1940
Nguyen Ai Quoc wrote an article titled “Fish eyes disguised as pearls” in Cuu Vong Nhat Bao (Salvation Daily) to warn people they should be vigilant about Japan’s plot to plant men to destroy revolutionary organizations.
The article said, “To Vietnamese people and Vietnam’s national liberation movement, we have to give help as much as we can. But at the same time, we have to be careful and expose the devil of fish eyes disguised as pearls.”
1943
The Vietnam Revolutionary League’s Dong Minh (Ally) in Liuzhou, China published his article titled “Libya”, which introduced Libyan people’s fight against French colonists.
He wrote, “Any Pétain or Degaulle has an evil heart, insists on being part of the scope of imperialism, and is a common enemy of colonial nations and protectorates… Vietnam is preparing to fight against Japan and cast out the French to gain independence and freedom. Therefore, any nations who rise up against imperialists are Vietnam’s close friends.”
1949
President Ho Chi Minh sent a congratulatory message to Chinese President Mao Zedong on the anniversary of the establishment of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.
He wrote, “Vietnam and China have had a [close] relationship for thousands of years. From now on, this relationship will be closer to develop freedom and happiness for the two nations and protect world democracy and peace.”
December 1949
He composed a poem upon learning that lawyer Phan Anh had another child.
You have one more child
Your children have one more younger brother/sister
Uncle Ho has one more grandchild
The country has one more citizen
There will be one more soldier in the future
After being presented with a coat by wounded soldiers, he wrote to them to say thank you and to praise their contributions to the resistance. The President said, “If I don’t accept the coat, you will be sad. If I take it, I am not at ease. I plan to ask organizations to auction it to get money for good deeds.”
1950
He wrote to officials and soldiers of Midland Campaign.
He said, “You have tried. The result of your attempt is the recent victory of Border Campaign. This time, you have to try harder because this campaign is important. Furthermore, this is the first time we will fight in the open and the enemy has prepared well. Therefore, we have to be determined to win.
“Every person, unit, and section has to be more surreptitious, quick and determined. You must win in this campaign.”
1962
Nhan Dan (People) published an article titled “Quality of commodities needs improvement” in which the President wrote under the pseudonym T.L.
He criticized many commodities for daily use and wrote, “Commodities don’t meet quality standards because some officials and workers don’t have a sense of responsibility, act carelessly and only focus on quantity. This is contrary to policies of the Party and Government and threatens people’s interests.
“Every enterprise and cooperative must ensure the quality of their products.”
By Duong Trung Quoc* and his assistants
*The author is a historian and member of the National Assembly
