Bui Tin
Encyclopedia
Former People's Army of Vietnam
Colonel Bùi Tín (born 1927) is a Vietnam
ese dissident
.
in 1927, and was educated in Huế
.
During the August Revolution
in 1945, he became an active supporter to politically pressure the government of France
to cede Vietnam its independence.
He later joined the Việt Minh
along with General Vo Nguyen Giap
and Ho Chi Minh
. He would fight on two sides of the line, using weapons and also using his pen and paper as journalist for the Vietnam People's Army newspaper.
He enlisted in the Vietnamese Peoples Army at the age of eighteen. He was wounded during the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu
. He served on the general staff of the North Vietnam
ese army. During the Vietnam War
, he had authority from Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap
to visit any of the camps where American POWs were held, meet with the camp officers, look at the POW files, and interview the POWs. During at least one such occasion, he was involved in an interrogation of John McCain
.
In his books and talks, Bui Tin claims that during the 1975 fall of Saigon
, he was with the first tank unit to smash through the gates of the Presidential Palace
, signalling the end of the war, and that he accepted the surrender from the last South Vietnamese leader, Dương Văn Minh
. However, no other eyewitness of the event confirmed his claim.
Bui Tin went on to serve as the Vice Chief Editor of the People's Daily (Nhân Dân, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam
), responsible for the Sunday People's (Nhân Dân Chủ Nhật). He became disillusioned in the mid-1980s with postwar corruption
and the continuing isolation
of socialist Vietnam.
In 1990, Bui decided to leave Vietnam and live in exile
in Paris
, France, in order to express his growing dissatisfaction with Vietnam's Communist leadership and their political system.
In November 1991, Bui Tin became involved in the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
when he appeared before hearings of the United States Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
. He stated that, "I can say that I know as well as any top leader in Vietnam and, in my opinion, I state categorically that there is not any American prisoner alive in Vietnam." After his testimony, he and John McCain embraced, which produced a flurry of "Former Enemies Embrace"-style headlines. Tin's testimony was the subject of anticipation: when he had arrived at Dulles International Airport three weeks earlier, former U.S. Congressman Bill Hendon
and a staff assistant to committee vice-chair Robert C. Smith
confronted Tin and tried to convince him that there were live prisoners in Vietnam; Tin felt it was an intimidation attempt.
Tin subsequently published two books, Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel (University of Hawaii Press
, 1995) and From Enemy To Friend: A North Vietnamese Perspective on the War (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2002). In a 2000 PBS
American Experience
forum, he maintained that no American POWs had been tortured during their captivity in North Vietnam during the war.
Vietnam People's Army
The Vietnam People's Army is the armed forces of Vietnam. The VPA includes: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces , the Vietnam People's Navy , the Vietnam People's Air Force, and the Vietnam Marine Police.During the French Indochina War , the VPA was often referred to as the Việt...
Colonel Bùi Tín (born 1927) is a Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese dissident
Dissident
A dissident, broadly defined, is a person who actively challenges an established doctrine, policy, or institution. When dissidents unite for a common cause they often effect a dissident movement....
.
Biography
Bùi Tín was born near HanoiHanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
in 1927, and was educated in Huế
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
.
During the August Revolution
August Revolution
On August 19, 1945, the Việt Minh under Hồ Chí Minh began the August General Uprising Tổng Khởi Nghĩa, which was soon renamed the August Revolution . Whether or not this series of events should be called a "revolution" is disputable; what is clear is that, from August 19 onwards, demonstrations and...
in 1945, he became an active supporter to politically pressure the government of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to cede Vietnam its independence.
He later joined the Việt Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
along with General Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
and Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
. He would fight on two sides of the line, using weapons and also using his pen and paper as journalist for the Vietnam People's Army newspaper.
He enlisted in the Vietnamese Peoples Army at the age of eighteen. He was wounded during the 1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu
Battle of Dien Bien Phu
The Battle of Dien Bien Phu was the climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War between the French Union's French Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries. The battle occurred between March and May 1954 and culminated in a comprehensive French defeat that...
. He served on the general staff of the North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
ese army. During the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, he had authority from Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap
Vo Nguyen Giap
Võ Nguyên Giáp is a retired Vietnamese officer in the Vietnam People’s Army and a politician. He was a principal commander in two wars: the First Indochina War and the Vietnam War...
to visit any of the camps where American POWs were held, meet with the camp officers, look at the POW files, and interview the POWs. During at least one such occasion, he was involved in an interrogation of John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
In his books and talks, Bui Tin claims that during the 1975 fall of Saigon
Fall of Saigon
The Fall of Saigon was the capture of Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, by the People's Army of Vietnam and the National Liberation Front on April 30, 1975...
