Fye-witness Report i e. ~ nil ‘ et 5 * q 5 Vietnam, a small S-shaped country in South-East Asia bounded’ by China on the north and Laos and Cambodia on the west, has been temporarily divided at the 17th parallel since the Geneva agreements of 1954. The nor- thern part of the country has stepped onto the stage of socialist revolution; in the south the people are fighting against the regime of U.S. puppet Ngo Dinh Diem. The Pacific Tribune’s China correspondent, Bert Whyte, rec- ently attended the third congress of the Lao Dong (Work- ers) Party in Hanoi. Here are some travel notes made during his trip. By BERT WHYTE Pacific Tribune Correspondent WEDNESDAY—This morn- ing we left Nannin, beautiful foothills city, of the Kwangsi Chuang Autonomous Region. . We have flown over the lush comes into green mountains, with their _ tiny villages hiding in the val- leys far below, and now we see the Red River delta; Hanoi view, a city” ‘the size of Vancouver, built around a pretty lake. At the airport, cheéring crowds, Young Pioneers thrusting enormous bunches of flowers into our arms, in- troductions, handshakes, clap- ping, official cars, the long ‘drive to our hotel in the heart _ of the city, a confused blur of applauding peasants as we pass tKrough villages; green paddy fields, water buffaloes... In the evening, President Ho Chi ‘Mnih gives a reception, wanders among the guests, chatting amiably in” several danguages, He recalls that he fhas met Tim Buck in Moscow. I remark ‘that Tim and he are about the same age. “But’Tim , flooks much younger,” ‘he says. “We drink a toast, photog- raphers ‘snap pictures, ‘he moves on ‘to join: another group. So—I have met the legend- ary Uncle Ho, one of the great mén of Our time. And he is just as every ‘writer has de- seribed- him, simple, friendly, BERT WHYTE shrewd, a man with a twinkle in his eye, plainly dressed in lightweight jacket and trous- ers, his bare feet in rubber sandals. Unpretentious, unas- suming, gentle, a man who laughs gaily and infectiously, like a child; yet a man who has faced.and conquered hard- ships, spent years in jails, served the cause of the revolu- tion unflinchingly for. more than half a century. An old man and I are talk- ing about the weather. Hanoi is hotter than the hubs of hell, and I am sweating buckets— my shirt is soaking wet. “Take my fan,” the old man insists. I accept the fan gratefully, and ask my interpreter, “Who is that ” as the old man moves age hat ais ON? UC Thang; he says. “Ton Duc Thang. Like Uncle Ho, a legendary figure. As a young sailor on the French battleship Waldeck ‘Rousseau in 1920, he was the man who actually ‘hoisted the réd flag in sympathy with the Russian revolution. Eighteen years of his life were spent in prison— at the age*of"65 he came out | from behind ‘bars ‘to ‘take part jin eight years of ‘Resistance struggle. Holder of the Lenin Peace Prize. This is ‘the ‘‘old man” who is worried because the heat bothers me! xo ee S Be THURSDAY — Up at 5:30, breakfast, drive to the Munici-. pal Theatre to begin the céle- bration of the 15th anniversary of the founding of the Demo- ‘Backstage Unglé-Ho, lively as a cricket; produdes-. a plan’ “showing our places on the ros- ‘trum; j, us-in. lines us up and leads Speeches are delivered by {| Vietnam government spokes- men and'by the ‘leaders of del-. egations from the © socialist) countries. ee . “Canada I {solemn ceremony. . ‘That afternoon visiting dele “gations lay wreaths-at an army. -qmemorial near Hanoi. Or be-: - half of the Comunist: Party of! take -part-~in- this: ‘ FRIDAY—Up at 5 am, al hurried breakfast, and drive to 1 Ba Dinh Square where some eratic Republic, of. Vietnam. | | 350,000 Hanoians ‘take part in the biggest National Day cele- brations- ever held since the Republic. It was in this great square that on Sept. 2, 1945, . Presi- dent Ho ‘Chi Minh pro- claimed Vietnam’s — indepen- dence to the world. It is a joyful and inspiring ‘demonstration. In a short talk, Ho:Chi' Minh says: “Today the Democratic Republic of Vietnam is 15 years old. I am also 15 years old and all of you, too, are 15 years old.” : Young Pioneers rush up to the rostrum . and present us with flowers. Uncle Ho gath- ers them around him and. dis- tributes candies and makes a serious little speech. As I re- member my interpreter’s words it went something like this: “Today you boys and girls are having a. holiday from school to celebrate our National Day. But tomorrow I want you all to go back to school, where you must ‘study hard ‘so’ that you will be _ better able to serve your country when you grow up. Will you promise me you will do that?” q “We will. Uncle Ho, will-” cry the children. Workers and peasants marching in the parade carry charts showing. the advances