Comrade Tran Van Cung, from the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement to glorious revolutions
Active in revolutionary activities from an early age, experiencing the peak of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, comrade Tran Van Cung made many contributions to later revolutionary movements. What is special is that his entire family participated in the revolution against French colonialism.
Comrade Tran Van Cung was born on May 5, 1909 in Kim Khe Trung village, Kim Nguyen commune (now Nghi Hoa commune), Nghi Loc district, Nghe An. His father was bachelor Tran Van Nang. The whole family participated in the revolution against French colonialism. His eldest brother, Tran Van Tang, joined the Tan Viet Party and was arrested and sentenced to 2 years in prison and 2 years of house arrest. His younger brothers, Tran Van Quang (General of the Vietnam People's Army) and Tran Van Banh, were also imprisoned in Buon Ma Thuot prison from 1938 to 1945.
As a child, Tran Van Cung studied at Kim Khe village school. In August 1918, he entered the fourth grade of the Franco-Vietnamese school (Cao Xuan Duc primary school, Vinh). In 1922, his older brother Tran Van Tang, a teacher at Cao Xuan Duc school, had to transfer to teach at the Franco-Vietnamese school in Yen Thanh, so Tran Van Cung followed his brother to study in the first grade in Yen Thanh. In June 1923, Tran Van Cung passed the primaire exam (equivalent to graduating from primary school today). In May 1925, Tran Van Cung passed the entrance exam to Vinh National School (Collège Vinh).

During this time, the Phuc Viet Association of patriotic intellectuals was established at Con Meo Mountain (Ben Thuy). The Association developed throughout both Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. Le Huan, a former political prisoner, was one of the founders of the Phuc Viet Association, in charge of the North Central region. His relative, Le Phuoc, was the school superintendent in Vinh, so he could easily travel and meet at Le Phuoc's house a number of elementary school teachers with progressive ideas. Tran Van Tang, Tran Van Cung's older brother, soon joined this Association.
In the years 1925-1926, the patriotic literature of Phan Boi Chau and other patriotic scholars of the previous generation were used by members of the Phuc Viet Association to propagate and educate the people about patriotism, creating favorable conditions for the people to approach the new ideological trend. Studying at Vinh National School, Tran Van Cung soon became a member of the Phuc Viet Association.
At this time in Guangzhou (China), the organization “Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association” - abbreviated as the Youth Association was established by Nguyen Ai Quoc on the basis of the core members of the organization “Tam Tam Xa”. The Youth Association had a clear purpose and purpose, strict regulations and a method of operation similar to a Party organization. Comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc took responsibility before the Communist International for building the Party organization in Vietnam. He sent people back to the country to select patriotic youth to be trained in Guangzhou so that they could later become revolutionaries.
In June 1926, Le Duy Diem was sent by the Phuc Viet Association to Guangzhou to work with the Youth organization. After attending a three-month political training course by comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc and joining the organization “Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association”, Le Duy Diem received the task of returning home to bring patriotic youth from Nghe Tinh to Guangzhou.
In November 1926, the Phuc Viet Association continued to send Tran Van Cung, Le Duy Diem and Le Tu (aka Nguyen Van Cam, from Ha Tinh) to Siam to Dang Thuc Hua's Cay Camp and from there to Guangzhou. Arriving in Guangzhou, Tran Van Cung and comrade Nguyen Luong Bang attended a 4-month training course opened by Nguyen Ai Quoc.

Taught directly by comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc, Tran Van Cung clearly saw that the Youth Association was a progressive organization and he joined the Association; at the same time, he was assigned to return home to propagate for the Association. Back home, he often traveled from one locality to another to propagate and enlighten the patriotic masses. The local mandarins and village chiefs always kept an eye on him. According to the report of Governor General of An Tinh Pham Lieu sent to the French Consul in Vinh on September 29, 1927: "Tran Van Cung often traveled to Anh Son district, My Yen, Thuy Anh, Phuong Tich villages... belonging to Van Trinh and Nghi Loc cantons" (Tran Van Cung's dossier, in French, kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum).
In order to reach a consensus in the Youth Organization and the Hung Nam Association (at this time the Phuc Viet Association had changed its name), Tran Van Cung and a number of comrades from the Phuc Viet Association, after being admitted to the Youth Association in Guangzhou and returning to the country, organized a meeting at Cua Hoi beach. At the meeting, the Youth Association comrades wanted the Hung Nam Association to join the Youth Association and take the Youth Association's principles; but the head of the Hung Nam Association at that time, Tran Mong Bach (aka Tran Dinh Thanh), did not agree. Tran Dinh Thanh wanted to keep "Hung Nam" because it was his contribution and the program of this association was moderate. The plan failed, but the Hung Nam Association from then on became the place to provide progressive youth forces for the Youth Association.
The Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association Party cell in Vinh was established, including:
Vuong Thuc Oanh - Secretary;
Nguyen Sy Sach;
Tran Van Cung (aka Quoc Anh);
Phan Ngoc Quang;
Nguyen Kim Cuong;
Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet.
In the summer of 1927, Tran Van Cung was sent to work in Guangzhou by the Youth Party Branch in Vinh. At this time, on April 12, 1927, Chiang Kai-shek betrayed Sun Yat-sen's "Pro-Russian, tolerating communism, supporting workers and peasants" and "cooperating with the communist movement" policy and staged a coup in Shanghai. The Chinese Communist Party bases were terrorized. On April 13, 1927, Li Jishen (Chiang's henchman, the governor of Guangdong province) staged a coup in Guangzhou. Tran Van Cung was arrested by Li Jishen. The Youth Headquarters in Guangzhou issued a protest newspaper and instructed the Youth Provincial Committees in the country to distribute leaflets protesting the Guangdong (China) government's arrest of Tran Van Cung. The Guangdong government had to release him after three months of detention in prison.
On December 11, 1927, the Guangzhou uprising broke out, Tran Van Cung and the Youth Association members participated in the uprising. In the summer of 1928, he returned to the country and got married. In August 1928, he and his wife went to Hanoi to do business. They pretended to do business, but in fact they moved to Hanoi to work. Tran Van Cung joined the Youth Association in Bac Ky.
The Youth Organization rented house number 5D Ham Long (Hanoi) as a secret headquarters and assigned the couple Tran Van Cung and Tran Thi Lien to take care of the agency. When they first arrived, the couple Tran Van Cung had nothing but the necessary items provided by the organization. Comrade Nguyen Phong Sac (at that time Secretary of the Hanoi Youth Provincial Committee) had more tables and chairs from home brought in and more pots and pans so that the comrades at the agency would have a place to cook. In addition to the couple Tran Van Cung, working in this agency were also: Ngo Gia Tu, Nguyen Duc Canh, Nguyen Phong Sac, Do Ngoc Du, Trinh Dinh Cuu... The comrades met many times and often focused on discussing the issue: "It is necessary to organize in Vietnam a Communist Party consisting of progressive people who are enlightened about the interests of the working class according to Marxism-Leninism to lead the revolution".
On September 28, 1928, in Hue Street (Hanoi), the Northern Revolutionary Youth Organization met with: Nguyen Danh Doi, Nguyen Phong Sac, Ngo Gia Tu, Nguyen Duc Canh, Tran Van Cung and representatives of 5 Northern provinces. There were 20 people in total. On the first evening, while discussing the agenda, secret agents were lurking. The next day, the meeting moved to Ngo Gia Tu's house in Tu Son (Bac Ninh), with the excuse of congratulating him on passing the baccalaureate exam. Through the report of the representatives of the 5 Provincial Committees, the conference determined that from the end of 1926 onwards, the Youth movement in Hanoi had spread to the provinces. But in places such as mines, factories, plantations... the Youth Party cells were still too few. Nam Dinh only had two Party cells at the Fiber Factory; Hai Phong, Cua Cam, and Cement had 3 Party cells; Quang Ninh coal mine had not yet established a Party cell; the number of workers in the Party cells was still too small...
At the conference, the Executive Committee of the Youth Union was elected and comrade Tran Van Cung was elected as Secretary. The conference advocated “proletarianization” to promote the propaganda of Marxism-Leninism among workers and to train cadres. Comrades were sent to build bases such as Nguyen Duc Canh in Hai Phong, Mai Thi Vu Trang in Nam Dinh... During this time, the struggle movement rose throughout the country, demanding a true political party of the working class.
In March 1929, the first Communist Party cell was established at No. 5D Ham Long (Hanoi) and comrade Tran Van Cung was appointed as Secretary. The cell included comrades: Nguyen Duc Canh, Ngo Gia Tu, Nguyen Phong Sac, Do Ngoc Du, Trinh Dinh Cuu, Duong Hac Dinh, Kim Ton (aka Nguyen Tuan). The cell set itself the core task of establishing the Communist Party, developing Party organizations in localities, and mobilizing active people in the Youth Association to support the policy of establishing the Communist Party.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party Cell, the Youth Congress in Bac Ky met on March 28, 1929 at Moren Plantation (Son Tay) and approved the policy of establishing the Communist Party. Comrade Tran Van Cung was the Secretary of the Youth Congress and was assigned by the Congress to be responsible for leading a delegation including Ngo Gia Tu, Duong Hac Dinh, and Nguyen Tuan to attend the Youth Congress in Hong Kong.
