142-408: Woody Island , also called Yongxing Island ( simplified Chinese : 永兴岛 ; traditional Chinese : 永興島 ; pinyin : Yǒngxīng Dǎo ; lit. 'Eternal Prosperity Island') by China and Taiwan and Phú Lâm Island ( Vietnamese : Đảo Phú Lâm ) by Vietnam (and formerly French : Île Boisée , lit. 'Wooded Island' by French Indochina ), is the largest of
284-476: A convent , he remained celibate for the rest of his life. Diệm's family, educational, and religious values greatly influenced his life and career. Historian Edward Miller stated that Diệm "displayed Christian piety in everything from his devotional practices to his habit of inserting references to the Bible into his speeches"; he also enjoyed showing off his knowledge of classical Chinese texts. After graduating at
426-556: A Catholic village adjacent to Huế . His ancestors had been among Vietnam's earliest Catholic converts in the 17th century. Diệm was given a saint's name at birth, Gioan Baotixita (a Vietnamized form of John the Baptist ), following the custom of the Catholic Church . The Ngô-Đình family suffered under the anti-Catholic persecutions of Emperors Minh Mạng and Tự Đức . In 1880, while Diệm's father, Ngô Đình Khả (1850–1925),
568-649: A Francophile, the leader of National Army was ready to oust Diệm; the leaders of the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài sectarian armies wanted positions in Diệm's cabinet and complete administrative control over the areas in which they had large numbers of followers; and the major threat of Bình Xuyên , an organized crime syndicate that controlled the National Police led by Lê Văn Viễn , whose power was focused in Saigon. In summer 1954,
710-626: A Japanese weather station and radio equipment, an administration building, a jetty, and several fishing boats. Following Japan's surrender at the end of the war, the Nationalist Chinese government sent naval expeditions to the South China Sea in 1946 to claim the Spratly and Paracel Islands, and established a permanent presence on Woody Island and Itu Aba . They (re)named Woody Island "Yongxing (Yung-hsing) Island" after one of
852-591: A Roman Catholic priest in the late 1870s. He worked for the commander of the French armed forces as an interpreter and took part in campaigns against anti-colonial rebels in the mountains of Tonkin during 1880. He rose to become a high-ranking mandarin , the first headmaster of the National Academy in Huế (founded in 1896), and a counsellor to Emperor Thành Thái of French Indochina . He was appointed minister of
994-823: A Vietnamese anti-colonial activist, whom Diệm respected for his knowledge of Confucianism and argued that Confucianism's teachings could be applied to a modern Vietnam. With the start of the World War II in the Pacific, seeing an opportunity for Vietnam to challenge French colonization, he attempted to persuade the Japanese forces to declare independence for Vietnam in 1942 but was ignored. Diệm also tried to establish relationships with Japanese diplomats, army officers, and intelligence operatives who supported Vietnam's independence. In 1943, Diệm's Japanese friends helped him to contact Prince Cường Để , an anti-colonial activist, who
1136-583: A cabinet of 18 people. In the first period of his premiership, Diệm did not have much power in the government; he lacked control of the military and police forces, and the civil system's key positions were still held by French officials. He also could not control the Bank of Indochina. Besides, Diệm had to face massive obstacles: refugee issues; the French colonists wanting to remove Diệm to protect France's interest in South Vietnam; General Nguyễn Văn Hinh ,
1278-487: A commission to advise on potential administration reforms. After calling for the French administration to introduce a Vietnamese legislature and many other political reforms, he resigned after three months in office when his proposals were rejected. Diệm denounced Emperor Bảo Đại as "nothing but an instrument in the hands of the French administration", and renounced his decorations and titles from Bảo Đại. The French administration then threatened him with arrest and exile. For
1420-434: A conversion table. While exercising such derivation, the following rules should be observed: Sample Derivations : The Series One List of Variant Characters reduces the number of total standard characters. First, amongst each set of variant characters sharing identical pronunciation and meaning, one character (usually the simplest in form) is elevated to the standard character set, and the rest are made obsolete. Then amongst
1562-502: A devout Roman Catholic, Khả took his entire family to daily morning Mass and encouraged his sons to study for the priesthood. Having learned both Latin and classical Chinese, Khả strove to make sure his children were well educated in both Christian scriptures and Confucian classics . During his childhood, Diệm laboured in the family's rice fields while studying at a French Catholic primary school (Pellerin School) in Huế, and later entered
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#17327835126361704-493: A fellow Catholic and political activist. His other allies and advisors were dominated by Catholics, especially his family members and their friends. Diệm also secretly maintained contact with high-ranking leaders of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, attempting to convince them to leave Hồ Chí Minh's government and join him. Meanwhile, Diệm lobbied French colonial officials for “true independence” for Vietnam, but
1846-455: A fortune in foreign banks. With Nhu, Cẩn competed for U.S. contracts and rice trade. Thuc, the most powerful religious leader in the country, was allowed to solicit "voluntary contributions to the Church" from Saigon businessmen, which was likened to "tax notices." Thuc also used his position to acquire farms, businesses, urban real estate, rental property, and rubber plantations in the name of
1988-784: A handpicked commission, Diệm dissolved it and had the constitution be made by the National Assembly deputies instead. The government hailed the process as democratic and transparent, given how the Assembly meetings were open and media presence was allowed; the National Revolutionary Movement dominated the council, but a handful of opposition figures had won seats as well. However, Diệm's regime of "democratic one man rule" faced increasing difficulties. After coming under pressure from within Vietnam and from
2130-524: A hospital, various shops, hostels, food stations, a post office, small department stores and an aquatic company. A rescue centre was established on 15 July 2006. There are two museums on the island – Xisha Maritime Museum and a Naval Museum. Other monuments include towers left by the Imperial Japanese Army during WWII, a monument erected by the ROC government in 1946, and a monument erected by
2272-471: A key factor of his approach to political and administrative reform. Diệm argued that post-colonial Vietnam must be a democratic country, but noted that Vietnamese democracy should develop out of its precolonial models, rather than European and American concepts, arguing that Vietnamese "institutions, customs and the principles underlying them are democratic facts." Researching the Nguyễn dynasty , Diệm asserted that
2414-610: A newly coined phono-semantic compound : Removing radicals Only retaining single radicals Replacing with ancient forms or variants : Adopting ancient vulgar variants : Readopting abandoned phonetic-loan characters : Copying and modifying another traditional character : Based on 132 characters and 14 components listed in Chart 2 of the Complete List , the 1,753 derived characters found in Chart 3 can be created by systematically simplifying components using Chart 2 as
2556-469: A practice which has always been present as a part of the Chinese writing system. The official name tends to refer to the specific, systematic set published by the Chinese government, which includes not only simplifications of individual characters, but also a substantial reduction in the total number of characters through the merger of formerly distinct forms. According to Chinese palaeographer Qiu Xigui ,
