The 1968 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature and Creative Communication Arts

RESPONSE of Ton That Tien

I deeply appreciate the very great honor you have done me by associating me with the name of one of the greatest sons, not only of the Philippines, but also of Asia. Ramon Magsaysay is an Asian, and a nation builder no less great than such men as Meiji of Japan, Mongkut of Siam, Sun Yat-sen of China, Gandhi of India, and Phan Boi Chau and Phan Chu Trinh of Vietnam. He belongs to that breed of men of whom every Asian feels immensely proud.

It has been my great fortune to have met the late President Magsaysay in December 1956 and to have watched him working for the freedom and the uplifting of his people. I was received by him in his office at Malacañang, and I could see that this office was crowded with people from the barrios seeking redress. I realized that they would not have come there if they did not trust him and if he had not seen to it that they could reach him freely. That was an image which has remained deeply imprinted in my mind.

Thus, President Magsaysay has been a source of inspiration to me. As a social scientist and one committed to social reforms in Vietnam, I have learned much from the work done by President Magsaysay for his people, and especially from his motivations and his style. One could not watch him go about his work, even when one did so from afar, without being struck by his lack of concern for what other people might say about him or do to him. He was only concerned about the freedom of his people, and he realized that there could be no real freedom for the Philippines unless every Filipino, especially those from the barrios, could freely make his voice heard, either in seeking redress, or in contributing suggestions for the improvement of the government of the country. President Magsaysay understood that there could be no real freedom for his people unless they were given the opportunity of acquiring knowledge through education and free access to information.

Being one of those in Vietnam who share President Magsaysay's ideals, philosophy, and determination to work for the social transformation of my people, I confess that I was highly pleased on being told that I had won an award associated with Magsaysay's name, and especially with what he stood for.

I am only one of many—among whom is my friend and editor of the Viet Nam Guardian, Nguyen Van Tuoi—who have been encouraged to persist in this undertaking not only by the memory of President Magsaysay, but also by the example of a man who, to me, is a living image of President Magsaysay in Vietnam. That man is our present Prime Minister, Tran Van Huong, whose origin, life, ideals and determination that Vietnam shall not fall under communism, are so similar to those of the great man from Zambales. Mr. Tran Van Huong was born into a very poor family; in fact he was the son of a kitchen hand. But he has risen to his present position by sheer force of will and an unshakable determination to acquire a good education. Like President Magsaysay, he is motivated by a deep love for his country and people and fully realizing that the quality of a nation is the sum of the qualities of its citizens, he is determined to see to it that all Vietnamese are given the opportunity to acquire freedom and knowledge in order to uplift their country.

Without Mr. Huong, I would not have the chance of turning into reality a long cherished dream: that of contributing actively and effectively to the enlargement of freedom in Vietnam and in Asia, and of adding my share to the fight for freedom being waged everywhere in the world. Today, freedom, like prosperity and happiness, is indivisible. The Magsaysay Award Foundation should remind us all of that truth.