Heroic martyr, revolutionary journalist Thanh Giang

Portrait of People's Armed Forces Hero - journalist, martyr Thanh Giang (redrawn).

Phu Tho people

Comrade Thanh Giang's real name is Nguyen Van Khoi, born in 1902, in Ha Bi Trung village, Ha Bi commune, now Zone 4, Xuan Loc commune, Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho province. He was born into a traditional family, a well-off farmer in the village. Orphaned at a young age, but with the care of his family, he was able to receive a thorough education, which was the premise for him to participate in revolutionary activities.

During his time studying in Hanoi, he was exposed to many contemporary political trends. Therefore, he soon became aware of the country's situation, developing a spirit of patriotism and national pride. Since 1922, after passing the baccalaureate, he refused to pursue fame and fortune to participate in social activities, demanding to improve people's lives, democracy, and spread the national language. It was also from these activities that he came to the Vietnam Nationalist Party organization. Thanh Giang was elected to the Central Executive Committee, becoming one of the key figures of the Vietnam Nationalist Party organization. In the years 1928 - 1929, his family on both paternal and maternal sides were places to organize the production, hide weapons, nurture and hide key figures of the Nationalist Party. Until the August Revolution in 1945, his brothers all joined the self-defense force, seized power at the grassroots level, and became members of the Communist Party of Vietnam .

Thanh Giang was assigned to directly command the uprising in Yen Bai on the night of February 9, 1930. The Yen Bai uprising was unsuccessful, Thanh Giang and the insurgents escaped the siege and returned to Son Tay to continue their activities. On the morning of February 13, 1930, while he and Mr. Pho Duc Chinh and Mr. Cai Tan were meeting at the base of a member of the Vietnam Nationalist Party, they were pointed out, surrounded and arrested by secret police, and taken to Hoa Lo Prison ( Hanoi ) for torture.

After 45 days of imprisonment, torture, interrogation and compilation of the case file, the enemy sentenced 39 members of the Vietnam Nationalist Party to death, including Thanh Giang. Later, in the face of the strong struggle of progressive forces and political organizations in the country and fear of the newly established Communist Party of Vietnam, the French colonialists reduced 26/39 death sentences to life imprisonment, including comrade Thanh Giang who was exiled to Con Dao.

It was also in Con Dao that Thanh Giang was enlightened about Marxism-Leninism and became a member of the Communist Party, and was assigned by the Party to participate in the leadership of the struggle in prison. The August Revolution of 1945 broke out, and he and other political prisoners in Con Dao rose up to seize power and were then welcomed back to the mainland by the Southern Regional Party Committee.

Firmly on the revolutionary path

Comrade Thanh Giang spent 15 years in prison in Con Dao. In the first days of returning to the mainland, temporarily staying in Soc Trang, while missing home and relatives, he still decided to continue on the revolutionary path, volunteering to stay in the South to take on a new mission.

Assigned to work at the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee, in charge of propaganda work, he organized propaganda, mobilized the masses, opened training classes, trained revolutionary cadres, and was in charge of publishing the local Party newspaper, Su That (the predecessor of Dong Khoi Newspaper). Comrade Thanh Giang was a dynamic, sharp writer who also knew how to write poetry, and actively contributed to consolidating and building the revolutionary movement in Ben Tre province to develop strongly.

Along with the newspaper editor, he was assigned to open political training classes to train and foster cadres of provincial, district and grassroots agencies. In early 1946, he participated in organizing short-term classes and directly taught Marxism-Leninism, Party building, grassroots government and mass mobilization work. He then organized short-term mobile classes at the grassroots level. In early 1947, the Provincial Party Committee decided to open a Viet Minh cadre school in Ban Mit, Thanh Phong commune, Thanh Phu district, with nearly 200 cadres gathered here to study.

At the end of July 1947, comrade Thanh Giang was assigned by the Provincial Party Committee to deploy the resistance work in Giong Trom district, meeting in the Cay Da area, Tan Hao Dong commune (Tan Thanh). The French invaders in the town sent a legionnaire battalion with 4 armored vehicles to surround and search. They captured comrade Thanh Giang, comrade Phan Cam Ton - Secretary of the Giong Trom District Party Committee and 2 other cadres and brought all 4 people to Ben Tre town for the traitors to point out and identify them. After that, they tortured and beat the comrades for 3 days and nights but failed. Defeated by the will and integrity of the revolutionary soldier who had spent 15 years in Con Dao prison, the enemy killed, executed and pushed comrade Thanh Giang's body into the canal at Go Dang bridge, Phu Hung commune, Ben Tre town at that time.

Upon hearing the news of comrade Thanh Giang's sacrifice, local cadres and people were deeply saddened. Upon receiving instructions from the Provincial Party Committee, local cadres and people followed the canals to find comrade Thanh Giang's body for burial. Comrade Thanh Giang rested on the riverbank and was cared for and offered incense by the families of Mr. Nguyen Van Hinh and Mr. Tran Van Minh for 34 years. In 1962, he was recognized as a martyr and posthumously awarded the Third Class Resistance Medal. In 1981, the Provincial Party Committee, People's Committee, and Provincial Military Command organized the exhumation and burial of his remains at Area A, Ben Tre Province Martyrs' Cemetery. In December 2010, his family received his remains and brought them back to their hometown's Martyrs' Cemetery for burial. In early 2011, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces by the Party and State.

Heroic martyr, revolutionary journalist Nguyen Van Khoi - Thanh Giang lived a full life of "public service", putting the interests of the Fatherland and the people above all else. From the years of fighting in his homeland to hard labor in Con Dao, then returning to fight in Ben Tre, he always showed his will to study, train, strive to mature, and aspire for independence and freedom. His whole life was an example of perseverance, endurance, sacrifice, hardship, compassion, love for comrades and teammates with the common goal of liberating the nation, seeking prosperity and happiness for the people.

Bronze

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/anh-hung-liet-si-nha-bao-cach-mang-thanh-giang-14052025-a146610.html