Hello and welcome to VOV’s Letter Box, our weekly feature dedicated to listeners throughout the world. I’m Mai Phuong.
And I’m Ngoc Huyen. It’s great to be back again on VOV’s Letter Box.
A: This week has been a busy week for VOV as we have been busily preparing stories for our special broadcasts to celebrate Vietnam’s National Day and 45 years of carrying out President Ho Chi Minh’s will.
B: As you have heard in our broadcasts over the past few days, there have been several activities to mark Vietnam’s National Day at home and abroad. This is one of Vietnam’s major celebrations of the year. On September 2, 1945 President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
A: September 2, 1945, was a resplendent milestone in Vietnam’s thousand years of national construction and defense. The Declaration of Independence established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, affirming the freedom and independence of Vietnamese people internationally. The Declaration laid a foundation for a Vietnamese state governed by law, striving for independence, freedom, and happiness, and guiding the revolutionary cause to build a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
B: The Declaration of Independence marked the victory of the Vietnamese people’s fight against feudalism and colonialism after nearly a century. The Vietnamese, under the leadership of the Communist Party, continued the revolutionary cause to liberate the south and unify the nation in 1975.
A: On the occasion of Vietnam’s National Day, we have received a number of greetings from our listeners around the world. Gerry Newman of the UK wrote: “I wish you all the best for September 2, the National Day of Vietnam, but also want to congratulate VOV on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of the founding of the Voice of Vietnam on 7th September, 1945. I hope that the broadcasts will continue for many more years with news and so many excellent features that give listeners an insight and understanding of Vietnam, its people and culture”.
B: Thank you, Gerry, for your greetings. Yes, as we said at the beginning of our Letter Box, this week is a busy week for us. In addition to celebrating Vietnam’s National Day, we are also celebrating our founding anniversary. It has been 69 years since VOV launched its first full broadcast at 11.30 am on September 7, 1945, a historic moment that announced the birth of Radio the Voice of Vietnam. And our English Program was one of the first programs launched that day.
A: Sixty-nine years ago today a special live radio broadcast was made at Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square where President Ho Chi Minh read the Independence Declaration proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Though it was a trial broadcast, it marked the advent of Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) five days later.
President Ho Chi Minh read the Independence Declaration proclaiming the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam -now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. (Photo:Vietnamnet)
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B: August 22, 1945, was a special day for a propaganda vanguard group who were assigned to establish a national radio station under a President Ho directive. The group was led by Tran Lam, an excellent law student, who showed interest in revolutionary activity. Lam was asked to listen to foreign radio broadcasts, sort out news items and write stories and pamphlets to be distributed across Hanoi in support of the Viet Minh (Liberation Army).
A: Lam, together with Tran Kim Xuyen and Chu Van Tich – two of his friends, worked hard to prepare for the inauguration ceremony of the national radio. Nobody in the group knew exactly what a radio station was, and they basically had to start it up from nothing with their bare hands.
B: As the first National Day celebration was drawing near, Tran Lam and his colleagues decided to make a trial live broadcast at Ba Dinh Square on September 2, 1945. They asked a radio technician to create a 300w transmitter from an out-dated telegraph machine. To be safe, the group borrowed two transmitters from the Bach Mai radio signal station and installed them inside a building on No4 Dinh Le street in front of Hoan Kiem (Returned Sword) lake.
A: Tests were conducted and they proved successful. But at the last minute they were told to return the two machines to the Radio Department to prepare for the National Day celebration at Ba Dinh. The group had no choice but to use the jury-rigged 300w transmitter to broadcast President Ho’s speech. This low-capacity transmitter was set up in the Dinh Le building and broadcast President Ho’s speech live from Ba Dinh Square through an antenna installed on the rooftop of the building.
B: The successful trial broadcast inspired the group to accelerate preparations for the establishment of a national radio. In their first real broadcast on September 7, 1945, presenters read President Ho’s Independence Declaration again.
A: On the occasion of VOV’s 69th founding anniversary, we’d like to thank you, our dear listeners, for tuning in to our broadcasts and supporting us in maintaining shortwave broadcasts to listeners throughout the world. We hope to hear more from you.
B: Today, we’d like to acknowledge an email from Artur Fernandez of Spain. Artur listened to our broadcast via Moosbrunn, Austria, on August 13 at 17:00 UTC on the frequency of 9625 Khz.
A: Satoshi Nishioto of Japan reported listening to our broadcast on August 28 from 19:00 to 19:28 UTC on the frequency of 7280 khz. Nishioto wrote he particularly liked the VOV program on Thursday because he learned more about Vietnam through the Discovery Vietnam segment.
B: In an email to VOV this week, Ratan Kumar Paul reported listening to our broadcast from August 16 to 22 from 16:00 to 16:30 on the frequency of 7220 khz with SINPO rated at all 4s. Ratan wrote that he liked the Culture segment on August 22 very much. It was about sculpture art on communal houses in the Red River Delta.
A: In the US, Dale White listened to our program on August 27. He wrote: “I loved the music after the news. It was enjoyable. I really enjoyed the closing song that the lady announcer said was “My mother”.
B: Thank you all for your feedback on our broadcasts. We’ll verify your reception reports and we hope you receive our QSL cards soon. We welcome your letters at: English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye until next time.