📋 Tender Overview
Huynh Van Tieng (1920 - 2009) was a patriotic intellectual, a sharp journalist and a brave politician. He is not only the person who laid the foundation for the radio and television industry but also an excellent politician, attached to the parliament for 30 years (from term I to term V). He not only told historical stories, but also held a gun, a pen and a ballot to contribute to writing heroic pages of history of the National Assembly of Vietnam. Download Mr. Huynh Van Tieng (far right) attending the Indochina Peoples Conference in Cambodia, 1965. Documentary photoThe 1946 general election and the legend of blood ballots in SaigonAfter the August Revolution of 1945, our countrys young independence faced a situation of hanging by a thread. In the South, the guns of invasion by the French colonialists rang out from September 23, 1945 with a plot to permanently occupy the South, separate the South from Vietnam to become a French colonial territory and use the South as a springboard to expand the occupation of Central and Northern Vietnam, eliminating the Democratic Republic of Vietnam regime. Realizing this strategic plot, the Government headed by President Ho Chi Minh determined to organize the first general election nationwide on January 6, 1946 to enhance the great prestige of the revolutionary government supported by the entire people and take advantage of this support to repel and defeat the French plot to divide and re-invade Vietnam. In Saigon and the South, organizing elections is a tough battle of wits and strength. The French army surrounded the inner city, imposed strict martial law, and secret agents lurked in every corner. Complying with the Central Governments policy, Huynh Van Tieng participated in carrying out two extremely difficult parallel tasks: Organizing resistance forces and bases; Organizing the first General Election in Saigon and the Southern provinces creates conditions for the people to elect their true representatives. In the suburbs, because we have launched a guerrilla war and built a revolutionary government system, we have more favorable conditions to organize peoples meetings day and night to propagate and guide the General Election. However, in the inner city, French troops and secret agents were closely surrounded. He and his comrades in the Organizing Committee of the Saigon General Election secretly went to every family, campaigned, and brought each delegation to overcome the blockade, cross the swamp... to go to suburban areas to exercise their civil rights. Enemy ambushes that shed the blood of dozens of people, including 37 officers and soldiers who died while on duty to protect ballot boxes in the South, made Huynh Van Tieng emotionally exclaim: Bloody ballots. The results of the General Election in Saigon are like a legend among many other legends about the patriotism, revolutionary heroism, and noble unified will of our people. From those blood votes, Huynh Van Tieng became more deeply aware of his great role and responsibility when he was trusted by the people to be elected as a representative of the first National Assembly of Saigon-Cho Lon. Parliamentary bravery The journey with the Saigon-Cho Lon delegates to Hanoi for the first session of the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was extremely arduous and dangerous. Although he could not attend the first meeting due to health reasons, at the second session on March 15, 1946, Mr. Huynh Van Tieng was assigned to question the Government about the signing of the preliminary Agreement on March 6, 1946 with the French authorities in a context where the country was full of political complications. Reactionary parties such as Viet Quoc and Viet Cach relied on Chiang Kai-sheks army to pressure our Government to give them 70 seats in the National Assembly without elections, constantly attacking the Government for signing the Preliminary Agreement. In that tense atmosphere, Huynh Van Tieng - as a representative of the Democratic Party of Vietnam - demonstrated the bravery of a sharp political journalist. He was the first person to register to read the paper on the Preliminary Agreement. His essay is not only a political text but also an eloquent piece of literature with four coherent parts, deeply analyzing that signing the Agreement was not cowardice but a tactical step back to take two strategic steps forward. With undeniable arguments, he completely silenced the reactionary delegates who were trying to defame the Government. He emphasized: The fact that the French colonialists - a great power - were forced to sit down to negotiate and recognize Vietnam as a free country in the French Union was a diplomatic victory, creating a premise for the fight for independence later. His presentation was enthusiastically welcomed by delegates. Huynh Van Tiengs astuteness contributed to stabilizing the parliamentary situation, creating a high level of consensus for the National Assembly to pass important decisions of President Ho Chi Minh. Diplomatic mission and constitution and law building In April 1946, the National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam sent a delegation to visit and work with the French National Assembly led by comrade Pham Van Dong and Huynh Van Tieng as Secretary General with important foreign affairs tasks: Make the French people and the world clearly understand Vietnams desire for peace but uncompromising independence. In Paris, as GeneralSecretary, he directly fought for France to carry out welcoming rituals for an independent country: the Vietnamese flag must be raised to the highest flagpole at Orly airport and the delegations accommodation at Le Louvre hotel. With his fluent French and elegant demeanor, he held press conferences and interacted with French parties and people. The press conference he organized with the participation of hundreds of international reporters aimed to praise the friendship between the people of Vietnam and France, condemn colonial