In 1928, the Youth Central Committee moved its office to Hong Kong after the failure of the Guangzhou uprising. Before going to Hong Kong, Tran Van Cung went to Vinh to gain the sympathy of the Central Vietnam delegates, but the Central Vietnam delegation had already left for Hong Kong. At the Youth Congress in Hong Kong in May 1929, Tran Van Cung - Head of the Northern Vietnam delegation - analyzed the subjective and objective conditions that were ripe for the establishment of a Communist Party to lead the revolutionary movement. But Lam Duc Thu, an opportunist, decided, on behalf of the Congress Chairman, not to discuss the communist organization here. The Northern Vietnam Youth delegation declared its separation from the Congress and left. Although the Conference failed, in Hong Kong, Tran Van Cung discussed with comrade Le Hong Son about the establishment of the Communist Party. Le Hong Son also agreed to the establishment of the Communist Party, but not at that time because the conditions were not yet met.
Tran Van Cung, Ngo Gia Tu, Nguyen Tuan (except Duong Hac Dinh who stayed in Hong Kong) returned to Vietnam on a Japanese ship in Cuu Long (a town in Hong Kong). Because they did not have money to buy tickets, when the three of them arrived in Hai Phong, they had to leave one person on the ship as a hostage; comrade Tran Van Cung got off the ship to find Nguyen Duc Canh for help. Comrade Nguyen Duc Canh persuaded Ms. Vinh (a midwife, a grassroots member of the revolution) to help. Ms. Vinh sold all her jewelry for 100 Indochinese silver coins and gave them all to Nguyen Duc Canh to help the group pay off the ship ticket debt.
Returning home, on June 1, 1929, the delegation from North Vietnam issued a Manifesto explaining to its members the reason for leaving the Congress and calling for: "The Communist Party must be immediately organized to lead the proletariat to make a revolution" (Predecessor Organizations of the Party. Published by the Central Party Committee. Hanoi, 1978).
On June 17, 1929, at 312 Kham Thien Street (Hanoi), the Indochinese Communist Party was established. Among the founders of this organization were comrades: Ngo Gia Tu, Nguyen Phong Sac, Nguyen Duc Canh, Trinh Dinh Cuu, Tran Van Cung... The Party's Platform and Manifesto were published. The newspaper "Hammer and Sickle", the Party's central mouthpiece, was born.

After its establishment, the Provisional Central Executive Committee sent comrades Tran Van Cung and Nguyen Phong Sac to build the Party base in Central Vietnam. Comrade Trinh Dinh Cuu was in charge of propaganda in the North; comrades Tran Tu Chinh and Ngo Gia Tu were in charge of building the Party base in the South; Do Ngoc Du was in charge of communications; Nguyen Tuan (Kim Don) was in charge of peasant mobilization.
Comrade Tran Van Cung and comrade Nguyen Phong Sac went to Nghe An to meet comrade Vo Mai (aka Quoc Hoa) to establish the Central Indochina Communist Party, with Nguyen Phong Sac as Secretary. The agency was then located in Vang village near the house of Tran Van Cung's father-in-law, Mr. Tran Khac Am.
The family of Mr. Tran Khac Am - father-in-law of comrade Tran Van Cung, always created favorable conditions for his daughter and son-in-law to participate in revolutionary activities well (Mr. Am had a son, Tran Khac Ho, who was a student at Cao Xuan Duc Primary School - Vinh from 1920 to 1926. Later, he participated in activities in Khanh Hoa and was sentenced to 9 years of hard labor by the Southern Court of Khanh Hoa province; when he was in prison, he participated in propaganda in prison, so his sentence was increased by 3 more years and he was transferred to Buon Ma Thuot).
The headquarters of the Central Region Party Committee was located in Vang village near Mr. Tran Khac Am's house, which was very convenient. The village was sparsely populated, the trees were dense, and it was located on the outskirts of Vinh city, so few people noticed it. After a while, the Central Region Party Committee office moved to De Nhat sewer, Co Dau street (now the area to the left of the Viet Duc Children's Cultural House, Vinh city).
