Nguyễn Ái Quốc đã xây dựng nền móng Cách mạng Việt Nam như thế nào? | Chuyện với Thanh | Tập 8

Key Concepts

• Chuyển giao thế hệ lãnh đạo: Transition of leadership generations.
• Luận cương của Lenin: Lenin's Theses.
• Thanh niên cách mạng Đồng chí Hội: Revolutionary Youth League.
• Mascova của phương Đông: Moscow of the East (referring to Guangzhou).
• Quốc dân đảng: Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party).
• Tưởng Giới Thạch: Chiang Kai-shek.
• Tiễu trừ chủ nghĩa cộng sản: Eradication of communism.
• Nam Đàn Tứ Hổ: A group of intellectuals from Nam Đàn district.
• Liên Thành Thương Quán: A trading company that supported Vietnamese students.
• Phụ bếp: Kitchen helper/cook.
• Văn Ba: A pseudonym used by Nguyễn Ái Quốc.
• Ngũ Long: The Five Dragons (a group of Vietnamese patriots in France).
• Leopoldes: A club or organization.
• Fora: A club or organization.
• Hội nghị Vác-xai: Versailles Peace Conference.
• Nguyễn Ái Quốc: The revolutionary name of Hồ Chí Minh.
• Chính danh: Legitimacy.
• Quốc tế 3 (Quốc tế Cộng sản): The Third International (Comintern).
• Manui: Likely referring to Grigory Zinoviev, a prominent Comintern leader.
• Cách mạng tháng 10 Nga: The October Revolution in Russia.
• Quốc dân đại hội ở Tân Trào: The National Congress in Tân Trào.
• Chính phủ lâm thời: Provisional government.
• Quốc tế nông dân: Peasant International.
• Phan Bội Châu: A Vietnamese nationalist leader.
• Chu Ân Lai: Zhou Enlai.
• Lương Khải Siêu: Liang Qichao.
• Việt Nam thanh niên cách mạng đồng chí hội: Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam.
• Phạm Văn Đồng: A prominent Vietnamese revolutionary and statesman.
• Hồng Kông thất hiểm: Hong Kong: A Narrow Escape (Chinese title of a film).
• Khốn Nhi Chi: A proposed title for a film, implying a dire situation.
• Hberstam: Likely referring to David Halberstam, an American journalist and historian.
• Quốc dân Đảng truy đuổi: Pursued by the Kuomintang.
• Mascova: Moscow.
• Danburo: Likely referring to the Executive Committee of the Comintern.
• Đông Dương: Indochina.
• Đồng Thanh: A Vietnamese newspaper.
• Thân Ái: A Vietnamese newspaper.
• Nổi loạn: Rebellion.
• Phong trào xô viết Nghệ Tĩnh: The Nghệ Tĩnh Soviet movement.
• Đông Dương Cộng sản Đảng: Indochinese Communist Party.
• An Nam Cộng sản Đảng: Annamese Communist Party.
• Tân Việt: A Vietnamese political party.
• Đông Dương Cộng sản Liên đoàn: Indochinese Communist League.
• Đại hội thống nhất: Unification Congress.
• Cửu Long: Kowloon.
• Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam: Communist Party of Vietnam.
• Hillary Noland: Representative of the FEB (Far Eastern Bureau) of the Comintern.
• Đảng Cộng sản Đông Dương: Indochinese Communist Party.
• Trần Phú: The first General Secretary of the Indochinese Communist Party.
• Surete: French secret police.
• FEB (Far Eastern Bureau): Far Eastern Bureau of the Comintern.
• Đảng Cộng sản Thái: Communist Party of Thailand.
• Đảng Cộng sản Malayan: Malayan Communist Party.
• Josep Duu (Shero Fong): A Comintern operative.
• Nhà tù Victoria: Victoria Prison.
• Dẫn độ: Extradition.
• Triều đình nhà Nguyễn: The Nguyễn Dynasty court.

The Revolutionary Journey of Nguyễn Ái Quốc: From Paris to Hong Kong and Beyond

This summary details the early revolutionary activities and ideological development of Nguyễn Ái Quốc (later Hồ Chí Minh), focusing on his formative years and the strategic steps he took to advance the cause of Vietnamese independence.

Early Influences and Departure from Vietnam

The narrative begins by referencing a previous lesson on the "spectacular generational handover of leadership" in the Vietnamese revolutionary movement in Paris and Indochina. The pivotal moment highlighted is Nguyễn Ái Quốc's encounter with Lenin's Theses, which he declared as "the path to our liberation." This sparks a discussion about the necessity of young, revolutionary-minded individuals for the success of a technological revolution in Vietnam, drawing a parallel to Nguyễn Ái Quốc's early spirit.

