3. Blending Nationalism and Communism

The man for all seasons

Never a political leader had been so front and center in the fight for a cause célèbre, in this case, the independence of his nation. As has been known, during his years fighting the French with his men well sheltered in deep trenches in the northern part of Tonkin, near the Chinese border, Ho was using the alias Nguyen Ai Quoc (Nguyen the Patriot) among other coded name pseudonyms. With the historic declaration of independence on September 2 in Hanoi, he switched his appellation to Ho Chi Minh (Ho who enlightens), the hallmark name that everybody became acquainted to.

The biography of Ho is voluminous and well researched. He so personified the struggle of the VN people against French colonialism that one cannot grasp the complexity of the Vietnam war without knowing the personality of Ho, his life, his work, his character and his motive. He epitomized the harsh reality of Vietnam in its fight for recognition in the community of nations. This chapter devoted to such a divisive and controversial figure of the Vietnamese will undoubtedly creates much debate and controversy and it took me years of reflection and soul searching before I could decide to put it in writing.

Ho's character and thinking can be approached from many perspectives, I mean from which point of view we are dealing with. The first is the Americans' whose interest was tantamount during WW2. The French were incessantly after Ho from his early days as a student in school. And foremost the Vietnam people have their opinion about him, depending on their allegiance. In this instance I will take the judgement on Ho, for there are as many critics on him as they are Vietnamese.

Let's first state the facts about Ho's origin and his upbringing. He was born on May 19,1890 in Kim Lien, Nghe An a province that produced another VN well respected leader Phan Boi Chau. Ho knew him well, Chau being a close friend of Nguyen Sinh sac, Ho's own father. The central part of VN where Nghe An is situated was the hotbed of many illustrious personalities during the French occupation. Phan Chu Trinh, another well known writer and activist came from Quang Nam, north of Hue. Vo Nguyen Giap the famous general under Ho, also came from Quang Binh, a nearby province. These men had one thing in common: an unhindered determination to reclaim independence from French domination of their homeland. These historical figures from the center of the land were quite a special category, passionate and quite obstinate in their undertakings coupled with an idealistic purpose that defies imagination. Ngo Dinh Diem, the alter ego of Ho in the South also was born in Hue, the imperial city of the Annam court. 

Even Ho's birth date to begin with was a subject of dispute for he gave during his years of struggle many different dates, depending on the circumstances. When he applied for the French colonial school in 1905 (?) he gave the 1892 as birth year. To the French police in Paris, he declared it as Jan 15, 1894. And more confusing, in his passport when he was arrested in Hong Kong in 1931, it said he was 36 years old, i.e born in 1895... Also according to many sources, he used a total of 150 to 200 aliases during his lifetime activities, whether to write books, articles, pamphlets, leaflets, theatrical plays or to launch a new phase of his political campaigns.

I have looked at 150 of them ranging from the poetic (Ho Chi Minh being the most popular and the last) to the ridiculous or absurd.(...) But the phenomenon is not unique to Ho. Most of the politburo members like Vo Nguyen Giap (Enhanced Armor), Truong Chinh (Long March), Van Tien Dung  (courageous offensive) to name a few had resorted to that practice. It's a kind of identity doping, very symptomatic of the Marxist Stalinist mentality. But for Ho, his aliases must serve a practical necessity, hiding and reappearing under a new identity to avoid arrest and survive. View the extent of his fake identities, Ho was the ultimate escapist, the political Houdini of modern times.

Enhanced rhetoric or self promoting formula not only applied to leaders' name in a Marxist totalitarian regime but also to every aspect of society. So widespread was the use of overinflated language that it became a way of life. So much so that the masses would be hard pressed to differentiate real truth from manufactured fallacy. That's how propaganda and brainwashing technique worked. Communists didn't need to be high on drugs, the seditious language was their best bet and they used it to great effect. For outsiders, it's rather puzzling when a nation labels itself as a real democracy with name like Socialist Democratic Republic of ... If Canadians woke up and saw their country becoming the Democratic Republic of Canada, it's a sure sign that democracy ceased to exist.    

The Politics of Nationalism

We should be reminded that before Ho, the country already produced many nationalist leaders among them Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh who both were at the forefront of the struggle for independence. One of the great asset Ho acquired was the lessons emanating from their unfulfilled mission which permitted Ho and his troops to have an invaluable experience going forward. Ho was not just a good tactician, he's also a tremendous learner of past mistakes committed by his predecessors. Ho personally met Phan Boi Chau, a revered patriot who was a personal friend of his father Nguyen Sinh Sac, during his childhood. Sac and Chau were alma mater, having been 'pho bang', the prized literature degree from the Royal Annam academy.

