Trần Độ (1923–2002) was a Vietnamese politician and

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

of the People's Army of Vietnam. He was expelled from the

Communist Party of Vietnam The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), also known as the Vietnamese Communist Party (VCP), is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North ...

due to his opposing and critical opinions of the party and the state of Vietnam, particularly during post-Vietnam War.

Biography

His real name was Tạ Ngọc Phách. He grew up in

Thái Bình Province Cài () is a Chinese-language surname that derives from the name of the ancient Cai state. In 2019 it was the 38th most common surname in China, but the 9th most common in Taiwan (as of 2018), where it is usually romanized as "Tsai" (based on ...

. His father worked for bureau of interpretation in

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

, a quite high social status. In 1939, he became a journalist in Hanoi. He was captured by the French that year but then released due to lack of evidence. He joined the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1940. At the end of 1941, he was captured again. This time, he was sentenced to 15 years imprison. Late 1941, from Hoa Lo (Hanoi), he was exiled to Sơn La. Here, he was in prison with Lê Đức Thọ, Xuân Thuỷ,... In 1943, on prison move to

Côn Đảo The Côn Đảo ("Côn Island") are an archipelago of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu province, in the Southeast region of Vietnam, and also a district () of this province. Geography Situated about from Vũng Tàu and from Ho Chi Minh City, the group ...

, he escaped, continuing revolution activity. He led the protest in and started his military career. He had gone south to join the Central Office for South Vietnam and served as the commander during the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the forces o ...

assault upon Saigon.

Activities in military

1946 - He was a leader of Hanoi in the field of National Defense against the French. 1950 -

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

1964 - He went to South Viet Nam to set up military for war with

Vietnam Republic South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, being the deputy command-in-chief. 1974 - Lieutenant General 1974 to 1976 - Vice President of Central Commission of Politics.

Reform view

As a leader of national culture (after the war, he worked in the culture section), he wanted to give it more freedom. He is aware that culture without freedom is dead and culture with only propaganda is also dead. The more control, the more deadly culture is and the rarer valuable masterpiece. In terms of Communist Party leadership, he said:" I advocate the leadership role of the Party. However, leadership does not mean dictatorship. History shows that every dictatorship will eventually end up in corruption, rotten society and Party itself." In his opinion, the underlying cause of negative phenomenon in the Party and the society is partly due to the absolute rule of Communist Party. He insisted that: Communist Party must give up dictator regime, give power to the national assembly, government. There must be laws allowing freedom for a new party, freedom of speech, journalism laws, publishing. Election laws, forgo the decision jusridiction of the Party. It is this opinion that resulted in his expulsion from the party.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tran, Do People from Thái Bình province Vietnamese journalists Vietnamese dissidents 1923 births 2002 deaths Members of the National Assembly (Vietnam) Recipients of the Order of Ho Chi Minh 20th-century journalists Alternates of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 3rd Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Vietnam Members of the 4th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 5th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam Members of the 6th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam