Correctly evaluate the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet to understand the great stature of the August Revolution of 1945

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025) and National Day (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2025), the Truth National Political Publishing House published the fourth edition, with revisions and supplements, of the book "Tran Trong Kim Cabinet - Nature, role and historical position" by Professor, Dr. Pham Hong Tung. The book is based on the author's research and comparison of rich historical materials, analysis and very new explanations.

The book helps readers gain a deeper understanding of a historical period. Photo: M.Chi

The book “The Tran Trong Kim Cabinet - Nature, role and historical position” consists of three chapters. Chapter I “Historical circumstances leading to the birth of the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet” analyzes the time when Japan overthrew the French and established a native government led by Bao Dai, gathering many “Western-educated” intellectuals with reformist thinking.

Chapter II "The birth and activities of the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet" analyzes the selection process, establishment and activities of the cabinet, from establishing the Constitutional Drafting Committee, reforming education , establishing the Ministry of Youth, launching social movements, to negotiating the recovery of Cochinchina and the concession cities...

Chapter III “On the nature, role and historical position of the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet” explains the reasons for the collapse of this Cabinet in the context of Japan's surrender to the Allies, the pressure of the revolutionary movement and the 1945 famine; at the same time, it presents assessments of the role, nature, position, "merits" and "crimes" of the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet from many sides, many viewpoints of domestic and foreign scholars, through the periods; on that basis, it explains objectively and comprehensively, deeply and specifically, with a new and creative approach.

The Tran Trong Kim cabinet and the indigenous government system that existed in Vietnam from after the Japanese-French coup until the August Revolution were a puppet government system of the Japanese, set up by the Japanese to serve the occupation and combat purposes of the Japanese army. However, it was only a passive puppet government, not an effective lackey government of the Japanese.

During its short existence, the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet made some positive contributions to the development of the nationalist movement, contributing to the protection of sovereignty and national unity, but fundamentally the Cabinet failed to implement a series of policies it set out, especially its inability to solve the famine in the North and Central regions.

These are the grounds to affirm that the Tran Trong Kim Cabinet and the indigenous government system were still part of the ruling power structure in Vietnam before the August Revolution. The entire power structure was controlled and operated by the Japanese. Therefore, if the Vietnamese people wanted to achieve true liberation and true independence, they were forced to overthrow and eliminate that power structure, including the Tran Trong Kim puppet government.

The fact that the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Party and the Viet Minh Front, in the process of carrying out the general uprising in the second half of August 1945, successfully neutralized the Japanese army and overthrew the pro-Japanese puppet government of Tran Trong Kim was a creative, brave and skillful method of "taking back Vietnam from the Japanese" and thus succeeded "quickly and with little bloodshed". This also contributed to clarifying the national and democratic nature as well as the great stature of the August Revolution in 1945.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/danh-gia-dung-noi-cac-tran-trong-kim-de-hieu-tam-voc-vi-dai-cua-cach-mang-thang-tam-1945-712886.html