2698-444: A private school started by his father, where he studied French, Latin, and classical Chinese. At the age of fifteen he briefly followed his elder brother, Ngô Đình Thục, who would become Vietnam's highest-ranking Catholic bishop, into seminary. Diệm swore himself to celibacy to prove his devotion to his faith, but found monastic life too rigorous and decided not to pursue a clerical career. According to Mark Moyar , Diệm's personality
2840-536: A scholarship to study in Paris. He declined and, in 1918, enrolled at the prestigious School of Public Administration and Law in Hanoi, a French school that prepared young Vietnamese to serve in the colonial administration. It was there that he had the only romantic relationship of his life when he fell in love with one of his teacher's daughters. After his love interest chose to persist with her religious vocation and entered
2982-404: A single standardized character, usually the simplest among all variants in form. Finally, many characters were left untouched by simplification and are thus identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies. The Chinese government has never officially announced the completion of the simplification process after the bulk of characters were introduced by the 1960s. In the wake of
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#17327835126363124-440: Is actually more complex than eliminated ones. An example is the character 搾 which is eliminated in favor of the variant form 榨 . The 扌 'HAND' with three strokes on the left of the eliminated 搾 is now seen as more complex, appearing as the ⽊ 'TREE' radical 木 , with four strokes, in the chosen variant 榨 . Not all characters standardised in the simplified set consist of fewer strokes. For instance,
3266-485: Is capable of treating 1,000 tonnes of seawater per day, bringing the total capacity of desalination equipment on the island to 1,800 tonnes of seawater per day. The island's civilian population generally consists of a small number of long-term fishermen's settlements maintained by a fisherman's village committee, and a larger number of short-term fishermen that visit the island, in addition to small numbers of government workers and tourists. Policemen and soldiers stationed on
3408-454: Is derived. Merging homophonous characters: Adapting cursive shapes ( 草書楷化 ): Replacing a component with a simple arbitrary symbol (such as 又 and 乂 ): Omitting entire components : Omitting components, then applying further alterations : Structural changes that preserve the basic shape Replacing the phonetic component of phono-semantic compounds : Replacing an uncommon phonetic component : Replacing entirely with
3550-528: Is generally tropical, with an abundance of palm trees. There is also a vegetable plantation sized around one-fifteenth of a hectare (~700 sq m). The western portion of the island has a coconut grove. The island's domestic water supply is from rainwater collection. Additional drinking water is shipped from Hainan Island. Supply ships arrive monthly; during this time residents spend two days at the pier unloading materiel. A desalination plant completed in October 2016
3692-813: Is now discouraged. A State Language Commission official cited "oversimplification" as the reason for restoring some characters. The language authority declared an open comment period until 31 August 2009, for feedback from the public. In 2013, the List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters was published as a revision of the 1988 lists; it included a total of 8105 characters. It included 45 newly recognized standard characters that were previously considered variant forms, as well as official approval of 226 characters that had been simplified by analogy and had seen wide use but were not explicitly given in previous lists or documents. Singapore underwent three successive rounds of character simplification , eventually arriving at
3834-547: Is used instead of 叠 in regions using traditional characters. The Chinese government stated that it wished to keep Chinese orthography stable. The Chart of Generally Utilized Characters of Modern Chinese was published in 1988 and included 7000 simplified and unsimplified characters. Of these, half were also included in the revised List of Commonly Used Characters in Modern Chinese , which specified 2500 common characters and 1000 less common characters. In 2009,
3976-473: The ⼓ ' WRAP ' radical used in the traditional character 沒 is simplified to ⼏ ' TABLE ' to form the simplified character 没 . By systematically simplifying radicals, large swaths of the character set are altered. Some simplifications were based on popular cursive forms that embody graphic or phonetic simplifications of the traditional forms. In addition, variant characters with identical pronunciation and meaning were reduced to
4118-711: The Buddhist crisis . The event damaged relations with the United States and other previously sympathetic countries, and his organization lost favor with the leadership of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam . On 1 November 1963, the country's leading generals launched a coup d'état with assistance from the Central Intelligence Agency . Diệm and his brother, Nhu, initially escaped, but were recaptured
4260-482: The Chengdu J-10AH , Shenyang J-11BH , Xian JH-7A , and Sukhoi Su-30MK2 . Other constructions include three main roads and an 800-metre long concrete causeway connecting to Rocky Island (石岛/đảo Đá). Apart from government buildings and army posts, the island has various establishments. The island's administrative centre is located on Beijing Road, which has an Industrial and Commercial Bank of China branch,
4402-616: The Chinese Civil War , the ROC garrisons on Woody Island and Itu Aba were withdrawn to Taiwan. France had a chance to take over the islands, but decided not to, for fear of compromising its interests with the newly established PRC. The islands were thus unoccupied for six years, except for seasonal inhabitation (occupation) by fishermen from Hainan. In 1956, the PRC established a permanent presence on Woody Island. The Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) continued to claim sovereignty over
Woody Island (South China Sea) - Misplaced Pages Continue
4544-499: The Cultural Revolution , a second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977—largely composed of entirely new variants intended to artificially lower the stroke count, in contrast to the first round—but was massively unpopular and never saw consistent use. The second round of simplifications was ultimately retracted officially in 1986, well after they had largely ceased to be used due to their unpopularity and
4686-639: The Holy Year celebrations at the Vatican . After gaining French permission, he left in August 1950 with his older brother, Bishop Ngô Đình Thục. Before going to Europe, Diệm went to Japan where he met with Prince Cường Để, his former ally, and discussed Cường Để's efforts to return to Vietnam and his capacity to play some roles in his homeland. Diệm's friend also managed to organize a meeting between him and Wesley Fishel , an American political science professor at
4828-541: The National Technical Center at Phú Thọ in 1957, the University of Saigon (1956), the University of Hue (1957), and the University of Dalat (1957). Diệm hoped to develop a national, revolutionary spirit within the citizens of South Vietnam as well as a vibrant communal democracy and an independent, non-communist Vietnam. He saw the peasantry as the key to this nation-building as he believed
4970-637: The Paracel Islands in the South China Sea (SCS), with an area of 2.1 square kilometres (0.81 sq mi). As of 2014, it has a population of almost 1,500, with roads, banks and an air strip . The Paracel Islands are a group of islands, reefs, banks and atolls in the northwestern part of the South China Sea. Woody Island is part of the Amphitrite Group in the eastern Paracels and is approximately equidistant from Hainan and
5112-554: The Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) the character meaning 'bright' was written as either 明 or 朙 —with either 日 'Sun' or 囧 'window' on the left, with the 月 'Moon' component on the right. Li Si ( d. 208 BC ), the Chancellor of Qin, attempted to universalize the Qin small seal script across China following the wars that had politically unified the country for
