Miracle of Cuu Quoc newspaper

On January 25, 1942, the newspaper Cuu Quoc was born as the official mouthpiece of the Viet Minh Front. From 1945 to 1950, Cuu Quoc was a revolutionary newspaper widely distributed throughout the country, having an important voice during the resistance war against the French.

The "traveling" newspaper

From 1942 to 1945, the newspaper Cuu Quoc was the main propaganda agency of the Viet Minh, under the direct leadership of General Secretary Truong Chinh. In conditions of secret operation, the newspaper played an important role in propagating the Party's national salvation line and the Viet Minh's action program, strongly arousing patriotism and encouraging people to participate in the struggle movements, contributing to promoting the revolutionary climax.

The article "The spirit of the Southern uprising rises" in the newspaper Cuu Quoc No. 15, November 30, 1944

After the victory of the August Revolution, the newspaper Cuu Quoc was headquartered at 114 Hang Trong Street, Hanoi . When the nationwide resistance war broke out, the newspaper Cuu Quoc withdrew from the capital and began publishing in places in the resistance zones.

When the French colonialists attacked the outskirts of Hanoi, the newspaper's editorial office moved to Sai Son (Quoc Oai) - the newspaper's old base during its secret operation period. During the early stages of the resistance war against the French, the Cuu Quoc newspaper was the only newspaper that was still published daily and transmitted combat orders. Each copy of the newspaper was sent to the rear to reach the evacuees in the Van Dinh area.

In March 1947, when the French attacked Hoai Duc and Chuong My, the Cuu Quoc newspaper retreated to Phu Tho . The agency had to split into three: the editorial office, the printing house in Ha Giap (Phu Ninh) and the administrative office on the outskirts of the town. Not long after, the newspaper had to move to Son Duong and then Chiem Hoa (Tuyen Quang). Despite the hand-cranked typo printers, self-mixed printing powder, and paper shortages, news was still produced regularly.

By the end of June 1947, the Cuu Quoc newspaper had to continue moving from Tuyen Quang to Bac Kan. The work of transporting printing equipment, paper, canvas, and sacks continued for several weeks with hundreds of people. In his memoirs, The Cuu Quoc Newspaper 1942 - 1954 (Tri Thuc Publishing House, 2017), journalist Nguyen Van Hai recounted: "Once in the middle of the day, we heard gunshots so close, everyone was working and quickly packed up to run... After running a distance, we quickly hid things in the bushes at the foot of the mountain, and everyone climbed back up the slope. After a while, they [the French invaders] turned around. The Cuu Quoc newspaper agency went back down the mountain."

From 1948 to 1950, the newspaper continuously moved with each wave of enemy withdrawal, sometimes having to pull up camp as soon as it set up camp. However, the National Salvation Newspaper never missed its appointment with its readers, and in 1950, it settled down in Roong Khoa (Dinh Hoa, Thai Nguyen), close to the Viet Minh Headquarters - a place that became a solid support before entering the general counter-offensive.

A glorious journey

From the beginning of 1942 until the successful General Uprising, the newspaper Cuu Quoc published 30 issues, with different times. In 1942 - 1943, there were 9 issues, in 1944, there were 9 issues, and in 1945, there were 12 issues. On August 24, 1945, the newspaper Cuu Quoc was published publicly in Hanoi, becoming the only daily newspaper of the revolutionary press. This contributed to propagating the victory of the revolution as well as stabilizing the political and social situation.

National Salvation Newspaper No. 36, September 5, 1945

Photo: National Museum of History

Issue 36 of the National Salvation Newspaper (September 5, 1945) published the full text of the Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, affirming the birth of a free nation. Notably, in just over a year, from issue 36 to issue 434 (December 13, 1946), President Ho Chi Minh sent 149 articles to the National Salvation Newspaper , which had the effect of directing the resistance and nation-building cause in the complex situation at that time.

During the 9 years of resistance war against the French, despite having to constantly move through many localities such as Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang... the newspaper Cuu Quoc was still the only newspaper published regularly and continuously every day. In the Xuan Thuy Collection printed in 1999 in Hanoi, General Secretary Truong Chinh noted: "We have the Central Cuu Quoc newspaper, and also the Cuu Quoc newspaper in all the resistance zones. That was the only daily newspaper of our Party and people during this period. Just the fact that the newspaper was published regularly for nearly 3,000 days in extremely fierce, arduous, and deprived war conditions, can be said to be a miracle of our people".

In September 1955, the Lien Viet Front changed its name to the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the Cuu Quoc newspaper officially became the organization's mouthpiece. In early 1977, the Cuu Quoc newspaper completed its historic mission after publishing issue 3855. The newspaper merged with the Giai Phong newspaper (of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam) to publish a new newspaper called Dai Doan Ket .

The history of the newspaper Cuu Quoc not only marks a challenging journey of revolutionary journalism but also demonstrates the power of the fighting pen in the cause of preserving national independence. (to be continued)

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ky-tich-bao-cuu-quoc-185250608232124028.htm