, he was with the first tank unit to smash through the gates of the Presidential Palace
Reunification Palace
Reunification Palace formerly known as Independence Palace , built on the site of the former Norodom Palace, is a landmark in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. It was designed by architect Ngô Viết Thụ and was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War...
, signalling the end of the war, and that he accepted the surrender from the last South Vietnamese leader, Dương Văn Minh
Duong Van Minh
Minh was born on 16 February 1916 in Mỹ Tho Province in the Mekong Delta, the son of a wealthy landowner who served in a prominent position in the Finance Ministry of the French colonial administration...
. However, no other eyewitness of the event confirmed his claim.
Bui Tin went on to serve as the Vice Chief Editor of the People's Daily (Nhân Dân, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
), responsible for the Sunday People's (Nhân Dân Chủ Nhật). He became disillusioned in the mid-1980s with postwar corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and the continuing isolation
Isolationism
Isolationism is the policy or doctrine of isolating one's country from the affairs of other nations by declining to enter into alliances, foreign economic commitments, international agreements, etc., seeking to devote the entire efforts of one's country to its own advancement and remain at peace by...
of socialist Vietnam.
In 1990, Bui decided to leave Vietnam and live in exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, in order to express his growing dissatisfaction with Vietnam's Communist leadership and their political system.
In November 1991, Bui Tin became involved in the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
Vietnam War POW/MIA issue
The Vietnam War POW/MIA issue concerns the fate of United States servicemen who were reported as missing in action during the Vietnam War and associated theaters of operation in Southeast Asia...
when he appeared before hearings of the United States Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
United States Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs
The Senate Select Committee on POW/MIA Affairs was a special committee convened by the United States Senate during the George H. W. Bush administration to investigate the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, that is, the fate of United States service personnel listed as missing in action during the Vietnam...
. He stated that, "I can say that I know as well as any top leader in Vietnam and, in my opinion, I state categorically that there is not any American prisoner alive in Vietnam." After his testimony, he and John McCain embraced, which produced a flurry of "Former Enemies Embrace"-style headlines. Tin's testimony was the subject of anticipation: when he had arrived at Dulles International Airport three weeks earlier, former U.S. Congressman Bill Hendon
Bill Hendon
William Martin Hendon is an author, POW/MIA activist, and two-term Republican U.S. Congressman from North Carolina's 11th District....
and a staff assistant to committee vice-chair Robert C. Smith
Robert C. Smith
Robert C. "Bob" Smith is an American politician who has served in both the United States House of Representatives and the Senate. He is a member of the Republican Party.-Early life:Smith was born in Trenton, New Jersey...
confronted Tin and tried to convince him that there were live prisoners in Vietnam; Tin felt it was an intimidation attempt.
Tin subsequently published two books, Following Ho Chi Minh: The Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel (University of Hawaii Press
University of Hawaii Press
The University of Hawaii Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaii.The University of Hawaii Press was founded in 1947, with the mission of advancing and disseminating scholarship by publishing current research in all disciplines of the humanities and natural and social...
, 1995) and From Enemy To Friend: A North Vietnamese Perspective on the War (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2002). In a 2000 PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
American Experience
American Experience
American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
forum, he maintained that no American POWs had been tortured during their captivity in North Vietnam during the war.
Quotes
- "There is an alarming deterioration of traditional ethical, moral and spiritual values (and) confusion among the youth on whom the country's future depends."
- "The roots of the Vietnam War — its all-encompassing and underlying nature — lie in a confrontation between two ideological worlds: socialism versus capitalism for some, totalitarianism versus democracy for others. It was a conflict born of the Cold War…"
- "[The American anti-war movement] was essential to our strategy. Support for the war from our rear was completely secure while the American rear was vulnerable. Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9 a.m. to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement. Visits to Hanoi by people like Jane Fonda and former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. We were elated when Jane Fonda, wearing a red Vietnamese dress, said at a press conference that she was ashamed of American actions in the war and that she would struggle along with us."
- "The conscience of America was part of its war-making capability, and we were turning that power in our favor. America lost because of its democracy; through dissent and protest it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win."
External links
- A copyright photo taken by John Spragens in 1989
- Bui Tin in 1982, discussing his involvement in the fall of Saigon. WGBH Open Vault. Accessed July 20, 2010.