5254-524: The Republic of China had all established a presence on the island at various points of time in history. Fishing activities in the South China Sea region surrounding the island have been documented in the records of earlier Chinese dynasties. During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Zheng He plotted the location of surrounding islands on a map, but never landed on it. In 1909 Zhang Renjun (Chinese: 張人駿 ),
5396-553: The Republic of China Navy warships, ROCS Yung-hsing ( 永興號 ). Yung-hsing was formerly the USS ; Embattle (AM-226) . The ship was transferred to the ROC navy after the war. In January 1947, after making a failed attempt to dislodge the Chinese garrison from Woody Island, France established a permanent presence on Pattle Island in the western Paracels. After the Hainan Island Campaign in 1950 during
5538-594: The United States , and Europe , Diệm returned home in July 1954 and was appointed prime minister by Bảo Đại, against the French suggestion of Nguyen Ngoc Bich (a French-educated engineer, Francophile anticolonialist, a resistance hero in the First Indochina War , and medical doctor) as an alternative. The 1954 Geneva Conference took place soon after he took office, formally partitioning Vietnam along
5680-625: The University of California , who was working for the CIA in Japan. Fishel was a proponent of the anti-colonial, anti-communist third force doctrine in Asia and was impressed with Diệm and helped him organize connections in the United States. In 1951, Diệm flew to the United States to seek the support of government officials but he was not successful in winning US support for Vietnamese anti-communists. In Rome, Diệm obtained an audience with Pope Pius XII at
5822-705: The Viceroy of Liangguang ordered Guangdong Fleet Admiral Li Zhun to sail to the island. His mission landed in June 1909. In 1932 French Indochina announced its claim to the archipelago. A Franco-Vietnamese garrison was established on Woody Island (from 'île Boisée' in French) in 1938, regularly supplied by the French Navy until 1945. The island was occupied by Japan during World War II. Later, on 4 Feb 1945 USS Pargo (Lt.Cdr. D.B. Bell) would bombard Woody Island destroying
Woody Island (South China Sea) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5964-613: The Vietnam War , he faced a communist insurgency backed by North Vietnam , eventually formally organized under the banner of the Viet Cong . He was subject to several assassination and coup attempts, and in 1962 established the Strategic Hamlet Program as the cornerstone of his counterinsurgency effort. In 1963, Diệm's favoritism towards Catholics and persecution of practitioners of Buddhism in Vietnam led to
6106-531: The states of ancient China , with his chief chronicler having "[written] fifteen chapters describing" what is referred to as the " big seal script ". The traditional narrative, as also attested in the Shuowen Jiezi dictionary ( c. 100 AD ), is that the Qin small seal script that would later be imposed across China was originally derived from the Zhou big seal script with few modifications. However,
6248-547: The " Winston Churchill of Asia". When asked why he had made the comment, Johnson replied, "Diệm's the only boy we got out there." Johnson assured Diệm of more aid in molding a fighting force that could resist the communists. During his presidency, Diệm imposed programs to reform Saigon society in accordance with Catholic and Confucian values. Brothels and opium dens were closed, divorce and abortion were made illegal, and adultery laws were strengthened. Additionally, Diệm's government established many schools and universities, such as
6390-403: The "Dot" stroke : The traditional components ⺥ and 爫 become ⺈ : The traditional component 奐 becomes 奂 : Ngo Dinh Diem Ngô Đình Diệm ( / d j ɛ m / dyem , / ˈ j iː ə m / YEE -əm or / z iː m / zeem ; Vietnamese: [ŋō ɗìn jîəmˀ] ; 3 January 1901 – 2 November 1963) was a South Vietnamese politician who
6532-541: The "Hinh crisis" when Hinh launched a series of public attacks on Diem, proclaiming that South Vietnam needed a “strong and popular” leader, as well as threatening to coup. However, at the end of 1954, Diệm successfully forced Hinh to resign from his post. Hinh had to flee to Paris and hand over his command of the national army to General Nguyễn Văn Vy . But the National Army officers favoured Diệm's leadership over General Vy, which forced him to flee to Paris. Despite
6674-479: The 17th parallel. Diệm, with the aid of his younger brother Ngô Đình Nhu , soon consolidated power in South Vietnam. After the fraudulent 1955 State of Vietnam referendum , he proclaimed the creation of the Republic of Vietnam, with himself as president. His government was supported by other anti-communist countries, most notably the United States. Diệm pursued a series of nation-building projects, promoting industrial and rural development . From 1957 onward, as part of
6816-469: The 1919 May Fourth Movement —many anti-imperialist intellectuals throughout China began to see the country's writing system as a serious impediment to its modernization. In 1916, a multi-part English-language article entitled "The Problem of the Chinese Language" co-authored by the Chinese linguist Yuen Ren Chao (1892–1982) and poet Hu Shih (1891–1962) has been identified as a turning point in
6958-482: The 1986 General List of Simplified Chinese Characters , hereafter the General List . All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Chart 1 and Chart 2 in the 1986 Complete List . Characters in both charts are structurally simplified based on similar set of principles. They are separated into two charts to clearly mark those in Chart 2 as 'usable as simplified character components', based on which Chart 3
7100-520: The 1986 mainland China revisions. Unlike in mainland China, Singapore parents have the option of registering their children's names in traditional characters. Malaysia also promulgated a set of simplified characters in 1981, though completely identical to the mainland Chinese set. They are used in Chinese-language schools. All characters simplified this way are enumerated in Charts 1 and 2 of
7242-602: The Accords. According to historian Keith Taylor , Diệm's rejection of the Geneva Accords was a way of objecting to the French colonization of Vietnam, while at the same time expressing his opinion of Bảo Đại, and the establishment of the First Republic of Vietnam served to assert Vietnamese independence from France. At the same time, the first Constitution of the Republic of Vietnam was promulgated. According to
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#17327835126367384-599: The Bình Xuyên, an organized crime syndicate that controlled the National Police led by Lê Văn Viễn, whose power was focused in Saigon. On 21 July 1954, the Geneva Accords temporarily partitioned Vietnam at the 17th parallel, pending elections in July 1956 to reunify the country. The Democratic Republic of Vietnam controlled the north, while the French-backed State of Vietnam controlled the south with Diệm as
7526-611: The Catholic Church. He also used Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) personnel to work on his timber and construction projects. The Nhus amassed a fortune by running numbers and lottery rackets, manipulating currency and extorting money from Saigon businesses, while Luyen became a multimillionaire by speculating in Piastres and Pounds on the currency exchange using inside government information. However, Miller wrote that Diệm also clamped down on corruption . South Vietnam
7668-470: The Chinese government published a major revision to the list which included a total of 8300 characters. No new simplifications were introduced. In addition, slight modifications to the orthography of 44 characters to fit traditional calligraphic rules were initially proposed, but were not implemented due to negative public response. Also, the practice of unrestricted simplification of rare and archaic characters by analogy using simplified radicals or components
