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Ho Chi Minh and Vietnamese Independence
- Ho’s speech proclaiming Vietnam’s independence contains a demand that the free world support that independence in part as payment for services rendered during World War 2. What ‘service’ did Vietnam render during that conflict?
According to Ho’s speech, Vietnam played a pivotal role during World War 2 (History Matters, 2017). Vietnam was at the receiving end of the brutality of the war. Although the citizens were molested by the Japanese and the French, they showed humane attitudes towards their oppressors. The already despairing French handed over the Vietnamese to the Japanese before retreating in spite of the pleas from the later to join forces against the Japanese. The Vietnamese struggled under colonial powers of the Japanese and even helped them after the Japanese putsch of March 1945. The Vietminh League assisted the Frenchmen in crossing the frontier. At the same time, they helped the Japanese get out of jails while protecting their lives and property. Thus Vietnam rendered humane services to their oppressors under the most unlikely circumstances. They fought their colonialists and gained their democracy.
- Ho claims that Vietnam’s independence is consistent with the philosophical principles which the Allies claimed were paramount during World War 2. What principles was Ho referring to, and does he make references to occasions where those principles were reasserted?
Ho refers to important philosophical principles which are consistent with those of their Allies during World War 2. He refers to the basic principles and privileges of good life which every person should enjoy. Every person is created equal with another person regardless of country, race or any other factor. All people have certain immutable rights such as the right to life and the right to liberty and pursuit of happiness. During the colonial time, the principles were usurped but they were later reasserted when Vietnam regained independence. When the Vietnamese gained independence, they could exercise their rights and basic principles of life without oppression from anybody. That is why Ho urges all Vietnamese to use their physical and mental strength and their resources to safeguard their independence and liberty (History Matters, 2017).
- In the speech, Ho mentions crimes committed by the French during their occupation of Vietnam. Which crimes, as you read them, were in your opinion most severe and justified Vietnamese independence?
The French committed many crimes in Vietnam. The French imperialists abused the standards of liberty, equality in Vietnam and violated the rights of the citizens. All the things they did were against the ideals of humanity, people’s rights and justice. They repudiated democratic liberty by enforcing inhuman laws (History Matters, 2017). They created three political regimes in various parts of Vietnam from which they wrecked national unity. The French established more prisons than schools so that they could punish patriotic Vietnamese who resisted their oppression. Furthermore, they forced them into drug abuse to weaken their generations. The French fleeced the economy leading to increased poverty. Other offenses committed by the French include over-taxation, seizure of natural resources and exploitation of workers. All the crimes justified Vietnamese independence.
References
History Matters. (2017). Declaration of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Historymatters.gmu.edu. Retrieved 3 December 2017, from http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/5139/
