Journalist Ly Van Sau - From Nghe An to Paris & Havana
Among the revolutionary journalists born in Nghe An province, Ly Van Sau (1924-2012) was a journalist of international stature.
Nguyen Si Dai • October 31, 2024
Among the revolutionary journalists born in Nghe An province, Ly Van Sau (1924-2012) was a journalist of international stature.
His birth name was Nguyen Ba Dan. His father was Nguyen Trong Thuan, born in 1890, who passed the Bachelor's degree examination in 1915, at the young age of 22. Ly Van Sau once wrote about his father: “He built the first school in my village to teach the national language. He established the first market in Yen Nhan village on the banks of the Han River… My father was compassionate towards those in need, valued his fellow villagers, and protected his relatives and family. Although his salary as an official was meager, there were always one or two elderly scholars from Nghe An who had fallen on hard times staying at his house for months at a time. My parents also provided for four or five relatives, teaching them food, education, and trades, and they never complained in times of hardship. He found every way to help political prisoners, lightening their sentences and never torturing them.”
Ly Van Sau and Phan Ngoc (later a leading translator, researcher of literature, language, and cultural studies), sons of Phan Vo, were both brothers and friends (Phan Vo was the elder brother of Phan Thi Phu, Ly Van Sau's mother). They were both involved in youth activities, promoting the national language, and participating in the Viet Minh before 1945, and in seizing power in their district during the August Revolution. It was at this time that their father, the district chief of Van Ninh, was arrested and transferred to Nha Trang.
As a filial son, unaware of his father's fate, he traveled to Khanh Hoa with twenty Indochinese francs to find him. After two months and many hardships, he finally met his father in prison, collapsing in tears and bowing three times to him. His father bent down, helped him up, and said, "I'm so happy you've come to see me. Without you, I probably wouldn't have survived. I'm innocent and don't know what crime I'm being accused of!" It's understandable that an ordinary farmer would join the revolution. But for someone in Ly Van Sau's situation to join the revolution, it must have required a very high level of awareness and enlightenment.
When the resistance in Southern Vietnam broke out (September 23, 1945), Ly Van Sau joined the resistance in Khanh Hoa. The Nha Trang front collapsed, and the people and many cadres evacuated to the free zone. A small number of people remained in the base camp. Ly Van Sau was among that small group, along with Pham Cu Hai – Vice Chairman, and Ton That Vy – Chairman of the Khanh Hoa Resistance Committee. He was appointed Head of the Provincial Information Department. His assigned task at that time was to monitor and grasp the domestic and international situation via radio, and to receive directives from the Central Committee through the Voice of Vietnam radio station. In 1947, he joined the Party and used the pseudonym Dai Tay, because he constantly covered his ears with earphones to listen to the news.
A pioneer in building revolutionary journalism.
The newspaper Thang (Victory) was born, reflecting the resolute fighting spirit of the people of Khanh Hoa province, and was the predecessor of today's Khanh Hoa newspaper. Ly Van Sau was appointed editor-in-chief. The newspaper was founded in the Hon Du war zone (Khanh Vinh district), printed using lithography with sacbonite ink, the first issue published on April 26, 1947; it published 2-3 issues per month, each with 4 pages and about 600-700 copies printed, but it had a very significant impact. While working on Thang, Mr. Sau also served as editor-in-chief of a propaganda newspaper called Le Trait d'Union (The Hyphen).
In 1949, Zone V assigned Ly Van Sau to directly edit and assist Director Nguyen Van Nguyen in running the Voice of the South Radio Station (codename: Ban Tay Son). With the spirit of readiness of cadres during the resistance war, Mr. Sau readily accepted the task: while serving as a department head, he became a journalist; while serving as editor-in-chief, he became an editor.
From 1968 to 1973, he served as the spokesperson for the Front and then the Provisional Government of the Republic of South Vietnam at the Paris Conference.
In September 1973, he was the Director of the Propaganda and Culture Department of the Southern Region Committee (Unification Committee).
May 1975: First Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Television Station.
July 1977-1986: Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Broadcasting and Television Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Central Television Station 1977-1980; Editor-in-Chief of Vietnam Radio Station 1980-1985.
From 1987 to 1991, he served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of VNA (Vietnam News Agency) and retired there.
The life of Ly Van Sau was that of a journalist, a soldier, and a revolutionary diplomat. Every step of his life was closely intertwined with the development of journalism and the history of his country.