The Central Region Party Committee established grassroots Party organizations in localities in Nghe Tinh such as Vinh, Thanh Chuong, Anh Son, Nam Dan... Outstanding members of the Youth Association who met the criteria to be communist party members were transferred to the Indochinese Communist Party. The policies and slogans of the Indochinese Communist Party were accepted and strongly responded to by the masses throughout the country.
The Indochinese Communist Party organized the distribution of leaflets in Nghe An calling on the masses to celebrate the day of protest against imperialist war (August 1, 1929). After this leaflet distribution, comrade Tran Van Cung was arrested and sentenced to death with comrade Ngo Thiem, Vuong Thuc Oanh and executed in absentia Nguyen Ai Quoc, Phan Tai, Le Duy Diem, Tran Phu (according to the Verdict dated October 14, 1929 of the Southern Court of Nghe An province). Comrade Tran Van Cung was arrested, the Central Committee sent comrade Nguyen Duc Canh and comrade Mau to assist the Central Region Party Committee.
After the Southern Court of Nghe An province retried, the sentence of comrade Tran Van Cung was reduced from death to life imprisonment and exile to Guam, but first to Lao Bao. During the trip on December 4, 1929, at Vinh Station there were 30 political prisoners including Tran Van Cung, Nguyen Sy Sach, Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet, Nguyen Loi, Vuong Thuc Oanh... At about 4 am in winter, wearing only thin blue clothes, 30 prisoners with shackles on their hands and feet were escorted by soldiers onto the train at Vinh Station to go to Quang Tri. As soon as the comrades boarded the train, the door of the train compartment slammed shut. The soldiers did not allow their family members to see them off, bringing gifts and cakes. Arriving at Quang Tri Station, there was a car taking the group to Lao Bao. The 83 km road to Lao Bao along Highway 9 was really deserted and steep. The car took the comrades along the cliff. The higher you go to the highlands of Huong Hoa district, the colder the air gets. At the foot of the mountains, there are only a few houses of the Van Kieu ethnic group.
In 1896, the French colonialists chose a dangerous and dangerous place in the Western Quang Tri region to build a prison to detain patriots from the Central region who opposed the French government. At Lao Bao prison, at this time, the French colonialists implemented a very harsh prison policy. This was a place bordering Laos, where the prison guards were extremely cruel.
After the Central Vietnam revolutionary movement developed strongly, terror and arrests occurred frequently. The French colonialists rebuilt Lao Bao prison. The surrounding walls were covered with large wooden panels. At that time, there were two rows of prisons A and B. The political prisoners brought from Nghe An were divided into prisons A and B. They brutally beat the newly arrived political prisoners. Immediately after that, they shaved their heads, shackled their feet, and put them in stocks. The prison guards forced the prisoners to do forced labor. If anyone was sick or slow, they were beaten. When they returned to the prison, they were not allowed to say anything, their feet had to be shackled. Before going to bed, they forced the prisoners to hold a card: "no talking".
Faced with that situation, comrade Tran Van Cung and comrade Nguyen Sy Sach discussed with fellow political prisoners a hunger strike to protest. Comrade Tran Van Cung drafted 7 demands:
Unchained
Let read books and newspapers
Return to prison in home province
Get mail home
Wear clothes sent by family
Improve diet, do not feed rotten fish
Light work is not required to do heavy work.
The comrades assigned specific tasks as follows: Comrade Nguyen Sy Sach is responsible for leading Labor B, Comrade Tran Van Cung is responsible for leading Labor A.
The comrades informed each other by passing banana peels with the words: "Stop sucking the card, don't go to work, go on hunger strike, fight to force them to give in."
At noon on December 19, 1929, it was time to eat but the political prisoners in prison A and prison B did not go out to eat. At 1:00 p.m., it was time to go to work but the prisoners in prison A and B did not come out, the prison warden went down to see them but the political prisoners asked to see the French police chief, Cong Bo. The police chief came to coax and threaten them but to no avail; At 3:00 p.m., Cong Bo ordered his soldiers to arrest comrades Tran Van Cung, Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet and Nguyen Kinh and lock them in solitary confinement cells. Comrade Tran Van Cung shouted loudly: "We prisoners are determined to fight to the end to demand the implementation of the 7 demands".
