Nguyen Ai Quoc and patriot Phan Chu Trinh on the path to national salvation

1. First of all, the relationship between these two key figures originated from the friendship between Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac/Huy (father of Nguyen Ai Quoc) and Mr. Phan Chu Trinh. The friendship between Mr. Phan and Mr. Nguyen was one of shared academic achievements and ideals (both passed the second-highest level of the imperial examination in the year Tan Suu (1901) and both were disgusted with the oppressive officialdom).

Recently, some historical sources confirm that in March 1911, a meeting took place between Phan Chu Trinh and Nguyen Tat Thanh in My Tho, facilitated by Mr. Nguyen Sinh Huy. During this meeting, Phan Chu Trinh instructed Nguyen Tat Thanh on how to travel to France and the next steps he should take once he arrived. This meeting laid the foundation for the subsequent activities between Phan Chu Trinh and Nguyen Tat Thanh in France.

Thus, these two individuals had a rather close relationship from within Vietnam. This relationship greatly assisted Nguyen Tat Thanh on his journey south to prepare for his departure abroad to save the country, and even later in France.

Following this meeting, Mr. Phan left Saigon on April 1, 1911, and arrived in France on April 27 of the same year, residing in Paris. Two months later, on June 5, 1911, Nguyen Tat Thanh also left Saigon on the ship Amiral Latouche Tréville, beginning his journey abroad to find a way to save the country. On July 15, 1911, Tat Thanh (Van Ba) set foot in the port of Le Havre, France, for the first time, and then continued his journey across continents.

2. During his time in the United States and England, Nguyen Tat Thanh wrote many letters to Phan Chu Trinh, who was in France. Nguyen Tat Thanh addressed Phan Chu Trinh as "uncle," referred to himself as "nephew," and received much assistance from him. Thanks to this, Nguyen Tat Thanh had the opportunity to contact lawyer Phan Van Truong, along with many other important figures in Paris.

After many years of traveling across continents, at the end of 1917, Nguyen Tat Thanh decided to leave England for France to pursue his ambitions. Upon his return to France, Nguyen Tat Thanh received assistance from Phan Chu Trinh and Phan Van Truong with many procedures and residency documents, and was given lodging at house number 6, Villa des Gobelins in the 13th arrondissement of Paris.

When Nguyen went to France, Phan Chu Trinh was one of the people who financially supported this young revolutionary. A secret report dated February 11, 1920, from secret agent Jean wrote: “Quoc relies on Mr. Truong's allowance; he pays for rent, while Phan Chu Trinh and Khanh Ky (Nguyen Dinh Khanh) give him money for food. All together, it's no more than 500 quan per month. Currently, Phan Chu Trinh is working as a photo repairman in Pons. He earns about 30-40 quan per day.”... In June 1919, Nguyen Tat Thanh, along with Phan Chu Trinh, Phan Van Truong, and another Vietnamese patriot in Paris, decided to draft the “Demands of the Annamese People” to be sent to the Conference of Victorious Nations in World War I, meeting in Versailles. They agreed that Nguyen would represent them and sign the “Demands” under the name Nguyen Ai Quoc. On June 18, 1919, through the newspapers L'Humanité and Journal du peuple, Nguyen Ai Quoc's name appeared on the Parisian political scene as a representative of the group of patriotic Vietnamese in France.

From 1922 to 1925, the patriot Phan Chu Trinh and the revolutionary Nguyen Ai Quoc exchanged many letters. In a letter dated February 28, 1922, from Marseille to Nguyen Ai Quoc in Paris, discussing methods of national salvation, Phan Chu Trinh wrote: “Even now, you don’t like my method of enlightening the people, uplifting their spirit, and improving their lives. As for me, I don’t like your method of ‘recruiting talented people abroad and waiting for the right time to strike from within.’ Frankly, I have never despised you; on the contrary, I admire you…”

Although there were differences in their views on national salvation between Phan Boi Chau and Nguyen Ai Quoc, Phan Boi Chau's experiences greatly helped Nguyen Ai Quoc during his time in France. This was mentioned by the late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, who once spoke about the relationship between Uncle Ho and Phan Boi Chau: “I heard Uncle Ho talk a lot about Phan Boi Chau. He said that before he left, he received guidance from him. He took on a job considered lowly at the time to easily evade the secret police when going abroad, following Phan Boi Chau's suggestion. Upon arriving in France, he immediately contacted Phan Boi Chau. The relationship between Uncle Ho and Phan Boi Chau was very close, like that of brothers.”

Specifically, just three months after arriving in France, in September 1911, Nguyen Tat Thanh submitted an application in French to the French President requesting admission to a boarding school at the Colonial School. Writing an application in French at that time was not easy for Nguyen Tat Thanh, as it would take him several years to become fluent in French. Meanwhile, Phan Chu Trinh was near the Colonial School at that time, frequently associating with Phan Van Truong, Nguyen Dinh Khanh (also known as Khanh Ky), Bui Ky, and others. These intellectuals, proficient in French, undoubtedly helped Nguyen Tat Thanh draft the application through their relationship with Phan Chu Trinh. Furthermore, Phan Chu Trinh also guided Nguyen Tat Thanh in many other matters during his first months in a foreign land.

In June 1925, Phan Chu Trinh returned to Vietnam. During his convalescence in Saigon, before his death (1926), Phan met with Nguyen Sinh Huy, a scholar of the highest rank, and entrusted his future independence to his friends, saying: "The independence of our nation in the future depends on Nguyen Ai Quoc." This shows that Phan understood Nguyen Ai Quoc's will and his path to national salvation, and placed great hope in him!

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