7810-699: The Constitution, the President was granted an inordinate amount of power, and his governing style became increasingly authoritarian over time. Diệm's rule was authoritarian and nepotistic . His most trusted official was his brother Nhu, leader of the primary pro-Diệm party, the Cần Lao Party. Nhu was an opium addict and admirer of Adolf Hitler . He modeled the Cần Lao secret police's marching style and torture styles on Nazi methodology. Cẩn, another brother,
7952-547: The Crescent Group in the western part of the Paracel Islands after assuming control from the departing French colonialists against whom Vietnam fought a bitter independence war, maintaining a military garrison on Pattle Island (Vietnamese: đảo Hoàng Sa) by Ngo Dinh Diem 's executive order from 1956. For the subsequent 20 years, conflicts between the two sides repeatedly erupted within the region. In January 1974,
8094-536: The Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and in the Northern half of Vietnam, his Việt Minh began fighting the French administration. Diệm attempted to travel to Huế to dissuade Bảo Đại from joining Hồ but was arrested by the Việt Minh along the way and exiled to a highland village near the border. He might have died of malaria, dysentery, and influenza had the local tribesmen not nursed him back to health. Six months later, he
8236-419: The Diệm's regime, recommended that Diệm centralize power by abolishing local administrations and reforming the existing ones into much larger "areas", with much less power and no financial autonomy. Diệm objected to abolishing the position of province chiefs, arguing that only local governments could address "the needs of local people" as he believed that requiring fiscal self-sufficiency from the local governments
8378-673: The Hainan Film Company with up-to-date technology, including both 4K resolution and a 3-D perforated screen. In May 2018, based on PLA Air Force defence circulars and Chinese social media posts, the Washington Post and Washington based Asia maritime transparency initiative reported that China had landed long range bombers on the island as part of a defense exercise. In August 2020 the PLA Air Force deployed H-6J bombers to Woody Island. The island's flora
8520-504: The Mekong Delta. Recognizing his political status, Diệm decided to leave Vietnam in 1950. According to Miller, during his early career, there were at least three ideologies that influenced Diệm's social and political views in the 1920s and 1930s. The first of these were Catholic nationalism, which Diệm inherited from his family's tradition, especially from his brother Bishop Ngô Đình Thục and Nguyễn Hữu Bài, who advised him to "return
8662-407: The Michigan State University Vietnam Advisory Group. The Americans' assessments of Diệm were varied but Diệm did gain favor with some high-ranking officials, such as Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas , Roman Catholic cardinal Francis Spellman , Representative Mike Mansfield of Montana , and Representative John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts along with numerous journalists, academics, and
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#17327835126368804-422: The PLA Navy captured Pattle Island during the Battle of the Paracel Islands . The island is located between the equator and the tropic of cancer , and falls in the "tropical marine monsoon climate" category. It experiences abundant rainfall, year-round high temperatures, high humidity and high salt. Coupled with generally clear skies and sunny weather, the annual average temperature is 26.5 °C (79.7 °F);
8946-406: The PRC in 1974. Visitors to the island are required to obtain approval from PRC authorities in Haikou before departure. Hiring a fishing boat from Hainan to the island is possible. On 10 April 2011, China National Radio (CNR) and Hainan People's Broadcasting Station began FM broadcasts on the island. This is in addition to mobile communications and satellite television which are available in
9088-443: The People's Republic, the idea of a mass simplification of character forms first gained traction in China during the early 20th century. In 1909, the educator and linguist Lufei Kui formally proposed the use of simplified characters in education for the first time. Over the following years—marked by the 1911 Xinhai Revolution that toppled the Qing dynasty , followed by growing social and political discontent that further erupted into
9230-552: The Prime Minister. Diệm criticized the French for abandoning North Vietnam to the Communists at Geneva, claimed that the terms did not represent the will of the Vietnamese people, and refused French suggestions to include more pro-French officials in the government. The Geneva Accords allowed for freedom of movement between the two zones until October 1954; this put a large strain on the south. Diệm had only expected 10,000 refugees, but by August, there were more than 200,000 waiting for evacuation from Hanoi and Hải Phòng . Nevertheless,
9372-676: The U.S. government had planned to withdraw its backing from Diệm during his early difficult years of leadership. In South Vietnam, a referendum was scheduled for 23 October 1955 to determine the future direction of the south, in which the people would choose Diệm or Bảo Đại as the leader of South Vietnam . Diem, with the support of his brother Ngô Đình Nhu and the Cần Lao Party, used an avid propaganda campaign to destroy Bảo Đại's reputation and garner support for Diem. Supporters of Bảo Đại were not allowed to campaign, and were physically attacked by Nhu's workers. Official results showed 98.2 per cent of voters favoured Diệm, an implausibly high result that
9514-404: The U.S. sense of "political right" or political pluralism and in the context of an Asian country like Vietnam, Confucian and Catholic values were relevant to deal with contemporary problems in politics, governance, and social change. In this sense, Diệm was not a reactionary mandarin lacking an interest in democracy as he has been portrayed by some scholars. His way of thinking about democracy became
9656-425: The US was enthusiastic in applying their technology and knowledge to modernize postcolonial countries. With the help of Fishel, then at Michigan State University (MSU), Diệm was appointed as a consultant to MSU's Government Research Bureau. MSU was administering government-sponsored assistance programs for Cold War allies, and Diệm helped Fishel to lay the foundation for a program later implemented in South Vietnam,
9798-444: The United States, Diệm agreed to hold legislative elections in August 1959 for South Vietnam. However, in reality, newspapers were not allowed to publish names of independent candidates or their policies, and political meetings exceeding five people were prohibited. Candidates who ran against government-supported opponents faced harassment and intimidation. In rural areas, candidates who ran were threatened using charges of conspiracy with
9940-418: The Vatican before undertaking further lobbying across Europe. He also met with French and Vietnamese officials in Paris and sent a message indicating that he was willing to be the Prime Minister of the State of Vietnam to Bảo Đại but Bảo Đại refused to meet with him. Diệm returned to the United States to continue building support among Americans. Nonetheless, to Americans, the fact that Diệm was an anti-communist
10082-401: The Vietnam coast. The island has been under the control of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since 1956. Sansha City , which administers PRC-controlled territories in Spratly and Paracel Islands, has its administrative seat located on the island. The island is claimed by the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) and Vietnam. The Chinese Qing dynasty , France (on behalf of Annam), Japan, and
10224-550: The Việt Cộng, which carried the death penalty. Phan Quang Đán , the government's most prominent critic, was allowed to run. Despite the deployment of 8,000 ARVN plainclothes troops into his district to vote, Đán still won by a ratio of six to one. The busing of soldiers to vote for regime approved candidates occurred across the country. When the new assembly convened, Đán was arrested. In May 1961, U.S. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson visited Saigon and enthusiastically declared Diệm
