Party building

One Hundred Years of Heroes - One Hundred Years of Creation

. • June 12, 2025 08:00

On February 5, 1985, the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam issued Decision No. 52, choosing June 21 every year (the day Uncle Ho's Thanh Nien newspaper published its first issue) as Vietnam Press Day.

On February 5, 1985, the Central Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam issued Decision No. 52 to make June 21 every year (the day Uncle Ho's Thanh Nien newspaper published its first issue) Vietnam Press Day to enhance the role and social responsibility of the press, strengthen the relationship between the press and the public, and strengthen the Party's leadership over the press. On June 21, 2000, at the proposal of the Vietnam Journalists Association, the Politburo of the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam agreed to call Vietnam Press Day Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day.

The 20th century opened the most glorious era in the history of the nation. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by the great President Ho Chi Minh, our people rose up to overthrow the hundred-year domination of French colonialism, the thousand-year domination of the feudal regime, established the first people's democratic state in Asia and continuously defeated the most brutal invaders. With the Great Spring Victory of 1975, for the first time the country was reunited, the vast Fatherland of Vietnam from Lung Cu to Ca Mau, from the majestic Truong Son to the immense Truong Sa.

Then, amidst the siege and embargo from all sides; amidst the collapse of many political doctrines and systems; Vietnam not only stood firm but also rose up and confidently carried out the successful Renovation Revolution, making Vietnam a bright spot of development, peace and friendship, enhancing its role and position in the international arena.

Writing those glorious pages of history, there was a great and proud contribution from the team of journalists - soldiers, members of the Vietnam Journalists Association, pioneers in the revolutionary struggle, sacrificing themselves for the great cause of the nation.

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On April 15, 1865, Gia Dinh Newspaper, the first Vietnamese newspaper, was published, opening the first page for the development of the country's press. However, under the French colonial regime, patriotic and progressive newspapers were always banned and strictly censored, and there was no organization to gather and protect the rights of journalists. Newspapers such as Le Nhaque pointed out a number of issues and were immediately suspended, and the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Nguyen Khanh Toan, received a suspended sentence!

To make a revolution, there must be revolutionary forces.

On the path to national salvation, Nguyen Ai Quoc deeply realized that for the revolution to succeed, there must be a political party of the proletariat, and a large revolutionary force must be built, the core of which is the worker-peasant alliance. One of the sharpest weapons, the pioneer revolutionary force, is the press.

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To make a revolution, there must be revolutionary forces.

In 1922, in France, he founded the newspaper The Miserable. On June 21, 1925, in Guangzhou, China, he founded the newspaper Thanh Nien, breaking the press monopoly of French colonialism, opening the Vietnamese revolutionary press.

Throughout his life, President Ho Chi Minh not only worked as a journalist and founded many newspapers, but also built and trained a press team, directed the establishment and guided the activities of the Journalists' Association.

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“The mission of the press is to serve the people, to serve the revolution”;
“Journalists are also revolutionary soldiers”;
"The pen is a sharp weapon in the cause of supporting justice and eliminating evil."

President Ho Chi Minh

During the years 1925-1945, the Vietnamese press had a remarkable development. In addition to the press established by the colonial government to enforce the yoke of enslavement, a series of patriotic and progressive newspapers were born; especially revolutionary newspapers, published from secret to public; from being weak, they became an important voice, playing a leading role on the ideological front.

Many Party leaders are also editors of major newspapers.

The Communist Party of Vietnam and revolutionary journalists advocated uniting the press throughout the country for the goal of national independence. In March 1937, Hai Trieu and Hai Thanh chaired the Central Press Conference. In mid-1937, the Northern Press Conference elected a Management Committee consisting of 19 members, the core of which were communist journalists such as Vo Nguyen Giap, Tran Huy Lieu, Khuat Duy Tien... In Saigon, in August 1939, the Southern Press Conference was held at a time when world war was imminent, so it did not reach any results.

