Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh's mother is the second daughter of Mr. Phan Chau Trinh named Phan Thi Chau Lan.
In the memoir "Family, friends and country" by Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh - she devoted many lines to talking about her grandfather - patriotic playboy Phan Chau Trinh.
influenced by Phan Chau Trinh's grandfather
Right from the first chapter of writing about her homeland, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh wrote about her grandfather Phan Chau Trinh - his personality, patriotism, belief and unique path of activity.
... Mr. Phan is also often considered a typical person of the general nature of Quang people: proficient, calm, and not easy to defeat. The argue of Quang people must also be in Mr. Quang people also often "work in public affairs", meaning responsibility towards the country and the community, being willing to shoulder and commit. That person is also a very affectionate person, and open, sensitive to new things" - Ms. Binh wrote.
Accordingly, Ms. Binh commented that she inherited her personality from her grandfather in particular and the people of Quang Nam in general.
The memoir Family, friends and country tells the childhood and youth of former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh, when she grew up and was told many stories about her grandfather Phan Chau Trinh by her mother. patriotism was fostered in her from the stories about her grandfathers from a very young age.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh participated in revolutionary activities from the resistance war against France. Her family moved to live in the Phan Chau Trinh church area. Life here left her with countless memories. So that throughout her journey later, when working in the North, experiencing many life events, each time she returned to the South, visiting St. Phan's church, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh always expressed her emotions and missed old memories.
In April 2021, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh was arrested by the French while in charge of an intelligence team. She and her teammates were brutally tortured by the enemy. Hoi signed page 53 and wrote, "The first time I was beaten by a police officer was so brutal, I turned on the lights after the water had gone out... I just wanted to die. What I care about most is to report and point out the arrest of others. I decided, what the enemy said about me, I accepted, but at one level they did not declare anything else, so after a while they could not do anything.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh was imprisoned and tortured by the enemy for nearly 3 years, then when the Dien Bien Phu campaign put France in a difficult position, Ms. Binh was sentenced to 4 years in prison with a suspended sentence.
According to some people, the reason I was lightly sentenced was the intervention of people who knew my grandfather in the Human Rights Alliance before, when he was working in France, Ms. Binh wrote in her memoir.
Commemorating the first time meeting Uncle Ho
The image of Phan Chau Trinh's grandfather appearing in memories is always associated with deep affection, most especially in the narration of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Binh.
The first time Ms. Binh met Uncle Ho was also associated with the image of her grandfather Phan Chau Trinh.
At the end of 1954, after I had gone to the North for a few months, one day, Dr. Pham Ngoc Thach - I had known him since his time as Chairman of the Saigon Cho Lon Administrative Resistance Committee - came to see me and said: Uncle Ho wants to meet you. He said that he had reported to Uncle Phan Chau Trinh that his grandson was in Hanoi, and he heard that Uncle Chinh wanted to meet him.
I was very nervous to go to where Uncle Ho lived and worked, that is, the current Government Chairman. He looked at me, saying that he had known my grandfather since he was in France, and considered me an older brother who had helped him a lot" - excerpt from page 64-65 of "Family, friends and country".
Throughout her memoir, Ms. Nguyen Thi Binh has realistic, close, touching writings about relatives and friends around the world, and a series of historical events that played a great role in the journey to end the war and restore peace in Vietnam.
In particular, the memories associated with Phan Chau Trinh's grandfather or with his parents, younger siblings, husband, and two children always hold a special position in her heart. She traveled around the world, away from home to fight on the diplomatic front, but no matter where she was, she always had her family and relatives to support and encourage her. It is the understanding, sharing, and companionship of relatives that has contributed to the strength of "madame Binh", so that she has a separate chapter in her memoir: "I am a happy person".
Former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh was born in 1927 in Quang Nam. She used to be the Minister of Education and the first Foreign Minister of Vietnam. She was the head of the negotiating delegation of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam on the longest negotiation table in history to go to the Contract of the Paris Agreement to end the war in Vietnam in 1973.
