That day, by the Lam River

In May 1929, the National Congress of the Youth League in Hong Kong (China) experienced a split. Delegates from Northern Vietnam left and formed the Indochinese Communist Party. Shortly thereafter, on June 17, 1929, the Central Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party sent comrades Tran Van Cung and Nguyen Phong Sac to Nghe An to meet with comrade Vo Mai and establish the Indochinese Communist Party's Central Vietnam Regional Committee, headquartered in Vinh. The Regional Committee sent comrades Phan Thai At and Tran Huu Thieu to establish contact with the Youth League's base in Hanh Lam and La Mac, forming the first Indochinese Communist Party branch in Thanh Chuong, consisting of 7 members, with comrade Nguyen Dinh Song as Secretary.

The Party cell was very active. In October 1929, revolutionary bases distributed leaflets calling on the people to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (November 7, 1917 - November 7, 1929).

Thuong village communal house, Hanh Lam commune. Photo courtesy of Huy Thu.

In early 1930, the Xuan Tuong Party Branch was established, with Comrade Nguyen Van Dong as its Secretary. Meanwhile, the Tan Viet sub-group in Vo Liet, being very sensitive to the situation, sent Comrade Ton Thi Que to Vinh, through Comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, to contact the Indochinese Communist Party. Comrade Nguyen Phong Sac - Secretary of the Central Committee of the Central Region - went to Thanh Chuong to inspect, guide, and select members, and established the Vo Liet Party Branch with 7 party members, with Comrade Hoang Thuat as its Secretary.

Thus, before the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Thanh Chuong already had three branches of the Indochinese Communist Party – a precursor organization to the Party.

On March 20, 1930, under the direction of the Central Vietnam Regional Party Committee, at Tien Son Temple - now located in Thanh Long commune, the Conference of Delegates of the Thanh Chuong Communist Party Branches elected the Provisional Executive Committee of the Thanh Chuong District Party Committee, with Comrade Ton Gia Tinh appointed as Secretary. The Indochinese Communist Party branches in the district were transformed into branches of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Nghe An Provincial Party Committee had operated secretly for many years in Xuan Tuong and Thanh Phong communes, directly leading the movement.

On April 24, 1930, the Provincial Party Committee met to review Party building work and discuss plans to mobilize the masses for struggle in commemoration of International Labor Day on May 1st. The Thanh Chuong District Party Committee received the directive and secretly held meetings to discuss and disseminate the plan to the Party branches for implementation.

On May 1, 1930, thousands of slogans and leaflets were distributed in Di Luan, Xuan Tuong, Nguyet Bong, Dai Dinh, Cat Ngan, Hanh Lam, La Mac, and other areas.

In particular, while a workers' and peasants' protest was taking place in Vinh at Truong Thi - Ben Thuy, a protest was held in Thanh Chuong where 3,000 farmers, under the leadership of the Party cell, destroyed the Ky Vien plantation in Hanh Lam commune; at the French-Vietnamese Primary School (Vo Liet), Comrade Hoang Thuyet - District Party Committee member, and Comrade Dinh Xuan Giai, a Party member in the school, led and organized a rally and demonstration through the district headquarters,...

A painting depicting the climax of the Nghe An - Thinh Hoa Soviet movement by artist Nguyen Duc Nung.

Mass movements fighting against oppression and exploitation.The authoritarian regime spread throughout the districts of Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces. This situation pushed the French colonialists and the Southern feudal regime into a passive and confused position. The Thanh Chuong District Party Committee met to discuss implementing the Provincial Party Committee's policy, which required organizing a higher-level and larger-scale struggle. The conference decided to organize a district-wide demonstration on September 1, 1930.

The District Party Committee assigned cadres to the grassroots level to organize the opening ceremony; the printing press operated around the clock; traffic officers (running errands) rushed to deliver directives and leaflets to the grassroots; the grassroots prepared banners, flags, knives, swords, sticks, etc., for self-defense; the ferry terminals secretly prepared boats, etc., to transport people across the river when ordered,...

On the night of August 31, 1930, the Red Guards guarded all roads and ferry crossings, isolating the District headquarters from the villages. The Xuan Lam self-defense force destroyed the Rao Gang bridge, cutting off the road from Vinh, then surrounded and suppressed the village chiefs. The Dai Dong commune self-defense force destroyed the Cho Lat bridge, cutting off the road from Do Luong. The Vo Liet commune self-defense force arrested 11 suspected spies. Red flags flew high on ancient trees and along all roads... The French, sensing this, dispatched a detachment of soldiers from the Thanh Qua outpost to protect the District headquarters; they concentrated all the boats on the river towards the Ro ferry crossing to prevent people from crossing.

From 1 AM on September 1st, drum signals were sounded throughout the districts. Thanh Chuong was filled with the sounds of drums, gongs, wooden clappers, and cheers. Groups of people, protected by the Red Guard, surged towards the District headquarters; the atmosphere was like a rising tide or a cascading waterfall.

Rộ ferry terminal (Minh Đức hamlet, Võ Liệt commune, Thanh Chương district). Photo courtesy of Huy Thư.

At Rộ ferry landing, thousands of people scrambled to find boats to cross the river. Commander Condominat and Team Leader Doan frantically ordered their soldiers to fire at Nguyệt Bổng ferry landing. Nguyen Cong Thuong was killed. Adding fuel to the fire, the people, having devised their own means of crossing the river, surged towards the District headquarters. The District Chief, clerks, and soldiers fled to Thanh Quả Post. The people burned files, destroyed prisons, freed political prisoners, and smashed the Fonten liquor store... They then went to the District Chief's house and vandalized it...

Around 4 p.m., a group of soldiers from Vinh arrived and were surrounded by the crowd. The soldiers surrendered. The demonstration ended in unexpected success.

The historic general demonstration on September 1, 1930, in Thanh Chuong is considered a milestone marking the beginning and the birth of the Soviet government in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, one of the peaks of...The Nghệ-Tĩnh Soviet Uprising1930-1931 nationwide. The Nghe An Provincial Party Committee assessed:This unprecedentedly fierce protest in Annam ushered the working class and peasants into a new era, an era of intense struggle against imperialist capitalism and feudal landlords, an era in which the workers and peasants had to sacrifice for the revolution to demand their right to life and freedom.

Following this protest, the colonial and feudal administrative apparatus in Thanh Chuong was completely paralyzed and disintegrated. Enemy outposts remained inactive. Of the 76 village chiefs, one fled, one committed suicide, 36 handed over their records and seals to the commune's agricultural department, 11 were punished by the people, and some progressives joined the revolution, being assigned by the Red Peasant Association to distribute public land and rice money to the people. The newspaper "The Suffering Laborer" of the Central Committee of the Vietnam People's Army wrote:In Thanh Chuong and Nam Dan, no one paid market taxes, and no one dared to collect them. No one patrolled, and the soldiers did not return to guard duty. Imperialism ordered the suppression of these activities, but no one complied. The brothers voluntarily pardoned national criminals and distributed the Ky Vien plantation and the landlord class's farmland to the poor. They freely formed associations and demonstrated. Thus, the imperialist laws were shattered.Despite its rudimentary and immature organization and operations, the Soviet Union truly represented the aspirations and hopes of enslaved people reaching for a brighter future.

More than 90 years have passed, yet the sound of the drums from the 1930s by the Lam River still resonates today!

Thanh Chuong District Center. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Sach.