Immediately after the success of the August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh directed the establishment of an organization for journalists. He said: “Journalists are also soldiers. Those holding pens, those holding guns and swords are on the same front line, together with the whole people to save and build the country. Chopsticks left alone are easily broken, but if they are bundled together, no one can break them.”

On December 27, 1945, nearly 100 journalists met at the headquarters of the National Salvation Cultural Association in Hanoi to establish the Vietnam Press Corps.

Journalist Nguyen Tuong Phuong, Editor-in-Chief of Tri Tan Magazine, was elected Chairman.

On December 19, 1946, following President Ho's sacred call, the whole country entered the sacred resistance war.

In 1947, the Resistance Press Group was born, gathering the press into a unified, tightly organized national salvation organization, under the leadership of the Party and the Viet Minh Front, with journalist Xuan Thuy, Editor-in-Chief of the National Salvation Newspaper, as Chairman.

The delegation had many active activities, such as coordinating with the Viet Minh General Department to open the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism School in Viet Bac - the first revolutionary journalism training facility in our country, a milestone in the history of journalism, which was recognized as a national revolutionary historical relic in 2019.

On April 21, 2019, the road to the national relic Roong Khoa, Diem Mac, Dinh Hoa, Thai Nguyen, where the Vietnam National Assembly was founded, was inaugurated.

On this path, in 1950, journalists representing the Central press agencies stationed in the Viet Bac resistance zone, representing the press nationwide, attended the Congress to establish the Vietnam Journalists Association. Journalist Xuan Thuy, who chaired the establishment of the Vietnam Press Group, the Resistance Press Group, and who had extensive experience in journalism since the 1930s, was elected as the President of the Association, the first President of the Vietnam Journalists Association.

From here, the Vietnam Journalists Association officially carries out the mission of building a solid foundation for the castle of Vietnam's revolutionary press; training and coaching a team of journalists - soldiers devoted to the Fatherland; protecting and improving the status of journalists. The Charter approved at the Congress affirms: "The Vietnam Journalists Association aims to contribute to the building of people's democracy through its profession, defending the rights and improving the status of journalists".

In July 1950, the Congress of the International Organization of Journalists (OIJ) held in Helsinki (Finland) recognized the Vietnam Journalists Association as an official member.

From Viet Bac, two journalists Thep Moi and Tran Lam represented the Vietnamese press to attend the OIJ congress.

Pioneering on the information and propaganda front, the press in the revolution and resistance was the trumpet call to awaken the nation, rally the people; like a flame lighting a great fire that burned out the dark ghosts of colonialism and feudalism, illuminating the foundation of independence.

The heroic spirit and sacred value of freedom that the August Revolution brought made Bao Dai, the last king of the Nguyen Dynasty, exclaim: "I would rather be a citizen of a free country than be king of a slave country."

On the evening of August 19, 1945, when Hanoi had just gained power, the Provisional People's Revolutionary Committee of the North met and approved the decision to establish the Northern Information Office and the National Radio Station.

On August 22, journalist Tran Kim Xuyen was assigned to be in charge of the Information Department, later known as VNA; Tran Lam was assigned to be in charge of the National Radio Station, now known as VTV.

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, it is necessary to mention Tran Kim Xuyen, an example of a Journalist - Soldier; the first martyr journalist. He was born in 1921 in Son My commune, Huong Son district (Ha Tinh). Graduating from Vinh National School, Tran Kim Xuyen took the exam to become a judge, worked at the Bac Giang embassy and began revolutionary activities. In 1944, he was arrested by the French colonialists in Hoa Lo prison; he organized a prison break, participated in the General Uprising to seize power in Hanoi. On March 3, 1947, while evacuating documents against a sweep; when he had just completed his mission, he was hit by a bullet and died at Dam Sen, Ngoc Son commune, Chuong My district (Hanoi). Before he died, he shouted: "Long live completely independent Vietnam! Long live President Ho!". Upon hearing the news of Tran Kim Xuyen's sacrifice, Uncle Ho and all journalists cried, mourning a rare journalistic talent, a staunch revolutionary soldier; the person who had the first merit in building the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) and Vietnam News Agency.