That afternoon, the prisoners in prisons A and B continued their hunger strike to demand the release of those arrested in solitary confinement. They had to release comrades Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet and Nguyen Kinh, but they did not release comrade Tran Van Cung, who they considered the ringleader. Cong-bo continued to turn to prison B to bribe the prisoners. Under the leadership of comrade Nguyen Sy Sach, the prisoners shouted slogans demanding the implementation of the 7 demands. Cong-bo ordered the soldiers to arrest comrade Duong Dinh Thuy (from Quynh Luu, Nghe An), Phan Nghi De (the second son of Phan Boi Chau), Nguyen Loi (from Vinh) in solitary confinement and then ordered the soldiers to arrest Nguyen Sy Sach. Comrade Nguyen Sy Sach called on the prisoners to be determined to go on a hunger strike to demand the implementation of the above-mentioned demands and used a mat to hit Cong-bo. This person used a pistol to shoot Nguyen Sy Sach and he died at 7:00 p.m. on December 19, 1929.
The prisoners continued their hunger strike until the sixth day, and the Central Vietnamese Resident had to send someone to Lao Bao to inspect. The hunger strike was temporarily suspended, but the political prisoners continued their strike without going to work until May 1, 1930; forcing the French colonialists to fulfill the above demands. This was an initial victory for the political prisoners in Lao Bao.
Regarding this event, the Central Region Apostolic Delegation in its political report for the fourth quarter of 1929 stated clearly: “A number of dangerous people had just been sentenced and were taken to Lao Bao on December 4... Tran Van Cung and Vuong Thuc Oanh were sentenced to death by the Vinh Court, converted to life imprisonment in Guyam and were taken to Lao Bao to await the day of transfer to that colony. The presence of these two political prisoners in the prison disturbed the peace of the prison. They must be considered rebels, especially Tran Van Cung, and the events that broke out in Lao Bao a few days after their arrival” (Political report for the fourth quarter of 1929 kept at the XVNT Museum).
In Lao Bao prison, comrade Tran Van Cung was considered a dangerous element by the enemy. Although detained under strict management, the comrades still organized regular Party activities and studies. They advocated strengthening the fight against the enemy, organizing an association of prisoners who hid their names and ages, and had a Party cell. The cell included Tran Van Cung, Le Sy Thuan, Nguyen Son Tra, Nguyen Tuat, and Nguyen Quynh. In the cell, there was a soldier mobilization committee, a village mobilization committee, a theoretical training committee, a group management committee, and a printing committee... Although there were few people, the committees worked with high responsibility.
After the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out, the French colonialists expanded and consolidated Lao Bao prison. They built more prisons such as prison C, D and built more tunnel E (located under the main prison). Political prisoners participated in the struggles of shouting and hunger strike to commemorate the 1st anniversary of Nguyen Sy Sach's death, participated in the struggle to be released from the tunnel in June 1932, such as: Comrade Vo Mai went on hunger strike for nearly a month, comrades Tran Van Cung, Nguyen Tuat, Tran Huong, Nguyen Lien were locked in solitary confinement for months. Through those struggles, the comrades became more mature. Prisoners from the provinces came to Lao Bao in increasing numbers. The number of political prisoners was supplemented. In response to the requirements of the new situation, the central executive committee of the prison was established. The committee was responsible for leading and organizing activities in the prison. Lao Bao prison was truly a revolutionary school.
The comrades opened national language classes to study Marxism-Leninism. Tran Van Cung specialized in lecturing on world revolutions, following the style of teaching printed in the book “The Revolutionary Path”. He lectured well, attracting listeners and as if he had a ready-made book. Especially when he lectured on the Russian October Revolution, the prisoners discussed enthusiastically about the Russian Revolution of 1905, the October Revolution of 1917, the relationship between the Russian Revolution and the Vietnamese Revolution, the Third Communist International...
Tran Van Cung's lectures were all copied by comrade Le Sy Thuan and bound into a 10cm x 7cm book for everyone to study and research. Bringing papers into the prison was a difficult task. Paper and pens were hidden in a double-bottomed tube and only the person in charge knew which tube contained the paper. The task of copying study materials was undertaken by Le Sy Thuan, Tran Huu Duc, Truong Van Linh and Co Sai.
During the time Tran Van Cung was imprisoned in Lao Bao, his wife, Tran Thi Lien, was very active in the women's organization. At the end of 1931, she was arrested and sentenced by the Southern Court of Nghe An province to 1 year in prison and 9 months of house arrest. During her time in the French colonial prison, she could not feed her baby daughter due to lack of milk. With hatred piling up, in August 1932, after being released from prison, she continued her revolutionary activities. In April 1933, she and Nguyen Thi Hong (wife of comrade Nguyen Sy Sach) went to Lao Bao prison to request to exhume comrade Nguyen Sy Sach's remains and bring them back to their hometown; but the French Resident in Quang Tri did not allow it even though the Central Region Resident had approved the request.