Witnesses to Fidel's statement
In an article published in the online journal International Studies on December 1, 2016, journalist Ly Van Sau recounted:
“I have an unforgettable memory from my time working in Cuba, which was when I witnessed firsthand the words of leader Fidel Castro at a rally attended by over a million people in Revolution Square in Havana: ‘For Vietnam, we are ready to sacrifice even our own blood.’”
As soon as Fidel finished his powerful declaration, the entire Revolution Square erupted in cheers and applause from the attendees…
The very next afternoon, Leader Fidel invited the two heads of the delegations from South and North Vietnam to a private meeting. I was also present as an interpreter for the two delegation heads. Fidel received the three of us at the Palace of the Revolution. The meeting became a historical event, of which I am now the only living witness, and perhaps very few people know the content of the conversation Fidel had with us that afternoon… At the meeting, Fidel said: “Today I meet you to explain why I said what I did. First and foremost, it is because of the unconditional solidarity we have for the Vietnamese people and to demonstrate our determination to always support you in your struggle against the Americans… We are ready to go hungry so that the Vietnamese people have rice to fight, and we are even ready to sacrifice our own blood.”
Famous quote in Paris
The victory at the Paris Conference was decisive due to victories on the battlefield. However, the diplomats who followed Ho Chi Minh's ideology at the Paris Conference, through political diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy, and media diplomacy, made a tremendous contribution to the conference's outcome, to making the world understand Vietnam, and to promoting the pro-Vietnam protest movement spreading throughout the world and even in the United States. Journalist Ha Dang, a former member of the South Vietnamese delegation to the Paris Conference, always recounts this event with great enthusiasm. He vividly remembers the answers given by journalist and spokesperson Ly Van Sau of the National Liberation Front delegation.
Right at the press conference following the first session of the Paris Conference on January 25, 1969, an American journalist spread out a rather large map and asked a challenging question: "Your Front often boasts of controlling two-thirds of South Vietnam's territory, so please show me on this map where those liberated areas are located?" After the Tet Offensive, the enemy pushed forward to retake many liberated areas. In reality, there were many areas with a grid-like structure; many areas were under the control of the Liberation Army at night and the puppet regime during the day. American and puppet government offices and outposts were everywhere. Answering specifically would reveal secrets, and the enemy would certainly present evidence to refute the claim. This was the first press conference, and its success or failure was crucial. Members of both our delegations were very worried. Ly Van Sau remained calm and composed, his expression brilliant:
“What you’re asking is also what the US military command in Saigon wants to know. Please read today’s US military announcement, see where their planes are bombing in South Vietnam—those are our liberated zones.” Applause erupted throughout the meeting room, the most enthusiastic being the applause from our comrades for having overcome a challenge…
At another press conference, a French journalist asked, "What do you think about the Saigon delegation leader boasting about the good nature of their government?" Ly Van Sau replied, "It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the Saigon government to claim itself independent, democratic, and patriotic." Laughter erupted again. People were surprised that an atheist communist could know the Bible and apply it in a humorous, Western-style way. The next day, the Catholic newspaper La Croix wrote: "The Viet Cong spokesperson is also using biblical parables." In March 1969, the US carpet-bombed the area around the Central Committee headquarters but failed to destroy our nerve center. A foreign journalist asked Ly Van Sau, "Where did your Central Committee disappear to?" He pointed to his heart and said, "Our leaders are in the hearts of the people, so the American army can't find and capture them. They might be in Saigon right now!"
The dignified and cultured responses of Ly Van Sau further enhanced the world's understanding and admiration for Vietnam.
Deep love, unwavering moral principles.
Nguyen Ba Dan - Ly Van Sau, with his profound filial piety towards his biological father, was also a model husband, father, and grandfather, faithful and affectionate.
During his revolutionary journey, he met a beautiful and loyal revolutionary woman from Khanh Hoa. They got married in the revolutionary base area at the end of 1948. Mr. Sau wrote in his memoirs:
"The land of agarwood has given me two treasures."
A revolutionary path
A gem to cherish and illuminate the path!
The official judgment. General Nguyen Huy Hieu recalled him: "Uncle Ly Van Sau was a talented diplomat of the Party, an exemplary, upright, and loyal official."
Writer Nguyen Chi Trung, former Assistant to General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, affirmed: "In the homeland of Zone V, the dedication, heart, and will of Ly Van Sau, a senior figure in the Vietnamese press and arts community, will forever remain with the nation, its people, and comrades."