Nguyễn Ái Quốc's initial actions included establishing the Thanh niên cách mạng Đồng chí Hội (Revolutionary Youth League) and opening a special political school to train patriotic youth from Vietnam. His primary objective was national independence, with socialist revolution envisioned for a "suitable time."

The transcript then traces Nguyễn Ái Quốc's journey from Europe to Guangzhou, described as the "Moscow of the East," where he significantly contributed to the burgeoning revolutionary movement. However, this period was cut short by political turmoil, with the Quốc dân đảng (Kuomintang) and Tưởng Giới Thạch (Chiang Kai-shek) turning against communists and implementing a policy of "eradication of communism." Forced to leave, Nguyễn Ái Quốc faced immense challenges, including a lack of allies, safe havens, and trustworthy individuals. His path led him to Hong Kong, a place of both revolutionary opportunity and peril.

The Voyage and Early Self-Reliance

A student raises a point about the timing of Nguyễn Tất Thành's (Nguyễn Ái Quốc's earlier name) departure, suggesting it should be traced back to 1908 when he was expelled from the Quốc học school. The student notes that Thành was 18 at the time, the same age as them, and that this event was a "push." They liken his patriotic spirit and knowledge, nurtured by the Nam Đàn Tứ Hổ (a group of intellectuals), to a car with a full tank, ready to go, even without a clear destination.

The teacher elaborates on the period before June 1911, emphasizing the difficulty of boarding a French ship. The likely sequence of events involves walking, as direct travel might have been unsafe. While not explicitly documented, it's speculated that Thành visited Tam Kỳ, the hometown of Phan Chu Trinh, before meeting his father in An Khê, Bình Định. From there, he was likely introduced to Trương Gia Mô and the Liên Thành Thương Quán (a trading company), which probably facilitated his legal boarding of the ship.

The student questions why, if his boarding was legal, he didn't travel as a regular passenger. The teacher posits that three years of contemplation led Thành to separate from his patrons. His decision to work as a phụ bếp (kitchen helper) on the ship, though surprising today, aligns with the logic of self-reliance. Using the name Văn Ba, he committed to doing any task for the captain, with the kitchen role possibly being the only available position. Despite his low status, his comprehensive education for the era might have allowed him to impress passengers and crew.

The teacher uses this as an opportunity to advise young people against demanding high positions immediately after graduation, emphasizing the importance of building relationships and earning goodwill from seniors.

Maintaining Identity and Global Awareness

A student asks why Thành didn't adopt a Western name to facilitate communication with foreign passengers. The teacher believes Thành wanted to preserve his Vietnamese identity, and "Văn Ba" was a name that was both Vietnamese and easy for foreigners to pronounce. The teacher draws a parallel to the tech company Zalo, whose name is described as both "very Western" and "very Vietnamese," easy to remember and evocative, inspired by Hồ Chí Minh.

Expanding Horizons and Ideological Growth

After separating from Liên Thành Thương Quán, Nguyễn Tất Thành navigated life independently, learning and observing. He realized that exploitation was not limited to France but also practiced by Britain, Germany, and Belgium. He saw that suffering was widespread across Africa and Asia, and that people could be patriotic in diverse ways.

Nguyễn Tất Thành maintained contact with Phan Chu Trinh, understanding the necessity of reaching Paris, the "city of revolutions" and the "enemy's stronghold." He recognized that Vietnam's weak position required leveraging global events, particularly the end of World War I.

Upon arriving in Paris, Nguyễn Tất Thành reconnected with Phan Chu Trinh, joined the Ngũ Long (Five Dragons) group, and participated in the Fora club. This allowed him to meet prominent figures in the French Socialist Party. However, as a novice, he awaited an opportunity, which came with the Hội nghị Vác-xai (Versailles Peace Conference). He skillfully used this event to become Nguyễn Ái Quốc, inspiring the disoriented Vietnamese revolutionary movement.

To gain true influence, Nguyễn Ái Quốc needed legitimacy and organizational skills. Lenin's emergence was timely, revealing that individuals in Europe genuinely cared about colonial liberation. Invited to attend a congress, Nguyễn Ái Quốc chose the Third International (Quốc tế 3 or Quốc tế Cộng sản), catching the eye of Manui (likely Zinoviev). He then traveled to Russia to learn from Lenin and the recent October Revolution.

