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derivative filename/jpeg
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363-04892A.pdf
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Digital Object Identifier
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363-04892A
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Title
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Buddhist Chief Quang: Is He A Communist
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Description
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Article published in the New York Herald Tribune about Buddhist leader Thích Trí Quang's speculated ties to the Communist movement in South Vietnam, page 2
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AI Usage Disclosure
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Draft transcripts were automatically generated via Google Document AI and are currently under review. Please report significant errors to Archives & Special Collections at archives@unl.edu.
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Transcript
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- Page 1
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Buddhist Chief Quang:
Is He a Communist?
As the government of Premier politics and tactics are openly
Nguyen Cao Ky grows weaker, aiding the Communists in sub-
with the rural portions of South verting the country.
Vietnam half-conquered by the
A declaration, known to be writ-
Viet Cong, and northern urban ten by Mr. Quang, makes the im-
centers in rebellion, one of the portant but subtle point that Bud-
emerging strongmen is a crafty dhism in South Vietnam is not
Buddhist monk named Thich Tri only against Communism but also
Quang.
against those that "exploit" the
Thich (the venerable) Tri Quang file against Communism; these
-the name means spiritual en- "exploiters" are clearly labeled as
lightenment-is one-but only one Catholic and American. The state-
of the priests heading a powerful ment also implies that the first
Buddhist religious-political
chine that is now attempting to
topple the Ky government.
ma-
enemy is Catholics and Americans.
The second enemy is the Commu-
nists.
The 43-year-old monk is often
"It's stupid to ask if Mr. Quang
called the "Makarios of Vietnam" is a Communist or not," one irate
but Vietnamese sources consider Vietnamese
government official
him to be the "éminence grise" once exploded. "You can look and
of any future government,
look for a Communist party card
on him, but you will never, never
"Tri Quang will never sit in the
premier's office," one Vietnamese find it."
explained. "But, if he survives,
he'll be the kingmaker-and the
king behind the king."
Father Was Priest
Mr. Quang was born of middle-
In Saigon, the most controversial class landowners, in the province
question is: What is Mr. Quang's of Ha Tinh, one of the poorest
relationship with the Viet Cong? provinces in the country and near
This is his biography.
in
By Beverly Deepe
the birthplace of such revolutiona-
ries as North Vietnam President
Ho Chi Minh and Gen. Vo Nguyen
Glap, head of the North Vietnam
Army.
Special to the Herald Tribune
SAIGON, April 11-For 64 days
He was named Pham Van Bong,
1963,
a frail, elfish-looking but was later to adopt a number
Buddhist monk hibernated in the of aliases. His father became a
third-floor air-conditioned confer- Buddhist priest late in life; his
ence room of the American Em- mother died a natural death
bassy.
shortly after the Communist take-
During the 64 days of his politi-over in 1945.
cal asylum, U.S. Marine guards His aunt, after the loss of all
lent him a radio, books, writing family properties during the
Com-
B
paper-and made certain he re- munist revolution, reportedly set
ceived three vegetarian meals a fire to the family house and leap- a
day prepared by an expert Chinese ed Into the flames to commit s
suicide. Almost 20 years
later, c
American Ambassador Henry Saigonese recalled this incident
Cabot Lodge, then on his first and noted a striking
parallel to
h
of
having E
tour here, granted political asylum Mr. Quang's tactics
to the enigmatic monk as the Buddhist bonzes burn themselves p
Saigon regime raided Buddhist alive to protest against the Diem
pagodas. In return, Mr. Quang regime.
wrote a political thesis for the
chef.
d
One of Mr. Quang's elder brothers c
American embassy, which baffled is reportedly an important polit-t
and confused the political officers ical officer in
Communist North
even more as to his political views. Vietnam,
When he was 13. Mr. Quang g
When Mr. Lodge returned to
Vietnam on his second tour here studied for the Buddhist priesthood
in June of last year, Mr. Quang in the Ta Dam pagoda
, still his
c
reportedly said: "Of course, I ap- headquarters, in the old
imperial
c
preciate that Mr. Lodge granted capital of Hue,
400 miles north of t
me asylum in the American em- Saigon, the stronghold
of Bud-
dhism in
South Vietnam.
bassy."
