Former Director of the Da Nang Department of Home Affairs and Chairman of Hoang Sa district People’s Committee Dang Cong Ngu (first right) introduces a map affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago.
The Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago is instilled in the hearts of people who live in the central coastal city of Da Nang, particularly those who witnessed changes and development related to the archipelago. For them and all Vietnamese people, Paracel is an inseparable part of the motherland.
HISTORICAL FATE
Not until the Vietnamese Government decided to establish Hoang Sa district under Quang Nam-Da Nang province on December 11, 1982, had people living in the city shared a special sentiment for the archipelago. In the past, Hoang Sa was extremely close to the coastal city as a historical fate.
Following feudalism of the Nguyen dynasty, the Republic of France was on behalf of the An Nam State diplomatically continuing to affirm, manage and protect the country’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago, naming the city ‘Tourane’ during the 62 years of French colonialism. Da Nang made numerous contributions to establishing and enforcing Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelago, though it was in the boundary of Quang Ngai province and later of Thu Thien province, and was marked as ‘Délégation des Paracels’ on the maps of French colonists.
After French colonists were later defeated in Vietnam, though the country was still temporarily divided into two parts, the French Government proceeded to hand over Hoang Sa archipelago to the Bao Dai Government. On October 20, 1951, after the San Francisco Conference, Premier Phan Van Giao signed a secret document to suggest merging Hoang Sa and Tay Sa islands into Da Nang town. However, the suggestion was not realised until October 21, 1969 when Hoang Sa (Dinh Hai commune) was merged into Hoa Long commune, Hoa Vang district, Da Nang. The Republic of Vietnam established Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago through administrative, civil and military organisations until January 1974, after which they were defeated by the powerful Chinese army in an uneven naval battle.
After the country was unified, the Vietnamese Government officially decided to establish Hoang Sa district under Quang Nam-Da Nang province on December 11, 1982. The Resolution No. 07/1997/ND-CP dated January 23, 1997 by Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet recognised Da Nang as a central-governed city, of which Hoang Sa was a district. The city of Da Nang appointed Dang Cong Ngu as the first chairman of the Hoang Sa district People’s Committee. Ngu along with his colleagues and the residents of Da Nang dedicated themselves to fulfilling tasks confined by history for the love of the nation’s inseparable oceanic part.
HOANG SA MEMORIES
Vessels bearing the national flag still courageously headed to Hoang Sa, affirming Vietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago. (Credit: laodong.com.vn)
Throughout the history of the archipelago Da Nang was selected to govern it, located 135 nautical miles away from the coastal city. As a result, numerous witnesses of the country’s sovereignty over the archipelago came from the city of Da Nang. They had specific jobs during their time living and working on the beloved islands before 1974. For them, the love for the archipelago is not only the love for the nation’s inseparable part, but also due to their deep-rooted memories and emotions regarding the islands.
They are Tran Huu Cat, born in 1921, a meteorological worker at the Hoang Sa Meteorological Centre from 1940 to 1945 and Nguyen Van Cuc, born in 1952, another meteorological worker who visited the archipelago three times, his third and final visit was in December 1973. In the 1974 naval battle, Cuc was arrested and detained on Hainan Island for a month and then handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Hong Kong (China). Vo Nhu Dan, born in 1973, was another meteorological worker working on Hoang Sa archipelago once every three months from 1956 to 1969. Tran Huynh, born in 1933, had the same job as Dan from 1964 to 1969. There are also many other witnesses of the country’s sovereignty over the archipelago.
For them, the sacred archipelago has never been separate from the motherland and is instilled in memories from their youth. Dan recounted: “The island where I worked had four blockhouses, a shrine headed towards Da Nang, a temple, four houses, a chapel, a kitchen and a well. There were five meteorological workers and twenty soldiers on the island”. Cuc recalled that he was assigned to go to Hoang Sa to study, repair and build underground tanks containing rainwater to provide clean water for the people on the island. He went to Hoang Sa three times. The first time was in 1973, when his ship approached the island, he became aware of an overwhelming feeling deep within that he was about to step onto sacred land.
Nguyen Van Du, a soldier of the Republic of Vietnam Navy who worked on Hoang Sa, retold his account upon arriving at the archipelago: “My first impression of Hoang Sa is of the beach stretching out like a never ending sparkling carpet. Hoang Sa is surrounded by immense jade-like blue sea and far away in the west are other islands”.
Nguyen Van Duc, who arrived on the island on October 14, 1969 to be the island’s chief, recounted: “After a pig sacrifice to worship the gods, I toured the island and found it to have a cosy and comfortable atmosphere with white sandy beaches along the coast. The island had a cemetery of people who died during their mission on the island, a shrine worshipping Kannon Bodhisattva, a building in the island’s centre and the meteorological station”.
All the witnesses shared the wish of one day revisiting Hoang Sa, where they once spent their youth and which holds beautiful memories for them.
Over two months in the middle of 2014, Hoang Sa once again saw conflict as the Haiyan Shiyou 981 oil rig was placed illegally in waters under Vietnam’s sovereignty, like an arrow lodged in the sea’s chest. During those 75 days, together with compatriots nationwide and peace-lovers around the world, the people of Da Nang were sleepless, joining hands to protest the illegal acts affecting their daily work and source of income which has been handed over from their ancestors. Though their fishing vessels were rammed and sunken and their lives were continuously threatened, vessels bearing the national flag still courageously headed to Hoang Sa.
Before retiring, former Director of the Da Nang Department of Home Affairs and Chairman of Hoang Sa district People’s Committee Dang Cong Ngu sent an insistent message to his successor: “Entrusted by our ancestors and history, we must continue to claim the country’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago”. Ngu’s words are the wish of Da Nang people and millions of Vietnamese for the nation’s sacred territory, part of which has been restless in the stormy East Sea.
(NDO)
