Learning from Uncle Ho's press interviews

Nowadays, in an “open society” both at home and abroad, contact with the press has become a daily activity. However, when reading and listening to the interview answers of many people, they feel that there are still many things that need to be improved to make the content more profound and the way of expression more vivid. To do so, the best way is to re-read and ponder, learning from the way Uncle Ho used to answer press interviews.

Uncle Ho was not only the founder of Vietnamese revolutionary journalismMaleUncle Ho himself was an experienced journalist. He wrote many articles himself and gave many interviews to domestic and foreign press. According to the Complete Works of Ho Chi Minh published by the National Political Publishing House in 2011, it can be seen that from the time of the August Revolution until his last breath, Uncle Ho gave 95 interviews to the press, and the last one was only 49 days before his passing! The journalists who interviewed Uncle Ho were very diverse, from many countries, continents, and with all kinds of different political views.

Uncle Ho talked intimately with medical intellectuals. Photo: Document

This tells us that we should not avoid it but actively and proactively respond to press interviews because this is an extremely effective channel to help world public opinion understand the situation as well as the policies and guidelines of our Party and State, gain sympathy and support for our people's revolutionary cause, fight against false arguments and in many cases send out necessary messages and signals to serve the diplomatic struggle.

The content of Uncle Ho's answers was extremely rich, covering many issues: from domestic to international, from domestic policy to foreign policy, from politics to socio-economics, from security to national defense and even private life... In nearly 100 times Uncle Ho answered interviews, there were many great thoughts and philosophies that this article could not mention.

Although the content is so vast, Uncle Ho's interviews always show the spirit of "frugal words, many ideas", he never speaks at length, sometimes only a few sentences and never uses general words with unclear meanings. The same idea is expressed in many forms, flexible, varied, both resolute and flexible. For example, in the years 1945-1946, when all kinds of enemies, both internal and external, threatened the independence, sovereignty and unity of the country, in 11 interviews, Uncle Ho emphasized his determination to fight for independence and unity: Sometimes he affirmed "we do not oppose all of France, all of the French people. If there are French people who want to come here to negotiate peacefully... then the basic condition... is that the French must recognize Vietnam's independence.Male…” [1]; or take the noble ideal of the French Revolution to affirm the will of our nation: “The Vietnamese peopleMalehave a very normal desire for independence… our struggle up until now is the same as the French. The three words Liberty, Equality, Fraternity have made France an advanced nation, so we just want to fight to be like that” [2]. This way of expressing oneself not only contributes to strengthening one’s argument, but also puts the opponent in a difficult position to refute, and wins over public opinion.

In interviews, Uncle Ho always went straight to the point, without beating around the bush, and always maintained an active stance, an attacking spirit, sometimes humorously mocking the tricks of some journalists who had the intention to poke fun at him. In a press conference on December 26, 1945 regarding the agreement on reconciliation between the Viet Minh, the Vietnam Revolutionary Alliance and the Vietnam Nationalist Party, a journalist asked if the 14 articles of the agreement published in the newspaper "Vietnam" (the mouthpiece of the Vietnam Nationalist Party) were correct? Uncle Ho immediately "attacked": "Yes, but one more thing must be added, which is that both sides have agreed to it and should not be published. I don't understand why the newspaper "Vietnam"Male"Reprinted again. Perhaps the newspaper forgot?". Then, answering another journalist's provocative question, what does the "Union" newspaper mean when it publishes that the Viet Minh Government resigns? He immediately "hit" back: "There is no Viet Minh Government, and if there is none, how can we resign?" [3].

In answering, Uncle Ho never avoided "difficult" and sensitive questions, and at the same time skillfully handled the situation in the following way: "Yes but can be understood as no, no but can be understood as yes".

When our country's revolution had just succeeded, due to the circumstances at that time, our Party declared "self-dissolution", but still operated under the form of the Marxist Research Association. Many foreign journalists tried every way to have Uncle Ho affirm that he was a "communist" to divide our country from other countries and some classes in the country misunderstood communism.

Once a journalist asked: I heard that the President declared that he had communist tendencies, but does the President think that Vietnam cannot be communistized within a period of 50 years? He replied: “Everyone has the right to study an ideology. As for me, I have studied Marxism. 2000 years ago, Jesus said that we must love our enemies. That has not been realized until now.

As to when Marxism will be realized, I cannot answer. For communism to be realized, there must be industry, agriculture, and the full development of all people's abilities. In our country, these conditions are not yet sufficient" [4].

In many cases, Uncle Ho answered very briefly, decisively, and clearly. In an interview with Frères D'Armes newspaper in 1948, when asked what the President hated most, Uncle Ho answered "Evil"; and what he loved most, he answered "Good"; and what he desired most, he affirmed: The independence of my country and of all countries in the world; and what he feared most, he said clearly: Fear nothing. A patriot fears nothing and must not fear anything! [5]

When communicating with the press, as well as when talking, Uncle Ho often used folk proverbs that were full of imagery and easy to remember. Answering questions about diplomacy, Uncle Ho emphasized: “We must rely on real strength. With strong real strength, diplomacy will be victorious. Real strength is the gong and diplomacy is the sound. The louder the gong, the louder the sound” [7].

Here, I would like to draw out a few things that I felt when re-reading Uncle Ho's interview answers. I wish that journalists and all those who come into contact with the press would take the time to study and learn from Uncle Ho, not to avoid the press, to avoid long-winded speech, unclear ideas, and blunt responses that are not beneficial to the country's image. Linking this to the campaign "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" is perhaps not unreasonable. In the long run, if someone takes the time to study more deeply and comprehensively both the content and methods of Uncle Ho's contact with the press, it would be truly commendable.

1. Ho Chi Minh, Complete Works, National Political Publishing House, vol. 4, p.85

2. As above, p.213

3. As above, p. 145

4. As above, p.315

5. As above, Vol. 5, p. 522

6. As above, Vol. 4, p.85

7. As above, p.147

Vu Khoan - According to QĐND-M