“Viet Nam would only lose its Hoang Sa (Paracel) Archipelago if its last living resident stopped thinking of it”.  This statement was made by the Chairman of the Da Nang Historical Science Association (DHSA), Mr Bui Van Tieng, at a review meeting of the History Festival in Da Nang on Sunday.  The 2-month festival was jointly organised by the DHSA, the Publicity and Training Department of the city’s Party Committee, the Hoang Sa Islands District People’s Committee, the municipal Youth Union, the Department of Education and Training, and the city’s University of Education.

The 3 first prize winners honoured at the writing contest

In the spotlight was a contest to write about the beloved Hoang Sa archipelago.  Chairman Tieng said that the contest’s organisers had received over 87,000 entries from senior and junior high school pupils and students from universities and colleges across the city.  The entrants were required to write a letter to their best friend, living at home or abroad, expressing their love for the Hoang Sa islands.  Featuring simple and vigorous words, their works were regarded as eloquent essays which strongly affirmed Viet Nam’s sacred sovereignty over the archipelago.

The 15 most outstanding letters were honoured at an awards ceremony which took place in late November.  The three first prizes in the categories of university, senior and junior high schools went to Tran Thi Kieu Trang, a student from the History Faculty of the city’s University of Education, Ho Thi Thanh Thao from Year 12 at Le Quy Don Senior High School for Gifted Students, and Hoang Ngoc Diem who is in Year 7 at the Le Thanh Ton Junior High School.

One of the first prize winners, Thao, said that she had had no opportunity to visit the Hoang Sa islands.  She always keeps in mind that the archipelago is part of the flesh and blood of Viet Nam, and that dozens of Vietnamese’s soldiers have laid down their lives for the protection of the national sovereignty over the islands.  This had inspired her to complete her touching writing in a short time.