That very evening, the Chiang authorities asked to meet President Ho.
They informed us that the French fleet had come into the Tonkin Gulf. For the first time, they asked why we and the French had not reached an agreement. They advised us not to be adamant. They said that if we signed an agreement to let the French bring in their troops to take over their duties they would support it.
As the Chiang men left, the French negotiators arrived. They asked to continue discussions of the remaining points still outstanding. The French mission expressed the desire to reach an agreement with our Government on that very evening so that a preliminary accord could be signed.
It was obvious that something new had happened beween Chiang and the French.
Since the signing of the Sino-French treaty, relations between Chiang and the French in Hanoi had been tense at times. The Chiang authorities put their troops on the alert. They told us that they would not withdraw their troops. Some of their division commanders declared that they would fight if the French landed in the North. On the other hand, they ordered their agents to try and sabotage the talks between us and the French by every means. Meanwhile, the French kept close contact with the Chiang army command in Hanoi.
With his penetrating insight, President Ho realized that the tensions between them were only temporary. Their leaders had concluded their deal in Chungking. In any case, there could be no big clashes between the French and the Chiang clique. Sooner or later, they would come to an arrangement. Nevertheless, so long as there remained some contradictions, however unimportant, between them, we should try to turn them to account.
In fact, the Chiang men had altered their language. What drew the attention of Uncle Ho was that both the Chiang men and the French seemed to be in a hurry to get a settlement.
The exchange of views between us and the French that evening again evolved around two great questions: the independence and territorial integrity of Viet Nam.
The word independence was a frightening thing for the French authorities. The colonialists feared that it would provoke a chain reaction and give rise to movements for independence in all their colonies. The French Government only agreed to recognize us as an “autonomous” country. The French wanted to keep us within a certain framework of colonialism.
On the question of unifying the three ky, the French colonialists maintained a very reactionary position. De Gaulle’s declaration had divided Viet Nam into three states: Bac Ky (Tonkin), Trung Ky (Annam) and Nam Ky (Cochinchina). For the time being, they were trying to restore the colonial rule in Nam Bo and seeking to sever Nam Bo from Viet Nam by every means.
For us, independence and unity constituted the whole nation’s earnest aspiration and deepest feeling. We could not agree to “autonomy”, for this would mean to renounce part of the freedom we had won back at the cost of blood, to accept the return to some degree of servitude, Nam Bo, a part of Viet Nam’s own flesh and blood — could not be cut from her by any enemy. Though we were in a perilous situation, we could not make concessions about those basic aims of our struggle.
Our consistent position was to reach an overall solution: the French must recognize the independence and territorial integrity of Viet Nam. This principled position was affirmed once again by Uncle Ho that night.
During the negotiations, the French had on many occasions tried to evade the issue of Nam Bo. The French government only recognized Viet Nam as a State having its own government, parliament, army and finances. In the end, concerning the question of unifying the three ky, the French undertook to recognize the eventual results of a referendum.
But the French still refused to recognize our independence. This again led to a deadlock that evening.
The French negotiators left at a late hour in the night. Before taking leave, they asked President Ho to give further consideration to their proposals. They seemed to be very anxious.