10366-460: The Việt Minh and Bảo Đại, but it raised little interest and provided further evidence to both the French and Việt Minh that Diệm was a dangerous rival. In 1950, the Việt Minh lost patience and sentenced him to death in absentia, and the French refused to protect him. Hồ Chí Minh's cadres tried to assassinate him while he was traveling to visit his elder brother Thục, bishop of the Vĩnh Long diocese in
10508-635: The Việt Minh. Diệm proclaimed his neutrality and attempted to establish a Third Force movement that was both anti-colonialist and anti-communist In 1947, he became the founder and chief of the National Union Bloc (Khối Quốc Gia Liên Hiệp) and then folded it into the Vietnam National Rally (Việt Nam Quốc Gia Liên Hiệp), which united non-communist Vietnamese nationalists. He also established relationships with some leading Vietnamese anti-communists like Nguyễn Tôn Hoàn (1917–2001),
10650-457: The basic doctrine of Diệm's regime, reflected in the Constitution's preface, which declared that "Building Politics, Economy, Society, Culture for the people based on respecting Personalism". According to Miller, democracy, to Diệm, was rooted in his dual identity as Confucian and Catholic, and was associated with communitarianism and the doctrine of Personalism. He defined democracy as "a social ethos based on certain sense of moral duty", not in
10792-444: The body of epigraphic evidence comparing the character forms used by scribes gives no indication of any real consolidation in character forms prior to the founding of the Qin. The Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) that inherited the Qin administration coincided with the perfection of clerical script through the process of libian . Eastward spread of Western learning Though most closely associated with
10934-447: The broadest trend in the evolution of Chinese characters over their history has been simplification, both in graphical shape ( 字形 ; zìxíng ), the "external appearances of individual graphs", and in graphical form ( 字体 ; 字體 ; zìtǐ ), "overall changes in the distinguishing features of graphic[al] shape and calligraphic style, [...] in most cases refer[ring] to rather obvious and rather substantial changes". The initiatives following
11076-407: The chosen variants, those that appear in the "Complete List of Simplified Characters" are also simplified in character structure accordingly. Some examples follow: Sample reduction of equivalent variants : Ancient variants with simple structure are preferred : Simpler vulgar forms are also chosen : The chosen variant was already simplified in Chart 1 : In some instances, the chosen variant
11218-537: The coldest average temperature in January is 23 °C (73 °F), the hottest average temperature in June is 29 °C (84 °F). The rainy season lasts for 5 to 6 months every year. Under PRC control, the island is administered by the Yongxingdao Town Government and is the seat of Sansha , a prefecture-level city of Hainan . In June 2014, UK newspaper The Independent stated that
11360-595: The confusion they caused. In August 2009, China began collecting public comments for a revised list of simplified characters; the resulting List of Commonly Used Standard Chinese Characters lists 8,105 characters, including a few revised forms, and was implemented for official use by China's State Council on 5 June 2013. In Chinese, simplified characters are referred to by their official name 简化字 ; jiǎnhuàzì , or colloquially as 简体字 ; jiǎntǐzì . The latter term refers broadly to all character variants featuring simplifications of character form or structure,
11502-656: The country. In 1935, the first official list of simplified forms was published, consisting of 324 characters collated by Peking University professor Qian Xuantong . However, fierce opposition within the KMT resulted in the list being rescinded in 1936. Work throughout the 1950s resulted in the 1956 promulgation of the Chinese Character Simplification Scheme , a draft of 515 simplified characters and 54 simplified components, whose simplifications would be present in most compound characters. Over
11644-711: The daughter of Nguyễn Hữu Bài , who was the Catholic head of the Council of Ministers at the Huế court. Bài also supported the indigenization of the Vietnamese Church and giving more administrative powers to the monarchy. Bài was highly regarded among the French administration. Diệm's religious and family ties impressed Bài and he became Diệm's patron. The French were impressed by his work ethic but were irritated by Diệm's frequent calls to grant more autonomy to Vietnam. Diệm contemplated resigning but encouragement from
11786-479: The early 1950s, Nhu established the Cần Lao Party, which played a key role in helping Diệm attain and consolidate his power. Until 1953, the State of Vietnam was nominally independent from Paris. Since dissatisfaction with France and Bảo Đại was rising among non-communist nationalists, and support from non-communist nationalists and Diệm's allies was rising for his "true independence" point of view, Diệm sensed that it
11928-499: The economic problems in China during that time. Lu Xun , one of the most prominent Chinese authors of the 20th century, stated that "if Chinese characters are not destroyed, then China will die" ( 漢字不滅，中國必亡 ). During the 1930s and 1940s, discussions regarding simplification took place within the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) party. Many members of the Chinese intelligentsia maintained that simplification would increase literacy rates throughout
12070-411: The election had an atmosphere of legitimate pluralism, but the government retained the right to ban candidates deemed to be linked to the communists or other 'rebel' groups, and campaign material was screened. However, Miller notes that in some districts the opposition candidates withdrew due to police intimidation and military presence. Surprisingly, instead of letting the draft constitution be created by
12212-607: The emperor as a tool of France . Diệm came to support Vietnamese nationalism , promoting both anti-communism , in opposition to Hồ Chí Minh , and decolonization , in opposition to Bảo Đại. He established the Cần Lao Party to support his political doctrine of Person Dignity Theory , which was heavily influenced by the teachings of Personalism , mainly from French philosopher Emmanuel Mounier , and Confucianism , which Diệm had greatly admired. After several years in exile in Japan ,
12354-703: The end of French efforts to remove Diệm. Most of the Cao Đài leaders chose to rally to Diệm's government. Diệm then dismantled the private armies of the Cao Đài and Hòa Hảo religious sects. By the end of 1955, Diệm had almost taken control of South Vietnam, and his government was stronger than ever before. In April 1956, along with the capture of Ba Cụt , the leader of the last Hòa Hảo rebels, Diệm almost subdued all of his non-communist enemies, and could focus on his Vietnamese communist opponents. According to Miller, Diệm's capacity in subduing his enemies and consolidating his power strengthened U.S. support of his government, although
12496-499: The end of WWII. In 1945, after the coup against French colonial rule , the Japanese offered Diệm the post of prime minister in the Empire of Vietnam under Bảo Đại, which they organized on leaving the country. He declined initially, but reconsidered his decision and attempted to reverse the refusal. However, Bảo Đại had already given the post to Trần Trọng Kim . In September 1945, after the Japanese withdrawal, Hồ Chí Minh proclaimed
12638-589: The failure of Hinh's alleged coup, the French continued to encourage Diệm's enemies in an attempt to destabilize him. On 31 December 1954, Diệm established the National Bank of Vietnam and replaced the Indochinese banknotes with new Vietnamese banknotes . In early 1955, although American advisors encouraged Diệm to negotiate with the leaders of the political-religious forces who threatened to overthrow his position and to forge an anti-communist bloc, he
