A memorial house dedicated to Tran Kim Xuyen, Vietnam’s first
journalist-martyr during the resistance war against the French
colonialists, was inaugurated on March 3.
The house, located in
Xuyen’s homeland in Son My commune, Huong Son district, the central
province of Ha Tinh , was built with support of the Vietnam News
Agency (VNA) which journalist Xuyen once worked for.
Addressing the function, VNA Deputy General Director Ngo Ha Thai said
Xuyen was among 260 journalists of the agency who laid down their lives
during the resistance wars against the French colonialists and US
imperialists.
Participating in revolutionary
activities since 1936, Xuyen was once a deputy of the 1 st National
Assembly, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Information House (the
predecessor of the now Vietnam News Agency) and Head of the Interior
Ministry’s Office.
He laid down his life on March 3,
1947, becoming the first journalist in Vietnam who died in the
anti-French war and also the first martyr of Son My commune in the
anti-French struggle.
The journalist was posthumously
presented with the State’s First-Class Independence Order, First-Class
Anti-French Resistance War Order, and other noble titles.
Thai described the inauguration of the memorial house as a meaningful
event for VNA staff, local authorities and people and revolutionary
journalists of various generations to express their gratitude to the
journalist-martyr.
He said he hopes the house will be
an important venue for young generations to learn about the country’s
revolutionary traditions and the martyrs’ contributions.
Sharing with Thai’s sentiments, a representative of the Huong Son
People’s Committee said Huong Son is proud of being the journalist’s
homeland, noting that his name was the first carved on the tombstone
naming war fallen combatants in the commune.-VNA
On the
occasion, VNA presented a number of important objects and documents
featuring Xuyen’s revolutionary life for showcasing at the memorial
house.