Belief does not begin in loud, dramatic moments. It begins when a person decides to move forward, even when they don't know where the journey may lead. Each Lunar New Year, as the old year closes and a new one begins, Vietnamese people often pause to reflect, renewing their belief and fresh strength. Belief does not emerge naturally, it is passed down from parents to children and transformed from memory into action. “To have belief, we must build culture. When we have culture, we have ethics. When we have ethics, we have a belief”, shared Dr. Le Doan Hop, former Member of the Party Central Committee and former Minister of Information and Communications. His statement is among the key messages in VTV Special “Belief”, produced by the Thematic and Educational Programs Department of VTV and airing on the evening of February 20.
The film tells the stories of Vietnamese people both at home and abroad. Though they come from different professions and generations, they share a common thread: a belief in the core values of Vietnamese identity.
Instead of developing high-rise buildings as previously planned, the authorities in Ho Chi Minh City decided to transform the Nha Rong Wharf area into the Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space and a large-scale riverside park. The project is envisioned as a new symbol connecting the city’s past and present. These decisions were quickly translated into action. Prime land has been allocated to cultural and public spaces, with citizens as the primary beneficiaries. The site at 1 Ly Thai To was transformed into a COVID-19 Memorial Park in just three months . Numerous fenced-off plots that had been closed for decades have been opened to the public. Authorities strengthen people’s belief when they truly listen to the pulse of daily life and empathize with people’s aspirations.
Some individuals do not have Vietnamese ancestry but have chosen to stand with Vietnam, even when doing so was far from easy. In 1969, when the Vietnam War was broadcast daily on American television, 13-year-old Merle Ratner spoke out against the war in defense of the Vietnamese people’s right to live. It was neither the majority’s choice nor an easy one. Believing in Vietnam at that time meant facing opposition, isolation, and scrutiny. Yet she did not retreat. For Merle, belief was not something to voice only in safety; it was something to defend, even at personal cost. Over the decades, her belief evolved from opposition to war into a lifelong bond with Vietnam. Even in death, she chose Vietnam as her final resting place. Her belief did not dissolve into ashes, it merged with the currents of the East Sea.
From a small, modest classroom, Vietnamese culture has secured its place within academia. Vietnamese has become an official subject at Ca’Foscari University of Venice, attracting more than 100 students each year, a remarkable phenomenon.
From family altars to ancestral churches, from communal houses to the nation itself, belief becomes a continuous current. It is sown through solidarity, nurtured by democracy, safeguarded by discipline, expanded through innovation, and affirmed through development, converging at decisive moments in the nation’s journey.
