Preserving the image of the 'scream' in the middle of the citadel

The headquarters of Tiếng Dân newspaper is currently located at 193 Huynh Thuc Khang (Dong Ba Ward, Hue City) and was recognized as a provincial historical relic in 2018, but has now seriously degraded and has not been preserved to promote its value worthy of the land that is one of the cradles of the country's press.

WHERE THE PEOPLE'S VOICES WERE SCREAMING

Tiếng Dân is a large-format Vietnamese newspaper, the first independent press agency in Annam (Central Vietnam), founded by Huynh Thuc Khang (1876 - 1947) as editor-in-chief and chief editor.

The headquarters of Tiếng Dân newspaper in Hue, after being recognized as a provincial relic, is still "closed" due to deterioration.

PHOTO: BUI NGOC LONG

According to the book Huynh Thuc Khang's Chronicle (Culture and Information Publishing House - 2000) translated by author Anh Minh, in 1926 the French government advocated reforming the Advisory Council into the People's Representative Council (House of Representatives) and arranging a limited general election. Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang applied for election in Tam Ky district and became the President of the Central House of Representatives.

After becoming the director, on October 8, 1926, Mr. Huynh sent a petition to the Governor General of Indochina P. Pasquier asking for permission to publish a newspaper in the national language, Tiếng Dân (La Voix du Peuple) , located in Da Nang , to disseminate patriotic and reformist ideas in a moderate way. According to the publishing plan, Tiếng Dân newspaper was published twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday), with the ideal of serving the national interest, helping the government know the aspirations of the people; supporting moral, intellectual, political and economic education. Nearly 5 months later, on February 12, 1927, Governor General of Indochina Pasquier signed a decision allowing the establishment of the newspaper, but the headquarters was located in Hue.

At this time, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang assigned Mr. Tran Dinh Phien to go to Hue to find a house to use as both an office and a place to print the newspaper. After a period of searching, Mr. Phien rented a house at 123 Dong Ba Street, Hang Be Street (now 193 Huynh Thuc Khang Street). Under the direction of Mr. Huynh, the printing house and editorial office of Tieng Dan newspaper quickly took shape.

On August 10, 1927, Tiếng Dân published its first issue. From here, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, a scholar from Quang Nam, became a famous figure in the capital, both as the President of the Central Region House of Representatives (term 1926 - 1928) and as the manager and editor-in-chief of the Huynh Thuc Khang Printing Company, the editor-in-chief of a major newspaper. Tiếng Dân newspaper existed for 16 years (from 1927 - 1943), published 1,766 issues and was suspended by the French colonial government on April 24, 1943. Commenting on Tiếng Dân newspaper, at the National Cultural Conference in July 1948 in the Viet Bac resistance zone, General Secretary Truong Chinh assessed Tiếng Dân newspaper as "Screaming the voice of the people in the middle of the Hue capital".

" MUSEUM OF JOURNALISTS"

Thanks to his role as a congressman, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang's revolutionary struggle for the country and the people contributed significantly to the formation of the Tieng Dan newspaper with many special historical and cultural values ​​in Hue - the Central region in the early 20th century. On June 4, 2018, the People's Committee of Thua Thien-Hue province (now the People's Committee of Hue city) ranked the headquarters of Tieng Dan newspaper as a provincial historical relic.

Headquarters of Tieng Dan newspaper of Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang

PHOTO: TL

Mr. Nguyen Duc Loc, Director of Hue City History Museum, said that the headquarters of Tieng Dan newspaper was originally a building rented from an existing house to be used as an editorial and printing office, and was dissolved in 1946. After that, Mr. Huynh let the Quang Nam District Council use it as a dormitory for Quang Nam students who came to Hue to study. After 1975, this headquarters was arranged for a number of officials of Hue University of Medicine (now Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy) and became a collective housing area, consisting of 6 households. The people living here repaired and built stairs on Phan Dang Luu Street, built some partitions to make separate dining and living rooms for each family. During the management process, the Provincial Land Fund Development Center (now Hue City) repaired, re-roofed the houses, and painted them with lime.

After the relic was ranked, in 2021, the Thua Thien-Hue Provincial History Museum (now Hue City) prepared a dossier requesting approval of the investment policy to implement the relic restoration and embellishment project in accordance with the direction of the Provincial People's Committee. "However, up to now, the project has not been allocated capital for implementation. Currently, the relic is in a state of serious degradation. The degradation and unsafety of the relic has been inspected by the Inspection Department (Department of Construction) and notified to the museum. To ensure the safety of people and visitors, this relic is currently closed," said Mr. Loc.

Journalist Duong Phuoc Thu, former Permanent Vice President of the Thua Thien-Hue Provincial Journalists Association, said that with its special historical values, the headquarters of Tieng Dan newspaper should be preserved and built into a press museum. "With a budget of about 2 billion VND to renovate the house and build it into a museum, it is not difficult for Hue City. In my opinion, if Hue City leaders are interested, the formation of this museum is completely possible, because currently the source of documents about Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang and Tieng Dan newspaper is not difficult to find," said Mr. Thu.

Tieng Dan Newspaper No. 1,086

PHOTO: TL

According to Mr. Thu, if invested, this place can restore the exhibition point of the Tieng Dan newspaper office, display images, documents and publications of Tieng Dan newspaper, works published by Huynh Thuc Khang printing house... With 16 years of existence and 1,766 issues published, Tieng Dan newspaper is a historical value of Hue's journalism that not every place has. "If Hue forms this museum point, it will become a cultural and historical journalism address worthy of the land with a long history of Vietnamese journalism in general and the ancient capital of Hue in particular," Mr. Thu suggested.

The stele of the doctoral degree at the Temple of Literature (also known as the Temple of Literature in Hue) records that Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang was born in the year of Binh Ty (1876), passed the third class of the doctoral degree in the year of Giap Thin (1904) at the age of 29, on the same golden list as his fellow countryman Tran Quy Cap in Quang Nam. According to Dr. Tran Dinh Hang, Director of the Central Institute of Culture, Arts, Sports and Tourism, although he passed the exam, Mr. Huynh did not become an official, only stayed at home to focus on reading books, supported the study of the national language and participated in the Duy Tan movement, so he was arrested, sentenced to death in 1908 but his sentence was reduced and he was exiled to Con Dao. In 1921, he was released and continued to be active in the patriotic movement. In 1926, he was elected as a representative and was elected Director of the Central Region House of Representatives. After the August Revolution, Mr. Huynh was invited to be the Minister of the Interior; When President Ho Chi Minh went to France for negotiations, Mr. Huynh assumed the role of President.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/bao-ton-hinh-hai-tieng-thet-giua-kinh-thanh-185250616211344091.htm