At a ceremony on January 18, General Director of the State Records and Achieves Department of Vietnam Dang Thanh Tung handed over 19 chau ban (official administrative papers) on the establishment and exercise of the sovereignty of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945) over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, including a paper published for the first time.

Meanwhile, Director of the Institute of Sino-Nom Studies Nguyen Tuan Cuong presented a map named “Hoang Le Canh Hung ban do,” which depicts a golden sand beach (Hoang Sa archipelago) stretching out to sea, corresponding to the area from Cua Dai sea to the middle of Sa Huynh mountain in the mainland.

At the event

Other documents are the reprinted version of the map “Archipel des Paracels d'après lesallemands (1881-1883) et les travaux anglais et francais les plus récents” published in 1885 by the Service hydrographique de la marine  (France’s naval hydrographic department); a study themed “National defense  battles by Vietnamese navy” by former chief of the Government Border Committee Tran Cong Truc; paintings on Truong Sa by Chairman of the Da Nang Fine Arts Association; and the map “Tourane” published  by the Indochinese department of geography in 1898.

In recent years, communication campaigns on protection of Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa archipelago have attracted a great attention and support from the people of all classes.

From 2016, Hoang Sa district People’s Committee has received 212 exhibits and documents with high historical and legal value from collectors, organizations and individuals in and outside the country.

At the ceremony, Hoang Sa district People’s Committee announced that a Hoang Sa library will be developed with support from many agencies and organizations.

The reception of documents and exhibits, as well as the building  of the library aim to build a data system on Hoang Sa for study, and contribute to raising public awareness of and responsibility for protecting and asserting Vietnam’s sovereignty over the archipelago.