12780-472: The fate of the former emperor Bảo Đại. Bảo Đại was initially supposed to remain the head of state until the National Assembly elections, but Diệm's cabinet decided to decide the monarch's fate through a referendum. Miller highlights that despite the popular belief that the referendum was put forward by Edward Lansdale , it was Diệm who decided to organise the referendum as a way to burnish his democratic credentials and attempt to realise his democratic ideas. While
12922-512: The first time. Li prescribed the 朙 form of the word for 'bright', but some scribes ignored this and continued to write the character as 明 . However, the increased usage of 朙 was followed by proliferation of a third variant: 眀 , with 目 'eye' on the left—likely derived as a contraction of 朙 . Ultimately, 明 became the character's standard form. The Book of Han (111 AD) describes an earlier attempt made by King Xuan of Zhou ( d. 782 BC ) to unify character forms across
13064-543: The fishing villages of the Paracel Islands. China began construction on a school to serve about 40 children whose parents work on the island in June 2014, with construction expected to cost about 36 million yuan and take a year and a half. It opened in December 2015. On 17 February 2016, the New York Times reported that an HQ-9 Surface to Air Missile system had been deployed on the island. In July 2016, it
13206-655: The following day and assassinated on the orders of Dương Văn Minh , who succeeded him as president. Diệm has been a controversial historical figure. Some historians have considered him a tool of the United States, while others portrayed him as an avatar of Vietnamese tradition. At the time of his assassination, he was widely considered to be a corrupt dictator . Ngô Đình Diệm was born in 1901 in Quảng Bình province , in Central Vietnam . His family originated in Phú Cam,
13348-475: The following decade, the Script Reform Committee deliberated on characters in the 1956 scheme, collecting public input regarding the recognizability of variants, and often approving forms in small batches. Parallel to simplification, there were also initiatives aimed at eliminating the use of characters entirely and replacing them with pinyin as an official Chinese alphabet, but this possibility
13490-723: The former director of the Office of Strategic Services William J. Donovan . Although he did not succeed in winning official support from the US, his personal interactions with American political leaders promised the prospect of gaining more support in the future. Mansfield remembered after the luncheon with Diệm held on 8 May 1953, he felt that "if anyone could hold South Vietnam, it was somebody like Ngô Đình Diệm". During Diệm's exile, his brothers Nhu, Cẩn, and Luyện played important roles in helping him build international and internal networks and support in different ways for his return to Vietnam. In
13632-430: The founding of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) to universalize the use of their small seal script across the recently conquered parts of the empire is generally seen as being the first real attempt at script reform in Chinese history. Before the 20th century, variation in character shape on the part of scribes, which would continue with the later invention of woodblock printing , was ubiquitous. For example, prior to
13774-556: The history of the Chinese script—as it was one of the first clear calls for China to move away from the use of characters entirely. Instead, Chao proposed that the language be written with an alphabet, which he saw as more logical and efficient. The alphabetization and simplification campaigns would exist alongside one another among the Republican intelligentsia for the next several decades. Recent commentators have echoed some contemporary claims that Chinese characters were blamed for
13916-522: The imperial court, and became a farmer in the countryside. Khả decided to abandon his studies for the priesthood and instead married. After his first wife died childless, Khả remarried and, in a period of twenty-three years, had twelve children with his second wife, Phạm Thị Thân, nine of whom survived infancy – six sons and three daughters. These were Ngô Đình Khôi , Ngô Đình Thị Giao, Ngô Đình Thục , Ngô Đình Diệm, Ngô Đình Thị Hiệp, Ngô Đình Thị Hoàng, Ngô Đình Nhu , Ngô Đình Cẩn and Ngô Đình Luyện . As
14058-662: The individual itself. In 1955, Diệm wrote that "democracy is primarily a state of mind, a way of living that respects the human person, both with regard to ourselves and with regard to others" and that "more than any other form of government, democracy demands that we all display wisdom and virtue in our dealings with each other." In 1956, Diem added that democracy had to foster a feeling of community and mutual responsibility, arguing that respect for democracy lays in "decency in social relations", thus defining Vietnamese democracy as inherently communitarian and not individualist. In summer and fall of 1955, Diệm's administration had to decide
14200-600: The island change shifts every two years, whereas civilian employees change shifts every six months. Simplified Chinese characters Simplified Chinese characters are one of two standardized character sets widely used to write the Chinese language , with the other being traditional characters . Their mass standardization during the 20th century was part of an initiative by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to promote literacy, and their use in ordinary circumstances on
14342-417: The island had a population of 1,443. As part of the Paracel Islands, the island is also claimed by Taiwan and by Vietnam . Sansha city is located on Woody island. Woody Island has had two or three artificial harbors capable of docking vessels up to 5,000 tonnes. In 2008, the island's main sea transport was the freighter Qiongsha-3 , (2,500 tonnes, 84m x 13.8m, 200 passengers and 750 tonnes of cargo); it
14484-533: The mainland has been encouraged by the Chinese government since the 1950s. They are the official forms used in mainland China and Singapore , while traditional characters are officially used in Hong Kong , Macau , and Taiwan . Simplification of a component—either a character or a sub-component called a radical —usually involves either a reduction in its total number of strokes , or an apparent streamlining of which strokes are chosen in what places—for example,
14626-514: The migration helped to strengthen Diệm's political base of support as the refugees were strongly anti-communist. To deal with the refugee situation, Diem's government arranged for their relocation into fertile and under-populated provinces in the western Mekong Delta. The Diệm regime also provided them with food and shelter, farm tools, and housing materials as well as digging irrigation canals, building dykes , and dredging swamp-lands to help stabilise their lives. In August 1954, Diệm also had to face
14768-407: The monarch was highly unpopular given his collaboration with the French colonial regime, the new government committed to further diminishing Đại's reputation with aggressive smear campaign and large pro-rallies. Additionally, the referendum itself was considered non-secret, given that the voters were given ballots with the photos of Diệm and Bảo Đại on it and were supposed to tear it in half and deposit
14910-465: The moral norm of Nguyễn-era Vietnam was that it was founded "on the people", following the Confucian concept of Mandate of Heaven ; people could and often did withdraw their support from unpopular monarchs, causing their downfall. Diệm considered it an "indigenous Vietnamese democratic tradition" and wished to make it the basis of democracy that would emerge in Vietnam. Diệm's ideology of personalism
15052-535: The morally superior leader. Thus Diệm was "adamant that the outcome was entirely consistent with his view of democracy as the citizenry's embrace of a common moral ethos". On 4 March 1956, the elections for the first National Assembly were held. These elections were considerably more free and fair than the referendum, and some governmental candidates would highly contest with independents and oppositionist candidates for their seats, according to Miller. On this occasion, non-government candidates were allowed to campaign and
