A big milestone
Going back 96 years ago, on August 14, 1929, the first issue of Lao Dong Newspaper was published in a small house in Thong Phong Alley, near Giam Lake (now Ton Duc Thang Street), with comrade Nguyen Duc Canh as Editor-in-Chief. Since then, Lao Dong Newspaper has always accompanied the working class and the working people, in every historical journey of the country.
Among the important milestones of the country and of Lao Dong Newspaper, it is impossible not to mention the year 1945. In August 1945, under the leadership of the Party and the beloved President Ho Chi Minh, our people rose up and carried out a miraculous and heroic great uprising, creating a great milestone in the history of the nation - the August Revolution.
On September 2, 1945, in front of tens of thousands of people at the historic Ba Dinh Square, the great President Ho Chi Minh read the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam). From here, the national history takes a turn, ending the long feudal regime, entering a new era - the era of independence and freedom.
The history of Lao Dong Newspaper has recorded: The August Revolution of 1945 opened a brilliant beauty page in the history of Lao Dong Newspaper.
On August 19, the day Hanoi took power, house number 51 Hang Bo passed into the hands of the Revolution (later the headquarters of Lao Dong Newspaper). This house belongs to Pham Le Bong, a wealthy member of parliament. At that time, the house was the headquarters of Binh Minh Newspaper, written by Nguyen Giang.
Right after the General Uprising, the house was handed over to the Ministry of Public Security of the Central Party Committee, which is also the headquarters of the Central Committee of the Northern Workers' and Rescue Union. Comrades from the Traffic Department such as: Ha Ke Tan, Tran Danh Tuyen, Tran Bao... spent the day on a business trip, came home at night and discussed and slept in rooms on the third floor.
Mr. Tran Danh Tuyen was assigned to prepare for Lao Dong Newspaper to be made public and became the paper's Editor for many years afterwards. He was in the National Assembly's Workers' Rescue Committee from the early days, and was later a founding member of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor. He has held important positions such as: General Secretary of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment. He was the first person to contact the World Trade Union Federation in 1946 headquartered in Paris (France) and asked for the Vietnam Trade Union to join this organization.
The journalists who worked with Mr. Tran Danh Tuyen at that time were Van Cao, Tran Quoc Diep, Tran Luu Trac, Nguyen Huyen. The printer's manager is Vu Tiep. At that time, the printer had two machines, printing 8 pages and printing 2 pages.
Entering a new era with the country
In the book "95 years of Lao Dong Newspaper (1929 - 2024)" - Lao Dong Publishing House recorded the narration of musician and poet Van Cao, the proud writing pages are as follows: "I have the honor that after the August Revolution, when Lao Dong Newspaper published its first public issue, I was present. Before that, I worked for Doc Lap Newspaper. Having had a secret working relationship with Mr. Tran Danh Tuyen and Mr. Nguyen Huu Mai, when Mr. Tuyen was in charge of Lao Dong newspaper, I immediately left. Every day I work directly with him at 51 Hang Bo, the headquarters of Lao Dong Newspaper. I write articles and stories while taking care of the pressing. Printing house on the first floor. After finishing the shift, I immediately went down to the workers' Association. And it was there all day, even all night.
The printing house lacks everything, and there are no colors or ink. The wording is confusing. We have to explore and find out what is still usable. How to make the printed newspaper beautiful. I was so surprised that I had to go back to get a new set of characters (a series of characters with legs) at my father-in-law's Rang Dong printing house later. Having good words must find a way to present it beautifully, clearly, brightly...
Before me, he was a composer, wandering around the streets all day. Now, from morning to night, I am around tables and machines; with workers... still keeping the work of repairing Morase (editing the trial printing version). It was hard work but I felt very happy, I didn't know what fatigue was... Lao Dong newspaper was very beautifully printed, the words were the most accurate at that time... And it was in that atmosphere, the close atmosphere with the printers that I composed the song Vietnamese Workers".
The history of Lao Dong Newspaper also clearly states: In the two years 1945 - 1946, Lao Dong Newspaper produced 30 issues, starting from issue 13 to Thursday, October 18, 1945, 59 days after the General Uprising. According to Mr. Tran Quoc Diep, the reason for trying to issue the first public newspaper after the August Revolution on October 18, 1945 was because a week later, on October 25, a historic event would take place: the Conference of Workers and National Saviour of Northern Vietnam at the Hanoi Opera House. This is the first conference of revolutionary organizations after the August Revolution, I remember comrade Vo Nguyen Giap attending. Lao Dong Newspaper issued to prepare for that event. The first were publicly printed in type, but 1,500 copies were produced. The later issues have been distributed in 10,000 copies.
Re-reading the issues of Lao Dong Newspaper published in 1945 is an interesting thing, we will feel like we are reliving the early days of the new government period, hearing the voice of workers in the press. On the Mangosteen of the first newspaper issued after the General Uprising, there were the words: LAO D'NG.
Nearly 80 years after the success of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2, the country is today preparing to enter a new era - the era of national growth, the era of development and prosperity under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam. The entire Party, people, and army of our people are striving, joining hands, and unanimously building a successful Vietnam of Socialism, the rich people, the strong country, the democratic, fair, and civilized society, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers as wished by beloved Uncle Ho.
And in the continuous flow of the history of the Vietnam Revolutionary Press, for nearly a century, Lao Dong Newspaper has always been the newspaper holding the number one position in protecting the legitimate and legal rights and interests of workers; a trusted address for workers and laborers to express their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Lao Dong Newspaper today and tomorrow will continue to contribute its efforts to the cause of building and developing the country, entering a new era with the nation.
