With a fervent love for the country, sharp intellect, dynamism and fervour, Comrade Tran Phu (1 May 1904 – 6 September 1931) actively participated in the revolution from an early age, he was trained and mentored by Comrade Nguyen Ai Quoc and became the first General Secretary of our Party. Comrade Tran Phu was an outstanding disciple of President Ho Chi Minh, a shining example of loyalty to the nation, filial piety to the people, dedicating his entire life to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation.

Party General Secretary Tran Phu (Photo: dangcongsan.vn)

A great intellect, courage, dynamism, and creativity

Alongside with the Brief Outline, the Brief Strategy drafted by leader Nguyen Ai Quoc and deliberated, ratified by the Party Establishing Conference (February 1930), the Political Thesis of the Communist Party of Indochina (the Thesis), first drafted by comrade Tran Phu, discussed and approved by the Central Executive Committee Conference (October 1930), constitutes significant political platform with long-term implications for the Vietnamese revolution. The content of the Thesis fundamentally aligns with and reaffirms many essential issues regarding the revolutionary strategy of Vietnam as outlined in the Party's Brief Outline and the Brief Strategy, such as: the nature of the Indochinese revolution as a bourgeois- democratic revolution with two missions of struggling against imperialism to achieve national independence and overthrowing feudalism to provide land for peasants. The Thesis asserts that the two main driving forces of the revolution are the proletariat and the peasantry, with the proletariat being the powerful leading force of the revolution. A crucial condition for the victory of the Indochina revolution is to have a Communist Party leading with a correct political line, centralised discipline and close ties with the masses. The Party is the vanguard of the proletariat, based on Marxist-Leninist ideology. The Indochinese revolution is an integral part of the world revolution.

The Thesis specifies certain points accurately, such as: the revolutionary method, the timing of the uprising, and the bourgeois-democratic revolution as a preparatory stage for advancing towards socialist revolution, bypassing the stage of capitalist development, etc. The Thesis also discusses the close and intimate relationship between the immediate and long-term goals of the revolution. Ignoring the immediate goal is a serious mistake, but focusing only on the immediate goal without considering the larger, long-term purpose of the revolution would be even more erroneous. The Thesis mentions that in the event of a direct revolutionary situation, the Party must immediately lead the masses in armed uprising to seize power in the hands of the working class and peasantry.

Like many other theoretical works or platforms, the Thesis emerges within a specific context and is the product of understanding of a particular historical period, primarily to meet the demands and tasks of the revolution. From the content of the Thesis, Comrade Tran Phu emerges as a young, passionate communist soldier, demonstrating the high efforts of a great intellect, courage, dynamism and steadfast adherence to Marxist-Leninist ideology, absorbing and applying the revolutionary path of the colonial and semi-colonial Communist International Movement to the Vietnamese situation, always placing the interests of the Party, the nation, and the revolution above. Assessing the success of the Party in the period of 1930 - 1931, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Deeply adhered to the Marxist-Leninist ideology, the Party has laid out the correct revolutionary path. In the 1930 platform of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, the Party clearly stated the task of fighting imperialism and feudalism to achieve national independence and land for the peasants. This platform resonated deeply with the earnest aspirations of the majority of our people, especially the farmers. Therefore, the Party was able to unite large revolutionary forces around its class”.

A steadfast communist soldier and an outstanding leader of our Party and the Vietnamese revolution

At the First Plenary Session (October 1930), Comrade Tran Phu was elected as the General Secretary of the Party. During this time, due to the complex domestic and international situation, our Party faced numerous difficulties and challenges. General Secretary Tran Phu clearly outlined two key tasks closely connected and urgently needing resolution: strengthening the Party's organisation and maintaining the revolutionary struggle of the masses against the enemy's white terror. He affirmed: “We organise to fight, fight to expand, strengthen the organisation, strengthen the organisation to expand it further, organise and fight must be linked, co-developed, one cannot be separated from the other”.

To fulfill the key task of building the Party organisation, the Central Committee of Communist Party issued an announcement to the provincial party committees regarding the necessity of “strictly organising Provincial Party Committees”. By the end of 1930, the party's organisational system from the central to the local level was basically established. Provisional committees in three regions held conferences to elect provincial party committees and establish specialised departments. Under the leadership of the Central Committee of Communist Party and the resolute guidance of General Secretary Tran Phu, from December 1930 to January 1931, the provincial committees of Southern, Middle and Northern of Vietnam were officially established and gradually strengthened.

In order to strengthen ideological education for cadres, party members and the masses, at the end of December 1930, General Secretary Tran Phu presided over a conference of the Central Committee of Communist Party to discuss propaganda work and decided to publish the newspapers “Cờ vô sản” (The Flag of the Proletariat) and “Cộng sản” (The Communist). These were sharp weapons in the struggle against the enemy's terror.

To unite every layers of society within the United National Front, on 18 November 1930, the Central Committee of Communist Party issued a directive regarding the establishment of the “Anti-Imperialist Alliance”, affirming that the alliance between workers and peasants, along with the entire people's force organised into a united and tightly knit force within the “vast anti-imperialist national fortress” under the leadership of the proletariat, is crucial in the struggle against imperialism and reactionary feudal forces for the success of the revolution.

To ensure the appropriate development of the “Anti-Imperialist Alliance” in line with the revolutionary movement's situation, General Secretary Tran Phu directed the establishment of subordinate organisations, issued resolutions and directives regarding the organisation of the Communist Youth League, strengthened the Union organisation, intensified the workers' movement and established the Central Workers' Mobilisation Committee, with General Secretary Tran Phu directly serving as the chairman. From the First Plenary Session (October 1930) to the Second Plenary Session (March 1931), when the Party was established, during the challenging circumstances, amidst the activities of “white terror” conducted by the enemy, alongside coercion and bribery tactics; the conservative - progressive ideology and the mindset of doubt and hesitation among some cadres and party members had significant negative impact on the revolutionary movement. However, the steadfast and firm leadership of the Central Committee of Communist Party under the leadership of General Secretary Tran Phu quickly built a unified and transparent leadership system from the central to grassroots levels, fought against terrorism, protected the forces, maintained the revolutionary movement, built the Party and revolutionary organisations, making significant contributions to the revolutionary movement at that time. Only within the specific context, considering all factors comprehensively and objectively, both enemy and our forces, domestically and internationally, that one can fully appreciate the preparedness and capability of the Central Committee of Communist Party, led by General Secretary Tran Phu, in organising and leading the “enlightened masses, relying on their own strength to fight, using their own organisational power to resist terrorism”. Leader Ho Chi Minh considered this as a manifestation of the greatness of our Party, because “From the very beginning, our Party raised the flag of revolution high, uniting and leading our entire people forward in the struggle for national liberation and class liberation. The red flag of the Party shines like a rising sun, tearing apart the dark curtain, illuminating the path for our people to advance confidently on the road to victory”.

Under the leadership of General Secretary Tran Phu, the Second Plenary Session  (March 1931) achieved many important results. With a “Bolshevik” attitude and spirit, the session conducted thorough analysis and criticism of past mistakes of the Party in understanding the nature of classes and the role of the Communist Party in leading the fierce struggle against the enemy. The leadership noted the erroneous tendency towards petty bourgeois thinking, insufficient trust in the masses, loose integration between organising and struggling, conservative - progressive sometimes coercion while trailing behind the masses in others. The importance of propaganda work and youth mobilisation were underestimated. The session outlined the urgent tasks for Party building, emphasising the Party's leadership role in sustaining the people's struggle against the enemy's fierce terrorism. It also emphasised the need for the Party to swiftly establish and lead revolutionary organisations of the masses. The session passed resolutions on organisational issues and propaganda mobilisation with critical tasks such as: “cultivating a Bolshevik ideological foundation for the Party”, “training Party members and proletarian masses in the spirit of Marxism-Leninism”.

Immediately after the end of the Second Plenary Session, many leading cadres from the central to provincial levels, including General Secretary Tran Phu, were arrested. Despite enduring torture and various deceitful tactics during the harsh interrogations and extensive searches in Saigon, the revolutionary spirit and fighting will of General Secretary Tran Phu remained unshaken. Admitting his position as the General Secretary of the Party, Comrade Tran Phu boldly declared to the enemy, “I cannot disclose the works of our Party to you”. Despite his deteriorating health during his days in prison, General Secretary Tran Phu continued to rally his comrades and fellow detainees to resist the harsh regime in the prison, opposing death sentences for political offenses; exchanging thoughts on the revolutionary situation and tasks, steadfastly struggling against opportunistic elements and capitulationists. His final words of encouragement to his comrades before taking his last breath, “I only hope that you all will maintain your fighting spirit!” continue to echo through the ages.

The entire life and revolutionary career of General Secretary Tran Phu constitute a luminous page. Though not long, it shines brightly, brimming with intellectual capacity, courage, steadfastness, loyalty, optimism, indomitability and dignity. The International Communist Magazine (May 1932) emphasised: “Comrade Tran Phu, our General Secretary, may have sacrificed himself, but his name will forever live on in the history of the revolutionary struggle of Indochina, as well as in the hearts of the labourers of Indochina of today and tomorrow”. Leader Ho Chi Minh praised: “Comrade Tran Phu is an outstanding member of the Party and of the people”; “Comrade Tran Phu... and many other comrades have selflessly sacrificed themselves for the people, for the Party, setting a shining example of revolutionary ethics and wholehearted dedication for us all to learn from”.

The valuable lessons for our Party and the current Vietnamese revolution.

The commemoration of 120 anniversary of the birth of General Secretary Tran Phu is an opportunity to honour and express gratitude for his significant contributions to the glorious revolutionary cause of the Party and the nation; reaffirm the steadfastness and creative application of the valuable lessons that Comrade Tran Phu - the first General Secretary of the Party - left for the Vietnamese revolution and our Party.

Firstly, it needs to be affirmed that: Our Party, as the ruling party, must have a correct, insightful, and creative path, which is the foremost factor determining every success of the revolution. Political thesis and the direction for implementing it must be timely, flexible, demonstrating loyalty to Marxism-Leninism for the supreme interests of the Party, the revolution, and the people. It should be deeply penetrated in the Party's current guiding principles regarding steadfastness, application and creative development of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought and the steadfast pursuit of national independence and socialism.

Secondly, to enhance the leadership capacity, governance and combat power of the Party, it is necessary to build a strong Party in terms of political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle; must resolutely oppose all manifestations that deviate from the Party's line, opportunism and factionalism, including “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party. Building and preserving unity and solidarity within the Party should be treated as protecting “the pupil of one's eye”, based on Party principles and regulations; strengthening the close relationship and bond between the Party and the people, always prioritising the interests of the Fatherland and the people above all else.

Thirdly, “maintaining the fighting spirit” following the example of General Secretary Tran Phu, elevating the revolutionary ethics of selfless dedication, eliminating individualism, irresponsibility, fear of responsibility, and evasion of responsibility. Every cadre and Party member must have the spirit to overcome all difficulties and challenges, fight against all negatives and fulfill the revolutionary cause that General Secretary Tran Phu passed on, building a country that is increasingly prosperous, thriving, civilised and happy.

Associate Professor, Dr. BUI DINH PHONG, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics