“Pham Xuan An - A man's name like his life”

Cover of the book "Pham Xuan An - A person's name like a life" by Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai, reprinted in 2024.

Respected journalist

Pham Xuan An played the role of a journalist and reporter operating in danger from 1949 - 1975, surrounded by enemies, the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency of the United States), and police... Mr. An courageously obtained secret documents that the puppet General Staff had not yet seen, and were already on General Vo Nguyen Giap's desk.

Colonel Xuan Manh - also known as Muoi Nho (Chief of Saigon Intelligence), later commented on Pham Xuan An: "An is not only a spy who gets documents, but also a strategic intelligence officer, an excellent analyst, assesser and judger of reality". Through the book "Pham Xuan An - A name like a life", author Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai was the first person to "lift the veil" of mystery about the man with 2 jobs, 2 lives: Journalist - spy Pham Xuan An. During the past 10 years, Ms. Ngoc Hai visited Mr. An's house many times to take notes, research and complete the manuscript. "Pham Xuan An - A name like a life" is also the only book that Mr. An read the manuscript and when the book was published (the book was published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House in 2002, and Mr. An passed away in 2006). Therefore, Ms. Hai's book helps readers understand more about Mr. An's patriotism, humanity, and loyalty.

Pham Xuan An was the only Vietnamese person on the payroll of a foreign news agency at that time, with a very high salary of 750 USD/month. Although journalism was just a front for a spy job, An was considered a good and excellent journalist. An said: "Front must be an art, must be true to the profession, cannot be faked..." In times of peace, we - journalists have to chase news, chase deadlines. Yet in An's time, he not only "was a real journalist, but also "hunted news" for the country to defeat the invaders, gain Independence - Freedom. How great and sacred and noble was his news hunting job!" the author wrote.

Reading Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai's book, we gathered many good ideas from Pham Xuan An when talking about journalism: "If you eat fast, you have to be sure. If the article is delivered after others, it must have more news, "fatter". Or like when the author came to Mr. An's house, saw him cleaning up his grandson's toys, Mr. An also analyzed the toy products of other countries: "... I pay a lot of attention. Journalists must know what people are interested in. Readers often like strange things, unfamiliar things. There are three types of topics that people always welcome to read. That is, writing about social issues, family matters and writing about oneself, personal life stories...".

A beautiful personality

Many writers, researchers, and television directors at home and abroad have written and made documentary reports about Pham Xuan An. They have met Mr. An’s former colleagues. When they learned that Mr. An was an intelligence officer, his friends were very surprised. Because with the sensitivity of journalists, they still did not recognize An as a spy. These friends always respected Pham Xuan An’s personality. Because Mr. An never reported false news or “poisoned” news in the intelligence style.

Armed Forces Hero Pham Xuan An said: “I thought I could escape and return to the army. But Mr. Thach (doctor Pham Ngoc Thach) told the Party to assign a new task. In 1951, we established the strategic intelligence branch. You were in the first batch.” In 1953, Pham Xuan An was officially admitted to the Communist Party, with a ceremony in Ca Mau. During his mission, Mr. An was carefully instructed by his superiors - journalists like us today believe that many things are still valuable today (about 74 years ago, 1951 - 2025). “Mr. Muoi Huong (Tran Quoc Huong - the intelligence commander) often paid attention to telling me two things: First, emphasize ideological and political stance, cultural understanding. Second, solid professional skills. He said: must go to school, learn about American culture. Must learn through culture”, Pham Xuan An said.

Therefore, during the years he was sent to study journalism in the US, Pham Xuan An tried very hard to study, understand American culture, and learn how Americans think. Thanks to that, later on, journalist Pham Xuan An quickly integrated and made many correct comments, analyses, and assessments, contributing to the victory, leading the country to unification. Mr. An jokingly said: "If you work in a contact profession and they don't like you, you're like a beggar!". Reading "Pham Xuan An - A name like a life", we pondered that in journalism, you not only have to be steadfast in your ideology and good at your job, but also have to respect honor, be sincere, and not lie. The phrase that Mr. An often mentioned in journalism and even when working as an intelligence officer is to be sincere, not lie, because if you lie, people will know right away, and you'll die.

Pham Xuan An did not write a memoir, did not accept any interviews from journalists. He immediately refused when author Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai came and asked to write about him. Therefore, the author gave up the idea of writing, she only asked to "listen to understand, to learn about a special person". And for 10 years, Ms. Hai visited Mr. An's house many times. The book "Pham Xuan An - A name like a life" for Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hai is "the hasty flashes of light, drawing a rambling portrait of a hero". Because, according to Ms. Hai, the flashes of light are only the surface, the deep surface with the fierce beauty of the difficult and fierce situations in Mr. Pham Xuan An's circumstances, the spiritual beauty of intelligence soldiers, we will never have, know.

Pham Xuan An (1927 - 2006), born in Bien Hoa - Dong Nai . Birth name is Pham Van Thanh, a Vietnamese intelligence major general, nicknamed X6, Tran Van Trung or Hai Trung. Participated in the wars: Indochina War, Vietnam War, Mau Than 1968 campaign, Ho Chi Minh campaign. The titles Mr. An was awarded include: Hero of the People's Armed Forces, Second Class Independence Medal, First Class Resistance Medal, First Class Feat of Arms Medal and many other medals and awards.

Article and photos: Thach Thao

Source: https://baodongkhoi.vn/-pham-xuan-an-ten-nguoi-nhu-cuoc-doi--21032025-a144010.html