At the ceremony

At a ceremony on January 18, General Director of the State Records and AchievesDepartment of Vietnam Dang Thanh Tung handed over 19 chau ban (official administrative papers) on the establishment and exercise of the sovereigntyof the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) over theHoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, including a paper published forthe first time.

Meanwhile, Director of the Institute of Sino-Nom Studies Nguyen Tuan Cuong presenteda map named “Hoang Le Canh Hung ban do”, which depicts a golden sand beach (HoangSa archipelago) stretching out to sea, corresponding to the area from the Cua Daisea to the middle of Sa Huynh mountain in the mainland.

Other documents are the reprinted version of the map “Archipel des Paracels d'après lesallemands (1881-1883) et les travauxanglais et francais les plus récents” published in 1885 by the Servicehydrographique de la marine  (France’s navalhydrographic department); a study themed “National defence  battles by Vietnamese navy” by former chief of the GovernmentBorder Committee Tran Cong Truc; paintings on Truong Sa by Chairmanof the Da Nang Fine Arts Association; and the map “Tourane” published  by the Indochinese department of geography in 1898.

In recent years, communication campaigns on protection ofVietnam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa archipelago have attracted a great attentionand support from the people of all classes.

From 2016, the Hoang Sa district People’s Committee has received 212 exhibitsand documents with high historical and legal value from collectors, organizationsand individuals in and outside the country.

At the ceremony, the Hoang Sa district People’s Committee announced that a HoangSa library will be developed with support from many agencies and organizations. 

The reception of documents and exhibits, as well as the building  of the library aim to build a data system onHoang Sa for study, and contribute to raising public awareness of andresponsibility for protecting and asserting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelago./.VNA