The Influence of Lenin and Organizational Development

The teacher explains that Lenin profoundly influenced Nguyễn Ái Quốc. On May 16, 1945, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, then known as Hồ Chí Minh, organized the Quốc dân đại hội ở Tân Trào (National Congress in Tân Trào) to prepare for the formation of a provisional government and the takeover of Hanoi. He prominently displayed Lenin's portrait, stating that Lenin had "shown him the way."

Nguyễn Ái Quốc's consistent focus on his goals allowed him to make a strong impression. He leveraged his understanding of peasant life, promoting the establishment of the Quốc tế nông dân (Peasant International) and becoming a member of its leadership.

After leveraging the Comintern to return to Guangzhou, Nguyễn Ái Quốc took over Phan Bội Châu's young followers, befriended Chinese leaders like Chu Ân Lai (Zhou Enlai) and Lương Khải Siêu (Liang Qichao), and began building a core group through training and publishing. He founded his own organization, the Việt Nam thanh niên cách mạng đồng chí hội (Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam). Among his early students in Guangzhou was Phạm Văn Đồng, who would follow him throughout his life.

The transcript highlights Nguyễn Ái Quốc's progression through various organizations: Nam Đàn Tứ Hổ, Liên Thành Thương Quán, Ngũ Long, Fora, the French Communist Party, the Comintern, and finally the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam, all contributing to his path and readiness for a significant undertaking.

The Hong Kong Ordeal and its Lessons

The narrative shifts to a critical juncture: Nguyễn Ái Quốc's arrest in Hong Kong. The teacher poses a question to the students: if they were to rename the film "Nguyễn Ái Quốc in Hong Kong," what would it be? Suggestions include "Prison Break," "The Suffering Prisoner," and "Hong Kong: A Narrow Escape." The teacher reveals the Chinese title is indeed "Hong Kong: A Narrow Escape," deeming it more appealing than the original. This leads to a critique of state-funded Vietnamese historical films, which, despite good content, lack effective marketing and fail to reach younger audiences. The teacher proposes "Khốn Nhi Chi" (A Dire Situation) as a more impactful title, suggesting this was the first time Nguyễn Ái Quốc faced true peril and learned valuable lessons, earning him the description by historian David Halberstam as someone who could "touch the cultural soul of the enemy."

A student corrects the teacher, stating that after being pursued by the Kuomintang, Nguyễn Ái Quốc fled to Europe, not back to Hong Kong. The teacher confirms that the situation in Guangzhou deteriorated rapidly. Even the Comintern representative, Borodin, had to flee. Nguyễn Ái Quốc's immediate priority was escape, leading him to Moscow in June 1927, then to France, Belgium for a conference, and Germany.

During this period, he continued building relationships, meeting Sukarno, the Nietzsche couple, and Tống Khánh Linh (Soong Ching-ling), Sun Yat-sen's widow, who would later prove crucial. However, this was not his desired path. By April 1928, Nguyễn Ái Quốc was in dire financial straits. He wrote a poignant letter to Danburo (likely the Comintern Executive Committee), describing his inability to work in France, his uselessness in Germany, and his strong desire to return to Indochina. He pleaded for financial assistance to travel back, rather than languishing in Europe. Receiving no response, he continued to wait for directives in despair.

Eventually, his superiors relented, and he was provided funds to return to Asia. In July 1928, he arrived in Thailand, where the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam had established several bases. Under the guise of the "Brotherhood Association," he traveled extensively, even to areas bordering Laos. He renamed the Vietnamese newspaper Đồng Thanh to Thân Ái and wrote poems and plays in an accessible style to awaken patriotism.

French secret police had been searching for Nguyễn Ái Quốc since his departure from Guangzhou in May 1927. They tracked him to Paris but lost him when he moved to Brussels. Throughout 1928 and 1929, they heard rumors of a mysterious Vietnamese man among overseas Vietnamese communities in Northeast Thailand and sought to identify him. On October 10, 1929, Nguyễn Ái Quốc was sentenced to death in absentia by a court in Vinh for rebellion.

The Fragmentation of the Movement and the Call for Unity

While Nguyễn Ái Quốc was active in Thailand, young comrades in Vietnam were intensely engaged, leading to internal divisions. This conflict stemmed from Nguyễn Ái Quốc's flexible policy: adhering to Marxism-Leninism internationally while prioritizing national independence as the core ideology.

Trần Văn Cung broke away to form the Indochinese Communist Party, following the Comintern's proletarian line. Hồ Tùng Mậu, Lê Hồng Sơn, and Lê Quang Đạt established the Annamese Communist Party as an affiliate of the Comintern. Members of the Tân Việt party in central Vietnam also increased their activities, renaming themselves the Indochinese Communist League to prevent members from defecting to the other two parties. This resulted in three communist parties in Vietnam, leaving the Youth League as a mere shell.

