Promoting the immortal spirit of the August Revolution

79 years ago, our people, under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, carried out a great revolution, smashing the oppression and exploitation of the colonial and feudal regimes, seizing power, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and bringing our country into a new era, the era of national independence associated with Socialism. These days, throughout the country, the atmosphere of the revolutionary autumn is very joyful, brilliant, with many new spirits and impulses...

A corner of Viet Tri city seen from above.

Seizing the revolutionary opportunity

In the face of rapid changes in the domestic and international situation, from August 13–15, 1945, the Indochinese Communist Party convened a National Conference in Tan Trao (Tuyen Quang), determining that the opportunity had come, and decided to launch a general uprising to seize power throughout the country before the allied forces entered. The conference decided to establish a National Uprising Committee to promptly direct and unify the uprising movements in localities.

On August 16, 1945, the National Congress also met in Tan Trao, unanimously approving the decision to launch a general uprising, electing the Vietnam National Liberation Committee (Provisional Government) headed by President Ho Chi Minh, and approving a number of important policies of the Viet Minh Front. On the afternoon of August 16, 1945, following the order of the National Uprising Committee, a revolutionary army led by comrade Vo Nguyen Giap set out from Tan Trao to liberate Thai Nguyen Town, initiating a general uprising to seize power across the country.

From August 14 to 18, 1945, many localities, although not yet receiving the order to seize power, nevertheless, by grasping the spirit of the previous resolutions and directives of the Indochinese Communist Party, based on the practical situation, proactively, creatively, and flexibly rose up in revolt. The four provinces that seized power the earliest were Hai Duong, Bac Giang, Ha Tinh, and Quang Nam (August 18, 1945).

During the days of the revolutionary spirit, in Phu Tho, under the leadership of the Party Executive Committee and the Viet Minh Front, the armed forces in the War Zone and the Bases, supported by the local people, rose up to overthrow the Japanese puppet government in the districts: Ha Hoa (August 2); Thanh Son (August 11); Thanh Ba (August 15); Cam Khe, Doan Hung (August 17); Phu Ninh, Tam Nong, Yen Lap (August 18); Hac Tri, Lam Thao (August 20); Thanh Thuy (August 22).

In Phu Tho town, the center of the province at that time, the Japanese army was still very large and stubborn, and the National Liberation Committee both mobilized and put pressure. On the morning of August 25, 1945, the armed forces, together with a large number of people, participated in the successful uprising in Phu Tho town; the government was in the hands of the people. A rally was held immediately afterwards at Phu Tho City Stadium, and the provisional revolutionary committee of the province was officially launched in the joy and happiness of tens of thousands of people.

Thus, within just 10 days of the general uprising order, under the leadership of the Party Central Committee and President Ho Chi Minh, directly under the leadership of the Bac Ky Regional Party Committee, the Party Committees and local authorities in the province creatively applied and implemented the Central Committee’s directives and resolutions, gathered all classes of people in the Viet Minh Front, and carried out the successful general uprising.

Colonel Pham Duc Tho, former Deputy Director of the Vietnam Military History Museum and former Vice President of the Provincial Veterans Association, assessed: The success of the August 1945 General Uprising had its deep roots in the tradition of patriotism, the spirit of independence, self-reliance, indomitable will, intelligence, creativity, and solidarity of the Vietnamese people. But besides that, knowing how to seize the revolutionary opportunity and assessing the situation of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, there was careful preparation of forces, and it broke out at the right time, at the right opportunity. The August Revolution in 1945 won a victory "quickly, neatly, with little bloodshed." That was a typical success in the art of creating opportunities, predicting, and accurately assessing opportunities; at the same time, resolutely seizing opportunities, launching a general uprising to seize power by the entire people...

The forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level of Phu Tho town paraded to show their strength.

Promoting achievements in the new period

Promoting the spirit and values of the August Revolution, in the current period, the Party Committee, government, and people in the province have united, been creative, made efforts to overcome difficulties, promoted potentials and advantages, selected breakthroughs, and spearheaded tasks to focus on leadership and direction and prioritize resources to carry out assigned political tasks. Thanks to that, the implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress for the 2020-2025 term has achieved important results in all fields of economy, culture, society, national defense, security, party building, and political system building.

The implementation of administrative reform has seen many changes, with 4 indexes (PAR INDEX, PCI, SIPAS, and PAPI) improving in rankings compared to the previous period, including many component indexes related to the investment environment, business support, and transparency that have been significantly improved, ranking among the top in the country.

The work of party building in terms of politics, ideology, and ethics has always been respected and achieved positive results. The Provincial Party Committee has led and directed Party committees and organizations at all levels to promptly and seriously implement the Party’s directives and resolutions; firmly adhere to Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought; and firmly adhere to the Party’s goals and ideals. The work of studying, learning, and thoroughly grasping the Party’s resolutions, directives, conclusions, and regulations has had many innovations; the ability to apply the Party’s viewpoints and innovative guidelines has been creative, practical, and suitable to the specific conditions and actual situations of the locality.

Up to now, the Provincial Party Committee has directed the full implementation of the content of the entire term and each year’s thematic topics on studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style according to Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, dated May 18, 2021, of the Politburo on continuing to implement Directive No. 05-CT/TW of the Politburo (term XII) on studying and following Uncle Ho.

The cultural, social, education and training, health, science, and technology careers continue to develop, achieving many important results. The traditional cultural values of the Ancestral Land are preserved and promoted, continuing to maintain the top position compared to localities in the region and the whole country in the fields of culture, education and training, and health. People’s trust in the leadership of Party committees and authorities is enhanced; the great national unity bloc is firmly consolidated; people’s lives are constantly improved.

Looking back on the 79-year journey, from the fall of the August Revolution in 1945 to the present, with determination, will, perseverance, and a spirit of solidarity and creativity, the Party Committee and People of Phu Tho province have continuously written new pages of history, glorifying the tradition of the heroic Ancestral Land and moving towards successfully implementing the goal of building Phu Tho province as the leading developed province in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region, in the spirit of the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress.

After more than half of the term, most of the main goals set by the 19th Provincial Party Congress have been achieved and exceeded the time frame. The province’s economy continues to develop stably in the context of high inflation, with an average GDP growth rate of 7.26% per year for the past 3 years. The economic scale by the end of 2023 will rank 3rd out of 14 provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region. Export value will reach 10.4 billion USD, ranking 9th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

State budget revenue in the area reached more than VND 8,700 billion, an increase of 42.5% compared to the estimate assigned by the Provincial People’s Council. In the first 6 months of 2024, the socio-economy remained stable. The gross domestic product (GRDP) of the province is estimated to increase by 8.16% over the same period last year, ranking 4th out of 14 provinces in the Northern Midlands and Mountains.Agricultural, forestry, and fishery production took place in basically favorable weather conditions for the growth and development of crops and livestock; the added value of the whole industry increased by 3.17% over the same period.Industrial production improved, growing by 14.58% over the same period thanks to the significant contribution of a number of large-scale enterprises coming into operation and the stability of production and market expansion of enterprises.

Huy Thang