Vietnam is holding two days of national mourning for Lao National Assembly chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane on August 10 and 11. On Monday morning, government offices and homes across Hanoi lowered their flags as a mark of respect and solidarity between Vietnam and Laos.
At 8 am, the Vietnamese national flag at the Hanoi People's Council and People's Committee headquarters was tied with a black mourning ribbon and lowered to two-thirds of the height of the flagpole.
At the same time, government agencies, offices and public institutions across Hanoi observed the flag-lowering ceremony for the two-day mourning period.
Unlike on normal days, there will be no flag-lowering ceremony at Ba Dinh Square on Monday evening. Instead, the mourning flag will remain at half-mast throughout the two-day national mourning period.
The solemn and coordinated display of mourning flags at government offices reflects the deep sorrow of the Party, State and people of Vietnam over the death of Saysomphone Phomvihane. It also reaffirms the "great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation" between Vietnam and Laos.
At the Office of the President on Ngo Quyen Street, the national flag was also tied with a black mourning ribbon and lowered to two-thirds of the flagpole in accordance with the mourning protocol.
Officials and staff at the Ministry of Industry and Trade prepared the national flag and attached a black mourning ribbon before raising it outside the ministry's headquarters on Monday morning.
The mourning flag flown above the National Assembly building commemorates Lao National Assembly chairman Saysomphone Phomvihane.
The tribute to Saysomphone Phomvihane was also observed solemnly at the Lao Embassy in Vietnam on Quang Trung Street in Hanoi.