The Fall Of Saigon: Something The CPV-VPA Achieved And The CPP-NPA Can ONLY Dream Of

Pictures belong to Le Hoang Phuong, surrounded by "Kabataan Pantylist"

It's hard for me to spot the Vietnam Youth Union (or the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union) and not say, "Kabataan Pantylist, kayo ba yan?" The Fall of Saigon will hit its 50th anniversary. Ho Chi Minh (or I prefer to call him Chairman Ho) is something that his cheap copy, the late Jose Maria Sison, can only dream of. Ho practically led a terror campaign that allowed him to DIE IN POWER. Not only that, Ho Chi Minh Thought eventually won against the democratic ideals of South Vietnam. South Vietnam fell into Communist hands after putting up with the antics of North Vietnam for two decades. Ho's decisive victory came in.

It should be funny that Joma not only looked like Ho, but he was also inspired by the same figure. In fact, it was the Tet Offensive that somehow inspired the creation of the CPP-NPA, a blatant rip-off of the CPV-VPA:

Sison’s politics were formed by the intersection of three factors, the first of which was nationalism.

The Philippines had been ruled as a Spanish colony from 1542 to 1899 before passing into the control of the US, which imposed its rule with the utmost brutality. In 1946, the US granted the Philippines independence but maintained significant economic and political influence, as well as having access to huge military bases.

US domination was bitterly resented by many Filipinos. In 1959, Sison, his future wife Julie, and friends founded a discreet Marxist study circle, which eventually became known as the Student Cultural Association of the University of the Philippines (SCAUP). Five years later, Sison launched the Kabataang Makabayan (KM or Patriotic Youth), which laid the basis for later NDF formations (CPP front groups).

The second factor was the rising tide of radicalisation around the world. Sison founded the CPP at the end of the year which had seen the Tet offensive in Vietnam, the student revolt in France which triggered a mass strike by 10 million workers, the continuing rise of the black liberation movement in the US, and much more.

Young people in the Philippines were part of that radicalisation. War in Vietnam was the fuel which powered the movement. The Philippines was involved in two ways—by sanctioning the use of US bases in the archipelago for the war effort, and by the dispatch of the Philippine Contingent.

On 25 January 1965, KM co-ordinated an anti-American demonstration of “20,000 workers, peasants, students, and patriotic businessmen” in front of the presidential palace, the Philippine Congress and the US Embassy. The rising tide of revolt culminated in huge mass protests led by radical students in 1970 and 1971.

The third factor was the Cultural Revolution in China. In reality it was a chaotic faction fight, unleashed by Mao to consolidate his control. But to many outside observers it seemed to reflect a burning revolutionary spirit that contrasted with the grey, conservative stodginess of Stalinism in Moscow.

In 1987, Sison said: “I was already a Marxist when I first read Mao. Then and now I consider him the greatest thinker on colonialism and imperialism and feudalism … And he was unbeatable on the subject of a people’s war.

“And then by 1964, the line between the USSR and Mao was very clear. Krushchev to me meant cooperation with imperialism and China was the leader against him. China was a big force and was encouraging revolution of all colonial countries. China looked to me like the Philippines of today.”

For Sison and many in his generation, China was an inspiration—an Asian country that had stood up to imperialism and won. The CPP was established in the hope of following its example, with its founding meeting timed for 26 December, Mao’s birthday.

However, the Fall of Saigon was marked by two things -- creating a united Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the expulsion of the American forces. Did Joma even accomplish those things? Not at all. One must wonder if Mao Zedong ever grew pale, looking at how Joma resembled Ho in some way. 

Last year, the Fall of Hanoi reached its 70th anniversary. The event already showed how Ho was a much better leader than his cheap copy, Joma. 

The History website mentions this about the Communist Party of Vietnam's (CPV) victory against Saigon:

In January 1973, the United States and North Vietnam concluded a final peace agreement, ending open hostilities between the two nations. War between North and South Vietnam continued, however, until April 30, 1975, when DRV forces captured Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City (Ho himself died in 1969).

More than two decades of violent conflict had inflicted a devastating toll on Vietnam’s population: After years of warfare, an estimated 2 million Vietnamese were killed, while 3 million were wounded and another 12 million became refugees. Warfare had demolished the country’s infrastructure and economy, and reconstruction proceeded slowly.

In 1976, Vietnam was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, though sporadic violence continued over the next 15 years, including conflicts with neighboring China and Cambodia. Under a broad free market policy put in place in 1986, the economy began to improve, boosted by oil export revenues and an influx of foreign capital. Trade and diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.S. resumed in the 1990s.

In the United States, the effects of the Vietnam War would linger long after the last troops returned home in 1973. The nation spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73; this massive spending led to widespread inflation, exacerbated by a worldwide oil crisis in 1973 and skyrocketing fuel prices.

Psychologically, the effects ran even deeper. The war had pierced the myth of American invincibility and had bitterly divided the nation. Many returning veterans faced negative reactions from both opponents of the war (who viewed them as having killed innocent civilians) and its supporters (who saw them as having lost the war), along with physical damage including the effects of exposure to the toxic herbicide Agent Orange, millions of gallons of which had been dumped by U.S. planes on the dense forests of Vietnam.

In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington, D.C. On it were inscribed the names of 57,939 American men and women killed or missing in the war; later additions brought that total to 58,200.

Thinking about it, Ho was a TERRORIST who had accomplished something fear-worthy. One must wonder why Joma FAILED. Joma could've learned more from his doppelganger's school of thought. Instead, Joma created what may be the laughingstock of Communists worldwide -- the CPP-NPA!