Duy Tân

Từ điển Việt Anh (Vietnamese English Dictionary)

King Duy Tân (ruler from 1907 to 1916) whose name at birth was Vĩnh San was considered the mastermind behind the patriotic armed insurrection led by Thái Phiên, Trần Cao Vân and many other patriots. The insurrection, however, was soon discovered and crushed and all participants were killed. Only King Duy Tân was exiled to the Reunion island in the Indian Ocean. The king was released from jail only to be dragged into a re-invasion scheme of Vietnam after the World War II. He was fired at in a suspicious air-crack in Middle-Africa on Christmas day of 1945 as his "Absolute Independence policy" was not in line with the colonial aspirations of General De Gaulle. Unfortunately, the patriotic king was misunderstood by most Vietnamese people due to his unclear relation with General De Gaulle. By the 1960s, Vietnamese and French researchers brought to light the relation between king Duy Tân and General De Gaulle, proving the unchanging patriotic will of the king. In 942, from the jail island Reunion, listening for the first time to the anti-fascism appeal of General De Gaulle broadcast from Britain, king Duy Tân showed a deep respect and admiration for him. He then founded a war-resistant group operating for the ally- France. With a self-made radio, he recorded and transmitted information to the French Liberation Force against the pro-Germany government at VichỵWhen Reunion island was liberated by the French Liberation Force, he voluntarily enrolled as a Radio maitre aboard the ship Leopard. In March 1945, France was liberated. By the end of the year, subsequent to the abdication of king Bảo Đại in Vietnam, De Gaulle arranged for 100 parachute commandos in Sài Gòn to prepare for the setting up of a dynasty headed by king Duy Tân.But Vĩnh San (king Duy Tân) knew nothing about this secret scheme. He vigorously believed that the French hero De Gaulle would help him bring peace, re-unification, and complete independence to his home country, Vietnam. Additionally, he was opposed to the plan of ascending the throne . His political viewpoint was sharply contested and led him to become pessimistic. On December 17, 1945, he predicted his death to his friend and immediately wrote a political statement to express his belief in struggling for the unification of the north, centre and the south of Vietnam. As predicted, the event of his death took place eight days later His statement was veiled in secrecy until 1947 when the Combat newspaper copied and ran it. This delay in publicizing the facts surrounding his death and the nature of his true intentions for planning for a unified Vietnam made him misunderstood by the people of Vietnam. In reality, this patriot deserves the respect of all the peoplẹIn April 1987, thanks to the joint assistance of the governments of Vietnam and France, the king's remains were moved by his relatives to Vietnam and set down next to the royal mausoleums of King Dục Đức (his grandfather) and King Thành Thái (his father) in the central city of Huế