made in industry and agricul- ture. we * oe * _ SUNDAY—Out ‘to the Sov- iet-equipped Hanoi Engineer- ing Plant this morning, meet the Russian expert ‘in charge, up 4 similar :piants each year. Have various precision tools and equipment demonstrated to us—but unfortunately this is not my cup of tea; I under- stand. very little of what I’ve been shown. Dinner. at the “hotel, and in. the evening, see some Vietna- mese movies, plus a Czech eameraman’s shot travelogue. Kk? the Third National Congress other members of foreign dele- | gations, Iam ‘onthe *65-mem- ‘ber “presidium, ‘and from my | sedt get a fine view ofthe 525 delégates ~and ‘Si: alternatesi|iCanadian vote ‘helped ‘push elected by more than half a smillion~ party members throughout, the, country. *“~Some of these. delegates, I reflect, also ‘attended ‘the'\Sec- ond ‘Congress, ‘held ‘in the jun- gles of North Vietnam in 1951. diary founding of ‘the Democratic‘ a-huge, jovial fellow. Some/1,-! 000 workers, producing precis- ion machines — ‘enough to set’ | MONDAY—At 7 a.m. sharp! ‘backward and in crisis, three-year plan. years; President Ho Chi Minh asks to rise and pay silent tribute to the members of the party and the people who have given + théir lives for the revolution- ary cause in the past war of resistance and over the past six years in south Vietnam, Then Uncle Ho, who is a poet as well as a president, welcomes the foreign guests by reading a two-line verse: “Though frontiers and mountains stand between us, 4d ‘we are of the same family. 4 “Proletarians throughout the world are brothers.” In his speech Ho reviews the past successes of the party and thanks brother socialist 4 countries, especially the Soviet | Union and China, for their. as- -| sistance: * % bd i TUESDAY — Congress all '| day, and speeches by foreign delegates. The Soviet and Chi- nese have made their speeches yesterday, so today it is the Korean Democratic. Republic. Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslo- vakia, Poland, Mongolia, Hun- |.ary, Rumania, France, Japan, ‘| noda and Italy ia .| -Speaking for the Communist | Party of Canada, I say, in part: “Since the Geneva Agree- ments of July 20, 1954, the ‘people of Vietnam have met some ‘Canadians—members of the International Commission a of “the «Vietnamese Workers|| which ‘is»responsible for ‘the Party opens. Along with -40) control and ‘supervision of the Geneva ‘Agreements. These ac- ntions of these Canadians over d-a dong: period of ‘time, and:par- \pticularly ‘of recent date when a 4 through — over ‘the objections bin, ‘illegally, military ‘personnel While South Vietnam, Under North Vietnam is making great strides forward. Photo shows workers in one of the new | paper mills applauding as the final roll of paper comes off | the machine marking fulfiltent of their schedule for the Indonesia, India, Moroeco, Ca-. rot the ‘Polish delegate—a ‘reso-: lution which allowed the so- | called ‘U.S, military assistance’ ifadvisory’ to stay in the ‘south-. ‘ern part of Vietnam and ship’ U.S. domination, remains much has happened in nin€jand weapons — these actions tan: scarcely have engendered a warm feeling towards Cana- dians on the part of the Viet- Namese people. -“Tt-so happens that I am the fit Canadian Communist to Visit Vietnam since the found- ing of your Democratic Re- Public 15 years ago. It is the hope of the Communist Party of G@nada that my presence. her§ and the message of greeting from our party, which I will read to you, will make it cl&r to all the delegates and the people of Vietnam —the Ganada of the imperial- country to the U.S. imperial- ers, wha desire peace friendly relations . with — all ism’s war plan.” signed by Vim Buck, in which our developing «struggle « for neutrality, ,world péace and lined. Joving. people pf Vietnam. and says the CPC message.- ~~ ALL nations even small ‘na- * BS * sessions continue, with dele- tions. ‘Great ‘stress is laid on the problem of reunification of ‘the country. that there exist two Canadas _ ists, Who are selling out our ~ “Canadian Communists; and all freedom-loving people in» ists — and the Canada.of the - people, the workers and farm- - and , countries, and withdrawal of | Canada fom U.S. imperial- - I read the CPC greetings - national independence is out- - our country, have a profound 7 admiration f0% -the freedom- - their heroic Lap Dong Party,” - “You comradés have demon- ~ strated to all mankind that : tions, .can -free themselves : from the yoke of the great im- - ‘perialist powers: The task - that you accomplished’ success- » fully by ‘tireless and unflinch-~ : ing struggle still confronts the : democratic forces of Canada.” . WEDNESDAY — Congress gates making their contribu-— January 6, 1961—PACIFIC TRIBUNE—Page 2.