The invaluable contributions of leader Nguyen Ai Quoc - Ho Chi Minh to the Vietnamese revolutionary press

Grasping revolutionary theory and practice and taking advantage of the right opportunity, on June 21, 1925, in Guangzhou - China, Nguyen Ai Quoc founded the newspaperAdolescent– the mouthpiece of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association – the predecessor organization of the Communist Party of Vietnam. NewspaperAdolescentThe birth of the revolutionary press opened a new press in our country: the Vietnamese revolutionary press. As the vanguard in political and ideological work, with the function of propagating, agitating, and organizing the people to rise up to make revolution for independence and freedom, linking national independence with socialism, the revolutionary press has become an extremely powerful revolutionary weapon.

Thanh Nien newspaper - the mouthpiece of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association - the predecessor of the Communist Party of Vietnam, was founded by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc on June 21, 1925, in Guangzhou - China. Photo courtesy

Next step newspaperAdolescent, many other revolutionary newspapers were born and operated in the same direction. Researcher Nguyen Thanh has compiled an (incomplete) list of Vietnamese revolutionary newspapers born from Thanh Nien to August 1945, including 256 newspaper names. Particularly flourishing was the period after the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 1930) to May 1936 (121 newspaper names). Even in the most difficult years after the outbreak of World War II, when the French colonialists took the opportunity to further tighten the repressive machinery in Indochina, until August 1945, there were still 55 revolutionary newspapers and magazines born. Among them were newspapers directly managed by Party leaders, which had a very strong impact on the pre-uprising movement, such asIndependent Vietnam(1941),National Salvation(1942),Liberation flag(1942).

After the success of the August Revolution, the newspapers Cuu Quoc and Co Giai Phong continued to be published in the capital Hanoi with rich content, beautiful forms and a wider distribution area. Many new newspaper names were born in the capital and some big cities. Only five days after the Independence Declaration Ceremony (September 2, 1945), according to the decision of the Central Committee and the direct guidance of Uncle Ho, the Voice of Vietnam (September 7, 1945) and a few days later the Vietnam News Agency (September 15, 1945) were established, with the scale and tasks of national mass media agencies.

On the territory of Vietnam, "the truth has become a free and independent country", revolutionary press published openly and legally, enthusiastically awaited by the people of the whole country, had a profound impact and increasingly had an influence on public opinion. Revolutionary press was published by the pressAdolescentmake way, gradually move forwardbecome mainstream in the country's press.

When the national resistance war broke out, revolutionary press was narrowed in the Central region but, on the contrary, expanded in many areas throughout the country. In addition to the press published by the Central agency and circulated mainly in Viet Bac, the inter-zones III, IV, V, Northeast, the left bank of the Red River, the extreme South Central region and the South all had press. Some places such as the South Central region and the South established radio stations. In 1950, the Vietnam Journalists Association was born in Viet Bac. These achievements were thanks to the leadership of the Party and the great contributions of President Ho Chi Minh.

During the arduous days of resistance as well as in peace building, President Ho Chi Minh always paid attention to directing and building the press, especially attaching importance to training and fostering journalists. He praised and commended journalists who did good work and had good works as well as criticized and corrected the shortcomings and inadequacies of the press. He always considered himself a person"have a predestined relationship with journalism"At the two National Congresses of the Vietnam Journalists Association held in 1959 and 1962, President Ho Chi Minh visited and gave profound and thoughtful instructions.

Ho Chi Minh - A lifelong journalist

Wherever he was, Nguyen Ai Quoc-Ho Chi Minh was always interested in the press. Photo archive

As the highest leader of the Party and State, President Ho Chi Minh not only cared about building and directing the press, and gave the press many favors, he also wrote for the newspaper himself.Ho Chi Minh was a tireless journalist all his life.Even during his time as the country's leader, with heavy duties and limited time, Uncle Ho still wrote regularly for newspapers.PeopleFrom the first issue of this newspaper (1951) until his passing (1969), about 1,200 of Uncle Ho's articles were published, on average, he wrote 60-70 articles per year. In half a century, from the date of the first article's publication until his death, Uncle Ho wrote no less than 2,000 articles.

