Nguyen Ngoc Bich

Introduction

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Bich, 1962

Nguyễn Ngọc Bích
Born	18 May 1911 Ben Tre, Vietnam
Died	4 Dec 1966 Thu Duc, Vietnam
Occupation	*Engineer Resistance fighter Medical doctor Politician
Title	Doctor (medical)
Known for	Resistance war, politics

Nguyen Ngoc Bich 1931, student at École polytechnique.

Nguyen Ngoc Bich, circa 1933, student at École polytechnique.

Nguyễn Ngọc Bích (1911–1966) was a French-educated engineer, a hero in the Vietnamese resistance against the French colonists,^{:850. Note} a French-educated medical doctor, an intellectual and politician, who proposed an alternative viewpoint to avoid the high-casualty, high-cost war between North Vietnam and South Vietnam.

The Nguyen-Ngoc-Bich street in the city of Cần Thơ, Vietnam, was named after him to honor and commemorate his feats (of sabotaging bridges to slow down the colonial French-army advances) and heroism (being on the French most-wanted list,^:122 imprisoned, subjected to an "intensive and unpleasant interrogation"^:122 that left a mark on his forehead,^Note and exiled) during the First Indochina War.

Upon graduating from the École polytechnique (engineering military school under the French Ministry of Armed Forces) and then from the École nationale des ponts et chaussées (civil engineering) in France in 1935, Dr. Bich returned to Vietnam to work for the French colonial government. After World War II, in 1945, he joined the Viet-Minh, and became a senior commander in the Vietnamese resistance movement, and insisted on fighting for Vietnam's independence, not for communism.

Suspecting^Note of being betrayed by the Communist faction^Note of the Viet-Minh and apprehended by the French forces, he was saved from execution by a campaign for amnesty by his École polytechnique classmates based in Vietnam, mostly high-level officers of the French army,^{: 299} and was subsequently exiled to France, where he founded with friends and managed the Vietnamese publishing house Minh Tan (in Paris), which published many important works for the Vietnamese literature.^Note In parallel, he studied medicine and became a medical doctor. He was highly regarded in Vietnamese politics, and was suggested by the French in 1954 as an alternative to Ngo Dinh Diem as the sixth prime minister of the State of Vietnam under the former Emperor Bao Dai as Head of State,^:84 who selected Ngo Dinh Diem as prime minister. While Bich's candidature for the 1961 presidential election in opposition to Diem was, however, declared invalid by the Saigon authorities at the last moment for "technical reasons",, he was "regarded by many as a possible successor to President Ngo Dinh Diem". ^{Note 1, Note 2}

A large majority of the information in this article came from the master document Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography, which contains even more information, including primary-source evidence and photos, than presented here.

Important historical events that affected Bich's adult life, together with those mentioned in his 1962 paper (e.g., failed agrarian reform, napalm bombs, famine, conquest for rice, etc.) are summarized, in particular the atmosphere in which Bich had lived for ten years working for the French colonialists (from 1935 to 1945), and the historical conditions that drove this French-educated engineer to become a "Francophile anticolonialist"^{Note 1, Note 2} and to join the Viet Minh in 1945 (e.g., the French brutal repressions in 1940 and 1945, the power vacuum after the Japanese coup de force in 1945, Ho Chi Minh's call for a general uprising from Tân Trào, the 1945 August Revolution, the Black Sunday on 1945 Sep 2 in Saigon, etc.). The key principle is to summarize a historical event only when it was directly related to Bich's activities. Care is exercised in selecting references and quotations that complement, but not duplicate, other Wikipedia articles at the time of this writing. For example, the history and the general use of napalm bombs, which Bich mentioned in his 1962 article, are not summarized. Regarding the French using American-made napalm bombs in the First Indochina War, well-known battles^Note are also not summarized.

Bao Dai to de Gaulle
❝I beg you to understand that the only means of safeguarding French interests and the spiritual influence of France in Indochina is to recognize the independence of Vietnam unreservedly and to renounce any idea of reestablishing French sovereignty or rule here in any form. . . . Even if you were to reestablish the French administration here, it would not be obeyed, and each village would be a nest of resistance. . . . We would be able to understand each other so easily and become friends if you would stop hoping to become our masters again.❞
--- Bao Dai, message to de Gaulle on 1945 Aug 20

Notes

• Betrayal suspicion: On the betrayal suspicion, Cooper, Chester L. (1970), The Lost Crusade: America in Vietnam, Dood, Mead & Company, New York. Retrieved on 7 Mar 2023, p.123, wrote: "Whether the Viet Minh had actually betrayed him to French agents is not known for certain, but Bich always suspected that this was how he had been discovered," whereas the assertion that he "was betrayed by his Communist colleagues to the French" was written in the short biography that accompanied Bich's 1962 article, as written in Honey, P.J., ed. (March 1962), "Special Issue on Vietnam", The China Quarterly 9. Retrieved on 18 Feb 2023. Volume 9. See the Note on The China Quarterly.

Back to Note.

• Bich's injury: A photo showing the injury mark on the forefront of Dr. Bich as a result of this "intensive and unpleasant interrogation" can be found in Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography.

Back to Note.

• China Quarterly: The Editorial of The China Quarterly, Volume 9, reads: "Five of our articles are by specialists who have observed the Hanoi regime from a distance. M. Tongas and Mr. Hoang Van Chi are writing on the basis of personal experience. Dr. Bich presents an independent view of the whole Vietnamese situation." This China Quarterly issue contained the articles written by several well-known intellectuals on Vietnam history and politics such as Bernard B. Fall, Hoang Van Chi, Phillipe Devillers (See Philippe Devillers (1920–2016), un secret nommé Viêt-Nam, Mémoires d'Indochine, Internet archived 2022.06.29), P. J. Honey, William Kaye (see e.g., A Bowl of Rice Divided: The Economy of North Vietnam, 1962), Gerard Tongas, among others. See the Editorial and the brief introduction of the contributors.

Back to Note 1, Note 2.

• Francophile anticolonialists: "French teachings and models over Confucian ones. Some of these teachings were, to say the least, unhelpful to the colonial enterprise. Voltaire's condemnation of tyranny, Rousseau's embrace of popular sovereignty, and Victor Hugo's advocacy of liberty and defense of workers' uprisings turned some Vietnamese into that curious creature found also elsewhere in the empire: the Francophile anticolonialist."^:9

Back to Note.

• Minh Tan book list: A list of important books published by Minh Tan can be found in Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography.

Back to Note.

• Napalm battles: See, e.g., the battle of Vinh Yen (1951), the battle of Na San (1952), the battle of Dien Bien Phu (1954), etc.

Back to Note.

• Political influence: A direct quote from the brief introduction of the contributors to The China Quarterly, Volume 9, 1962, reads: Dr. Bich's "personal influence upon Cochin Chinese opinion is considerable, and he is regarded by many as a possible successor to President Ngo Dinh Diem".

Back to Note.

• Primary sources, quotations: See primary sources, extensive notes and quotations in Nguyen Ngoc Bich (1911–1966): A Biography and Notes on Vietnam History.

Back to Note 1, Note 2.