Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh on behalf of the President of Việt Nam attaches the designation "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" to the traditional flag of Liberation Press Agency (LPA) in a ceremony held on Sunday in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Lâm Khánh

HÀ NỘI — Vietnam News Agency on Sunday held a ceremony to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Liberation Press Agency (October 12, 1960 – October 12, 2020) and the receiving of the title “Hero of the People's Armed Forces.”

The Liberation Press Agency (LPA), the official news provider of the National Liberation Front of South Việt Nam during the resistance war against America, was merged into Vietnam News Agency (VNA) of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam after the reunification of Việt Nam in 1975.

On behalf of the Party and State’s leaders, Vice President Đặng Thị Ngọc Thịnh, bestowed the “Hero of the People's Armed Forces” title on the LPA, in appreciation of its outstanding achievements in the war.

Thịnh relayed the message of congratulations and best wishes from President and Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng to the former reporters, technicians and staff of LPA and their relatives during the special and meaningful occasion.

Vice President Thịnh appreciated the sacrifices and contributions of the soldier-journalists of the LPA during the country’s revolution efforts.

In 15 years, from 1960 to 1975, since the day LPA was founded, despite huge technical challenges and equipment shortages – not to mention the constant relocation of headquarters to evade American attacks – LPA persisted and grew in both organisational structure and workforce to ensure uninterrupted news from the frontline.

Vice President Thịnh believed that the modern-day VNA, in the spirit of the rich and glorious tradition of LPA and VNA, would continue to be a reliable and trustworthy news agency of the Vietnamese Communist Party and State.

Director-General of VNA Nguyễn Đức Lợi stressed that LPA has stood as a “witness” to a heroic chapter of the nation and of the Vietnamese people.

Even in the fiercest period of the resistance wars, no battlefields were absent of LPA reporters working tirelessly to bring the latest developments of the war, to call upon the unified strength of the entire country, and to denounce the unjustifiability of the enemy’s war, Lợi said.

During the war, VNA in the north in addition to improving infrastructure and equipment of the LPA, has also helped train reporters, technicians and deployed officers to the frontline – to the tune of 450 during 1959-1975.

The Vietnam News Agency journalists today pledged to uphold the traditions of Việt Nam’s revolution, committing themselves with utmost dedication to the profession and pioneering the field in terms of technology application, to fulfill its mission as the national press agency, Lợi remarked. — VNS