To Hieu (Tô Hiệu)

Vietnamese. Name of a Vietnamese revolutionary and resistance hero, who rebelled against the French colonial occupation of Vietnam. He was born into a poor family in Hung Yen (Hưng Yên) Province on 7 March 1912. In 1927, during his education at the Franco-Vietnamese school in Hai Duong (Hải Dương), he soon started to participate in the patriotic movements of students, and in 1928 joined the Vietnam Nationalist Party, together with his brother. In 1930, he was arrested and sentenced to four years in prison, and exiled to Con Dao (Côn Đảo). After his release from prison, he fled to Hanoi and was admitted into the Indochinese Communist Party. By the end of 1938, To Hieu was assigned to Hai Phong (Hải Phòng), where he organized many strikes, demonstrations and became directly involved the fight against certain taxes, which led to the arrest of 72 protesters by the French colonialists. In the face of French oppression of the movement, To Hieu took its activities underground. On 1 December 1939, To Hieu was arrested at a printing house and subsequently tortured. He was sentenced to 5 years in prison (fig.) at Son La (Sơn La - map), where he died from tuberculosis on 7 March 1944, i.e. on his 32nd birthday. 回