The two had to return. On October 8, 1935, Lien was arrested in Phu Quy while distributing leaflets. The Southern Court sentenced her to 2 years in prison and 2 years of house arrest. On July 15, 1936, she was released. At the same time, due to the strong development of our people's struggle movement and the victory of the French Popular Front in the motherland, the French colonialists in Indochina were forced to release a number of political prisoners, including comrade Tran Van Cung. Lien went to Quang Tri to pick up her husband and the two moved to Nha Trang to live.
In April 1938, Tran Van Cung and his wife returned to Vinh to live at the home of his wife's parents, Tran Khac Am (a revolutionary base in Vang village). At this time, Lien's brother had just been released from Buon Ma Thuot prison. Lien participated in building the "Women's Tailor Shop" in Vinh city. This was the economic base and place for the Party to travel. Other women contributed shares to the tailor shop such as Nguyen Thi Nhuan, Phan Thi Hao... They actively participated in the democratic women's movement and the women's national salvation movement. After the August Revolution in 1945, Tran Thi Lien actively participated in the women's movement of her home province. She was elected as the President of the Nghe An Women's Union from 1948 to 1954.
After being released from prison, despite being under house arrest, comrade Tran Van Cung still tried to contact comrades Nguyen Thi Nhuan, Nguyen Loi, Nguyen Ngoc Tuyet... to participate in public activities following the Party's leadership direction such as: opening a store selling progressive books and newspapers, supporting workers' struggles, participating in the movement to welcome Goda...
On September 26, 1939, comrade Nguyen Nhat Tan (aka Sieu Hai - Secretary of Vinh Regional Party Committee), died after being arrested and undergoing surgery at Vinh hospital. Tran Van Cung and comrades Vo Trong Bang, Vo Trong An, Thai Van Khue met at "Tan Phong Bicycle Shop" to discuss the program to organize a solemn memorial service for comrade Sieu Hai and turn the funeral into a rally and parade in Vinh city. The comrades prepared banners and slogans. More than 300 people mourned comrade Sieu Hai. The funeral caused a great stir; the names of Tran Van Cung and Tran Thi Lien were again recorded in the black book of the French secret police.
At the end of 1939, World War II broke out, the French colonialists brutally suppressed the revolutionary movement in Indochina. Many revolutionary cadres were arrested, some lay dormant waiting for a new revolutionary opportunity. In early 1945, comrade Nguyen Xuan Linh contacted the Party Central Committee and mobilized the establishment of Viet Minh Nghe Tinh. On May 19, 1945, the inter-provincial conference to establish Viet Minh was held at comrade Muoi Uyen's house. Comrade Nguyen Xuan Linh was the Head of the Steering Committee. Comrade Tran Van Cung was one of the participants in the establishment of Viet Minh.
On August 8, 1945, the Inter-provincial Viet Minh held a Congress to prepare a plan for the General Uprising at the house of comrade Hoang Vien (Hung Chau commune, Hung Nguyen district). Comrade Tran Van Cung was assigned with comrade Nguyen Tao to be in charge of directing the uprising in Vinh-Ben Thuy sub-region. After the success of the August Revolution, comrade Tran Van Cung worked in the Viet Minh Front bloc.
In January 1946, comrades Tran Van Cung and Nguyen Tao were introduced by the Party and Viet Minh Nghe Tinh to run for election and were elected as National Assembly deputies for the Vinh - Ben Thuy area. At the first session of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (March 1946), comrade Tran Van Cung made great contributions to the establishment of the tasks and powers of the National Assembly Standing Committee. At the second session in November 1946, comrade Tran Van Cung was elected as an official member of the National Assembly Standing Committee.

At the 4th session of the National Assembly in March 1955, comrade Tran Van Cung was an official member of the National Assembly Standing Committee. In 1957, due to work requirements, the Central Committee assigned a number of comrades of the National Assembly Standing Committee to take on other tasks. Comrade Tran Van Cung transferred to work as Deputy Director - Party Secretary of the Central School of Economics and Finance under the Prime Minister's Office, later the University of Economics and Planning. The school's director was comrade Nguyen Van Tao, concurrently the Minister of Labor. Comrade Tran Van Cung was a National Assembly delegate until his term ended in 1960.
In 1967, comrade Tran Van Cung retired, and in 1977, he passed away due to a serious illness. Comrade Tran Van Cung's life left a shining example for future generations to follow.