At 11:30 on September 7, 1945, the Voice of Vietnam radio station broadcast its first Vietnamese language broadcast to the world. On December 1, 1947, in Dong Thap Muoi, the Voice of Southern Resistance Radio Station officially began broadcasting.

On September 15, 1945, VNA broadcast its first news bulletin in three languages: Vietnamese, English, and French; making Vietnam, which had no name on the world map, resound with pride across five continents.

Since 1950, many more major newspapers were born; the first press networks, printing houses, distribution stations and journalist associations were formed in the war zones. The People's Army Newspaper organized printing and publishing right at the Dien Bien Phu front.

The arduous resistance war caused many journalists to fall in their youth, when their writing was at its peak, such as Tran Kim Xuyen, Thoi Huu, Tran Dang, Nam Cao, Nguyen Van Nguyen, Phan Ngoc Hien...

As of 2025, the Press Museum has counted 535 martyr journalists, 535 writers who used their blood to color the country.

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The resistance war against French colonialism ended in victory with the resounding Dien Bien Phu victory that shook the world.

The North was completely liberated, the land and sky, and people's hearts were filled with joy in the spring of socialism.

The South was temporarily occupied. Pain spread to every blade of grass and tree.

In 1959, the Central Committee issued Resolution 15, expressing its determination to liberate the South. The whole country carried out two strategic tasks: Building socialism and Struggle for unification.

The 2nd Congress opened and renamed the Association “Vietnam Journalists Association”, affirming the goal: “Striving for the victory of socialism in the North, fighting for national reunification and protecting world peace”. “Basic principles and ethics of journalists” were announced. “International Solidarity Day of Journalists” was initiated.

Uncle Ho attended, pointed out the nature of the Association as "a political and professional organization" and assigned the task of "making members closely united, helping each other to improve their political and professional level".

In 1960, the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam was born. On November 11, 1961, under the canopy of the Southeast forest, the Association of Patriotic and Democratic Journalists of South Vietnam was established, with journalist Vu Tung (Nguyen Van Tho) as Chairman.

In September 1962, 160 delegates representing nearly 1,500 journalists from across the country attended the 3rd Congress, unanimously agreeing on the will to "always be a revolutionary fighting force".

Speaking to the Congress, Uncle Ho affirmed:

“Journalists are also revolutionary soldiers. Pens and paper are their sharp weapons. To fulfill their glorious duty, journalistic officers need to cultivate revolutionary ethics.”

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“Journalists are also revolutionary soldiers. Pens and paper are their sharp weapons. To fulfill their glorious duty, journalistic officers need to cultivate revolutionary ethics.”

President Ho Chi Minh

In 1964, the US bombed the North and poured hundreds of thousands of troops into the South. The whole country was at war. The whole country was seething with a will: “All to defeat the American invaders”; “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”.

That wish burns in the heart of every journalist, urging the Association's members to work enthusiastically, to venture into hardships and dangers, to the hot fronts of life, together with the people, to discover advanced models, to encourage the emulation movement of the whole country to learn and follow "Coastal Waves, Great Wind, Bac Ly Drum, Ba Nhat Flag".

The press enthusiastically wrote about examples of production and combat, who were truly collective propagandists, collective agitators, collective organizers, and who expanded the revolutionary movements of "Three Ready Youth", "Three Responsible Women" in the rear; "Each bullet is an enemy", "Cling to the enemy's belt and fight"... at the front line...

The news of victory was hot and excited the people.

All for the beloved South, All to defeat the American invaders. Thousands of journalists with guns and pens went to battle; writing and fighting, developing the liberation press agencies. The articles, films, photos... written during the gunfire of that day are invaluable documents for future generations. Journalistic works such as Living like an Anh by Tran Dinh Van (aka Thai Duy), The Gun-Holding Mother by Nguyen Thi (aka Nguyen Hoang Ca, Nguyen Ngoc Tan)... have become immortal literary works.

