Comrade Vo Bieu with the famous saying 'communism is a fool...'

During the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931, which culminated in the Nghe Tinh Soviet, many party members, cadres and revolutionary masses in the two provinces of Nghe An - Ha Tinh did not fear difficulties and hardships, always upholding the indomitable spirit, heroic spirit, and being ready to sacrifice their lives to gain independence and freedom for the nation. Comrade Vo Bieu - a staunch communist from his hometown Thinh Loc in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement was one such example.

Comrade Vo Bieu was born in 1903 in Yen Diem commune, Phu Luu commune (now Thinh Loc commune), Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province.⁽¹⁾. Phu Luu commune is a large area with a large population and simple-minded people with ardent patriotism. In the early 20th century, along with the people of the whole country, Yen Diem people enthusiastically responded to the movement following the "Dong Du" movement of Phan Boi Chau and "Duy Tan" of Phan Chau Trinh.

In 1929, some members of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth Association and Tan Viet also returned to Yen Diem to open political theory classes to propagate patriotism to the people... Through that, some patriotic masses such as Vo Bieu, Duong Nghiem, Nguyen Dinh, Le Lua, Le Oc, Tran Truyen, Hoang Sau... in Yen Diem were soon enlightened with revolutionary ideals and participated in patriotic movements.

On February 3, 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam was officially established. Then, in April 1930, the Can Loc District Party Committee was established, marking a historic turning point for the patriotic movement of the people of the entire district. During this time, comrades Vo Que, Hoang Khoai Lac, Nguyen Cuong... returned to Yen Diem to connect with comrades Vo Bieu, Duong Nghiem, Le Lua, Le Oc to prepare for the establishment of the Party Cell in Yen Diem.

On the afternoon of April 9, 1930, at Dai Can temple in Tien Yen village temple area (old Yen Diem), the first meeting of Yen Diem Commune Committee was held. This temple area was a dense, quiet area with few people passing by. Attending the meeting were comrades Vo Bieu, Le Lua, Le Oc, Nguyen Dinh, Tran Truyen, Hoang Sau. The superior representatives were comrade Tran Can (district Party Committee cadre), Hoang Khoai Lac (Phu Luu General Headquarters cadre). After this meeting, the leaders assigned comrade Vo Bieu and other party members to go into the villages and hamlets to encourage people to support the revolution and be ready to rise up against tyranny.

On the afternoon of April 23, 1930, the second meeting of the Yen Diem Commune Committee took place at the west of Chop Dun Temple. At the meeting, comrades Tran Can and Hoang Khoa Lac disseminated some aspects of the revolutionary activities in the Upper, Central, and Lower Can Loc regions and agreed to admit a number of comrades into the Party.

On the afternoon of April 25, 1930, at Chan Tien Pagoda, the ceremony to admit the first communists of Thinh Loc into the Communist Party of Vietnam took place. The ceremony was carefully guarded with many guard posts. Comrade Hoang Khoa Lac announced the reason for the meeting and read the decision to admit a number of comrades into the Party, including comrades Vo Bieu, Duong Nghiem, Le Lua, Le Oc, Hoang Sau, Tran Truyen... That same afternoon, the Yen Diem - Yen Dinh Inter-Cell Party (now Thinh Loc commune) was also established.

After stabilizing the organization, the comrades were assigned tasks: Comrade Duong Nghiem was the Party Cell Secretary, Comrade Vo Bieu was in charge of self-defense, Comrade Le Lua was in charge of printing leaflets, Comrades Le Oc and Nguyen Dinh were in charge of the masses, Comrade Hoang Sau was in charge of the youth, Comrade Tran Truyen was in charge of the farmers' association. The Inter-Cell Party also agreed to choose Chan Tien Pagoda as the secret headquarters, and the regular headquarters of the Inter-Cell Party was located at the house of Mrs. Vo Thi Sau (mother of Comrade Vo Bieu). At the end of April 1930, mass organizations in Yen Diem were formed in the villages down to inter-groups and sub-groups.

Implementing the policy of the Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee and the Can Loc District Party Committee on holding a rally to celebrate International Labor Day on May 1, on the night of April 29 and early morning of April 30, 1930, the Yen Diem - Yen Dinh Party Cell organized the distribution of leaflets throughout the streets and hamlets of Thinh Loc commune, calling on the people to unite in the struggle. On the morning of May 1, 1931, the red hammer and sickle flag flew at the top of Hoa Cai mountain, Van Am mountain, Lang Van mountain (Van Hoi - Yen Diem), Bang Son mountain... Immediately after that, a large demonstration at Bai Vun with 300 people in Yen Diem, Yen Dinh, Trung Thinh, Tuy Loc took place, comrade Hoang Khoai Lac stood up to speak.

