Vietnam’s day in London

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined diplomats, politicians and businessmen at a Vietnamese embassy reception at the London Hilton in Park Lane this week. The Vietnamese ambassador, Do Minh Hung, welcomed guests for a celebration to mark the 81st  anniversary of the August Revolution and the national day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This was followed by a musical interlude performed by pianists from Vietnam and Poland. One of the pianists, the esteemed Vietnamese virtuoso Tra Nguyen, played one of her own compositions during the piano recital, and others with Tomasz Lis,  an acclaimed London-based Polish concert pianist and chamber musician. They enthralled the audience with their interpretation of pieces by Vietnamese and European composers including Thai Thiu Lien, Chopin, Dvorak, Elgar, Mendelssohn and Mozart. It certainly was a night to remember! 

Vietnam national day in London

by New Worker correspondent

guests included Do Minh Hung and Sir Lindsay Hoyle

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined joined diplomats, politicians and businessmen at Vietnam’s National Day reception at the London Hilton in Park Lane this week. There the Vietnamese ambassador, Do Minh Hung, welcomed guests at a celebration to mark the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and the national day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the 15th anniversary of the Vietnam-UK Strategic Partnership that has helped make the country Britain’s largest trading partner in south-east Asia. The guests included Nguyen Xuan Thang, a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle as well as many others from the cultural, political and business fields of both countries.
Every autumn the Vietnamese people recall the heady days of the August 1945 General Uprising and Ho Chi Minh’s rousing call to all compatriots to “rise up and use our own strength to liberate ourselves!”
With determination and unity, the liberation army, raising the red flag with a yellow star, 
seized power from the French colonial administration. Within days, the revolutionary flame spread, and by 2nd September  President Ho Chi Minh declared the nation’s independence at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi – a moment that marked a new era of independence, hope and freedom for Vietnam. The communist-led resistance set an example of courage, responsibility, and unity that led to the total defeat of the French colonialists in 1954 and the utter rout of the American aggressors in 1975. It continues to guide Vietnam today. 

An injury to one is an injury to all!

By New Worker correspondent

Angry workers took over the lobby in the Hilton Hotel in central London on Saturday in solidarity with a member who worked there for six months and is owed hundreds of pounds after being paid illegally at well below the minimum wage. They demanded to see the hotel manager and the manager of the contract cleaning firm, and danced in foyer until the police arrived. The protest was called by the United Voices of the World (UVW), a street union founded in 2014 to represent the mainly outsourced migrant workers of London. The UVW is a members-led, campaigning trade union that supports and empowers the most vulnerable groups of precarious, low-paid and predominantly migrant workers in Britain.