As the US Congress prepares its working agenda after summer recess, including the consideration of an approval of permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status for Vietnam, several forces lacking goodwill towards Vietnam made slanderous allegations against the country.

In a letter to the education sector on the new school year, State President Nguyen Minh Triet has asked all teachers and students to “teach, study and hold exams in an honest manner” so as to equip students with basic knowledge before they enter a new phase of life.

Our Party always considers ethnic issues and ethnic unity a strategic, fundamental and long-term concern of our revolution. All ethnic groups in Vietnam are united and treated equally. They respect and help each other to advance, successfully implement the national industrialisation and modernisation process and build and defend the socialist country.

The past sixty years has seen important milestones and greatly impacted on the life, way of thinking and sentiments of Vietnamese people, particularly the peasant class.

Recently, Vietnam-Laos friendly relations have seen strong development steps and have been strengthened and promoted at various levels and in various forms. The two sides have made regular contacts between leaders of the two Parties to reach unanimity and worked out orientations for further development of the special traditional friendship, solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) radio launched a new feature called “Voice of Vietnamese people” in August. In its recent broadcasts, it presented what it called “opinions from Vietnamese” who demand reconsideration of Vietnam’s national flag (known as the red flag with a five-pointed gold star in the center).

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders released a statement on August 22 alleging that the Vietnamese Government has oppressed dissident journalists and stopped them launching an independent newspaper. The organisation even demanded that Vietnam allow private publications to promote people’s rights to freedom of speech and press.

The visit to China by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nong Duc Manh is a vivid manifestation continuing China-Vietnam cooperative relations, in keeping with the common interests and aspirations of the two peoples.

These days, the entire Party, people and army are jubilantly celebrating the 61st anniversary of the August 1945 Revolution which put an end to almost 100 years of French colonial domination and five years of Japanese fascist occupation and established the first democratic republic state in the history of Vietnam, as well as Southeast Asia.

In recent times, hostile forces have alleged that there is no religious freedom in Vietnam. But the reality is that Party and State policies on religion and personal beliefs show that people’s rights to religious freedom are always respected in Vietnam.