Domestic and foreign researchers, when looking back at President Ho Chi Minh's journalism career, all agree: "After the world war, Nguyen Ai Quoc was the journalist who wrote the most to denounce the colonial regime, defended the most strongly the rights of oppressed peoples to regain dignity and freedom, and was the most active and organized to gather, in Paris and Guangzhou, the Asian and African peoples who had just been deceived once again by (US President) Wilson and his gang at Versailles[1]. "He was a journalist in the truest sense of journalism. He did not pay attention to his own name and career, but only cared about the sacred goal and used his pen to serve the revolution"[2]. "Nguyen Ai Quoc was the most carefully trained Vietnamese journalist, and in fact, had the highest achievements in Vietnamese journalism. An international journalist who wrote in French, Russian, and Chinese. A journalist whose articles were exemplary in language, eloquent in theory, and awakened people's hearts with results. "A journalist whose articles attract everyone's attention, are always new, always close to immediate needs and appealing to readers"[3]. "Today, reading his articles (published in French newspapers) is still extremely interesting... Nguyen's writing style is that of a talented polemicist"[4],...

President Ho Chi Minh's journalistic thinking comes from a deep awareness of the role of the press in the struggle to reform and build society., the focus for the Vietnamese people in the first half of the 20th century was to break the chains of colonial and feudal oppression and exploitation, and gain independence and freedom for the country. Therefore, wherever he worked, he was primarily concerned with founding newspapers and personally participating in journalistic work. After arriving in France for a few years, he became a contributor to several major newspapers such asL'Humanité(Humanity),LaVie Ouvrière(Worker's Life),The Populaire(The Common People)… The founder of the newspaperLe Pariaand prepare for launchVietnamese soulIn Russia, he wrote for the Soviet press and the press of the Communist International. In China, he collaborated with the pressRescue Daily(Chinese),Canton Gazette(Guangzhou Newspaper – English), Rosto Soviet News Agency and newspaper founderAdolescentIn Thailand, he launched overseas Vietnamese newspapers.Best regards,Returning to the country, the newspaper publisherIndependent Vietnam… Having just regained independence, he established the National Radio Station and the National News Agency…

President Ho Chi Minh's journalistic thinking is consistent with his views on culture:Culture is a front, a fundamental front of society.He pointed out that in the process of building the country, there are four issues that need attention and must be considered equally important: Politics, economics, society, and culture. The press is both a component of culture and a means of expressing culture and implementing cultural policies.The press is the vanguard in ideological and cultural work. Journalists are soldiers. Pens and paper are weapons. Articles are revolutionary proclamations.In any revolutionary period, the revolutionary press always maintains its role and vanguard position. As society develops, science and technology advance, the role of the press continues to increase and never decreases.

According to Ho Chi Minh's point of view,The duty of the press is to serve the people, serve the revolution.. That is the core, the issue that needs to be taken care of first. In a letter to a journalism class named Huynh Thuc Khang (1948), he pointed out: "The task of the newspaper is to propagate, agitate, train, educate and organize the people to bring them to a common goal. The goal is resistance and nation building."

Uncle Ho reminded journalists to always keep the above in mind. Speaking at the Second National Congress of the Vietnam Journalists Association (1959), he went straight to the main issue: "Let us ask the question: Who does the press serve?"[5]. And he immediately answered: "Our press must serve the working people, serve socialism, serve the struggle to unify the country, and for world peace"[6]. At the next Congress of the Association, Uncle Ho once again emphasized:"The mission of the press is to serve the people, serve the revolution".

Ho Chi Minh always fought for freedom of the press.

