Campaign for King Bao Dai to abdicate
During the historic days of the August Revolution 79 years ago, the Viet Minh Front of Thua Thien Hue not only urgently carried out the task of leading the entire people to rise up but also attached importance to the task of persuading King Bao Dai to accept his abdication and return power to the people.
The Thua Thien Hue Uprising Committee sent Mr. Ton Quang Phiet to contact the king through the Director of the Royal Office Pham Khac Hoe - a patriotic and progressive person who regularly met with revolutionaries and worked directly with King Bao Dai.
Director of the Royal Office Pham Khac Hoe and King Bao Dai. (Photo courtesy)
In his memoir From the Hue court to the Viet Bac resistance base, Mr. Pham Khac Hoe recalled: “After saying goodbye to Mr. Phiet (Mr. Ton Quang Phiet), when I returned home, I immediately went to search through several history books to better understand the cases of King Louis XVI of France, King Nikolai II of Russia and also the kings Duc Duc, Hiep Hoa, Kien Phuc of the Nguyen Dynasty... After three days of reading books to review old stories and listen to and learn about the new situation before my eyes, I found that I had enough reasons to make Bao Dai feel the need to abdicate.”
Contrary to the majority of courtiers who advised King Bao Dai to rely on Japan and France, Mr. Pham Khac Hoe took advantage of the contacts to analyze for the king the failure of Japanese fascism in the world and the inevitable victory of Viet Minh under the leadership of Nguyen Ai Quoc.
“That afternoon (August 12, 1945), I went to present to Bao Dai for approval the draft of the Edict to change the resignation cabinet into a provisional cabinet, as proposed by Tran Trong Kim. On this occasion, I raised an ambiguous question to Bao Dai:
– We do not understand why no one responded to Mr. Kim's invitation to form a new cabinet? We do not know if he has reported anything to you about that matter?
– According to Mr. Kim, the people he invited were all very revolutionary and very leftist. Perhaps that did not please the Japanese, so they blocked the electricity.
- Yes, but the two people invited to be in Hue, Mr. Ton Quang Phiet and Mr. Bui Cong Trung, both refused.
– Did Mr. Phiet tell you why he refused?
- Sir. According to Mr. Phiet, Japan is about to lose in the world. And in the country, the revolutionary spirit of the masses is rising every hour, the revolutionary storm will definitely arise soon.
Seeing Bao Dai's face change and look worried, I recalled the French Revolution in 1789 with the tragic fate of King Louis XVI, then I lowered my voice and said gently and touchingly, 'Perhaps you should not wait until the last minute to jump'.
But after the above conversation, King Bao Dai still intended to rely on the Japanese army to keep the throne. This made Mr. Pham Khac Hoe alert, trying to lobby to bring the issue to the entire cabinet and the king to withdraw and give all power to the Viet Minh in the cabinet meeting on August 17, 1945.
Mr. Pham Khac Hoe also drafted the "Edict to Mobilize the Nation" with three ideas: the first paragraph affirms the character and will of our nation determined to maintain independence; the second paragraph calls on all patriots to support the king and help the country; the third paragraph has the key content "To consolidate the independence of the country and protect the interests of the nation, I am ready to sacrifice in all aspects. I would rather be a citizen of an independent country than a king of a slave country. I am sure that the entire nation shares the same sacrifice as I do."
“In the afternoon (August 17, 1945), at exactly 4 o'clock, I brought the draft of the National Mobilization Edict to Bao Dai for his signature, but he did not sign it immediately like every other time, but kept stuttering, reading over and over again the sentence 'I would rather be a citizen of an independent country than be the King of a slave country'. I became worried... But in the end, Bao Dai shrugged his shoulders slightly, signed the Edict, and handed it back to me.
I am extremely happy and excited. Because this means the abdication movement has taken a very long step forward and will certainly be successful."
Historic moments in Hue
Even though he had signed the Edict of National Mobilization, Bao Dai still wondered who the Viet Minh leader was and whether he agreed to maintain the monarchy. Mr. Pham Khac Hoe gradually explained to Bao Dai that the Viet Minh leader Nguyen Ai Quoc was also President Ho Chi Minh, and skillfully advised the king to accept his abdication.
“When the King promised to abdicate, all my joy settled in my heart and mind, becoming a concentrated source of thought, which led me to draft an abdication decree containing all my feelings, wishes and ambitions for the current situation. This passionate and enjoyable work began on the afternoon of August 20 and was completed that night…
Meanwhile, the atmosphere of uprising was bustling throughout Hue; every house was busy sewing flags, posting flags, writing slogans: groups of young men and women carrying sticks, spears, and lances began to move from the countryside to the city: young people on the front lines, security guards, and even Citadel soldiers all joined the revolution. Hue was a city with the most people wearing ivory badges in the whole of Vietnam, and since August 22, absolutely no one wearing ivory badges has been seen walking on the streets anymore.
People of Thua Thien Hue participated in seizing power and marched into Thuong Tu gate on August 23, 1945. (Documentary photo)
After drafting the abdication edict, Mr. Pham Khac Hoe assumed the role of liaison between the king and the revolutionary government. On August 30, 1945, the abdication ceremony of King Bao Dai was held at Ngo Mon Gate.
Mr. Pham Khac Hoe recalled that historical event: “Bao Dai read the abdication edict so emotionally that he lost his voice. After Bao Dai finished reading, the King's yellow flag was slowly lowered on the flagpole and the bright red flag with five golden stars was raised amidst applause and cheers like thunder, interrupted by 21 gunshots to salute the new national flag of the resurrected Fatherland.
The signal gunfire stopped. Bao Dai raised both hands and handed the Head of the Government Delegation the golden national seal weighing nearly ten kilograms and the national sword in a golden sheath studded with gems. Then Mr. Tran Huy Lieu read the declaration of the Government Delegation, stating that the victory of the August Revolution was the result of decades of heroic, resilient, and persistent struggle by the people of the whole country, declaring the permanent end of the monarchy and emphasizing the policy of the Democratic Republic to unite all classes of the people to defend and build the country.
After listening to the Government Delegation's declaration, tens of thousands of people clapped their hands and shouted slogans that resounded throughout the sky: "Long live an independent Vietnam!", "Long live the Democratic Republic of Vietnam!".
Finally, at Bao Dai's request, the Government Delegation presented him with a badge of the Red Flag with a Yellow Star. Mr. Nguyen Luong Bang pinned the badge on Bao Dai's chest, from now on becoming a citizen of Vinh Thuy. At the same time, Mr. Cu Huy Can announced this to his compatriots and asked them to welcome the citizen of Vinh Thuy.
After King Bao Dai abdicated, Mr. Pham Khac Hoe followed the revolution and was assigned many different important responsibilities by the Party and Uncle Ho. Mr. Pham Khac Hoe completed his tasks excellently and was awarded many noble medals and orders.
Danviet.vn
Source: https://danviet.vn/cach-mang-thang-tam-va-cuoc-van-dong-vua-bao-dai-thoai-vi-79-nam-truoc-20240819093718065.htm
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