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The Declaration of National Independence forever be a cause for national pride
The Declaration of National Independence forever be a cause for national pride
21/8/15
Hostile forces are increasing their information propaganda against the State of Vietnam while the entire nation is celebrating the great national anniversaries of the August Revolution and National Day. On a number of overseas-based websites, hostile forces try to distort the nature and significance of these historical events for the Vietnamese people.
They offer groundless and malicious arguments saying that “Vietnam’s Independence Day” should have been March 11th, 1945 when King Bao Dai declared the cancellation of the Hue/ Patenôtre treaty between France and the Vietnamese feudal reign in 1884; next they consider that “the Vietnamese people should not have conducted the August Revolution” as “national independence” had already been gained by King Bao Dai and Tran Trong Kim’s government. They consider that Vietnam was, at that time, “just waiting for the acknowledgement from others,” and that the August Revolution was only when the Viet Minh (the Vietnamese revolutionary force) “took power from Bao Dai and Tran Trong Kim. Finally, they claim that the success of the August Revolution “resulted from historical circumstances.” Obviously, their arguments make no sense and convince no-one.
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| People in Saigon taking over the government on August 25th 1945. Archived photo |
How Bao Dai and Tran Trong Kim upset with the Japanese
The first event that hostile forces mention took place on March 11th, 1945 when King Bao Dai canceled the Patenôtre treaty that his predecessor had signed with France in 1884. One may ask the question “why?” That question is easy to answer.
As mentioned above, the decision was made by Bao Dai on March 11th, 1945 and it happened after the Japanese had ousted the French in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsular on March 9, 1945.
After replacing the French colonialists, the Japanese fascists decided that they needed to form a puppet government to rule the local people on their behalf. As a result, the Tran Trong Kim government was set up under the auspices of the Japanese fascists in Indochina. As Bao Dai had broken up with the French, the Japanese fascists chose him as the king and Tran Trong Kim as the prime minister of the puppet government. In fact, Tran Trong Kim and his cabinet did not have any real power as they had to ask for Japanese permission before they did anything. For example, Tran Trong Kim had to first seek agreement on the list of cabinet candidates from Japanese Ambassador Masayuki Yokoyama in the ancient capital of Hue before submitting it to Bao Dai for approval.
Bao Dai was indeed a powerless king. He had to refuse the domination of the French over Vietnam under pressure from the Japanese fascists and due to the interests of his royal family. By doing so, Bao Dai accepted to put himself and his reign under the influence of the Japanese fascists. It can be said that one of the reasons why he had to abdicate on August 25, 1945 was that he felt so ashamed of his status. In his abdication statement, he said: “Over the past 20 years, I have had to endure uncountable pain. I want to be a citizen of an independent country rather than the king of a foreign-ruled nation. From now on, I’m happy with being a free citizen in this independent country.”
Later in his memoirs titled “A dusty wind,” Tran Trong Kim bitterly pointed out the nature and hidden motive of the Japanese fascists, saying: “The Japanese in the past had cultural similarities with other East Asian nations but they have then absorbed the European culture; as a result, they have used crafty approaches to expand their imperialism. They first invaded the Korea peninsular, then China and Southeast Asian countries, which had been dominated by Europeans. To hide their real purpose of invading regional nations and exploiting them, they used the slogan “Allies sharing difficulties” and raised the banner “Freeing oppressed nations.”
Whether Tran Trong Kim government independent
Both leaders of the monarchical State, namely King Bao Dai and Prime Minister Tran Trong Kim, acknowledged the fact that they had had no real power and had been much influenced by the Japanese fascists in Vietnam. Therefore, it is understandable that Vietnam and its people could not enjoy independence although the State institutions, existing from April 17, 1945 to August 23, were all run by Vietnamese people. In fact, the regime was set up by the Japanese fascists in the country and its power was, therefore, in their hands. For these reasons, the August Revolution was of the Vietnamese people and in the revolution; the Vietnamese people won power from the Japanese fascists.
