Calls for Vietnam to change its current political regime represent a highly insidious scheme orchestrated by hostile forces. These calls seek to incite demands for the establishment of political pluralism and opposition parties, thereby steering the country towards a capitalist political system. Such appeals are extremely dangerous and warrant vigilance, resolute opposition, and outright rejection.

This tactic is not new; however, hostile forces have been “reviving” it whenever our state undergoes leadership transitions at the highest levels or as our Party enters the period of conducting congresses at various levels, culminating in the 14^th National Congress. As the nation prepares to enter a new era - a period of national rise.

A national conference on the Party's resolutions (Photo: quochoi.vn)

To implement their scheme, these hostile entities frequently disseminate distorted narratives about Vietnam’s political system, specifically targeting the Communist Party of Vietnam’s exclusive leadership role in society. For instance, they claim that: “A one-party system (led by the Communist Party of Vietnam) is undemocratic, hinders national development, and is the root cause of corruption,” or that “A single ruling party cannot uphold democracy and will inevitably lead to dictatorship and authoritarian rule.” From these fallacious arguments, they advocate for the abolition of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s leadership and the adoption of a multiparty political system with political pluralism. Recently, these forces have exploited a statement made by General Secretary To Lam during the opening session of the 8^th sitting of the 15^th National Assembly on 21 October 2024: “Among the three major bottlenecks at present - institutions, infrastructure, and human resources - the institutional bottleneck is the most critical.” They have twisted this statement to incite demands for the removal of what they call the “bottleneck of bottlenecks.” Even more brazenly, on 25 October 2024, the terrorist organisation Viet Tan published a post on its Facebook page claiming: “The main bottleneck to Vietnam’s development is Article 4 of the Constitution (the 2013 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam).” They went on to state that “all of Vietnam’s problems can be solved by simply eliminating Article 4 of the Constitution.” The ultimate objective behind these distorted and erroneous claims is to promote a transition to a capitalist political system, embracing political pluralism and an opposition-party structure. These arguments are deeply malicious, entirely unfounded, and must be firmly resisted and rejected.

First and foremost, the assertion that “a one-party system inevitably leads to dictatorship, loss of democracy, and hinders development,” whereas “a multi-party system equates to democracy and progress,” is entirely devoid of scientific basis. Theoretically, democracy and development are not contingent upon a political system of pluralism and multi-party governance, nor upon a single ruling party leading society. In other words, a country that implements a multi-party system does not necessarily possess democracy or preclude dictatorship; conversely, a nation with a single ruling and leading party does not automatically imply dictatorship or the absence of democracy. Therefore, political pluralism and opposition parties are not prerequisites for democracy, nor does the absence of such a system equate to a lack of democracy. Fundamentally, democracy is the principle that power belongs to the people. As such, regardless of whether a country follows a monistic or pluralistic system, and whether it has one or multiple parties, if the ruling party and the state ensure that all power resides with the people, then that society possesses genuine democracy. Moreover, in capitalist political systems, while multi-party governance is the apparent framework, the essence of political power remains monistic, centred on the rule of a single class-based party-the bourgeois party. Any ruling bourgeois party emerges from power-sharing agreements among factions of the bourgeois class, ultimately serving their collective interests.

Practically, it is evident that numerous countries operating under multi-party systems still suffer from democratic deficits, political instability, and economic underdevelopment, as seen in several African nations. Conversely, some countries with a single ruling party maintain political stability, uphold democratic principles, foster economic and social development, and continuously improve their people’s living standards, as exemplified by China and Vietnam today. World history in the twentieth century further illustrates that, in certain historical periods, multi-party political systems have been directly associated with authoritarian regimes and democratic restrictions, such as Hitler’s dictatorship in Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s fascist rule in Italy, Park Chung-hee’s regime in South Korea, Pinochet’s government in Chile, and Suharto’s rule in Indonesia. On the other hand, history also records that under President Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian rule (1961-1979), South Korea experienced a miraculous economic transformation-from a poverty-stricken nation with a per capita income of merely USD 94 in 1961 to USD 1,784 in 1979-earning its place as one of Asia’s “Four Dragons.” This fact underscores the fallacy of the claim that “a multi-party system guarantees democracy and development, while a one-party system leads to a lack of democracy and stagnation.” The choice between a one-party or multi-party system depends on the specific political, historical, social, cultural, and religious conditions of each nation. Each country and its people have the sovereign right to determine their political system, whether it be a single-party or multi-party system. This principle aligns entirely with Article 1 of both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as adopted by the United Nations.

Secondly, the argument that corruption is an “endemic disease” of a one-party system is entirely baseless. Theoretically, corruption is an inherent defect of power itself; wherever power exists, there is always a risk of corruption, particularly when power is abused. Corruption is a “disease” of the state, arising from the manipulation and degradation of state power. The existence of corruption is not exclusive to any particular political system-whether a country operates under a multi-party or single-party system, corruption can still occur. However, if power is tightly controlled through a comprehensive, well-coordinated, and continuously improving management and prevention mechanism, corruption can be effectively restrained and minimised. Thus, a one-party leadership system is neither the root cause of corruption nor incapable of combating it. In practice, corruption persists in capitalist multi-party systems. In fact, some heads of state in countries such as Tunisia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Brazil have been implicated in corruption scandals. Every year, Transparency International (TI) publishes the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), providing an overall assessment of the relative levels of corruption in 180 countries and territories-most of which follow capitalist multi-party systems. A closer examination of the 2023 CPI rankings, released on 30 January 2024, demonstrates that corruption exists in every country; the only difference lies in its severity. No country achieved the perfect score of 100, which would indicate a complete absence of corruption. Even the countries ranked at the top - Denmark (90 points), Finland (87 points), and New Zealand (85 points) - still exhibit some level of corruption. At the bottom of the rankings, Somalia, Syria, and South Sudan scored between 11 and 13 points-all of which are capitalist, multi-party states. The report also reveals that between 2012 and 2023, 34 countries experienced a significant decline in their CPI scores, indicating increasing corruption. Notably, this includes countries like Sweden and the United Kingdom, both of which operate under multi-party systems. These facts unequivocally debunk the claim that “a one-party system is the root cause of corruption” as nothing more than a fabricated distortion, lacking any solid scientific or empirical foundation.

