Hello and welcome to the Letter Box, our weekly feature dedicated to listeners throughout the world. We are Mai Phuong and Phuong Khanh.
A: Welcome to the first Letter Box segment of May on VOV. We are very excited about the show today because we have just ended a long holiday to celebrate both Vietnam’s southern liberation and National Reunification Day April 30th and International Labor Day (May 1).
B: The success of the 1975 Spring General Offensive and Uprising, which culminated in the historic HCM campaign ended Vietnamese people’s anti-US war. It marked a milestone in Vietnam’s history of resisting foreign invaders.
A: The victory in 1975 ended not only 21 years of Vietnamese people’s anti-US war but also 117 years of colonialism in Vietnam. It opened a new era of independence and reunification towards socialism in Vietnam.
B: It embodied the strength of people’s warfare, the sacrifice of southerners, and the immense support of people in northern Vietnam for the southern front. With one victory after another, Vietnamese soldiers quickly moved to liberate Saigon by the end of April, 1975. At 11:30 on April 30, 1975, the victory flag was raised on the roof of Independence Palace, marking the end of 21 years of Vietnamese people’s anti-US war.
B: For Vietnamese people, this holiday is of special significance and historical relics are popular destinations on this occasion. One of them is the Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City, where visitors learn about the fall of the Saigon regime on April 30, 1975.
A: The Reunification Palace has been recognized as a special national relic for its historical and architectural values. The Reunification Palace, formerly known as Independence Palace, or Norodom Palace, is located in Nam Ky Khoi Nghia street in Ho Chi Minh city. This building, built by the French between 1868 and 1873 and named for King of Cambodia Norodom I, is surrounded by a large shady park.
B: It was rebuilt in 1962 by order of Ngo Dinh Diem, President of the Saigon regime. It was designed by Ngo Viet Thu, the first Vietnamese architect to win the Prix de Rome. The building is a perfect blend of modern architecture and traditional oriental architecture. It has the shape of the Chinese character "good luck". Covering an area of 12 hectares, it includes three main floors, two mezzanines, a basement and a terrace.
A: At 11:30 on April 30, 1975, the flag of the South Vietnam National Liberation Front floated above the roof of the palace. The building stills remains as it was 40 years ago. Tanks 843 and 390 of Vietnam People's Army, the first to enter the courtyard of the palace on April 30, 1975, are still there, intact.
B: In November 1975, the palace hosted the Political Consultative Meeting on the reunification of north and south. After this event, the palace was renamed Reunification Palace. In 1976, the palace was recognized as a special cultural historical relic. The palace receives thousands of tourists every day.
A: We hope you’ll visit Reunification Palace in Ho Chi Minh City when you visit Vietnam.
B: Let’s get back to our listeners’ letters and emails. Robina Raktar of Bangladesh listened to our broadcast on April 30 from 16:00 to 16:30 UTC on the frequency of 9550 with SINPO of all 4s. He wrote: “I really enjoyed listening to your station. The speakers did a really good job of slowing down their speech so it was more understandable. I have noticed in the past that sometimes the speakers talk very fast and it’s hard to understand them. I thought the music that played was very cool. I just wish the song would have played all the way through”.
A: Thank you for your report, Robina. We’ll send you a QSL card to confirm your report.
B: Jayanta Chakrabarty of India listened to a VOV program on April 26 from 12:00 to 12:30 UTC and reported the quality of reception was clear and sharp.
A: He wrote: “Please receive my good wishes and sincere thanks for your interesting, informative and highly entertaining program covering a wide array of subjects like politics, economy, culture, science, music and updated news and commentary”.
B: Jayanta Chakrabarty continued “VOV has remained the main source of news and information on Vietnam and the way of life of its citizens. It also happens to be the most reliable information on Asia for my family as it caters to all tastes and age groups. Please keep up the good work. We in India are enjoying the useful broadcasts of VOV. You will be pleased to know that Vietnam enjoys a good reputation and goodwill in our country and is a useful and reliable partner in India’s development”.
A: Jayanta found it interesting that “leading Vietnamese child psychologist while acknowledging the usefulness of Facebook in social connectivity for teenagers have cautioned parents on the negative social effects from overuse of Facebook. It is a very useful step being taken by authorities in Vietnam for the welfare and protection of Vietnam’s youth and should serve as a model for other countries in Asia”.
A: We continue to receive regular reports from Richard Nowak who listened to our broadcasts on the frequency of 12005 which was sometimes clear and sometimes noisy. Richard said he has received our Ban Gioc waterfall in Cao Bang QSL card. He also listened to our broadcast on 6175 khz on April 26 which had a story about weaving in Vietnam. Listening to a VOV broadcast on April 30 on the frequency of 12005, Richard rated SINPO at 55545. But on May 2, he reported no signal at 0100 UTC on 12005.
B: Thank you for your informative reports. We have forwarded them to our technicians.
A: Before we go, we’d like to acknowledge letters and emails from Toshiya Nishimura of Japan, Juc Sherak and Abdur Razzak of Bangladesh, Richard Lemke of Canada, and KP Muneer of the United Arab Emirates. We’ll send you all QSL cards to confirm your reports.
B: We welcome your feedback at: English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. 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.