In the Declaration of Independence on September 2nd, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh also affirmed: “The fact is that our country has become a colony of the Japanese rather than the French since autumn 1940. When Japanese fascists surrendered the Allies, the entire nation rose up and gained power to found the Democratic People’s Republic of Vietnam. The fact is that our people have won power from the Japanese fascists rather than the French.” So how could one claim that Vietnamese revolutionary forces and people seized power from Bao Dai and Tran Trong Kim?
Some still innocently argue that the monarchical government led by Bao Dai and Tran Trong Kim was waiting for the acknowledgement of other countries to gain independence from the Japanese. Their arguments are so funny.
Historical facts indicate that all forces of the Allies, which were sent to Vietnam under the guise of disarming Japanese fascists, attempted to put their own dominant systems in place in the country. As a result, Chinese Chiang troops harassed the revolutionary authorities and people in the North in an attempt to oust the revolutionary government and set up a government of their Vietnamese lackeys; meanwhile, British-French joint forces from the 16th parallel southward openly attacked local revolutionary authorities and armed forces in an attempt to reoccupy the South.
Obviously, no foreign force wanted an independent Vietnam nor could bring peace and freedom to Vietnamese people. Understanding that the Vietnamese people were the only force that could win independence for Vietnam, in his letter calling for a general uprising in August 1945, Ho Chi Minh stated: “The entire people should rise up, use our strength to liberate ourselves.” His words “Use our strength to liberate ourselves” then became a principle in all the national liberation struggles, leading the Vietnamese revolution to success.
Role of the Party in the August Revolution
Among such hostile views, some also claim that the August Revolution was successful “thanks to good luck from the historical circumstances.” In their arguments, they try to downgrade the great value of the revolution participated in by the entire people under the leadership of the Party.
It is evident that the historical circumstances created a golden opportunity in August 1945 for the Vietnamese people to rise up for national independence and freedom. At that time, Japanese fascists were defeated on all battlefields and the Japanese King declared surrender to the Allies on August 15, 1945. The Japanese fascists in Vietnam were spiritless and just waiting for the Allies’ forces to disarm them. Nevertheless, the Allies’ forces had not yet arrived in the country.
It must be noted that few can take for granted national independence. The historical circumstances provided a golden opportunity for the Vietnamese people but national independence would not have been handed over to the Vietnamese people without a revolution. As mentioned above, it would never be a gift to the Vietnamese people from foreign forces. In the letter calling for a general uprising, Ho Chi Minh wrote: “The defeat of the Japanese could by no means bring national independence and freedom to our people…”
On the contrary, the success of the August Revolution resulted from a combination of factors. Before the revolution, the Party had carefully prepared revolutionary forces for a general uprising. When the revolutionary opportunity came, the Party smartly took the opportunity and determined the time, the place, the participating force, the scale and the goals for a revolution. What is more, the success was gained with few casualties, demonstrating the leadership capacity of the Party.
Success is not something achieved by chance and this is true in the case of the August Revolution. One should know that for the success of the general uprising in August 1945, the Party had led the people for 15 years to experience 3 revolutionary peaks (1930-1931; 1931-1936; and 1936-1939). Through these revolutionary periods with numerous difficulties and sacrifices, the Party and revolutionary forces grew in quantity and quality, and practical force organization and theory. The nationwide revolutionary front named the Viet Minh, which was led by the Party and aimed to mobilize the entire people and gather national strength, was founded during these revolutionary struggles. The Viet Minh was increasingly well organized and expansive. It had cells in all the localities across the country and there were several cadres in each locality to lead the movement. Thanks to the organization, when leader Ho Chi Minh called for a general uprising, millions of people across the country joined the revolution for national independence.
