Telegram of Congratulations from Mao Zedong et al. to the Military and Civilian People of South Vietnam on the Complete Destruction of the Puppet Regime of South Vietnam and the Liberation of Saigon (April 30, 1975)  Saigon  To His Excellency Nguyen Huu Tho, Chairman of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam;  To His Excellency Hoang Minh Giam, Chairman of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam;  Hanoi  To Comrade Ton Duc Thang, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam;  To Comrade Le Duan, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Vietnam;  To Comrade Truong Chinh, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam;  To Comrade Pham Van Dong, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam:

After a long and heroic struggle, the military and civilian people of South Vietnam have utterly destroyed the puppet regime of South Vietnam and at last liberated Saigon. This is a great victory achieved through the Vietnamese people’s and the Indochinese peoples’ steadfast, protracted armed revolutionary struggle. Upon receipt of this joyous news, the Chinese people are filled with boundless delight and high spirits. On behalf of the Communist Party of China, the Government of the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese people, we extend to you, to the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, to the Labor Party of Vietnam and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and to all the people of North and South Vietnam, our warmest congratulations and highest respect.

The heroic Vietnamese people, in the cause of their country’s independence and national liberation, have held aloft the glorious banner of “Decisive Battle, Certain Victory” raised by President Ho Chi Minh[1], persevering unyieldingly and pressing forward one after another. For decades they have waged an arduous and extraordinary struggle, successively defeating the U.S. imperialists and their lackeys in their “special war,” “localized war,” and “Vietnamization” wars, achieving one great victory after another. Following the signing of the Paris Agreement[2], under the new circumstances, the Vietnamese people launched a resolute self-defense counteroffensive against the Saigon puppet clique—backed by the U.S. government—for its acts of sabotaging the Paris Agreement, refusing to achieve national reconciliation, and brutally massacring the people. In the end, they vanquished counterrevolutionary warfare with revolutionary warfare, securing the magnificent victory of the complete liberation of South Vietnam. Your victory has ushered in a new era of Vietnam’s liberation and bears profound historical and international significance. It has greatly inspired all oppressed nations and peoples engaged in struggle, setting a shining example for the anti-imperialist revolutionary cause of the peoples of the world. The victory of the Vietnamese people once again powerfully demonstrates that the people of any nation, even a small one, in the just cause of safeguarding their country’s independence and freedom and striving for national liberation, if they dare to rise up in struggle, dare to take up arms, and wage a just war against unjust aggression—unafraid of hardship, sacrifice, or setbacks—and persevere, will surely be able to defeat any seemingly mighty enemy and attain final victory in their struggle.

China and Vietnam are close neighbors, intimately interdependent; the peoples of the two countries are comrades-in-arms and brothers who share weal and woe. The Chinese people have always regarded the Vietnamese people’s struggle as their own and their victories as their own. Throughout our long revolutionary struggles in the past, our two peoples have supported and encouraged one another. In the years ahead, the Chinese people will continue to stand firmly united with the Vietnamese people, fighting side by side. We sincerely wish the people of South Vietnam continued success in their ongoing struggle to complete the national democratic revolution, achieving ever greater victories. A new Vietnam—independent, free, unified, and prosperous—will surely be realized.  Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China  Zhu De, Member of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China  Zhou Enlai, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China  Beijing, April 30, 1975  Printed in accordance with the edition of the People’s Daily dated May 1, 1975.  Notes  [1] Ho Chi Minh, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Labor Party of Vietnam and President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. He passed away in 1969.  [2] The Paris Agreement, see note [1] on page 344 of this volume.