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Summary

The Indochinese Communist League (Đông Dương Cộng sản Liên đoàn) was one of the three communist groups of 1929–1930 which formed the base of the Vietnamese Communist Party in Vietnam, and within colonial French Indochina. Originally known as the Tan Viet in the French protectorate of Annam in French Indochina (today part of Vietnam), the League gained its name following a factional split of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1929. The League came to prominence following the suppression of anti-colonial activities in the Annam protectorate by the French colonial authorities; many of these initiatives came from conservative groups who banded together with the Indochinese Communist League out of an apparent shared interest in resisting colonial rule. Eventually, members of the Indochinese Communist League joined the Communist Party of Vietnam (insert hyperlink to other article), following directives from the Soviet-controlled Comintern (insert hyperlink to other article) to create a unified Communist Party in French Indochina. Prior to its absorption into the Communist Party of Vietnam, the league maintained its own political organizations, including worker’s associations, students associations, and a women’s organization.

Foundations

French Indochina had been established as a French colony under the authority of the Third French Republic (Troiséme Republique). Three regions, which now form the modern state of Vietnam were incorporated into Indochina: Cochinchina, Annam and Tonkin. French colonialism triggered widespread discontent amongst local indigenous populations. Throughout the early twentieth century, various political organizations whose primary purpose was resisting French colonialism began to form. Some of these movements identified with communism, however, others were formed along more conservative, bourgeois lines.

The Indochinese Communist League gained prominence following a factional split of the Communist Party of Vietnam (commonly known as the Thanh Nien) in 1929.[i] This split was primarily the result of suppression of the Communist Party of China, under which many Vietnamese communists found safe haven in cities such as Guangzhou, by the Chinese Kuomintang.[ii] The League, formerly known as the Tan Viet, had not been connected to the Communist Party of Vietnam, as it had its roots in national liberation organizations in Annam. Because of its origins, it thus did not share the same focus on social revolution as the Communist Party of Vietnam had, rather prioritizing national independence.

The League was originally based in the city of Trung Ky in the Annam region and relied upon the support of workers, students and members of the local intelligentsia. However, it also found unlikely allies in more conservative, bourgeois organizations which shared its goal of securing national independence from France. As the League grew in prominence, it began to produce offshoot organizations which represented the interests of specific groups. These organizations included a worker’s association, a student’s association and a women’s association.

Ideology

While the Indochinese Communist League was a “communist movement” it did not share the same goals as other Communist organizations in French Indochina. The League (formerly the Tan Viet) was anti-imperialist and opposed French colonial rule, however, it did not prioritize the establishment of a Communist state as an end-goal. Ho Chi Minh, who eventually took control of a reunified Vietnamese Communist Party, into which the Indochinese Communist League was absorbed, demonstrated reticence towards the League’s commitment to communist ideals. The Tan Viet, and later the Indochinese Communist League, were often described as “communist in spirit” but a militant nationalist group at its core.

Dissolution

The Indochinese Communist League eventually ceased to exist as a freestanding political organization following directives from the Comintern to form a unified Communist Party. The Soviet-directed Comintern organization considered the fragmentation of the communist movement in French Indochina to be a critical obstacle to achieving the establishment of a Communist state. A directive titled “On the Formation of a Communist Party in Indochina” on the 27thof October, 1929 initiated the proceedings which would see the re-unification of communist movements in French Indochina under one Communist Party at the so-called “Unification Conference”. The leading face of this unification was Ho Chi Minh, a comintern functionary who came to be the leader of the revitalized Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Unification Conference was dominated by the Indochinese Communist Party and the Annam Communist Party. Although members of the Indochinese Communist League were able to join the newly formed Communist Party of Vietnam as members, the League as an organization had no unified voice of its own at the Unification Conference. The Indochinese Communist League was simply absorbed into the Communist Party of Vietnam as a “communist-oriented” revolutionary group rather than as a founding member in its own right.

           

Hyunh, Kim Khanh (1986). Vietnamese Communism, 1925–1945. Cornell University [i] Hyunh, 116-118.

[ii] Sidel, 255.