Trần Tử Bình
Trần Tử Bình (1907–1967) was a Vietnamese
Trần Tử Bình was originally named Phạm Văn Phu. Later, during revolutionary time he changed his name into Trần Tử Bình (a name which means "man who can die for peace"). He is most famous for being a leader of Phú Riềng Đỏ labor movement in 1930 and one of the most prominent diplomats of Vietnam, who worked as the Ambassador of Vietnam to China during period 1959–67.
Honours and Awards
- Gold Star
- Ho Chi Minh Order
Biography
Trần Tử Bình was born in an all-Catholic village named Tieu Dong,
Early revolutionary years
In 1927 he signed up to a working labor on Michelin's Phú Riềng rubber plantation in the distant region of southern Vietnam Cochinchina.[1] This decision was another blow to the family because, even without a school diploma, with his education Trần Tử Bình could have found a respectable job as a village clerk or landlord's agent. Again Trần Tử Bình was determined to break away, to seek adventure, to test his physical and spiritual powers in the totally unfamiliar land. This decision proved crucial for his entire life.
It is during this period working in Phú Riềng plantation that he first met communist revolutionaries and learned about the Marxist–Leninist theory. In 1929 he joined the Indochina Communist Party. On 3 February 1930 he became the Party Secretary of Phú Riềng and directly led a revolt of more than 5000 workers against the cruel French colonial exploitation at rubber plantation. The movement was repressed by French, Phú Riềng strike leaders were all imprisoned, nonetheless it forced the Michelin company to make certain changes to improve labor's working and living conditions. The Phú Riềng's labor movement 1930, also known as
After the Phu Rieng Do incident
August Revolution
In 1936, the
In 1940 he was elected by the communist party as a member of Northern Region (
On 24 December 1943 Trần Tử Bình was arrested again in Thái Bình Province and was imprisoned in Hà Nam Prison. In early 1944, after an unsuccessful attempt at jailbreak, he was sent to Hỏa Lò Prison (Hanoi), where he became one of the organizers of a famous collective escape for over 100 political prisoners.
After he returned to the rear, Trần Tử Bình was appointed as a standing member of Xu Uy Bac Ky and was in charge of establishment and development of Hoa-Ninh-Thanh military base for the
On August 14, 1945, the Japanese surrendered to the Allies. The leaders of Viet Minh decided to act promptly to seize the power from the weak and helpless Trần Trọng Kim's pro-Japanese puppet government before the French returned. On 19 August 1945, Trần Tử Bình and Nguyen Khang, the two representatives of Xu Uy Bac Ky remained in Hanoi, directly commanded the general uprising in Hanoi and some neighboring provinces which lead to a start of the successful August Revolution of 1945.
Military and political career
After the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, Trần Tử Bình was appointed as Vice Rector, Political Commissar of Tran Quoc Tuan Military Training Academy.
In 1947, he became Deputy Secretary of the General Political Department of Vietnamese People's Army. Late 1947, together with Le Thiet Hung, he successfully led the Vietnamese military forces to a military victory at Song Lo front.
On 1 January 1948, Trần Tử Bình was honored to receive a rank of major general and became one of the first 11 generals of the
From 1950-56 he served as Political Commissar of the Vietnam's Ground Forces Officer Academy, which at that time was based in China. Since 1951 he was elected to be a representative of the Army Forces to the Third and Fourth National Communist Party Congress and member of the National Assembly.
After the First Indochina War (1946–54) general Trần Tử Bình was appointed as the Chief Inspector of the Army, Deputy Chief Inspector of the State. He served at these positions for two years (1956–58) before moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the personal request of president Ho Chi Minh.
In 1959, Trần Tử Bình was appointed as the Ambassador of Vietnam to the
On 11 February 1967, he died at the age 60 due to hypertension in Hanoi. He was honoured posthumously with the
References
- ^ Charles Keith Catholic Vietnam: A Church from Empire to Nation 2012 Page 266 Trần Tử Bình, The Red Earth: A Vietnamese Memoir of Life on a Colonial Rubber Plantation (Athens: Ohio University monographs in International Studies)
External links
- "The historical prison escape", Nhan Dan newspaper
- Phú Riềng Đỏ (The Red Earth - Vietnamese Memoir of Life on a Colonial Rubber Plantation, Memoire of general Tran Tu Binh (1965), translated into English and published by Ohio University Press, 1985
- "August Revolution: an inevitable path leading to the Nation-State"
- "General, diplomat Tran Tu Binh gets posthumous Gold Star", Vietnamnews