HANOI: Thousands queued across Vietnam on Friday (Jul 26) to pay their final respects to Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the most powerful leader the country has seen in decades.
The 80-year-old, who died in a hospital in the capital Hanoi last week, led the party since 2011 and oversaw a high-profile anti-corruption drive that swept through the party, police, armed forces and business.
Thousands of people wearing black queued in Hanoi to see the leader before his burial at Mai Dich cemetery, the final resting place for many senior leaders in Vietnam, at 3pm (4pm, Singapore time) on Friday.
“I spent more than four hours queueing last night,” Tran Hoang Nguyet Mai told AFP on Friday.
“Luckily I got into the funeral house to say farewell to a leader that I really respect,” she said.
“He was the last true communist that thought of no benefits for himself and his family.”