15194-538: The nation. The Special Commissariat for Civic Action was considered a practical tool of Diệm's government to serve "the power vacuum", and be a force of influence for Diệm's government, in the rural countryside following the departure of Việt Minh cadres after the Geneva Accords (1954). Geoffrey C. Stewart's study provides a clearer picture of Diệm's domestic policies and a further understanding of his government's efforts in reaching and connecting with local communities in South Vietnam that shows "an indigenous initiative" of
15336-421: The next decade, Diệm lived as a private citizen with his family in Huế, although he was kept under surveillance. He spent his time reading, meditating, attending church, gardening, hunting, and in amateur photography. Diệm also conducted extensive nationalist activities during those 21 years, engaging in meetings and correspondence with various leading Vietnamese revolutionaries, such as his friend, Phan Bội Châu ,
15478-503: The peasantry was more likely to put the country before their own self interest in a spirit of volunteerism. A Special Commissariat for Civic Action was established to extend the reach of the Saigon government into rural areas and to help create 'model villages' to show rural peasants that the South Vietnamese government was viable as well as allowing citizen volunteers, and experts, to help these communities develop and tie them to
15620-442: The populace convinced him to persist. In 1925, he first encountered communists distributing propaganda while riding horseback through the region near Quảng Trị. Revolted by calls for violent socialist revolution contained in the propaganda leaflets, Diệm involved himself in anti-communist activities for the first time, spreading his own anti-communist pamphlets. In 1929, he was promoted to the governorship of Bình Thuận Province and
15762-430: The public and quickly fell out of official use. It was ultimately formally rescinded in 1986. The second-round simplifications were unpopular in large part because most of the forms were completely new, in contrast to the familiar variants comprising the majority of the first round. With the rescission of the second round, work toward further character simplification largely came to an end. In 1986, authorities retracted
15904-521: The republic and organize the election of its president. The 1954 Geneva Accords prescribed elections to reunify the country in 1956. Diệm refused to hold these elections, claiming that a free election was not possible in the North and that since the previous State of Vietnam had not signed the accords, they were not bound by it – despite having been part of the French Union, which itself was bound by
16046-505: The rites and chamberlain and keeper of the eunuchs . Despite his collaboration with the French colonizers, Khả was "motivated less by Francophilia than by certain reformist ambitions". Like Phan Châu Trinh , Khả believed that independence from France could be achieved only after changes in Vietnamese politics, society, and culture had occurred. In 1907, after the ouster of emperor Thành Thái, Khả resigned his appointments, withdrew from
16188-409: The role of the government. After 1954, the existence of the party was recognized, but its activities were hidden from public view. In the early 1950s, Diệm and Nhu used the party to mobilize support for Diệm's political movements. According to the Republic of Vietnam decree 116/BNV/CT, the Cần Lao Party was established on 2 September 1954. Personalism, as part of Person Dignity Theory , officially became
16330-481: The same set of simplified characters as mainland China. The first round was promulgated by the Ministry of Education in 1969, consisting of 498 simplified characters derived from 502 traditional characters. A second round of 2287 simplified characters was promulgated in 1974. The second set contained 49 differences from the mainland China system; these were removed in the final round in 1976. In 1993, Singapore adopted
16472-476: The seal" in 1933 to oppose French policies. The second was Diệm's understanding of Confucianism, especially through his friendship with Phan Bội Châu who argued that Confucianism's teachings could be applied to modern Vietnam. Lastly, instructed by Ngô Đình Nhu, Diệm began to examine Personalism , which originated from French Catholicism 's philosophy and then applied this doctrine as the main ideology of his regime. Diệm applied for permission to travel to Rome for
16614-467: The second round completely, though they had been largely fallen out of use within a year of their initial introduction. That year, the authorities also promulgated a final version of the General List of Simplified Chinese Characters . It was identical to the 1964 list save for 6 changes—including the restoration of 3 characters that had been simplified in the first round: 叠 , 覆 , 像 ; the form 疊
16756-399: The slice with their preferred candidate into the box – this made one's choice visible to everyone. Miller notes that the referendum reveals the eccentric nature of Diệm's understanding of democracy – in the sense of political pluralism , the vote appeared inherently authoritarian; but to Diệm his margin appeared legitimate, as he described democracy as "state of mind" in which the people elect
16898-557: The three organizations controlled approximately one-third of the territory and population of South Vietnam. Besides his own political skills, Diệm had to trust in his relatives and the backing of his American supporters to overcome the obstacles and neutralize his opponents. Additionally, around one-third of the territory and population of South Vietnam was under the control of the Hòa Hảo and Cao Đài sectarian armies, who wanted positions in Diệm's cabinet and complete administrative control, and
17040-478: The top of his class in 1921, Diệm followed in the footsteps of his eldest brother, Ngô Đình Khôi, joining the civil service in Thừa Thiên as a junior official. Starting from the lowest rank of mandarin, Diệm steadily rose over the next decade. He first served at the royal library in Huế, and within one year was the district chief in both Thừa Thiên and nearby Quảng Trị province , presiding over seventy villages. Diệm
17182-833: The traditional character 強 , with 11 strokes is standardised as 强 , with 12 strokes, which is a variant character. Such characters do not constitute simplified characters. The new standardized character forms shown in the Characters for Publishing and revised through the Common Modern Characters list tend to adopt vulgar variant character forms. Since the new forms take vulgar variants, many characters now appear slightly simpler compared to old forms, and as such are often mistaken as structurally simplified characters. Some examples follow: The traditional component 釆 becomes 米 : The traditional component 囚 becomes 日 : The traditional "Break" stroke becomes
17324-406: Was nationalistic , devoutly Catholic, anti-Communist , and preferred the philosophies of personalism and Confucianism . Diệm's rule was also pervaded by family corruption. Cẩn was widely believed to be involved in several illegal operations, namely the illegal smuggling of rice to North Vietnam on the black market, the opium trade via Laos , in monopolizing the cinnamon trade, and amassing
17466-415: Was abandoned, confirmed by a speech given by Zhou Enlai in 1958. In 1965, the PRC published the List of Commonly Used Characters for Printing [ zh ] (hereafter Characters for Printing ), which included standard printed forms for 6196 characters, including all of the forms from the 1956 scheme. A second round of simplified characters was promulgated in 1977, but was poorly received by
17608-476: Was condemned as fraudulent. The total number of votes far exceeded the number of registered voters by over 380,000, further evidence that the referendum was heavily rigged. For example, only 450,000 voters were registered in Saigon, but 605,025 were said to have voted for Diệm. On 26 October 1955, Diệm proclaimed the formation of the Republic of Vietnam, with himself as its first President until 26 October 1956. The first Constitution provided articles to establish