Ten years later, in August, 1945,
guerrillas c
But, he added arrogantly, "I
don't feel it's necessary to meet after the Viet Minh
Mr. Lolge any more."
Mr.
'Occidental Quality'
seized power from the Japanese, b
Mr. Quang went to Hanol, where, s
he later reportedly told a friend,
At
the
e
Quang's tart statement "I studied Marxism."
about the second appointment of
outbreak of the French
Indochina
Mr. Lodge swept Saigon, But one war, he fled to a Communist
Western diplomat explained: "The stronghold where he made two e
Americans presume that gratitude close friends,
Hoang Trong Bae
is more than an Occidental quality and Nguyen Dang, both of whom p
It doesn't exist in the Orient-and would be important
later.
they should not expect it."
Shooting Incident
in
t
b
O
On Nov. 4, 1963, when Mr. Quang
In 1963, at the time of the May
left the embassy, the major-if not
the sole-American influence he 8 incident in Hue, which touched
carried away was a yen for air- off the Buddhist crisis, Mr. Bap
conditioning. He installed a unit was the closest adviser to Mr.
in his small room at the Buddhist Diem's brother in Hue. Mr. Dang
,
Institute "so he could work bet- as chief of province, reportedly
ter," his associates explained. ordered government troops to
fire
demonstrators
Buddhist
on
Now, 2 1/2 years later, Mr.
Quang is openly labeled a Com-front of the radio station on
Buddha's birthday.
The resulting
munist.
Even as far back as 1963-when crisis later toppled Mr. Diem.
During the Indochina
war,
Mr.
Mr. Quang directed the celebrated
Buddhist crisis in which seven Quang was arrested by French d
Buddhist bonzes burned themselves authorities
and held for several
he
s
but upon
release
alive-a handful of Western offi- months,
cials in Saigon said he was a Com- again returned to Ta Dam pagoda e
full-fledged Bud-
munist. But they were hooted in Hue
as a
down in the cries that later spark-dhist priest.
ed the Nov. 1, 1963, overthrow
of
d
Reliable sources say that in early e
President Ngo Dinh Diem and his 1951 he again traveled toward
Hanol,
staying a few months in
n
family.
Then, in 1964, after Mr. Quang the village of Dien Ho, known as i
directed his "demi-coup" of stu- a meeting
place for Communist d
dent demonstrators toppling Gen. Viet
Minh cadres on their way f
Nguyen Khanh from the presi- to infiltrate
into the French-held y
dency, an increasing number of areas
of the country. Reportedly,
Saigonese, including fervent Bud- he
stayed in the village several
m
dhists, accused the graceful monk
months and received some training d
and
instruction from the Viet o
of being a Communist.
Others say that while he him- Minh guerrillas before proceeding e
self may not be a Communist, his to Hanol
.
In early 1952, Mr. Quang was t
reportedly invited to be a delegate
to an international Buddhist con-w
ference; but the French "Sureté"
d
refused him an exit permit on the t
ground he was believed to be
a t
Communist.
Later the Hanol Central Com-
mittee of the Buddhist Association
sent Thich Tri Do to open the
first class of high studies of
Buddhism at the pagoda in Hue.
Today Thich Tri Do is
one of
the most important
Buddhist
priests in Hanoi.
There were six students in Mr.
One was
Mr.
Do's first class.
Quang. Another was Thich Thien
Minh, now Mr. Quang's "
executive
officer" and chief
Heutenant for
student activities.
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Date
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1966, Apr. 12
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Subject
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Trí Quang, Thích (1923-2019); Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Protest movements--Vietnam (Republic); Vietnam War, 1961-1975--Religious aspects--Buddhism; Buddhism and politics--Vietnam (Republic)
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Location
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Saigon, South Vietnam
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Coordinates
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10.8231; 106.6311
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Container
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B186
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Format
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newspaper clippings
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Collection Number
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MS 363
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Collection Title
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Beverly Deepe Keever, Journalism Papers
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Creator
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Keever, Beverly Deepe
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Copyright Information
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These images are for educational use only. To inquire about usage or publication, please contact Archives & Special Collections.
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Publisher
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Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries
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Language
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English
