Directing the struggle through public press forums.

(Baonghean)At the end of 1937, Comrade Le Hong Phong returned to Saigon with the Central Committee of the Party to directly lead the Vietnamese revolution. This was also the time when the Saigon City Council elections had just concluded and preparations were actively underway for the elections to elect the Southern Vietnam Provincial Council.

In the context of the new democracy, the Indochinese Communist Party advocated for the election of delegates to these councils, openly fighting for the rights of the working class and peasants. However, the communist delegate Nguyen Van Tao was elected to the City Council but not to the Southern Indochina Provincial Council (April 1939). Meanwhile, Trotskyist delegates such as Phan Van Hum, Ta Thu Thau, and Tran Van Thach were elected. At this time, public opinion, including among some communists, had differing views; many believed that the communists had made mistakes and had been "exposed"... The enemy took advantage of this opportunity to spread propaganda undermining the role and prestige of the communists.

In this situation, Le Hong Phong wrote a series of articles under the pseudonym TB, published in "Dan Chung" (The People) – the first public newspaper of the Indochinese Communist Party. These articles debated and aimed to unify viewpoints on parliamentary struggle and the defense of Indochina, in order to gather maximum forces for the anti-war struggle and prevent the Trotskyists' compromises: Lessons from the Provincial Council elections; Discussion with Nguyen Van Tao on whether the Constitutional Party would be overthrown by the masses; Was it the Trotskyists' victory in the election of overthrowing the Constitutional Party?... Le Hong Phong's viewpoint, presented in many articles, was: "The struggle against left-wing and right-wing deviations and those who compromise with them, the struggle against speculation, and the tendency to form factions are conditions for consolidating, unifying, strengthening, and enabling the Party to achieve victory."

During this same period, participating in directing the ideological struggle of our Party, General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu, under the pseudonyms DC, T, TH, Tri Thanh, etc., wrote many articles published in the newspaper "Dan Chung" such as "The Democratic Front vs. the Worker-Peasant Front in the election of the District Council (Southern Vietnam), Around the issues of Japanese occupation of Hainan," and wrote the work "Self-Criticism" (under the pseudonym Tri Cuong).

In his writings, General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu clearly stated, "Openly, boldly, and honestly pointing out our mistakes and finding ways to correct them, combating compromising tendencies, does not weaken the Party, but makes it unified and strong... Conversely, 'closing the doors and keeping things secret' to maintain outward unity while inwardly being a chaotic mess, full of opportunists... shows that it is not a revolutionary party, but an opportunistic, reformist party," and "The Communist Party advocates alliances with other parties and classes of people... it must have principles, not compromise with reactionaries, Trotskyist provocateurs, and fascist lackeys."

The convergence of understanding and methods of struggle on the ideological front, as demonstrated through a series of articles by Le Hong Phong and General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu in the newspaper "Dan Chung" during the years 1938-1939, actively contributed to restoring unity within the Party in terms of ideology and methods of struggle – very sensitive issues facing the Indochinese Communist Party in the late 1930s.

Thanh Thủy (ST - GT)