Vietnam begins 2 days of mourning for powerful party chief
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong was viewed as the nation’s most powerful leader.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
Follow topic:
HANOI – Vietnam began its two-day state funeral for Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong, whose death on July 19 signalled a new era in the nation’s political power structure.
The ceremonies, which are drawing global dignitaries including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Hanoi, began early in the morning of July 25 with hundreds of Vietnamese lining up at a funeral hall to pay respects to Mr Trong
Entertainment events, from concerts to movies, have been cancelled for two days as Vietnamese expressed sorrow in online
The Hanoi funeral is being broadcast live across the nation, with Ho Chi Minh City and provinces holding mourning ceremonies.
Mr Trong was viewed as the nation’s most powerful leader, whose legacy includes overseeing Vietnam’s emergence as a global electronics supplier and spearheading an years-long anti-corruption campaign that snared top officials and business leaders.
Only a day before his death, the party’s Politburo tapped President To Lam to become the interim leader due to Mr Trong’s failing health.
Security has been heightened across the country, with soldiers patrolling areas deemed sensitive, from the nation’s commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City to the capital Hanoi.
Mr Trong will be buried in the afternoon of July 26 in Hanoi’s Mai Dich Cemetery, the resting place of military heroes, scientists, politburo members and late party chiefs Le Kha Phieu and Le Duan. BLOOMBERG