President Ho Chi Minh, Vice President Ton Duc Thang and comrade Truong Chinh took a souvenir photo with a group of news and press reporters serving the 3rd National Congress of the Party (1960). Photo archive

He considered freedom of the press a fundamental right of the nation and of humanity. From the first articles written in French, he persistently fought for freedom of the press, for colonialism to abolish censorship, and for the French authorities in Vietnam to properly implement the Press Law passed by the French Parliament in 1881, so that Vietnamese people could publish newspapers.

He asserted: "Our regime is a democratic regime, thoughts must be free. What is freedom? On all issues, everyone is free to express their opinions, contributing to finding the truth. That is a right and also a duty of everyone. When everyone has expressed their opinions, has found the truth, then freedom of thought becomes true.freedom to submit to the truth"[7]. In Uncle Ho's journalistic thinking, freedom of the press is not only the right of journalists or those who intend to be journalists, but the press must be an important channel, an open forum for everyone to exercise their freedom of thought, together finding the truth to obey the truth. Ho Chi Minh's journalistic thinking is today codified in the Press Law with the phraseThe press is the people's forum.

Ho Chi Minh always upholdsthe role and power of the pressin the political, economic, cultural, social life of the country. The press is a means and a weapon of the people in the struggle for liberation, protection, construction and development of the country, aiming at the goal of a rich people, a strong country, a democratic, fair and civilized society. If the press does well and is accepted by the people, it can have great authority and power. But that is the power entrusted by the people, that is the power of the people. Ho Chi Minh respected and promoted the role of the press. He believed that "being a journalist is important and glorious", "journalists are soldiers", but he often emphasized more onresponsibility of the press.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Duy Quat - former Deputy Head of the Central Ideology and Culture Committee.

To fully demonstrate its power,The press must be highly combative and have clear tendencies.always aim at a steadfast goal – that goal is also the destination that the people's revolutionary cause is aiming at. Due to its nature and function, revolutionary pressalways take the lead, hold high the flagpioneer in spreading progressive ideas and knowledge. The article isrevolutionary proclamationto propagate, mobilize, and organize the masses to fight; must promote the creativity of the masses, discover, praise, and introduce good examples for everyone to follow; at the same time point out and criticize to overcome and prevent bad things.

One issue that Ho Chi Minh was concerned about waspurpose and audience of journalismHe told the students of Huynh Thuc Khang's journalism class that the target audience of a newspaper must be the majority of the people. A newspaper that is not favored by the majority is not worthy of being a newspaper. Visiting the Journalists' Congress (in 1959), he advised: "Our press is not for a small number of people to read, but to serve the people... so it must havemass character and fighting spirit"[8]: Journalists should not think about "writing for prestige", writing "to leave their name forever". At the next Congress of the Journalists Association (1962), he again kindly advised: "Every time you write an article, ask yourself: Who are you writing for? What is the purpose of writing?".

Journalism ethics,In Ho Chi Minh's journalistic thinking, it is first and foremost expressed in the spirit of journalists as soldiers. Journalists must consider themselves revolutionary soldiers, fighting all their lives for the people's cause, for independence and freedom for socialism. He pointed out:"Journalists must have a firm political stance. Politics must be in control. Only when the political line is correct can everything else be correct."[9]

To do well in their role as soldiers, journalists must fight.overcome individualismWe must consider "writing like anything else"; journalism is revolutionary work, not something so terrible; writing is not for the purpose of leaving one's name for posterity.

Journalistic ethics requires journalists to"close to the masses", "deep into reality, deep into the working masses"to write practically; overcome the habit of bragging, formalism, and the habit of using foreign words. Journalists must be honest. Uncle Ho always required journalists tovalue the authenticity of the work.He repeatedly reminded journalists who had the opportunity to follow him to serve his work."circumspect"to every detail, every figure cited in the article. Must preserve the purity of the Vietnamese language,"the nation's most ancient and precious treasure."

