The Ben Thuy junction was a scene of intense struggle.

(Baonghean)During these historic September days, revisiting the Ben Thuy Crossroads historical site, I was deeply moved by the majestic and imposing monument to the workers, farmers, and soldiers. Amidst the wind blowing from the Lam River and Quyet Mountain, I heard echoes of the surging crowds of protesters chanting slogans demanding higher wages, shorter working hours, and land for the tillers – a sound reminiscent of the past. Here, 82 years ago, the blood of our workers and farmers from Nghe An province stained the Ben Thuy road red.

The old electric pole in front of the Match Factory still stands where Comrade Tran Canh Binh (a self-defense member of Loc Da village) climbed and raised the red flag with the hammer and sickle, calling on the factory workers to cooperate in the struggle. The red flag with the hammer and sickle of the Party, planted on the lamppost at the Ben Thuy intersection, served as a source of encouragement, inspiring the people to join hands and move forward. Terrified by the overwhelming fighting spirit of the working class, the soldiers from the second floor of the Match Factory opened fire on the lamppost, and Comrade Tran Canh Binh and the red flag fell amidst the angry shouts of the protesters.

On May 1, 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam launched the first International Workers' Day commemoration movement in Vietnam. Joining the fervent struggle of the people in many parts of the country, Comrade Le Mao – a member of the Central Committee of the Party, a Standing Member of the Central Committee of the Central Vietnam Regional Party Committee in charge of the Vinh-Ben Thuy Provincial Party Committee – directly led a large demonstration of workers and peasants in and around the city.

Carefully prepared, at dawn on May 1, 1930, more than 1,200 farmers from the villages of An Hau, Tan Hop, Duc Hau (Nghi Loc), Loc Da, Duc Thinh, Yen Dung (formerly part of Hung Nguyen)... marched into Vinh town to join factory workers in a direct struggle against the French colonialists. The protesters carried no weapons, raising high the hammer and sickle flag, chanting slogans such as: "Increase wages, 8-hour workday, reduce taxes and levies,"... and singing the "Internationale." Later, the group marched to the intersection near the Match Factory, where they were blocked by French colonial soldiers and secret police. However, the people, full of fervent spirit, advanced unarmed against the soldiers' barricades. The warden, panicked, ordered his soldiers to fire on the protesters. Several members of the protest group were seriously wounded, fueling widespread hatred. When Comrade Tran Canh Binh and his hammer and sickle flag were shot down by the enemy, the workers of the Match Factory rushed to the gate, tearing down the barricades to rescue him. The soldiers fired directly at the protesters, killing 6 people, injuring 18, and arresting 100.

The newspaper "The Suffering Worker" published on May 2, 1930, wrote: "...the struggle in Annam has reached a point where it must become fierce. But for every one of our brothers and sisters who must die, thousands and tens of thousands of others will follow. No matter how cruel the French imperialists become, they cannot stop the revolutionary movement..."

The demonstration on May 1, 1930, at Ben Thuy intersection was a crucial milestone marking the beginning of the Nghe An - Thinh Hoa Soviet Uprising. A prominent feature of this demonstration was: "For the first time in the history of our country's revolution, workers, peasants, and soldiers joined hands on the battlefield" (Party Documents 1930-1935, published by the Central Party History Research Committee, 1977, Vol. 1, p. 51).

This fierce struggle had a strong impact on rural areas, creating the Nghệ Tĩnh Soviet Uprising, shaking the colonial and feudal administrative apparatus in villages and communes, and forming a Soviet government over a vast region.

Time and war have taken their toll, severely damaging the utility pole that marked the May 1st, 1930 protest when the hammer and sickle flag was planted. In 1960, another pole was restored to its original location. In 2010, the Ben Thuy Crossroads Historical Site project was replanned, and the pole was dismantled to make way for other constructions.

In 2012, the Nghe An Museum collected and preserved these artifacts with the hope that one day they could be restored and displayed to educate the younger generation about the revolutionary history of their heroic Soviet homeland.

Phan Thi Ha Long