Since its inception, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has played an indispensable role in securing every victory of the Vietnamese revolutionary movement. The Party’s exclusive leadership is not an arbitrary imposition but rather an objective and historically determined necessity-a result of the nation’s struggle for independence and its subsequent efforts to build and develop the country in peacetime. Thus, to claim that “a one-party system is the root cause of corruption, an obstacle to democracy, and a hindrance to development” is a gross misrepresentation that disregards historical objectivity. In reality, the Communist Party of Vietnam is the only legitimate and true representative of the interests and aspirations of the working people and the entire Vietnamese nation. It has consistently led the struggle for the fundamental rights of the people-the right to life, freedom, democracy, and the pursuit of happiness. No other political force in Vietnam has ever proposed a viable platform or a correct course of action capable of uniting all social strata in the struggle for national independence and the people’s well-being. History records that throughout the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the Vietnamese people rose up time and again under the leadership of different social classes-the feudal aristocracy, the petty bourgeoisie, and the national bourgeoisie - to fight against French colonial rule and reclaim national independence. However, none of these movements succeeded. The fundamental reason for their failures was that their political visions were misaligned with the historical and social realities of the time. They failed to propose effective strategies to resolve the fundamental contradictions of Vietnamese society and did not meet the legitimate aspirations of the entire nation. Consequently, they were unable to mobilise the collective strength of the people. It was only with the founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam - under the visionary leadership of Hồ Chí Minh - that the Vietnamese national liberation movement underwent a decisive turning point. The Party’s emergence marked the end of Vietnam’s crisis of leadership and ideology and set the revolution on a path of continuous success. Under the CPV’s guidance, the Vietnamese people triumphed in the August Revolution of 1945. This was followed by the victorious nine-year resistance war against French colonialism and American intervention. During the resistance war against the United States for national salvation, it was once again the Communist Party of Vietnam that exercised its sole and decisive leadership, guiding the entire nation to overcome all war strategies devised by U.S. imperialism. Through this leadership, Vietnam successfully completed the national-democratic revolution, achieved national reunification, and set the country firmly on the path toward socialism. Subsequently, during the period of national construction and defence, it was the Communist Party of Vietnam that initiated and led the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, with the overarching goal of building a prosperous, strong, democratic, just, and civilised Vietnam.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, nearly four decades of Doi Moi reforms have yielded great, historically significant victories. Never before has our country possessed such a strong national foundation, economic potential, international standing, and global prestige as it does today. Vietnam has successfully maintained independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, while safeguarding national and ethnic interests. The country has established diplomatic relations with 194 out of 200 nations worldwide, forming strategic partnerships and comprehensive strategic partnerships with all major global and regional powers. Vietnam has twice been elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) (terms 2008-2009 and 2020-2021) and twice served as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) (terms 2014-2016 and 2023-2025). Since 2014, Vietnam has actively participated in UN peacekeeping missions, further cementing its international prestige and global influence. Economically, Vietnam became a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2007 and has since established trade relations with 230 countries and territories. The implementation of a socialist-oriented market economy has led to remarkable economic achievements. Once a country reliant on food imports, Vietnam is now among the world’s top food exporters, alongside numerous other key commodities. Vietnam has successfully transitioned from an underdeveloped economy to a developing nation with middle-income status. The country’s economic scale and potential have expanded significantly, rising from $6.3 billion in GDP in 1989 to $476.3 billion in 2024 - making Vietnam the 32^nd largest economy in the world and one of the top 20 economies in global trade and foreign investment attraction. As a result, the material and spiritual well-being of the people has improved substantially. Per capita income, which stood at just $250 per year in the early Doi Moi years, has surged to $4,700 by 2024, ranking Vietnam fifth in ASEAN. Poverty rates have dropped dramatically, from 58% in 1993 to 1.93% in 2024 (based on the multidimensional poverty index), earning Vietnam recognition from the United Nations as one of the leading nations in achieving the Millennium Development Goals. Vietnam has witnessed positive advancements in socio-cultural development, with an expansion of socialist democracy and a strengthening of citizens’ rights. The governance model - “The Party leads, the State manages, and the People exercise ownership” - has been increasingly effective. The Grassroots Democracy Regulation, based on the principle of “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people monitor, the people supervise, and the people benefit”, has been widely implemented and continuously refined. This has enhanced anti-corruption efforts, reinforced national solidarity, ensured political and social stability, and laid a strong foundation for economic growth, national defence, security, and international integration.

These remarkable and historically significant achievements are intrinsically linked to the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, serving as compelling evidence that refutes any distortions regarding Vietnam’s political system. It is crucial to emphasise that in diplomatic commitments with all nations, including the United States, every country has affirmed its respect for Vietnam’s independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political system. Thus, hostile calls for Vietnam to change its political system are nothing more than isolated, misguided rhetoric, and they still warrant vigilance and resolute rejection.

NGUYEN NGOC HOI