100 years of Vietnamese revolutionary journalism: Special issues of Dan Chung

On August 30, 1939, the newspaper Dân Chủ published issue 80 - the last issue because World War II was showing signs of breaking out. In that situation, the newspaper had to switch to secret operations. On October 13, 1939, the Governor General of Indochina ordered the ban of the newspaper 'Đan Chủ'.

According to custom, the first issue of any newspaper has a preface - telling readers about the newspaper's principles and purposes. But Dan Chung is outside of that custom. On the front page of issue 1, the newspaper only published the article " Dan Chung was born" by Tran Van Kiet - with a few very general words and a promise: " Dan Chung vows to be a common agency for those who want Indochina to not be immersed in darkness and suffering".

Dan Chung Newspaper - Organ of workers and people of Indochina

Photo: National Museum of History

Although not clearly stated from the beginning, the actions and content of the following issues clearly demonstrated the principles of Dan Chung . With a resilient spirit and the support of many other newspapers, Dan Chung eventually won the fight for freedom of the press.

"From now on, the people of Indochina will enjoy full freedom of the press" - the title was framed and ran across six columns on the front page of issue 15 as a strong affirmation.

After forcing the French colonialists to recognize freedom of the press in our country, the People's Newspaper No. 22 had a real declaration of its mission: " The People's Newspaper is the mouthpiece of you brothers and sisters. The longer and more solid it lives, the more resounding your shouts will be, and the People 's fight against all enemies will be victorious on all fronts. The People's Newspaper wins, that is the victory of the masses of this country."

Number 28 is a special issue, published on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia. For the first time, the words: "The organ of labor and the people "Indochina" appeared in the newspaper manchette. Although Dan Chung used such a name, it was actually the official mouthpiece of the Central Executive Committee of the Indochinese Communist Party, based in Saigon.

Thus, the most distinctive feature of Dan Chung is to launch a continuous and resolute struggle for press freedom. Revolutionary Hoang Quoc Viet in his memoir "Our People Are Very Heroic" also said that the birth of Dan Chung without prior permission contributed to opening a turning point for freedom of press publication in Vietnam.

Dan Chung was also the newspaper that had the honor of publishing the article The Atrocities of Japanese Imperialism by Nguyen Ai Quoc under the pen name D. Clin in three issues: 46 (January 21, 1939), 47 (January 24, 1939) and 48 (January 28, 1939).

SPRING ISSUE 1939

During the Tet holiday of the year of the Cat 1939, Dan Chung published the Spring Issue 1939, which was also the only Spring issue of Dan Chung . The Spring Issue 1939 had a circulation of up to 15,000 copies. This issue consisted of 28 pages, large format (27 x 38 cm). The cover page made a strong impression when depicting the image of a man holding high a red flag with the slogans: " Peace - Freedom - Food and Clothing", "Unified Democratic Front", "Long Live Indochina!". Behind was a large demonstration, representing all classes of people responding to the call on the flag.

Dan Chung Newspaper No. 28 published on October 29, 1938, the issue commemorating the 21st anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia

Photo: National Museum of History

In the Spring 1939 issue, besides the political column "1938 past - 1939 to come" with sharp political predictions, readers also encountered expressive literary works such as Tao Quan and Women on Tet holiday . Both skits cleverly incorporated messages of resistance into folk or everyday forms.

Tao Quan uses the form of folk petitions to expose the current state of internal division in the revolution, directly attacking the Trotskyites - "the cunning bunch" sabotaging the workers' movement - in a satirical tone: "The meeting failed/How filthy those cunning bunch!". Women on Tet chose the form of letters to express the everyday voice of urban working women, calling on women to unite, form mutual aid associations, participate in study movements, support war victims and fight against bad customs.

The most prominent article is Religion and Human Society by Tri Thanh - the pen name of General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu. On three pages of the newspaper, he highlighted the sharp argument that no supreme being can save humanity from the tragedy of fascism, but only solidarity and struggle are the path to salvation. It is a profound combination of Marxist-Leninist theory and mass mobilization practice.

The spirit of "writing for the people - for the people - from the people" of Dan Chung is still a sustainable value of modern journalism, continuing to accompany modern journalism. (to be continued)

" Dan Chung is a communist newspaper... Published in Saigon since July 1938, it was the first newspaper to defy the law prohibiting publication without prior permission (...). I think that Dan Chung is also the most widely read newspaper in Indochina...".

(Nguyen Ai Quoc, Report on the political situation in Indochina from 1936 - 1938 sent to the Communist International)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/100-nam-bao-chi-cach-mang-viet-nam-nhung-so-bao-dac-biet-cua-dan-chung-185250607203701334.htm