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The press of this period has three characteristics.

1.It is a beautiful symphony of revolutionary heroism under the leadership of the Party and the direction of the Association.

2.It is a wonderful combination of literature and journalism. Poems, memoirs, songs, paintings... sent from the battlefield are broadcast on the radio, published in newspapers, carrying the strength of the army.

3.It is the channel for implementing resolutions and secret orders of the Party and the Central Military Commission in difficult communication conditions. During Tet Mau Than 1968, when the radio waves resounded with Uncle Ho's New Year's greetings, it was also an attack order for the troops...

On the foreign affairs front, many journalists participated in negotiations, organized press conferences and spoke to the international press, contributing to the great success of the Paris Conference such as Nguyen Minh Vy, Nguyen Thanh Le, Ly Van Sau, Hong Ha, Ha Dang, Le Binh, Hoang Phong...

Political journalism reached its peak, especially the editorials in Nhan Dan newspaper. From his shelter at 71 Hang Trong, Thep Moi wrote “Hanoi – Capital of Human Dignity”, highlighting the belief in the victory of justice, when the US rained down B52 bombs, trying to push Vietnam back to the Stone Age.

Then the war at the Southwest border and the Northern border. The articles were like steely proclamations, calling on the country, awakening the strength and will to win of the entire nation such as "The whole country fights the enemy, the whole people are soldiers" by Hoang Tung, which in just half a month, from February 17 to March 5, 1979, crushed 600,000 northern invaders.

In Saigon and temporarily occupied cities in the South, the press openly gathered in the "Unified Press Movement"; courageously speaking out against the invasion, demanding peace and unification right in the heart of the invaders' regime.

The climax was the massive "Beggar Journalists" street march of journalists on October 10, 1974, initiated by the South Vietnamese Journalists Union, attracting the participation of many organizations, students, intellectuals, traders, etc.

Progressive press around the world also stood side by side with the just struggle of the Vietnamese people. Journalists from socialist countries such as Carmen, Blaga Dimitrova..., Western journalists such as Madeleine Riffaud, Wilfred Burchett and hundreds of other journalists made important contributions to help the world better understand and support Vietnam.

British writer and philosopher Bertrand Russell, Nobel Prize in Literature, wrote: "It can be said that only since reading Wilfred Burchett have I truly and completely stood on the side of the Vietnamese people with a deep determination."

We are forever grateful to international journalists and the people of the world for that.

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The 6th National Party Congress is the congress that opens a new era, a new revolution, putting the country on the path of integration and development.

The press, the storm bird of revolution, has fulfilled its glorious mission of "Renewing itself to promote the cause of national renewal".

Never before has journalism flourished and been honored as it is in this period.

Vietnam Television was established on September 7, 1970, and is one of the leading press agencies, along with Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency, Nhan Dan Newspaper and many other press agencies, developing strongly in the country, gradually reaching out to many territories and countries around the world.

Electronic newspapers quickly became the main media. Many press agencies developed multimedia communication, publishing print newspapers, broadcasting on radio, television, and online, attracting more and more attention from the public at home and abroad.

The press has become an effective forum contributing to policy making, innovation in management mechanisms in industry and agriculture, liberating production capacity, creating golden seasons in agriculture; strongly exposing the dark side, fighting against negativity and corruption. Many articles and investigative reports have caused social uproar, creating positive effects for innovation in Nhan Dan, Lao Dong, Tuoi Tre, etc.

In particular, the column "Things to do immediately" in Nhan Dan newspaper from May 25, 1987 to September 29, 1990, written by General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, clearly expressed the view: "Fighting negativity is an urgent and important task."

The strong and diverse development of press types and press agencies is a prominent feature of this period; widely and sharply expressing the people's voice, the voice of social criticism and the voice of fighting against the sabotage plots of hostile forces on the ideological front.