Chau a father figure was possibly the pioneer VN nationalist figure against the French. Coming also from Nghe An as Ho, he created the Reformer movement (Duy Tan Hoi) to promote independence. From 1905 to 1908 Chau went to Japan during the war leading Japan victory against Russia, the first Asian nation to vanquish the West. Predicting high prospect for the Empire of the Rising Sun, Phan Boi Chau was utmost in his belief that VN should copy and follow the Japanese model. Being a monarchist and traditionalist, he put his support behind prince Cuong De, a direct descendant of Gia Long from his eldest son prince Canh. Chau managed to send 200 VN students to study in Japan during that period, learning the language and the inner working of Japan society. 

Being forced to leave Japan, Chau went to China and was eventually arrested by the French, supposedly under the betrayal of Ho Chi Minh in Canton in 19... He was deported back to VN and being detained under house arrest for the remainder of his life, until he died in 1940. Chau wanted to fight and expel the French by force while maintaining the monarchy, with the help of Japan and China. But obviously he was betting on 2 powers on the wane or on the losing side of history after WW2. In that sense Chau lacked foresight and had no success in his fight for Indochina. 

The fleeting legacy of Phan Chu Trinh

Phan Chu Trinh another nationalist giant during that period also caught the attention of Ho. Ho met and collaborated with Trinh while both arrived in France in 1911. Trinh himself a diehard nationalist insisted on moderation and cooperation with the French to educate and instill French democratic ideals to the VN people. Trinh also knew and met Phan Boi Chau in Hong Kong and both instigated the Dong Du movement (Eastern League), a kind of cultural initiative with China and Japan. But Trinh basically didn't trust Japan for its militarism and imperialism. He wanted to gain independence by non-violent means and banking on the goodwill of the French colonial regime. 

Trinh model for attaining independence was interesting because his soft method based on the goodwill of the French seemed impeccable on paper. His insistence on non violence as a gambit to liberate Indochina even preceded Gandhi movement in India, which started in 1920 in South Africa during a meeting of the Indian People congress party. But history hardly recognized Trinh's pacifist push. And the reason was telling: Trinh never succeeded on imposing his political view on the masses. His appeal for moderation didn't take hold. He had no grass root support and there's an inescapable fact that VN history was written in blood and its people more inclined in aggressive behavior and resort to conflict and confrontation. Gandhi successful non violent experience with India was an unique case (with perhaps Nelson Mandela's in South Africa).

Phan Chu Trinh untimely death and his failure to score any gain against the French dominance was an ominous sign for a peaceful resolution in VN. Historian Daniel Hemery, an devout admirer of Trinh has these prescient words: ' ...Trinh was one of the most recognized figure in the cultural and political history of VN for he shed light on the inner long term problems that VN future generations will have to deal with.'

Ho decidedly was facing with 2 schools of thought that ultimately led to a dead end. He saw them as a hard lesson to ponder looking forward. Ho's genius I think came from his ability to learn from past mistakes and blend different approaches into a new course of action until final success is attainable. He told point blank to Trinh that his modus operandi will go nowhere. And for Phan Boi Chau, Ho said something similar that he will travel to France to 'study its people and see how he can defeat them later.' 

Liberty, Equality and Fraternity

After being kicked out of school in Hue for seditious behavior and for working with anti French splinter groups, Ho decided to travel abroad to enlarge his own personal horizon. It was the start of a worldwide adventure and odyssey that led him through Europe from France to England, from America to Africa,  from the Soviet Union to China , then Hong Kong, Thailand etc... Ho Chi Minh life itinerary was unique and by far he was the world most traveled leader ever, speaking fluently in 6 to 7 foreign languages. Contrary to the backward attitude of the VN decrepit ruling class at the time, especially the xenophobic and myopic royal court in Hue, one can only admire his brilliant open mind attitude, eager to absorb different cultures and benefiting from them.

Before embarking for France, Nguyen Tat Thanh (Ho alias in 1910),  had an interesting  encounter with one of his friend that revealed much about the character of the man, according to William Duiker who wrote an authoritative book about Ho. In his autobiography, written by the fictitious Tran Dan Tien (the actual Pham Van Dong, sic) :' While I (an alleged friend of Thanh, quoted by the author) was finishing my studies at the Chasseloup Laubat in Saigon,...I met a young man from central VN. Being of the same age, we soon became buddies. I took him in front of the cafes frequented by the French, where we watched the electric lights. We went to the movies. I showed him the public fountains. so many things that young Quoc( Nguyen Tat Thanh) had never seen. One day I bought him some ice cream. He was astonished because it was the first time he had ever eaten it.

