The Soviet spirit on the path of history
Ninety-four years have passed, yet whenever the 12/9 road (now Provincial Road 542C) in Hung Nguyen is mentioned, people still consider it a red thread stained with the blood and courage of patriotic sons and daughters of Nghe An in the historic protest of September 12, 1930. Rising from the pain, that road has now become a symbol of rebirth and the will to uphold the traditions of their ancestors in a new way of life.
Words of the past
Anyone who has ever traveled along provincial road 542C, leading from Hung Nguyen town to the communes of Hung Tan, Hung Thong, Long Xa, etc., will find it hard to resist its peaceful charm. Many have commented that this is one of the most picturesque provincial roads in Nghe An province, because walking under the cool shade of two rows of green trees, one seems to forget the sweltering heat of summer.
The road, wide and smoothly paved, sometimes leads us through ripening rice fields, and other times past bustling rows of businesses and service establishments where locals live on both sides. However, that's not the most special thing about this provincial road, because it's not only a crucial transportation link in the province, but also a road marked by many important historical events of our people during the Nghe Tinh Soviet Uprising.
.jpg)
Standing on that road, one can almost feel the heroic spirit of the resounding protests of September 1930. Perhaps that is why, in the minds of the people of Hung Nguyen, this provincial road also bears another name: the 12/9 Road.
After a long, cool drive, Ms. Tran Thi Phuong Thuy, Deputy Head of the Propaganda Department of the District Party Committee, stopped the car in front of a bustling aluminum and glass shop next to the road. She said that the historic road of yesteryear now carries within it a spirit of renewed business activity. Following the prosperous villages is the vibrancy of various service and commercial models.
.jpg)
However, despite these developments, people still remember that early morning. It was the morning of September 12, 1930, when the people of Hung Nguyen gathered at Xuan Hoa communal house (now Long Xa commune). At just 3 a.m., groups of people carrying sticks, spears, ropes, and red flags with hammers and sickles poured into Xuan Hoa communal house. Afterwards, the protesters marched to Yen Xuan train station, then proceeded to the Hung Nguyen district headquarters to present their demands to the district chief.
The initiative for the demonstration was enthusiastically supported by the masses everywhere, who eagerly participated. Many bundles of leaflets were thrown onto the train carriages. The applause and shouts of slogans resounded like thunder:
Down with French imperialism!
- Overthrow the feudal Southern Dynasty!
- Abolish corvée labor, reduce taxes, and distribute land to poor farmers!
Upon receiving the news, the colonial authorities sent troops, and the soldiers fired into the air, forcing the crowd to disperse. However, the people remained in orderly ranks, marching forward bravely.
When the procession reached the Thai Lao intersection, French planes from Vinh airport suddenly swooped down, firing machine guns and dropping bombs on the crowd. The blood of our compatriots stained a stretch of road red, but the people continued to advance. A short time later, the French brought in hundreds of Foreign Legion and French colonial soldiers from Vinh. They unleashed a barrage of gunfire on the demonstrators... hundreds fell, the blood of patriotic citizens staining the Thai Lao area red. The massacre by the French colonialists killed 217 people, wounded hundreds more; and dozens of our fighters and active citizens were arrested. This extremely brutal massacre by the enemy shocked public opinion both domestically and internationally.
Reporting on the September 12, 1930 struggle in Hung Nguyen, the newspaper "The Suffering Worker," the organ of the Central Vietnam Regional Committee, published on September 18, 1930, wrote: "When news of the massacre on the morning of September 12 near Hung Nguyen district reached us, that very night, 5,000 peasants from Nam Dan gathered to protest, ready to fight to the death against the French imperialists to defend their victims. They destroyed bridges, blocked roads, then beat drums and waved flags as they advanced to Nam Dan district; everyone was united in their hatred of imperialism, willing to die with their brothers and sisters from Hung Nguyen. The extraordinary courage and sacrifice of these people struck fear into the hearts of the enemy."
From mid-September 1930, rallies, demonstrations, and memorial services for the compatriots who sacrificed their lives in Thai Lao on September 12th were held throughout the province.
Although the September 12, 1930 protest was brutally suppressed, it was a powerful testament to the immense strength of the farmers and working people of Hung Nguyen district, especially the peasantry, under the leadership of the Communist Party. It has gone down in national history as an immortal epic. The Thai Lao Martyrs' Cemetery (now the Nghe Tinh Soviet Square) and the September 12th Road (now Road 542C) have become symbols of the indomitable spirit of the people of Hung Nguyen.
Reviving vitality
Now, along that historical path, people have witnessed the rise of the people in the town and the communes of Hung Tan, Hung Thong, and Long Xa. A great joy came to Hung Tan commune when it became the first commune in Hung Nguyen district to be recognized by the Provincial People's Committee as a model new rural area at the end of December 2023. The commune now has over 150 family farms and livestock farms, along with many modern economic models such as high-tech garlic cultivation and cucumber farming without trellises on double-cropped rice land. Farmers have united to build a 3-star OCOP product, the "Hung Tan Countryside Rice Cake" brand, with one-fifth of the households in the commune participating; and labor export brings in over 20 billion VND annually for the locality. These efforts have led many to describe Hung Tan as a "livable land" with many positive changes.
Furthermore, in Hung Thong and Long Xa communes, through the construction of new rural areas and advanced new rural areas, cadres, Party members, and the people, with a shared will, determination, and consensus, have contributed their labor and resources to building a more prosperous rural homeland, richer in economy, and stronger in cultural and spiritual life.
Since that historic September, successive generations of people in Hung Nguyen have continued to preserve and protect the achievements of the Revolution. Implementing the national target program for building new rural areas, the entire district has invested nearly 4,090 billion VND in the construction and development of their homeland, of which the people contributed nearly 1,060 billion VND, accounting for 26.5%.
In the process of building new rural areas, the kind-hearted people have wholeheartedly donated thousands of square meters of land to build roads, cultural centers, and sports and recreation areas. Throughout its long history, the tradition of valuing education, literacy, and talent has always been upheld in Hung Nguyen like an unending stream, and in every period, it has been one of the shining examples of Nghe An.
While in the past, Hung Nguyen was primarily a hub of rice paddies and factories, today, the region's industry and handicrafts have experienced a breakthrough in development, attracting thousands of workers and contributing to the restructuring of the economy. Trade and services have developed rapidly and diversely, with the participation of many economic sectors, bringing the estimated industrial production value in 2023 to 4,710 billion VND.
Hung Nguyen today is creating new momentum and strength, transforming itself to embrace new opportunities as the VSIP Nghe An industrial park, invested in Hung Nguyen, is further accelerating the process of industrialization and modernization of agriculture and rural areas in this heroic Soviet homeland.
Guided by the motto "Economic development is the central task, Party building is the key task," in recent years, the District Party Committee has paid special attention to Party building and rectification, consolidating a clean and strong political system in the new situation.
On the path of development today, the land and people of Hung Nguyen still echo the "Revolutionary Song" of Comrade Dang Chanh Ky from years ago: "...Our old homeland, we will reclaim it with our own hands / Our race will reach the realm of glory / No matter who risks their life on the battlefield / Soon, stone monuments and golden statues will stand for a thousand years...!"
