(VOVworld) - The smile of student Vo Thi Thang at a court of the Republic of Vietnam 46 years ago has become a symbol of revolutionary optimism. A Japanese photographer snapped her moment and named the photo “Triumphant smile”. On August 22, 2014, staunch Communist Party member Vo Thi Thang passed away. Huong Ly reports:
Vietnamese war veterans still remember Thang’s smile at the 20-year-sentence imposed by the Sai Gon regime in 1968. Without any fear, she was confident, smiled, and asked the judges: “Will your administration survive 20 years to keep me in jail?” Hoang Don Nhat Tan, former head of the Communications Department of the HCM city Youth Union, said: “Thang’s smile at a court of the Saigon regime has become a symbol of staunchness for the city’s youth. Her smile was considered by the world and the city’s youth to have uplifted the spirits in the face of the enemy.”
Inheriting the patriotic and revolutionary traditions of her home village in Ben Luc, Long An province, Thang never capitulated to the enemy’s violence. For many years, she was tortured and jailed in many prisons. Thang considered prisons a great school to train the will and spirit of a revolutionary soldier. Hero of the People’s Armed Forces Vo Thi Tam was Thang’s comrade: “Thang was a heroine. She did not say a word despite the enemy’s torture. In prisons, she was loved and respected by other inmates. They united to fight in prisons.”
From national reunification in 1975 until her retirement, Thang assumed a number of important posts in the HCM city’s Youth Union and Women’s Union, the Vietnam Women’s Union, the Party Central Committee, the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, and the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Association. Despite her busy schedule, Thang managed to visit her friends and comrades in her home province of Long An. Tran Thi Nhanh, Chairwoman of Long An province’s Inspection Committee, said:
“I’m Thang’s succeeding generation and heard a lot about her revolutionary struggle. She was a kind-hearted, graceful, but tough woman. She had a close bond with Long An. Despite her illness, she visited her friends and comrades in Long An every year.”
Her smile will forever remain a source of encouragement for Vietnamese youth, according to Do Thuy Nga, Youth Union Secretary of Saigontourist Hospitality College: “Thang’s triumphant smile motivates young people like us. It encourages us to study and work harder to become future masters of the nation.”
Thang was a prototype modern Vietnamese woman and a shining example for young persons to follow. Although Thang has passed away, her smile will remain forever a symbol of Vietnamese women’s staunchness, according to President Truong Tan Sang.