Showing his respect for the Party leader, Nguyễn Hữu Thịnh, Deputy Head of the Mekong Delta province's Party Committee's Commission for Information and Education, described Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng as a thoughtful and visionary leader with both outstanding theoretical thinking and scientific leadership method, who always realised his words and led a life of simplicity and remained close to colleagues and people.

Thịnh recalled Party General Secretary Trọng's sayings that in order to be a Party member or official, one must first be a genuine person, a person who knows how to respect integrity and their own honour, because honour is the most noble thing in the world.

At the first meeting of the Government in the 2021-2026 tenure, the Party leader underlined that honour, not money, is the most sacred and noblest thing, Thịnh noted.

Meanwhile, Lê Quốc Cường, Director of the An Giang Department of Information and Communications, said that throughout his whole life and career, Party General Secretary Trọng always showed the best qualities of a true communist, shining with revolutionary ethics, being an exemplary leader with wisdom and simplicity, who devoted his life to the revolutionary cause of the Party. He was a respected leader of the Vietnamese people, Cường said.

“The Party General Secretary's passing away is a huge loss for the Party and the country, leaving endless grief among people of all walks of life. The ideas, opinions, leadership style, and ethics left by the leader will continue to be researched, studied, thoroughly grasped, and further promoted, especially in the work of Party building and rectification,” the official said.

As he learnt of the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Ngô Ngọc Chuẩn, a young reporter from An Giang Newspaper, was greatly saddened.

He recalled his memories of the Party chief's visit to An Giang in 2018, during which the leader presented the Party Organisation and people of An Giang with four verses: “An Giang to always do once having said/ To arrive once departing, to reach consent once discussing/ To do best once deciding/ Homeland awaiting, Party longing, people expecting.”

The verses showed the Party leader's sentiments towards An Giang, the homeland of State President Tôn Đức Thắng, a pioneering locality in the cause of national reform and construction, said the reporter.

To the expectations of the leader, An Giang had gained positive achievements in socio-economic development, continuously improving the living conditions of locals, he noted.

Like other people across the country, those of Diễn Bích Commune, Diễn Châu District of central Nghệ An Province, have shown their great grief at the leader's passing away, and conducted practical activities to express their respect for the leader.

Right from July 19 at noon, locals in Quyết Thắng Village of Diễn Bích cancelled all of their cultural, sports, and entertainment activities to mourn the leader. Many families have got their national flags ready to fly half-mast to pay the last farewell to their beloved leader.

Nguyễn Đình Tân, a local, said that after hearing of the Party chief's passing away, he and other villagers have been very sad.

"This is a great loss to the whole Party and State," he said, affirming that the foundation laid by the leader and the achievements that the country had gained under his leadership in the past decades would remain as evidence of the solidarity, unity, and strength of the Party.

“I am always confident in the Party's leadership and our solidarity to fulfil all targets set at the 13th National Party Congress,” stated Tân.

Hồ Văn Giáo, also from Quyết Thắng, could not help showing his sadness. "Although death is a rule that no one can resist, it still leaves great grief," he said, expressing his hope that the Party will have more members who are excellent, brave, exemplary, and talented like General Secretary Trọng.

Dương Văn Bé, a Party member from Cái Răng District, the Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ, and former Director of the Cần Thơ Social Security Office, expressed his deep emotions, saying that he was shocked and saddened upon hearing the news of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng's passing away. He felt profound sorrow at the loss of a talented and moral leader of the country.

According to Bé, over the nearly three terms as the head of the Party, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng made significant contributions to the Party building and national development cause. Notably, his efforts in Party building and rectification, as well as promoting the study and following President Hồ Chí Minh's ideology, morality, and lifestyle, have proved effective, achieving many important results.

Particularly, the corruption fight initiated and directly led by the Party leader, with the principle of "no off-limits zones" has been very effective, and greatly trusted by the people and local Party organisations, Bé said.

Under the leadership of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Vietnam has advanced to new heights in all aspects of politics, economics, culture, society, and national security - defence, affirming its national status in the Southeast Asian region and on the international stage.

The qualities, ethics, and talent of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, especially his spirit of serving the nation and the people throughout his tenure, proved that he was indeed an outstanding disciple of President Hồ Chí Minh, Bé said, expressing his belief that the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, the National Assembly, and the Government would continue to stay united and steadfastly overcome difficulties to move the country forward.

Officials, party members, and many people in the northern province of Hải Dương are also deeply saddened at the passing away of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Nguyễn Minh Thắng, permanent committee member and head of the Commission of Information and Education of the Chí Linh Municipal Party Commitee, said: "Over the years, through media, I have followed and recorded speeches and words of the General Secretary at conferences and during his meetings with voters. I have felt the closeness and empathy of the Party leader towards officials and people from all walks of life."

He said that he had thoroughly studied the General Secretary's books on the fight against corruption and other negative phenomena; building a clean and strong Party and political system; and developing a comprehensive, modern Vietnamese foreign policy imbued with "Vietnamese bamboo" characters, among other works.

"Together with the Commission of Information and Education of the municipal Party Committee, we have disseminated the contents of these books to officials, party members, and the people of Chí Linh City in a timely way," Thắng added.

"I am very impressed by the General Secretary's words: 'A person only lives once; one must live in a meaningful way, so as not to feel regretful and remorseful for petty, shameful, and unscrupulous actions. What good is having a lot of money when you can't take it with you when you die? Honour is the most sacred and noble thing."

Thắng stressed that the statement reflects the qualities of a revolutionary soldier and a model figure of pure ethics in the Party building and rectification process and the fight against corruption and other negative phenomena.