VietNamNet Bridge – A live television programme linking Ha Noi and the Truong Sa archipelago in central Khanh Hoa Province will take place at 8.05pm on Friday.

Photo: VOV

The programme, themed "Our sea and islands", will be broadcast live on VTV1, VTV4 channels of the Viet Nam Television and Zing TV.

The event, the first of its kind linking the mainland and Truong Sa, aims to convey warm sentiments from people in Ha Noi and across the country towards their beloved sea and islands.

As part of the programme, the Television Magazine has also organised a campaign from May 23 to June 6 to encourage viewers nationwide to share their feelings and stories about the country's sea and islands.

Le Hong Minh, general director of the VNG Corporation, which is an organiser of the programme, said he believed the programme would help the mainlanders see the great vitality of the nation, even in its farthest and most difficult parts.

Historical documents

Meanwhile nearly 200 documents and maps affirming Viet Nam's sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos are on display in the central province of Ha Tinh.

The week-long exhibition that opened yesterday is part of the 2013 Viet Nam's Sea and Island Week.

The exhibits include documents issued by the Vietnamese feudal states from the 17th century to the early 20th century, maps published by China and Western countries from the 16th century, and three atlases published in England, Germany and the US in the 1626-1980 period, which showed Hoang Sa and Truong Sa in Viet Nam's territorial waters.

All the exhibits affirmed that Vietnamese states had long established and exercised their sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos. That was a long, continuous period recorded in historical documents of Viet Nam and foreign countries.

Also on display is a collection of sea shells taken by fishermen from Hoang Sa and Truong Sa sea area, showing vivid and significant evidence of Viet Nam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Do Quy Doan said the exhibition introduced 95 maps published by Viet Nam, Western countries and China; 102 publications published in western countries; and other documents attesting that Viet Nam had established its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa from an early stage.

The exhibition aims to raise public awareness of solidarity and responsibility among people, especially the youth, in protecting and affirming Viet Nam's sovereignty over the two archipelagos. It is also to affirm the importance of sea and islands in national construction and defence.

Source: VNS