'A few days later, he suddenly asked me a question: '' Hey, Le, do you love your country?'' Astonished I replied, ''Well, of course!'' ''Can you keep a secret?'' ''Yes''. ''I want to go abroad to visit France and other countries. When I have seen what they have done, I will return to help my compatriots. But if I leave alone, there will be more risk, if, for example, I get sick... Do you want to come with me?'' ''But here will we find the money for the voyage? Here's our money,'', he said showing me his two hands. '' We will work. We'll do whatever is necessary to live and travel. Will you join me?'' Carried away by enthusiasm, I accepted. But after long reflection on what our adventure would entail, I didn't have the courage to keep my promise. I haven't seen him since. I have always thought that he went abroad, but by what means I can't tell you. Much later I learned that that young man full of ardor was none other than Nguyen Ai Quoc (Ho Chi Minh), our future president.'

We can go through many anecdotal stories about Ho, each one with a different flavor and significance. For sure that Ho's life was analyzed and dissected by all known sources. It also has certainly been systematically embellished and inflated to suit the purpose of his regime. And incidentally, this very anecdote - Ho's showing his two bare hands- has been adopted and repeated by many Vietnamese, as a recipe for resilience and hope while facing adversity. Ho's also I think initiated the fist clinching gesture as a sign of defiance and protest in front of the camera. It was a standard show of rebellion against oppression, and black athletes resorted to it during the 68 Olympics in Mexico. My sister did the same in expressing anger and frustration while fighting her husband...

There was a light heart anecdote within that anecdote I just described with Ho having ice cream for the first time. In the early 1940's, when Ho and his associates were surreptitiously fighting the French in Tonkin, he needed money for his cause. Ho through one of his intermediary went to see my great grand father, Do Dinh Thuat, a rich landowner and former high official of the royal court to ask for help to open an ice cream parlor in Hanoi. The request was granted and it enabled Ho and his partners to finance some of their rebellious activities, according to my mother's diaries.

While in France and Europe from 1911, Ho went through a litany of jobs that makes people wonder if it was a little overblown. He was cook, chef pastry, server in restaurant, seaman worker, and progressively pamphlet writer, author, journalist, politician activist etc...you name it. But maybe there was a subliminal message in there, that Ho was the ordinary guy, the simple worker struggling to survive and gradually reaching the top, contrary to the rich and famous who spent and wasted people's money they didn't deserve (like Bao Dai). These menial jobs he purportedly worked during his momentous years abroad were destined for the perception of the populace in VN and thus enhanced  the support he will need when the conditions will arise. But to be fair, he has adopted from the start the strict Marxist cause and was an ardent disciple of Lenin. Ho's no admirer of financiers and bankers, we know that. 

Ho's political ideas evolved rapidly during his stay in Paris. He first espoused the socialist movement which was deeply rooted in France political landscape. In 1920 Ho participated actively in the Tours congress where he gave an impassioned speech for the defense of the Indochinese plight under colonial oppression, with mitigated success. But his attraction turned in crescendo in favor of Lenin's thinking and the Marxist program.

There was no doubt that Ho was struck by Lenin writings and its plan for world revolution. And we have to settle once and for all the question whether Ho was first a nationalist or a communist. It's like asking a child if he loves his parents more than his friends. To raise that silly question is to force him to decide between the motherland, his undeniable biological bond and an ideology, however attractive it might be. Facing that line of inquiry, his demeanor was as always astute and convincing. Of course, life is never a black and white phenomenon And the gray zone for Ho Chi Minh was, according to me, his trademark occupying most of his lifetime. Some authors like Ton That Thien who was close to Ho in the 1940's swore that Ho was first and foremost a revolutionary and communist and not a nationalist by any criteria. It might be true if being a Marxist Leninist was like catching a disease one couldn't erase. John Galbraith, a well known economist aptly compared Marxist adepts as chicken pox victims being marked for life.

Ho viewed by others

From China where he stayed during many years, Ho came back to VN just in time at the start of WW2 conflict when Japan invaded Indochina in 1940. He realized that frontal military resistance against the French was suicide, for Ho and his troops were out gunned and lacked the basic equipment to confront their enemy. It was the period of hit and run guerilla tactics, well rehearsed by Ho deputy by the name of Vo Nguyen Giap, his right hand man.

History taught us that war cannot be won by arms and equipment alone. On the contrary, history showed us that the utter reliance on material power and number usually spelled disaster. Motivation and morale deriving from good leadership definitely have the edge. And a good leader attracts even better leadership from his subordinates. The truth is that Ho's leadership and stamina made all the difference during the First Indochina War. Let's not kid ourselves about that. The question was how to motivate an army who has low fighting spirit and corrupt leadership? Money is definitely not the answer. History proved that in the phase 2 of the Indochina War.