Nguyễn Ái Quốc had to intervene. He arrived in Guangzhou on May 20, 1930, and invited his comrades to meet. However, they deemed Hong Kong safer due to the British police's tolerance of foreign activities and better living conditions. On June 10, the unification congress was held in Kowloon. The congress proceeded smoothly, with Nguyễn Ái Quốc gently criticizing all sides and emphasizing the need for unity. The intense conflicts were revealed to be manifestations of personal pride. Northern factions accused the South of laziness, while the South found the North too austere. Both regions were dissatisfied with the dominance of Nghệ An comrades in leadership positions.

To resolve this, Nguyễn Ái Quốc utilized his Comintern prestige to propose dissolving all existing organizations and forming a new party, which was immediately approved. The only remaining issue was the name of the new party. Nguyễn Ái Quốc had anticipated this, dropping "Indochina" and "Annam" and reviving the term "Vietnam," thus proposing the name Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam (Communist Party of Vietnam). The rest of the congress proceeded in a spirit of unity and camaraderie, with the adoption of the party's charter and platform.

In a letter to Hillary Noland, the Comintern's Far Eastern Bureau representative, Nguyễn Ái Quốc described how the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam had blossomed into the Communist Party of Vietnam, a young but well-organized and effective entity poised for rapid progress. The party had 204 members in the North and Central regions, 51 in the South, 15 in China, and 40 in Siam.

However, the Comintern advocated for a single party in Indochina rather than separate national parties. Consequently, at the first meeting of the Central Committee in Hong Kong in October 1930, the party's name was changed to the Đảng Cộng sản Đông Dương (Indochinese Communist Party), with Trần Phú as its first General Secretary.

Repression and Internationalization

The period of 1930-1931 saw the brutal suppression of the Nghệ Tĩnh Soviet movement, led by the Communist Party, by the French colonial authorities. Key leaders like Trần Phú, Nguyễn Đức Cảnh, Nguyễn Phong Sắc, and Lê Mao were arrested and executed. Nguyễn Ái Quốc was again sentenced to death in absentia in May 1930. According to Sureté reports, by late spring 1931, over 2,000 people were executed, and 51,000 movement members were arrested, leading to the complete disintegration of the Party's leadership in Indochina.

Meanwhile, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, as the FEB representative, was actively involved in establishing communist parties across the region. He disagreed with the Comintern's emphasis on regional parties, advocating for separate national parties. He also stressed the importance of maintaining ties with the Chinese Communist Party. In a report to Noland on the 18th, Nguyễn Ái Quốc stated that the Indochinese Communist Party had connected with Singapore and sent members to operate there.

By late May 1931, Nguyễn Ái Quốc traveled to various locations in the region to help rebuild organizations in the Dutch East Indies. In Thailand, he passed through Udontani, announcing the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam. By late April, he returned to Bangkok to chair a meeting establishing the Communist Party of Thailand, electing an interim executive committee with a Vietnamese representative from Udontani. He then proceeded to Malaysia and Singapore to attend a conference that reorganized the Dutch East Indies party into the Malayan Communist Party.

The Arrest in Hong Kong

In the early 1930s, to counter the Comintern's expansion, British and French intelligence networks intensified their activities in Asia, particularly in Southeast Asia. A Comintern special envoy, Josep Duu (also known as Shero Fong), had his correspondence intercepted by French police and reported to British intelligence in British Malaya. On June 1, 1931, Duu was arrested with 16 others while operating in Singapore. Duu's notebooks and correspondence contained postcards signed with Nguyễn Ái Quốc's name and address in Hong Kong.

At 2:00 AM on June 6, 1931, at 186 Tam Kung Road, Kowloon, a police squad raided and arrested Nguyễn Ái Quốc. He was apprehended on suspicion of propagating anti-British government sentiments under the 1914 colonial ordinance prohibiting the publication of such materials. He was taken to Victoria Prison. His life was suddenly upended; all connections to his homeland were severed, and he faced the imminent threat of extradition to France and the Nguyễn Dynasty court. His future became profoundly uncertain.

Conclusion

From Moscow in Europe to the "Moscow of the East," Nguyễn Ái Quốc had built a network, unified forces, and initiated a new phase for the Vietnamese revolution. Now, his fate hung precariously, with the risk of extradition and facing a death sentence in Annam. The question remains whether he could overcome this immense crisis to continue the path of national liberation.