Comrade Nguyen Tiem - First Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee

"Missing someone, does anyone miss me?

I miss you so much, even though we are so far apart.

Remember when we discussed fate

Remember when shouting about the debt of the country…”

Every time we read the verses in the poem "Missing You" by comrade Nguyen Tiem sent to comrade Le Viet Thuat during his days in the imperialist prison, we remember the staunch communist soldier in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, the first Secretary of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee when he was just 18 years old.

Comrade Nguyen Tiem (also known as Quang, Cat, Nhung), was born on November 10, 1912 in a patriotic Confucian family in Ha hamlet, Duong Lieu village, Nam Kim commune (now Trung Phuc Cuong commune), Nam Dan district, Nghe An province.

The ancient Duong Lieu village, the birthplace of Nguyen Tiem, is the center of Nam Kim commune, a land with a long tradition of patriotism. This is where the Third Prize Winner Nguyen Duc Dat and the First Prize Winner Nguyen Duc Quy once recruited soldiers and raised the flag of uprising; where General Cao Thang once stationed troops at Dinh Duong Lieu… during the Van Than - Can Vuong movement in the late 19th century.

Since childhood, Nguyen Tiem was an intelligent and studious boy. After being taught Chinese characters by his father and studying Vietnamese at the village school, he continued to study at the French-Vietnamese Primary School and passed the entrance exam to Vinh National School.

Born and raised in a land rich in patriotic traditions, witnessing daily the people being oppressed under the yoke of colonial and feudal rule, the enthusiastic young man Nguyen Tiem was soon enlightened and participated in patriotic activities since his school days. He enthusiastically participated in activities organized by the Phuc Viet Association.

In 1926, Nguyen Tiem joined hundreds of students in Vinh, workers and farmers, and small traders marching around the city and gathered at Diec Pagoda to attend Phan Chu Trinh's funeral. This event marked Nguyen Tiem's ​​first patriotic activity in his revolutionary career. From here, the desire to fight against the French was kindled in the soul of student Nguyen Tiem.

At the end of 1927, the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association (Youth Association) was active in Nghe An. As one of three student union members of the Hung Nam Association at the National School, Nguyen Tiem was admitted to the association by the Youth Association in Vinh. He was active and, together with two other members, formed a Youth Association sub-group at the National School Vinh.

With his efforts in activities, at the end of November 1929, comrade Nguyen Tiem was appointed as Secretary of the Nghe An General Student Association. In this position, comrade Nguyen Tiem made many important contributions. Nguyen Tiem, together with his comrades in the Party Cell, transformed the National School Student Union into the Student Association of the Indochina Communist Party, and at the same time changed the name of the General Student Association's "Hong Sinh" newspaper to "Xich Sinh" newspaper to propagate Marxism-Leninism and criticize false perceptions of communism. When the struggle movement grew stronger and required more leaflets and newspapers for propaganda, comrade Nguyen Tiem used his own money to buy equipment and set up the General Student Association's printing department.

To develop the propaganda force, Nguyen Tiem did not fear danger, going to schools in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, Ha Tinh town, Duc Tho... to enlighten students to join the revolution. With the enthusiasm and working capacity of Nguyen Tiem and his comrades in the Executive Committee of the General Student Association, the student movement in the National School had a great resonance among the workers and peasants.

During his time studying at Vinh National School, Nguyen Tiem led students in the school to demand freedom to read progressive books and newspapers, freedom to form associations, freedom to strike, freedom to study abroad, to protest against beatings, scoldings and expulsions of students... To avoid the enemy's sinister plot of carrying yellow flags, issuing surrender cards, and slandering the revolution, comrade Nguyen Tiem and comrades in the Nghe An General Student Association promptly distributed leaflets that clearly pointed out the counter-revolutionary plot, calling on students in schools to boycott the farce of Governor Ho Dac Khai's speeches. With these activities, comrade Nguyen Tiem truly immersed himself in the revolutionary mass movement.

After May 1, 1930, the revolutionary movement grew stronger and expanded to many localities in the province. Fearing Nguyen Tiem's ​​influence, on May 3, 1930, the French colonialists expelled him from the National School. From then on, Nguyen Tiem truly became a revolutionary cadre of the Party.

To strengthen the leadership of the revolutionary movement, although young, comrade Nguyen Tiem was trusted by the Central Branch of Central Vietnam to be appointed to the provisional Executive Committee of Nghe An Province in charge of propaganda work in June 1930. In the new position and task entrusted by the Party, comrade Nguyen Tiem used all his capacity, intelligence and revolutionary enthusiasm to directly lead and contribute to the victory of many struggles of the masses in localities such as Vinh, Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong... in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.

In October 1930, at the age of 18, he was elected to the position of Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee. While the revolutionary movement was developing strongly, posing many new challenges and tasks, with the experience accumulated during his time as Secretary of the General Student Association, and with the enthusiasm of youth, the young Secretary Nguyen Tiem quickly caught up with the waves of struggle of the masses.

In early 1931, in Le Nghia village (Anh Son district), Nguyen Tiem chaired a meeting of the Provincial Party Committee to assess the situation, propose policies to deal with the enemy's white terror, maintain the grassroots party organization and maintain the movement. Many leaders of the Provincial Party Committee and District Party Committee fell into the enemy's net. Comrade Nguyen Tiem had to both strengthen the organization and deal with the enemy's white terror, and find ways to solve the people's living difficulties through practical activities such as launching a movement of mutual assistance and support between localities; one village was terrorized, other villages rose up in protest; the movement of borrowing rice to relieve hunger arose in the districts; mobilized good doctors in the village to set up medical facilities; mobilized people to care for and nurture the sick...

At the end of May 1931, the Party's leadership agencies from the Central to the Regional and Provincial Party Committees were all severely attacked, many high-ranking officials of the Central Party Committee and the Central Party Committee were arrested and sacrificed one after another. In that situation, comrade Nguyen Tiem was added to the Standing Committee of the Regional Party Committee in charge of propaganda work, building and encouraging the movement, educating party members and revolutionary masses. Although he was being hunted down and the Regional Party Committee's agency was exposed, Nguyen Tiem still, together with Le Viet Thuat, stayed close to the masses and maintained the activities of the Regional Party Committee.

Having suffered from lung disease and overwork, he fell ill and was arrested while undergoing treatment. During his time in detention at the Secret Service and Vinh Prison, despite being brutally tortured while his health was failing, comrade Nguyen Tiem still maintained his communist integrity.

Unable to subdue Nguyen Tiem's ​​will and courage, in 1932 the Southern Court of Nghe An province sentenced him to death. But before the strength of the people's struggle, the Central Court had to reduce the sentence to life imprisonment and exile him to Lao Bao prison.

Continuing to be imprisoned and tortured in the wild and poisonous forest, with poor food and medicine, his illness became increasingly critical.

On October 11, 1932, he sacrificed his life at Lao Bao prison (Quang Tri) at the age of 20, leaving the Party and people with endless grief for his shining example of patriotism and revolutionary ethics of a communist who devoted his whole life to the cause of national liberation.

From a patriotic youth, growing up from the student struggle movement, comrade Nguyen Tiem became the first Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee at the age of 18. After 2 years of struggling with the people's revolutionary movement, he heroically sacrificed his life in an imperial prison. Although comrade Nguyen Tiem's ​​revolutionary activities were short, his contributions to the revolutionary movement in his homeland Nghe An were enormous, affirmed, honored, and recorded in the history of his homeland with admiration and pride by our Party and State.