In 1944, in March when the OSS agents met Ho and his troops for the first time in the jungle of North Tonkin, the US had an unique occasion to size up the 'Ho equation'. The Americans needed Ho and his troops to help them defeat the Japanese being aware of Ho's growing presence in Tonkin. Captain Charles Fenn an officer of the OSS, the US wartime intelligence agancy was designated to meet Ho in Kunming, Southern China on March 17, 1945. According to Logevall book, Fenn a graphologist provided a detailed and incisive description of Ho personality as followed: ' the essential features are simplicity, clarity, self-control. Knows how to keep a secret, unassuming. Self confident, dignified, loyal, sincere generous etc...' Ho's handwriting couldn't give a better image of himself. The Americans who subsequently met Ho were also favorably impressed by his demeanor.

The French officials also dealing with Ho and going after him knew him inside out. Among them Jean Sainteny who played a crucial role, being the commissioner in Tonkin. A savvy diplomat but with deep sensitivity and understanding of the region, Sainteny could be regarded as the best and brightest of the French serving in Indochina. He also has a modest and likeable personality on top of being a handsome man, to Ho's liking. Most importantly he has the confidence of Ho and the 2 men would form a genuine friendship outside of their working relationship. In his book about his negotiations with Ho, Histoire d'une Paix Manquee, 1953, Sainteny described Ho in lavish terms, as a 'strong and honorable personality' with 'vast culture, intelligence, energy and asceticism'  and most surprising of all, he claimed that Ho was not 'anti-French'. I was struck by Sainteny remarks about Ho, even dumbfounded. It's hard to dismiss Sainteny words even if I am not personally persuaded.

Now it's my turn to give my take about Ho Chi Minh. Through him, I foresee the pride and misery of VN. The personality of a great leader like him, whether you love or hate him, remained one of the unsettling mystery of history. There's no definitive answer to his motive or deed. Was he a Communist or a nationalist? His answer: ' Too early for VN to become Communist, maybe in 50 years...' He didn't want Chinese troops meddling in Indochina in 1945. But he stayed and took refuge there for years and obviously asked for their massive help to defeat the French. Ho wanted it both ways and the list goes on. Even his detractors found him charming, urbane, humorous and easy going. From my own observation, Ho character and personality raised more questions than delivering definitive answers.

 I thought about him and his achievements quite often. With special circumstances favorable to him, as if the planets were perfectly re-aligned, he achieved the liberation of VN and its independence. And for that I am quite convinced he was first and foremost a VN patriot for he would do anything to accomplish that goal. Ho the archetype of Machiavelli disciple knew how to exert power because his mission, impossible at times, justified his means. But over all, his legacy was far short of what VN was hoping for. The price to pay in blood and violence was too high and as a popular saying: 'VN won the war but lost the peace'. In that sense, Phan Chu Trinh teachings were invaluable. Ho and his regime did liberate and reunified the country but failed to unify its people, a bitter reality that his successors haven't yet accomplished. 

And Ho wasn't the only leader to be blamed for the lack of national cohesion that has troubled the spirit of the nation. Unrest, wars and upheavals were the norm since immemorial time. From 1858 when the first official flag of VN was recorded, this country has changed flags 17 times. It was a revealing detail I didn't fail to notice. Golden yellow being officially the stated color of the monarchy, and people were basically forbidden to wear that color in public. In 1890, VN adopted the ''Thành Thái Đại Nam Quốc Kỳ'' (flag for the great southern nation by Thanh Thai), the yellow base with 3 red stripes that represented the 3 regions (north, central and south VN). It will be the official flag for South VN in 1955 starting with Diem, until the end of the Republic of VN in 1975.

From March 11 to Sept 5 1945, that 'yellow' flag was slightly altered with the second red line cut, a tiny portion missing mid way. Bao Dai had the strange idea of ordering the change, supposedly under the advice of Tran Trong Kim, his recently appointed Prime minister. Kim was by any standard a well respected technocrat, a history scholar specialized in China studies. He proposed the flag alteration with a hidden message that the future belongs to the south, having read the I Ching manuscripts (Book of Change) according to some sources. Unfortunately his tenure didn't last long, just 6 months when Ho Chi Minh took power in Hanoi in late August, putting an end to Bao dai, the VN monarchy and to the newly redesigned flag. History proved the opposite of what Tran Trong Kim has hoped for. And Change it was...

With the Viet Minh seizing power, VN had the new 'red' flag, plain but distinctive: red based with a yellow star and it's the recognized national flag of VN nowadays. But the battle of the flags was far from over and it symbolized the divisiveness of the country, reunified geographically but far apart politically. Millions of expatriates from South VN who left and went into exile still hold on to their grudge and their 1890 flag. And the question of national reconciliation that Phan Chu Trinh had longed for still elusive.