Farewell To Nguyen Trong From Vietnamese Citizens Ahead Of The Cemetery

Nguyen Phu Trong (80) leader of the ruling Communist Party / PHOTO via Wikimedia Commons / Presidential Executive Office of Russia

JAKARTA - Vietnam started a state funeral ceremony for two days to say their final farewell to Nguyen Phu Trong (80), the leader of the ruling Communist Party who died a week ago.

Amid tight security, hundreds of people took to the streets in Hanoi around funeral homes in the city center and went to his family's home outside the capital to pay their last respects to the Southeast Asian nation's most powerful man.

State officials and foreign officials, including EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Cuban National Assembly President Esteban Lazo Hernandez, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck Soo, former Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, Australian Senate President Sue Lines, were seen attending funerals.

Other foreign officials, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China's main political adviser Wang Huning, and Indian security adviser Ajit Doval are also expected to be in Hanoi during or after the funeral to say goodbye to Trong.

"My deepest condolences to my late Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong, an extraordinary leader, a member of a steadfast communist party, a brilliant example in continuing to study and follow Ho Chi Minh's ideology," wrote Vietnam's President To Lam, who temporarily took over from Trong's duties., in the funeral book reported by Reuters, Thursday, July 25.

Public entertainment is not allowed and flags in offices and other public places are flown by half a pole during the two-day period.

"He devoted his life to the people and the country, and I thank him for that and want to say a good thank you to him," said Hanoi resident Nguyen Thi Minh Thu, 68, while he was queuing in front of the funeral home.

Cuba and Laos, friends of communist Vietnam, also held state funerals for the Vietnamese leader.

During Trong's tenure as party chairman, Vietnam recorded an average annual economic growth of 5.7 percent, one of the fastest in Asia.

In 2017, he launched what many people see as a crackdown on Chinese-style corruption, known as a burning butt.

Hundreds of senior officials were investigated for corruption and many were forced to resign, including cabinet ministers, a parliamentary chairman, and two state presidents.

Trong also led Vietnam to improve its ties to global powers, including the United States and China, as part of "bamboo diplomacy", as the country tries to address rising global disputes and maintain economic growth.