Lý Tự Trọng

Statue of Lý Tự Trọng in Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts.

Lý Tự Trọng (20 October 1914 in Thailand^[1] – 21 November 1931 in Saigon; born Lê Hữu Trọng) was a Vietnamese revolutionary, executed by the French when he was only 17 years old.^[2] He is considered to be a revolutionary martyr. In 2010, his remains were identified in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City, and he was reburied in his parents' home town, the Việt Xuyên commune in the district of Thạch Hà.^[3]

On February 9, 1931, during a rally in Le Grand Park in Saigon, celebrating the anniversary of the Yên Bái uprising, Trọng used a firearm to shoot at anti-Communist French secret police. He did that to protect Phan Bôi [vi], who was speaking at the rally.^[4] There was a fear Phan Bôi would be assassinated, due to the inflammatory and Marxist-oriented content of his speech. He fled south as a fugitive. Trọng was arrested 10 days later in the town of Khám lớn Cần Thơ, about 160 kilometres (100 mi) south-west of Saigon. He was brought back to Saigon, hastily tried by French officials, sentenced to death on November 20, 1931, and executed the next day, aged 17.^[5] The punishment suffered by Trọng sparked strong feelings of anger amongst Communists all over Vietnam toward the French leadership. Trọng was viewed as a martyr and his fate was seen as symbolic of French brutality.^[6]

Lý Tự Trọng street in Saigon is named after him, replacing the street's original name, Gia Long street, given by the previous South Vietnamese government, commemorating the 18th century Vietnamese emperor who quashed the Tây Sơn rebels, unified and modernized Vietnam, and weakened French influence in the country. The street includes the former US AID building, famous as one of the locations of the helicopter evacuation U.S government employees during the Fall of Saigon in 1975.

References

1. Vietnam courier: Volumes 18-19 1982 Ly Tu Trong — a young communist (1913-1931) Lý Tự Trọng's family was a revolutionary one in Ha Tinh province (now Nghe Tinh.) To avoid the terror of the imperialists, they had to flee to Thailand and Lý Tự Trọng was born there."
2. Peter Zinoman The Colonial Bastille: A History of Imprisonment in Vietnam, 1862-1940 2001 - Page 232 "On December 20, 1931, political prisoners in Saigon Central Prison chanted revolutionary slogans for hours in response to the execution of an ICP member, Lý Tự Trọng."
3. "Martyr Ly Tu Trong re-buried in the home town". Baomoi.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
4. "Phan Bôi (1911 - 1947)". danang.gov.vn.
5. Nguồn: Trao giải thưởng Lý Tự Trọng và giải thưởng 10 gương mặt học sinh tiêu biểu năm học 2008-2009.
6. Khám Chí Hòa - Những chuyện đằng sau cửa ngục, Năng Lượng Mới