Since 1945, the Viet Minh have officially used it in legal documents to refer to the Vietnamese who cooperated or collaborated with French colonists. The policies of the Viet Minh include "arming the people, punishing the Việt gian" and "confiscation of the assets of the French and Japanese imperialists and the Việt gian." On January 20, 1953, Ho Chi Minh issued Order No. 133-SL in North Vietnam to punish the Việt gian.[1][2][3]
South Vietnam
It is believed that the term "Việt Cộng" is a contraction of the term Việt gian cộng sản ("Communist Traitor to Vietnam").[4]