Vietnamese mourn late leader Nguyen Phu Trong with black profile pictures – Firstpost

A man reads a newspaper reporting the death of Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, in Hanoi on July 20, 2024.

Vietnamese social media users on Saturday changed their profile photos to black in a show of mourning for the country’s late leader Nguyen Phu Trong, whose death was announced the previous day.

Facebook, X and Threads users also posted photos and praise for the former Communist Party general secretary after Vietnam’s state media announced on Friday that the 80-year-old had died in a military hospital in Hanoi “due to old age and serious illness.”

Vietnam has one of the most restricted media environments in the world and citizens are often hesitant to express their opinions online.

“A big heart has stopped,” Hoang Quoc Ky wrote on his Facebook page after changing his cover photo to an image of Vietnam’s national flag flying at half-mast.

“He was a brilliant and perfect communist, a sharp politician… who dedicated his entire life to socialism and the happiness of the people,” Ky added.

“Trong was a very enthusiastic patriot in his own way,” blogger DzungArt Nguyen wrote in a Facebook post.

“We recognize his passion… may he rest in peace.”

Profile photos on social media accounts of Vietnamese state media agencies were also changed to black, and businesses and NGOs in the country followed suit.

Trong’s death was announced a day after the party said it would hand over the reins of power to the country’s president and former public security minister, To Lam.

At the time, the party said Trong would focus on treating an undisclosed medical condition, the first time it had addressed long-standing speculation about the elderly leader’s health.

There were no further details on Trong’s illness, and the party said it would later make “a special statement on the arrangements for the nationwide funeral.”

After arrangements for Trong’s funeral are announced, an official period of mourning will begin, with flags flying at half-mast and all cultural and artistic activities cancelled.

Organizers of sporting and entertainment events have already suspended their activities.

Trong is the first party general secretary to die in office since the 1986 death of Le Duan, a brother-in-arms of Ho Chi Minh.

He is also the first leader to have held three consecutive terms at the head of the party, following the liberalisation of the economy in 1986.

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