Feature: Statues reflect magnetism of Vietnam's founding father

Dozens of young women in pinkish "ao dai" holding stylized pink lotuses, the flower many people consider Vietnam's floral emblem, gracefully danced here Sunday before the newly-erected monument of Ho Chi Minh, the country's founding father and revolutionary leader.

On the sunny Sunday morning in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City, dozens of teenagers in white costumes with Vietnamese pupils' red ties also sang and dance joyfully in front of the 7.2-meter bronze monument, whose inauguration ceremony was attended by over 2,000 Vietnamese senior officials and residents, including General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.

Addressing the ceremony, Party top leader Nguyen Phu Trong said the inauguration of the monument in front of the office of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee at Nguyen Hue Square, which took place on the occasion of the 125th birthday of the Vietnamese hero of national liberalization, is an important event of political and cultural significance. "President Ho Chi Minh's contributions to the Vietnamese revolution and Vietnamese people are immense like high mountains and large seas...." He concluded that to save the country and liberalize the nation, there are no ways other than proletarian revolution, that nothing is more precious than independence and liberty, that national independence must be associated with socialism, that solidarity, solidarity, great solidarity, success, success and great success".

The monument, including a 4.5-meter statue facing the Saigon River where he boarded a French ship in the summer of 1911 starting his long journey to seek ways for national salvation, was completed after three years of design and construction, meeting all thoughts, technical and aesthetical requirements, said Le Thanh Hai, secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee. "The Uncle Ho's monument is placed in the city's administrative center which has the most solemn, beautiful, and favorable location for Vietnamese people all over the country and international friends to contemplate," Hai stated.

Vietnamese sculptor Lam Quang Noi, the monument's author, told Xinhua that he liked the statue's rubber sandals the best, because the sandals have gone down in history, reflecting Uncle Ho' s simplicity, industriousness and creativeness.

Uncle Ho designed the sandals himself and used an old tire to make them himself. The new statute represents Uncle Ho in his late 60s or early 70s standing and raising his hand in salute. "Uncle Ho's statute must manifest his nobleness, simplicity, truthfulness, gentleness, righteousness and closeness. I have never met Uncle Ho, so it was hard for me to express his look and beauty," the 66-year-old sculptor said, blossoming into a pleasant smile on his moonlike face with a wide forehead.

Before the new monument's inauguration, the statue of late President Ho Chi Minh meeting children was relocated to the Ho Chi Minh City Children's House. The new monument better reflects immense love of people in the southern Vietnam for Uncle Ho as well as his love for them, Noi said.

Besides, in festive days, local people used to offer flowers and incenses at the statue of Uncle Ho meeting children. "Offering flowers and incenses to children is not very reasonable,"said the sculptor who has so far made 50 monuments of Uncle Ho erected nationwide.

At the inauguration ceremony, a local young man named Huy Phuong said "The monument is marvelous. Nothing is more marvelous than walking in the pedestrian street (Nguyen Hue Street) while contemplating Uncle Ho's gentle smile."

Standing besides the young man is a middle-aged woman who claimed herself a Buddhist. She told Xinhua that she regards Uncle Ho as Buddha. "Uncle Ho led a very simple but very great life. He enlightened and saved not only one country and one generation but many others," the woman said with a respectful look.

Like the woman, many Vietnamese individuals as well as organizations want to see more monuments of Uncle Ho. In late April, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism held a seminar to collect suggestions about a national plan on developing monuments of late President Ho Chi Minh till 2030.

To date, 134 monuments of Uncle Ho have been erected at campuses of organizations, agencies, squares, and administrative centers of cities and provinces throughout Vietnam, the ministry said, adding that another 17 statues have been constructed in 15 foreign countries.

Over the past four years, representatives from agencies and localities, including Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Bac Ninh, where Uncle Ho paid visits to, have proposed that a total of 58 new monuments should be erected, local media reported late April.

The Ministry of Public Security last year proposed construction of 13 monuments of Uncle Ho at prisons, including Lam Thanh in Thanh Hoa Province, Ngoc Ly in Bac Giang Province, and Cam Lam in Quang Tri Province, local newspaper Kinh Te & Do Thi (Economy and Urban Affairs) quoted Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Vuong Duy Bien as saying. However, such a proposal is most likely to be rejected, another ministry official said.

At the seminar, many sculptors said that existing monuments are often too big and too high, making it difficult for people to contemplate. Besides, most of the monuments show Uncle Ho just in the position of standing and raising or waving his hand, or in half-length statues.

At the seminar, Vietnamese sculptor Luu Danh Thanh said"Why do we make statues of Uncle Ho in the position of standing all the times? Why don't we let Uncle Ho sit?"

Deputy Minister of Construction Nguyen Dinh Toan proposed that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism should organize contests to draw statues of Uncle Ho with such topics as Uncle Ho with teenagers, with farmers, with workers. Endi