occasion, the municipal People's Committee also launched a patriotic movement to call on the city's population to help achieve the socio-economic targets set for 2010, to fulfil the five-year plan for the 2006-10 period and welcome the 11th National Party Congress, which is schedule for January 2011.
Tran Van Minh, chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee, said the movement would last until the end of 2010.