17750-479: Was determined to attack his enemies to consolidate his power. In April 1955, Diệm's army forces took most of Bình Xuyên's posts in Saigon after a victory in the Battle of Saigon . Within a few months, Diệm's troops wiped out the Bình Xuyên's remnants, leaving only a few small bands, who then joined forces with the communists. The defeat of Bình Xuyên increased the authority and prestige of Diệm's government and marked
17892-540: Was disappointed when Bảo Đại agreed to French demands for an “associate state” within the French Union, which allowed France to maintain its diplomatic, economic, and military policies in Vietnam. In the meantime, the French had created the State of Vietnam and Diệm refused Bảo Đại's offer to become the Prime Minister. On 16 June 1949, he published a new manifesto in newspapers proclaiming a third force different from
18034-442: Was divided into colonial-era provinces, of which governors enjoyed sweeping powers and firmly controlled local administrations, creating a problem of corruption and cronyism. The governors were seen as petty tyrants, and Diệm launched corruption probes while also replacing many of the governors. However, starting in 1954, the political turmoil prevented him from taking further measures. The MSUG, an American advisory body created to aid
18176-404: Was educated at French-speaking schools and considered following his brother Ngô Đình Thục into the priesthood, but eventually chose to pursue a career in the civil service . He progressed rapidly in the court of Emperor Bảo Đại , becoming governor of Bình Thuận Province in 1929 and interior minister in 1933. However, he resigned from the latter position after three months and publicly denounced
18318-597: Was in exile in Japan. After contacting Cường Để, Diệm formed a secret political party, the Association for the Restoration of Great Vietnam (Việt Nam Đại Việt Phục Hưng Hội), which was dominated by his Catholic allies in Hue. When its existence was discovered in the summer of 1944, the French declared Diệm to be subversive and ordered his arrest. He flew to Saigon under Japanese military protection, staying there until
18460-468: Was key to creating the "ethos of mutual responsibility" – a key concept in Diệm's communitarian interpretation of democracy. The Cần Lao Party played a key role in Diệm's regime, often acting as much more than a tool of political organization. Initially, the party acted secretly based on a network of cells, and each member only knew the identities of a few other members. When necessary, the Party could assume
18602-514: Was known for his work ethic. In 1930 and 1931, he helped the French suppress the first peasant revolts organized by the communists. According to historian Bernard B. Fall Diệm put the revolts down as he believed they would not lead to the removal of the French but might threaten the leadership of the mandarins. In 1933, with the ascension of Bảo Đại to the throne, Diệm accepted Bảo Đại's invitation to be his interior minister following lobbying by Nguyễn Hữu Bài. Soon after his appointment, Diệm headed
18744-740: Was largely influenced by the Confucian notion that self-improvement meant cooperation with one's local community and society at large; he thought that there is a tension between individual's personal ambitions and community's ethos of mutual responsibility. Inspired by the writings of Catholic philosopher Emmanuel Mounier , Diệm considered his ideology of personalism a "third way" of communitarianism, presenting an alternative to both individualism and collectivism , insisting that democracy couldn't be realised "by drafting and promulgating documents and regulations", but that civil liberties granted by democratic regime to its citizens should serve "collective social improvement", serving each person's community rather than
18886-417: Was not enough to distinguish him from Bảo Đại and other State of Vietnam leaders. Some American officials worried that his devout Catholicism could hinder his ability to mobilize support in a predominantly non-Catholic country. Diệm recognized that concern and broadened his lobbying efforts to include a development focus in addition to anti-communism and religious factors. Diệm was motivated by the knowledge that
19028-496: Was promoted to be a provincial chief ( Tuần phủ ) in Ninh Thuận at the age of 28, overseeing 300 villages. During his career as a mandarin, Diệm was known for his industriousness and incorruptibility, and as a Catholic leader and nationalist. Catholic nationalism in Vietnam during the 1920s and 1930s facilitated Diệm's ascent in his bureaucratic career. Diệm's rise was also facilitated through his brother Ngô Đình Khôi's marriage to
19170-598: Was put in charge of the former Imperial City of Huế. Although neither Cẩn nor Nhu held any official role in the government, they ruled their regions of South Vietnam absolutely, commanding private armies and secret police forces. Diệm's youngest brother Luyện was appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom. His elder brother, Ngô Đình Thục, was Archbishop of Huế . Despite this, Thuc lived in the Presidential Palace, along with Nhu, Nhu's wife, and Diệm. Diệm
19312-557: Was reported that Shenyang J-11 BH fighter aircraft were deployed on the island. In April 2017, the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative – a US think tank based in Washington – reported that a Shenyang J-11BH fighter aircraft was spotted on the island in satellite photos taken on 29 March 2017. On 22 July 2017, over 200 Chinese moviegoers attended a screening in a theater built on the island by
19454-699: Was studying in British Malaya , an anti-Catholic riot led by Buddhist monks almost wiped out the Ngô-Đình clan. Over 100 of the Ngô clan were "burned alive in a church including Khả's father, brothers, and sisters." Ngô Đình Khả was educated in a Catholic school in British Malaya, where he learned English and studied the European-style curriculum. He was a devout Catholic and scrapped plans to become
19596-499: Was taken to meet Hồ, who recognized Diệm's virtues and, wanting to extend the support for his new government, asked Diệm to be a minister of the interior. Diệm refused to join the Việt Minh, assailing Hồ for the murder of his brother Ngô Đình Khôi by Việt Minh cadres. During the Indochina War , Diệm and other non-communist nationalists had to face a dilemma: they did not want to restore colonial rule and did not want to support
19738-473: Was the final prime minister of the State of Vietnam (1954–1955) and later the first president of South Vietnam ( Republic of Vietnam ) from 1955 until his capture and assassination during the CIA -backed 1963 South Vietnamese coup . Diệm was born into a prominent Catholic family with his father, Ngô Đình Khả , being a high-ranking mandarin for Emperor Thành Thái during the French colonial era . Diệm
19880-496: Was the only means of sea transport for non-military personnel such as fishermen and researchers. Each trip from Hainan to Woody island lasted from 13 to 15 hours. In 1990, Chinese authorities built a runway and airport on the island. The Sansha Yongxing Airport was completed in July 1990, with a 2,700-metre runway that is capable of handling any fourth generation fighter aircraft of the PLA Naval Air Force such as
20022-710: Was time for him to come to power in Vietnam. In early 1954, Bảo Đại offered Diệm the position of Prime Minister in the new government in Vietnam. In May 1954, the French surrendered at Điện Biên Phủ and the Geneva Conference began in April 1954. On 16 June 1954, Diệm met with Bảo Đại in France and agreed to be the Prime Minister if Bảo Đại would give him military and civilian control. On 25 June 1954, Diệm returned from exile, arriving at Tân Sơn Nhứt airport in Saigon. On 7 July 1954, Diệm established his new government with
20164-411: Was too independent to adhere to the disciplines of the Church, while Jarvis recalls Ngô Đình Thục's ironic observation that the Church was "too worldly" for Diệm. Diệm also inherited his father's antagonism toward the French colonialists who occupied his country. At the end of his secondary schooling at Lycée Quốc học, the French lycée in Huế, Diem's outstanding examination results elicited the offer of
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