At the end of July 1930, Can Loc District Party Committee advocated a large demonstration in the district on the occasion of the International Day Against Imperialist War (August 1). On the afternoon of July 28, 1930, the Yen Diem - Yen Dinh Party Cell met to discuss and approve the policy and unify the action plan in the locality. On the night of July 30 and the early morning of July 31, 1930, comrade Vo Bieu and party members and cadres of mass organizations went down to the groups and hamlets to propagate the meaning of August 1, mobilizing the masses to prepare for the demonstration.

On the morning of August 1, 1930, comrade Vo Bieu and the masses of Yen Diem - Yen Dinh commune gathered at Mieu Ba (about 300 people), marched to Nghen bridge, combined with the demonstration groups of the communes of Ha Can Loc, Thuong Can Loc and the district town area. Hearing the news of the mass demonstration, District Chief Tran Manh Dan quickly sent soldiers to deal with it but failed and was forced to sign the petition put forth by the masses.

Under the leadership of the Yen Diem - Yen Dinh Inter-Cell Party, the masses here also participated in other protests, such as the November 6, 1930 protest at Chop Dun Temple to commemorate the Russian October Revolution (November 7), the December 11, 1930 protest at the district capital to commemorate the "Guangzhou Commune" (December 12). In the February 4, 1931 struggle, more than 200 people surrounded the village communal house while the officials were performing the ceremony, making demands that the officials had to accept.

In early 1931, famine broke out everywhere, in Yen Diem commune, many families fell into poverty. To overcome that situation, comrade Vo Bieu, who was then the Secretary of the Inter-Cell Party, organized a meeting at his house to come up with a plan to save the people from starvation. Many household items were used by comrade Vo Bieu to serve the comrades in the Inter-Cell Party during the meeting.

In late 1931, the revolutionary movement in Yen Diem was severely terrorized by the enemy. The enemy sent soldiers to search everywhere in Yen Diem commune to arrest communists.

On the morning of February 7, 1932, the enemy sent his powerful henchman Ho Phac Ung and two of his soldiers to sneak into the house and arrest comrade Vo Bieu and comrade Tran Quang Trung (Secretary of the Red Farmers' Association of Yen Diem commune). They tied the two comrades and took them to Kim Chung station to brutally torture them, using ropes to hang them upside down from the rafters, beating them in all sorts of ways until they died. With the steadfast hearts of communists, in the last minutes of their lives, when questioned, comrades Vo Bieu and comrade Tran Quang Trung did not reveal anything and only answered one question:"communist is the one and no one else"⁽²⁾.

After killing comrades Vo Bieu and Tran Quang Trung, the enemy continued to send troops to search every nook and cranny of Yen Diem to capture communists, and party members had to flee to other areas to work. The Soviet movement in Yen Diem temporarily subsided, but the flame of the struggle against colonialism and feudalism for national independence during the 1930-1931 peak still smoldered in every citizen here.

Comrade Vo Bieu sacrificed his life at a very young age, bringing endless grief to his family and homeland. Four hours"communism is bullshit"still resonates forever as an affirmation of the steadfast heart for the cause of national liberation and homeland liberation of comrade.

The image of comrade Vo Bieu, a son of Yen Diem land who kept the qualities of a staunch communist, did not yield to the enemy's power, and resolutely protected the Party's secrets even at the cost of his life, will always shine brightly in the heroic history pages of his homeland.

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Note:

1) Before 1945, Thinh Loc commune consisted of 5 administrative units: Yen Diem commune and the villages of Trung Thinh, Yen Dinh, Tuy Loc, and Dao Tien. Before February 7, 2007, Thinh Loc commune belonged to the Ha region, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province. Since February 7, 2007, Thinh Loc commune, along with the communes of An Loc, Binh Loc, Hong Loc, Tan Loc, Phu Luu, Ich Hau and 6 communes of Thach Ha district, merged into Loc Ha district.

2) History of the Party Committee of Thinh Loc Commune (1930-2008), Culture and Information Publishing House, 2009, p.70