(VNF) - Nghe An province held a ceremony on December 16^th to mark the 150^th birthday of patriotic scholar Phan Boi Chau and receive the Certificate from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in recognition of the memorial site of Phan Boi Chau as a special national relic site.

The event saw the presence of Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue, leaders of Nghe An province and guests from Japan.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue visits the relic site. (photo: VGP)

Deputy PM Hue reviewed the life and career of patriotic scholar Phan Boi Chau, saying that Phan Boi Chau was a great patriot and ideologist who had left deep impressions in the history of Vietnam and in the struggle for national revival.

Phan Boi Chau was born on December 26^th, 1867 in Nam Hoa commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An province. With fellow revolutionaries he formed the Duy Tan Hoi in 1904 to send Vietnamese youth to China and Japan in order to carry out patriotic activities in Dong Du (Travelling to the East for study) movement.

He was not only a revolutionary, but also a patriotic cultural activist and the largest democracy thinker in the early twentieth century.

Hue emphasised that significant contributions of Phan Boi Chau to the Vietnam’s revolution and culture have always been recognised and preserved by younger generations, adding that the two memorial sites of Phan Boi Chau in Hue and Nghe An have been built and supplemented with documents and artifacts.

The Phan Boi Chau memorial site consist of the great patriot's tomb, exhibition house where memorabilia are displayed, reconstructed house and memorial stele of Vietnam - Japan relation donated by some kind-hearted Japanese people on 100^th death anniversary of doctor Asaba Sakitaro.

The Deputy PM also asked leaders of Nghe An province to continue preserving the relic site to educate the younger generations about the patriotism and the revolutionary tradition of Vietnam.

The Phan Boi Chau memorial site. (Source: baothuathienhue.vn)

Earlier, on December 15^th, an international seminar highlighting the historical and cultural values in patriot Phan Boi Chau’s thoughts and the special partnership between him and doctor Asaba Sakitaro, was hosted.

Scientists, researchers and scholars at the seminar presented important reports on Phan Boi Chau, the initiator of Dong Du (Travelling to the East for study) movement, his contributions to cultural exchanges between Vietnam and Japan and his friendship with doctor Asaba Sakitaro which formed a basis for Vietnam-Japan relations.

In response to the Dong Du movement, hundreds of Vietnamese students went to study in Japan in hope that they could help reform the country in return. When the movement faced difficulties in 1908, Chau received whole-hearted support from doctor Asaba Sakitaro and people in Fukuroi.

After leaving Japan, Chau continued his activities in several countries in the world. In 1918, he returned to Japan and learnt that his friend passed away nine years ago. Chau and people in Fukuroi raised funds for a memorial stele of the late doctor near his tomb.

The friendship of Sakitaro and Chau is a glamorous proof for Vietnam - Japan relation in the twentieth century./.

VNF