Every revolution belongs to grassroots levels but revolutionary leaders also play a key role in leading it to success. In the August Revolution, Vietnamese revolutionary leaders, particularly Ho Chi Minh, had sharp minds and strategic vision so they could see the golden opportunity and snatch it. In mid-1944, the Red Army started to counterattack German fascists and won key battles. In Vietnam, revolutionary movements were reaching boiling point. The people in the North of Cao-Bac-Lang were ready for an uprising. But in the end of October 1944, leader Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh) returning to the country from China quickly assessed the situation and decided to postpone the uprising. He said: “The period of peaceful revolution has passed but it is not the time for the people’s uprising.”
He instructed to form the “Vietnam Political Information Liberation Army,” the predecessor of the Vietnam People’s Army in order to disseminate revolutionary information on one hand and prepare armed forces to assist with a general uprising when the opportunity arose.
Delaying an uprising when the revolution was not mature and launching a general uprising when the opportunity came displayed the talent and wise leadership of Vietnamese revolutionary leaders. In late July 1945, Ho Chi Minh told Vo Nguyen Giap: “The golden opportunity has appeared so we should be determined to gain national independence even though we have to pay a high cost or to burn the Truong Son mountain range.”
Discussing lessons drawn from the August Revolution in his article, Professor Van Tao, former Director of the Historical Institute under the Vietnam Social Sciences Academy wrote: “The strategic principle of successfully combining political struggle with armed struggle and properly determining opportunity for a general uprising helped to quickly gain power from the enemy at a low cost. If the general uprising had occurred earlier, it would have been stifled by more powerful Japanese fascists; but if it had broken out later, it would have encountered lots of difficulties due to possible interferences of the Allies’ forces. Amid the arrival of the Allies’ forces, the establishing of the Vietnamese Provisional Government on the side of the Allies to fight Japanese fascists was another strategic statecraft of the Vietnamese revolutionary leadership.”
70 years has passed since the August Revolution. The longer the time has passed, the better we understand the great significance of the August Revolution and Independence Day (September 2) for the country and its people. The August Revolution not only broke down the chain of colonialism and fascism in Vietnam but also created a people’s democratic republic of Vietnam for the first time in national history, lifting the Vietnamese people from their slavery position to the mastership of their independent country. The August Revolution has indeed opened a new era, when the Vietnamese people continued to struggle for national independence, freedom, peace and reunification and at the same time started to develop the country and promote happiness and prosperity for the people. It has become a hallmark in national history as well as a symbol for success of national independence struggles around the world. It has also served as a source of encouragement for other foreign-dominated nations in their national independence struggles.
In short, the value and significance of the August Revolution was universally acknowledged. Still, hostile forces try to fabricate stories, distort information and provide incorrect views to deny the great national victory and the role of the Party in the revolution. Their activities are largely seen inhumane as they have trampled on the numerous sacrifices of generations of the Vietnamese people. For the Vietnamese people, the August Revolution and its outcome – the Declaration of National Independence on September 2, 1945 will forever be a cause for national pride.
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All comments [ 9 ]
September 2nd, 1945 is an important landmark marking a major turning point of Vietnam. It was an establishment day of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam and is also considered the National Independence Day of the current Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square, officially claiming the independence and sovereignty of Vietnam from France and Japan.
As a typical National Day, Vietnamese has a day-break from work to commemorate the event’s historical significance.
A notable sign for the cheerful spirit of the day is the appearance of Vietnam flags everywhere, coloring the whole country with lively red backgrounds and jovial yellow stars.
The streets are exploded with a boom of red and yellow banners of celebrations and oversized posters of Uncle Ho speaking into a microphone in 1945.
September 2 is truly an utmost special day for the whole Vietnam nation.
that is another major important history of state Dimocratic Repulic of vietnam
I am very proud because i am Vietnamese. In the future,I am going to introduce about culture,people,customs and stylelivings to foreigners
President Ho Chi Minh is a strategist of genius. He pointed out very early that the fundamental issue - a decisive factor of the success of the Vietnamese revolution was the combination of national liberation with class liberation, and association of the Vietnamese revolution to the world revolution.
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