Since 1983, the Congresses of the Vietnam Journalists Association have been held regularly. The theme of the 5th Congress “Innovation of journalism for the cause of national innovation” has been the consistent content of the Association’s activities from 1989 to the present. Professional activities have been increasingly improved in quality, notably the National Press Awards, later the National Press Awards and the Project to support high-quality press works, each year receiving and evaluating tens of thousands of works.

The Association has expanded foreign relations, proactively and actively integrated internationally, and since 1995 has become an official member of the ASEAN Press Federation and is currently a core member of this organization.

The 1989 Press Law and subsequent amendments, which the Association actively proposed and participated in drafting, aimed to ensure freedom of the press and freedom of speech, promote the role of the press in the cause of building and defending the Fatherland according to the renovation policy, create a legal corridor for journalists' activities and prevent acts of taking advantage of freedom of speech to violate human rights and harm national interests.

Since 1985, the date of birth of Thanh Nien Newspaper, June 21, has been recognized as Vietnam Press Day, later changed to Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day.

On June 21, 2000, the Association was honored to represent the press nationwide to receive the Ho Chi Minh Medal awarded by the State and the golden embroidered banner of the Party Central Committee: "Loyalty, solidarity, intelligence, innovation for the cause of industrialization and modernization of the country".

On June 21, 2010, on the occasion of the 85th Anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, the Press force was honored to receive the highest award from the Party and State: the Gold Star Order!

Along with the Spring Press Festival organized at the central and local levels, since 2016, the National Press Festival has been established, becoming a professional festival, an occasion to demonstrate the strength of the press nationwide, making the spiritual life of the people and the spring of the nation more vibrant.

To honor, preserve and promote the heritage of journalism, on July 28, 2017, the Vietnam Journalism Museum was established under the Prime Minister's Decision, located in the national museum system, under the Vietnam Journalists Association, now becoming an attractive destination for domestic and international visitors. With more than 30,000 artifacts and documents collected and many activities after the opening day have contributed to protecting and promoting the invaluable heritage value of journalism, a "second lecture hall" for students; providing rich sources of materials for researchers.

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Born in the flames of revolutionary war, taking serving the Fatherland and serving the people as its motto and purpose, the Vietnam Journalists Association grew up with the country, with remarkable growth:

1950: 300 members.

1989: Nearly 500 press agencies. 6,200 members. 32 provincial and municipal journalist associations. 260 branches.

March 2021: 779 press agencies. 26,413 members. 287 association-level units, 63 provincial and municipal journalist associations, 19 inter-association branches, 05 branches directly under the Central Committee.

By 2024, the country will have 884 press agencies.

By 2025, the whole country will have 26,000 members active in 309 association organizations.

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By 2025, the whole country will have 26,000 members active in 309 association organizations.

Building the glorious history of the Vietnam Journalists Association over the past seven decades, there have been especially outstanding contributions from the Association's Presidents through the periods such as Xuan Thuy, Hoang Tung, Hong Chuong, Phan Quang, Hong Vinh, Dinh The Huynh, Thuan Huu and outstanding journalists in the Association's Executive Committee of each term.

In October 2021, on the eve of the 11th Congress, journalist Le Quoc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper, continued to shoulder the responsibility of Chairman of the Association.

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Over the past 100 years, the Vietnamese press has marched forward with the people under the glorious Party flag, writing heroic songs of the times. More than 500 journalists have fallen in the wars to defend the country and many more have fallen in peacetime:

With a heart that carries the sun

Bright eyes, pure heart, sharp pen...

No temptation, no authority can make him submit

For life, he devoted his whole life!

In the Association's house, the team of Vietnamese journalists, with their courage, wealth of knowledge and experience that have been tempered and cultivated over a century, have been and are continuing to write a glorious history of patriotism, love of peace, love of truth and justice on the journey forward, with the steadfast and steadfast belief of a revolutionary soldier...

Content: NGUYEN SI DAI

Present: NAM PHONG

Image:VNA, DOCUMENTARY