Telegram from Mao Zedong and Others Congratulating Ho Chi Minh on His Seventy-Fifth Birthday (May 18, 1965)

To the Esteemed Comrade Ho Chi Minh, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam:  On the occasion of your seventy-fifth birthday, we, on behalf of the Communist Party of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese people, as well as in our personal capacities, extend to you, dear Chairman, our warmest congratulations.

You are the founder and time-tested leader of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party, an outstanding veteran of the international communist movement, and the closest friend of the Chinese people. For decades, you have held high the banner of anti-imperialism and revolution, leading the Vietnamese people in a brave, tenacious, and unwavering struggle for the liberation of the motherland, achieving great victories and making brilliant achievements in the socialist construction of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Your outstanding contributions to the Vietnamese people’s revolutionary and constructive endeavors, to the international communist movement, and to the cause of world peace have earned you the respect of the Chinese people and revolutionaries throughout the world.

At present, under the wise leadership of the Vietnamese Workers’ Party and yourself, the heroic Vietnamese people are engaged in a magnificent and righteous struggle against U.S. aggression with the spirit of decisive battle and certain victory. This struggle of the Vietnamese people is not only aimed at defending Vietnam’s independence, sovereignty, and national dignity but also supports the national liberation movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as well as the revolutionary struggles of peoples everywhere. The Chinese people stand firmly with you, and all revolutionary peoples of the world stand by your side. The great Vietnamese people will surely triumph, and the wicked U.S. aggressors will surely be defeated.

Dear Chairman, we sincerely wish you good health and long life. May the Vietnamese people continue to achieve new and even greater victories in their great struggle to defend the North, liberate the South, and reunify the fatherland against U.S. aggression.

Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; Liu Shaoqi, President of the People’s Republic of China; Zhu De, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress; Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.

Printed on May 18, 1965, from the People’s Daily of May 19, 1965.