Editor of Tieng Dan, a courageous journalist
Mr. Huynh was born on October 1, 1876 in Quang Nam . He passed the Giai Nguyen (First Class) exam at the age of 21 and passed the Tam Giap Tien Si Hoi Nguyen exam in the year of Giap Thin (1904) at Thua Thien examination school, but refused to become an official and instead joined the patriotic movement, and was exiled by the French colonialists to Con Lon (Con Dao) for 13 years. After finishing his prison term, he was invited by the Central Region Resident Pasquier to become an official, but he refused firmly.
Mr. Huynh was editor-in-chief of Tieng Dan newspaper from 1927 to 1943.
On August 10, 1927, the first issue of Tiếng Dân newspaper was published. Mr. Huynh began working as the Chief Editor and Chief Editor of Tiếng Dân newspaper, headquartered in Hue . Tiếng Dân newspaper advocated opposing the protectorate government. Most of the editorials published in Tiếng Dân were written by Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang with the aim of stimulating patriotism among readers. Tiếng Dân newspaper was born in extremely difficult circumstances while the people of Central Vietnam were waiting for the appearance of a serious newspaper in Vietnamese. The newspaper was 58 x 42cm in size and published twice a week.
Although it was published later than the newspapers in the North and South, Tiếng Dân newspaper played an important political role. Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang explained the word “Tiếng Dân” in the December 24, 1926 issue of La Tribune Indochinoise as follows: “It is the joy, the sadness and the anticipation cherished in the hearts of millions of compatriots. The people are the source of the country. Tiếng Dân is closely related to domestic issues. If the government knew the deep aspirations of the people, there would be no need to treat Tiếng Dân unfairly as it did several newspapers that were recently launched and closed. This newspaper truly deserves to be called Tiếng Dân, because in reality, it is thanks to the press that Tiếng Dân can be expressed.”
Many times the French colonial censorship department forced the editorial office to make corrections according to their wishes, but Mr. Huynh refused and said: "Either publish the original text, or remove it, without changing a single word."
Once, Tiếng Dân newspaper published a story about a French deputy consul in Da Lat cursing a Vietnamese judge with harsh criticism. The Hue Apostolic Delegation immediately requested the Da Lat Consul to immediately report the content of the incident. The Da Lat consul wrote a letter to Mr. Huynh asking him to tell him the name of the author who wrote the story. Mr. Huynh replied: "If Tiếng Dân newspaper published the wrong news, you can prosecute me, but I cannot tell you the name of the writer." After this incident, the Hue Apostolic Delegation issued a circular prohibiting French officials from using rude words towards Vietnamese officials.
During his career as a journalist, Mr. Huynh determined: "If you don't have the right to say everything you want to say, then at least keep the right not to say what people force you to say."
Tuyen Quang journalists visit Mr. Huynh's grave
The Tiếng Dân newspaper was a political newspaper, but Mr. Huynh did not forget to publish selected poems and essays, often by Phan Bội Châu, Phan Tây Hồ, Bích Khê and many other famous writers. The censorship regime at that time required all articles to be translated into French in 3 copies and sent to the French Resident before being printed. The French Governor-General at that time could not accept Mr. Huynh's "unruly" attitude, so on April 21, 1943, he decided to stop publishing Tiếng Dân newspaper.
For journalists and writers in a colonial regime without press freedom, being able to struggle like Mr. Huynh and his Tiếng Dân Newspaper was truly courageous because of patriotism. With 1766 issues, Tiếng Dân Newspaper contributed to nurturing the flame of patriotic enthusiasm in the hearts of the Vietnamese people.
Lifetime President for the People
The August Revolution of 1945 succeeded, Mr. Huynh was 70 years old. At the invitation of President Ho Chi Minh, Mr. Huynh joined the Coalition Government, holding the position of Minister of the Interior. During the time President Ho Chi Minh visited France, he was assigned by President Ho Chi Minh as Acting President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam with the advice "Respond to all changes with the unchanging". Not letting down President Ho's trust, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang fulfilled the mission entrusted to him by Uncle Ho.
The tomb of Huynh Thuc Khang on Thien An mountain, Quang Ngai.
At the end of 1946, he was a special envoy of the Government to work at the South Central Resistance Administrative Committee located in Nghia Hanh, Quang Ngai province. On April 21, 1947, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang passed away due to serious illness, at the age of 71.
In the letter announcing the state funeral of Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, President Ho Chi Minh wrote: “Mr. Huynh was a man of great learning, strong will, and high morality… Mr. Huynh was a man who was not swayed by wealth, discouraged by poverty, or intimidated by power. All his life, Mr. Huynh did not care about fame, did not seek benefits, did not want to get rich, and did not want to be an official. All his life, Mr. Huynh only fought for the freedom of the people and the independence of the country.”
Later, in 1949, Uncle Ho used his name to name the first and only press cadre training class during the resistance war in Thai Nguyen to train and build a team of Vietnamese revolutionary press cadres. The opening speech on April 4, 1949 published in the special issue of Cuu Quoc Newspaper published on September 12, 1949 in Viet Bac had a passage: "Naming Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang is to remember and follow the example of the patriotic veteran and at the same time a long-time, famous journalist, setting an example for students of the virtue of diligent learning, a progressive organizational mind, a resolute and indomitable will, which are the basic virtues of a journalist".
Our Quang Ngai colleagues told us that Mr. Huynh’s grave is an annual destination for journalists on June 21 or the anniversary of his death. We consider ourselves lucky to have visited the Huynh Thuc Khang Journalism Class in Dai Tu, Thai Nguyen last month; now we get to visit him in the land of An Mountain and Tra River.
Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Press, journalists today remember the courageous journalist Huynh Thuc Khang - who always upheld his indomitable will in the face of hardships and difficulties, reporting for the benefit of the people, not chasing after fame or money. As a veteran scholar, he set a shining example of patriotism, sacrificing his whole life to fight for the people and the country.
Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/nha-bao-huynh-thuc-khang-212810.html
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