Especially journalists must"always try to learn, always need to progress", "must study continuously and must always be humble".Journalist"must have determination, don't hide ignorance", "if you don't know, you must try to learn, and if you try to learn, you will definitely learn". Simultaneously"must have the will to be self-reliant and independent. When facing difficulties, one must overcome them, not give up on them. One must overcome difficulties and fulfill one's duties.". That is the most correct path for journalists."improve cultural level, go deep into profession",Constantly accumulate knowledge and life experience, create a foundation and profound cultural qualities for journalism, making journalists also culturalists, truly culturalists.

Ho Chi Minh - Great journalist and cultural figure

President Ho Chi Minh with delegates attending the 3rd Congress of Vietnamese Journalists (September 8, 1962). Photo: VNA archive

Ho Chi Minh performed his journalistic and literary works excellently. He created his own style - Ho Chi Minh's style, stable yet variable with literary nuances, rhetorical arts and extremely diverse professional skills, always changing to suit the context, theme of the work and the target audience that the author always aimed for. It seemed that every time he picked up a pen, he clearly saw the readers appearing before his eyes - not the general "readers" as an abstract concept - but the specific readers, the flesh and blood people... Uncle Ho wrote for those people. He talked to those people. He tried to write so that those specific people could understand the ideas he intended to express and sympathize with his intense feelings.

We all know that during the resistance war against the French and even after returning to the capital Hanoi, every time he finished writing an article, Uncle Ho often read it to a few comrades who served him closely. Most of them were ordinary workers with low education. If they found it difficult to understand, they would immediately correct it. However, the political articles and short stories he wrote in foreign languages ​​for major newspapers were exemplary works in both content and language, and to this day still amaze many outstanding writers and journalists.

Commenting generally on Uncle Ho's writing style, comrade Truong Chinh wrote: "President Ho's way of speaking and writing has very unique features: the content is assertive, profound, goes deep into people's emotions, conquers both their hearts and minds; the images are vivid, simple, easy to understand, rich in national and popular character".

As an experienced journalist and writer, Ho Chi Minh, every time he picked up a pen, was always aware of who he was writing for. Before writing, he always considered each word, each letter, each punctuation mark. He told journalists:"The enemy pays a lot of attention, and you are very interested in our country's press. Therefore, journalists must be very careful about form, content, and writing style."

Ho Chi Minh always advised journalists"The press must have a mass character",Right"How to write so that it is easy to understand, concise and easy to read"However, those teachings should absolutely not be understood as Uncle Ho accepting simplification of content or tolerating vulgarity and ease in form. He taught journalists:"Must write for literature… Readers will read only if they find it interesting and literary".

In all aspects, Nguyen Ai Quoc – Ho Chi Minh is an exemplary journalist. He not only founded and directed the building and development of Vietnam’s revolutionary press but was also an outstandingly talented journalist who directly wrote, leaving behind a large and diverse body of work for posterity. Ho Chi Minh is an exemplary journalist, a shining example, becoming the pride of Vietnam’s press today and forever.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Duy Quat

Former Deputy Head of the Central Ideology and Culture Committee

[1] Bui Duc Tinh: The first steps of journalism, new poetry novels, Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House, 1992

[2] Nguyen Thanh: Vietnamese revolutionary press 1925-1945, Social Sciences Publishing House, Hanoi, 1994

[3] Hong Chuong: Studying the history of Vietnamese journalism, Marxist-Leninist Textbook Publishing House, Hanoi, 1987

[4] Vuong Hong Sen: Saigon in the past, Khai Tri Publishing House, Saigon, 1968

[5] Ho Chi Minh:Complete works, ibid., vol.12, p.166

[6] Ho Chi Minh:Complete works, ibid., vol.12, p.166

[7] Ho Chi Minh:Complete works, ibid., vol.10, p.378

[8] Ho Chi Minh:Complete works, ibid., vol.12, p.167

[9] Ho Chi Minh:Complete works, ibid., vol.12, p.166