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Agence France-Presse

Vietnamese social media users changed their profile pictures to black on Saturday in a show of mourning for the country’s late leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, whose death was announced the previous day.
Users on Facebook, X, and Threads also posted photos and eulogies of the former Communist Party general secretary after Vietnam’s state media announced on Friday that the 80-year-old had died at a military hospital in Hanoi “due to old age and serious illness.”
Vietnam has one of the most heavily restricted media environments in the world, and citizens are often hesitant to express their views online.
“A great heart has stopped,” Hoang Quoc Ky wrote on his Facebook page after changing his cover photo to a picture of Vietnam’s national flag flying at half-mast.
“He was a bright and perfect communist, a sharp politician … who devoted his whole life for socialism and the happiness of the people,” Ky added.
“Trong was a very enthusiastic patriot in his own manner,” blogger DzungArt Nguyen wrote in a Facebook post.
“[We] acknowledge his passion … may he rest in peace.”
The profile pictures of social media accounts for Vietnamese state media agencies were also changed to black, with companies and NGOs in the country following suit.
Trong’s death was announced a day after the party said he would hand the reins of power to the country’s president and former public security minister To Lam.

At the time, the party said Trong would be focusing on treatment for an undisclosed medical condition, the first time it had addressed long-standing speculation about the ageing leader’s health.
There were no further details about Trong’s illness, and the party said it would later make “a special statement on the organisation of the funeral at the national level”.
Vietnam will hold a state funeral next week for Nguyen Phu Trong, the government said on Saturday.
State media reports said funeral events honouring Trong would be held on July 25 and 26, with flags flown at half staff and all cultural and artistic activities cancelled.
Entertainment and sporting event organisers have already suspended activities.
Trong is the first party general secretary to die in office since the death in 1986 of Le Duan, a brother-in-arms of Ho Chi Minh.
He is also the first leader to have held three consecutive mandates at the head of the party after the liberalisation of the economy in 1986.
Additional reporting by Reuters


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Vietnamese social media mourns death of ‘perfect communist’ Nguyen Phu Trong

(240719) -- HANOI, July 19, 2024 (Xinhua) -- This file photo taken on Feb. 1, 2021 shows Nguyen Phu Trong attending a press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam. Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, passed away at the age of 80, Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. (VNA via Xinhua)

Vietnamese President To Lam took over the duties of late-Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong on Friday. Photo: EPA-EFE

Vietnam’s President Lam takes over party chief duties as Trong focuses on health

President To Lam is set to take over as both the party and country’s caretaker leader. Photo: Pool via Reuters

Vietnam’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong who heads the communist party, has stepped aside indefinitely due to health reasons. Photo: AFP

Communist Party of China sends Vietnam condolences on death of leader Nguyen Phu Trong

Nguyen Phu Trong, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, has died at the age of 80, the Vietnam News Agency reported on Friday. Photo: VNA via Xinhua

Xi Jinping is seen with Trong in Hanoi in December 2023. Photo: Xinhua 

Vietnam Communist Party chief Trong, 80, dies of ‘old age, serious illness’

Soviet-educated Nguyen Phu Trong as party general secretary was the most powerful figure in Vietnam and has held the post since 2011. Photo: AP

Vietnam’s President To Lam (above) took over Trong’s duties on Thursday when the party announced ageing leader needed to focus on medical treatment. Photo: EPA-EFE

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China’s foreign ministry says Vietnam’s request to the UN “infringes upon China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights”.  Photo: Shutterstock

China says Vietnam’s request encompasses parts of the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago claimed by both Beijing and Hanoi. Photo: Reuters

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Southeast Asia

Despite restrictions on media, Vietnamese citizens were quick to express their grief in social media posts


Vietnamese social media users changed their profile pictures to black on Saturday in a show of mourning for the country’s late leader, despite media restrictions and hesitance to express emotion.


Social media

Hanoi