75 years ago, when our resistance war against the French colonialists was at a difficult time, on 11th June 1948, President Ho Chi Minh made the Appeal for Patriotic Emulation with a view to encouraging all people to actively wipe out “famine, illiteracy, and foreign invasion”. In his Appeal, the President pointed out the purpose, forces, and method of emulation as well as the responsibility of each citizen: “Emulation is patriotism, patriotism requires emulation. Those who emulate are the most patriotic. All Vietnamese people, no matter who you are, should become fighters in the military, economic, political and cultural fields”. He believed that with a sense of national patriotism and undauntedness and immense forces as well as our people and Army’s patriotism and determination, we could win victories, and we would certainly win victories.

Immediately after its issuance, the Appeal for Patriotic Emulation sparked a wave of emulation amongst social strata and within the entire society as a great incentive in the Vietnamese revolutionary course. More notably, in the hard periods or at the crucial times, patriotic emulation encouraged and gathered millions of Vietnamese people to create the strength of the national great unity block, thus achieving historic feats and contributing to national liberation, construction and protection.

In the two resistance wars against France and the US, patriotic emulation movements took place vibrantly across fronts, from the front line to the rear, from urban to rural areas, from lowlands to mountainous areas, in all fields, amongst all social strata and sectors. Emulation movements, such as “Destroying famine, illiteracy, and foreign invasion”, “Duyen Hai Wave”, “Dai Phong Wind”, “Three best Flag”, “Bac Ly Drum”, “Three-Willingness Youth”, “Women with Three Responsibilities”, “Doubling effort for the South”, “All for the front line, all for the victory over American invaders”, attracted the participation of all people, all family members, all sectors, thereby building up the strength of the entire nation to bring our resistance wars to the Victory of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 and the Great Spring Victory in 1975 that completely liberated the South and unified the country.

In the cause of building and protecting the Socialist Fatherland, particularly the national renewal, under the Party’s leadership and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, patriotic emulation movements have been maintained lively, adhered to the country’s practical conditions, stayed close to the people’s rights and life, and made contributions to successfully fulfilling the goals and tasks of national development in all fields. Typical examples include “Good labour, creative labour”, “Good teaching, good learning”, “clever mass mobilisation”, “All people unite in building cultural lifestyle”, “Paying debt of gratitude”, “The whole country joins hands to build new-style countryside”, “Vietnamese enterprises towards integration and development”, “The whole country joins hands for the poor lest no one be left behind”. Notably, the emulation movement titled “The whole country joins hands and unites to prevent, fight, and triumph over COVID-19 pandemic” has greatly contributed to fulfilling the goals of preventing and combating COVID-19, facilitating socio-economic recovery and development, ensuring social welfare and the people’s health simultaneously.

In the domain of defence and security, offices, units, cadres, and soldiers of the armed forces have concretised President Ho Chi Minh’s Appeal for Patriotic Emulation into diverse, effective movements and drives. The People’s Army organised movements, such as “Training troops to achieve feats” and “Destroying enemies to achieve feats” in the resistance war against France, “Searching puppet and American troops to annihilate” and “Determined to defeat American invaders” in the resistance war against the US, for national salvation. In recent years, the Military has stepped up the “Determined to Win Emulation” movement in tandem with the Campaign titled “Promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new period, thus significantly contributing to raising its synergy and combat power and fulfilling its functions as an army ready for combat, for work, and for production. Within the People’s Public Security, emulation movements, such as “For national security” and “Studying and following 6 teachings of Uncle Ho for the People’s Public Security” have been maintained and effectively carried out as an incentive for each cadre and soldier to gain more achievements in protecting national security, preventing and combating crime and social evils, maintaining social order and safety.

Together with the above-mentioned movements, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and other organisations and unions have implemented many emulation movements and campaigns with the participation of all social strata, the entire political system, and citizens of all ages, thus creating new momentum in all aspects of social life. Via emulation movements, typical examples have appeared in all fields and across the country. Many studies, initiatives, and solutions have brought thousands of billions of VND to the State and society. The outcome of those emulation movements has contributed to spreading moral values, sacrifice, and devotion of the people of the socialist regime as well as raising the country’s position and prestige in the international arena.

An illustrative picture (Source: vhttcs.org.vn)

In the upcoming time, it is predicted that the situation on global and regional scales will continue witnessing complex, unpredictable developments. Our country will both have advantages and face difficulties and challenges. Four threats pointed out by our Party still exists and even become more serious. Hostile forces will keep enhancing their sabotage strategy against our Party, State, and country. There will be more requirements being imposed on the tasks of protecting independence, unification, territorial integrity, maintaining peace, stability, and adapting to climate change.

According to the 13^th National Party Congress, by 2025, Vietnam hopes to become a developing nation with modernity-oriented industry and surpass the low-middle-income level. By 2030, it aims to be a developing nation with modern industry and upper-middle-income level. In 2025, Vietnam’s GDP per capita will be about 4,700 – 5,000 USD; in 2030, the GDP per capita will be about 7,500 USD. To successfully fulfil all those goals, our entire Party, people, and Military should continue grasping President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology on patriotic emulation, enhancing emulation movements, encouraging patriotism, the spirit of national self-reliance, and the aspiration for prosperity and the people’s happiness.

To transform patriotic emulation movements into a revolutionary incentive in the new situation, it is necessary to synchronously implement measures, with a focus on the following.

First, stepping up propagation and education to raise all cadres, party members, and people’s awareness of the importance of emulation and commendation work

All-level authorities and sectors should further disseminate the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies on emulation and commendation work, particularly the 11^th Politburo’s Directive 34-CT/TW, dated April 7^th, 2014 on “Continuing to renew emulation and commendation work”, Prime Minister’s Directive 19/CT-TTg, dated July 16^th, 2021 on “Launching emulation to successfully implement annual socio-economic development task and the 5-year Plan (2021 – 2025) under the 13^th National Party Congress Resolution”, and the Law on Emulation and Commendation. In the process, it is important to renew the contents and methods of propagation and education in accord with each office, unit, and locality’s particularities; at the same time, it is essential to combat misconception, irresponsibility, “merit-driven disease”, and hostile forces’ sabotage against emulation and commendation work. Due attention should be paid to raising public awareness and responsibility of all-level party committees, authorities, and heads of offices and units as well as encouraging consensus and involvement of all cadres, party members, and people to turn emulation movements into wide and deep revolutionary action ones for the successful implementation of the Party’s guidelines and resolutions.

Second, actively renewing the contents and organisation of emulation movements towards the successful implementation of each ministry, sector, locality, office, and unit’s political task

Committees, ministries, sectors, localities, organisations, offices, and units should adhere to orientations and directives given by the Party and State and the theme “Solidarity, creativity, and emulation for national construction and protection” launched by the 10^th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, while stepping up a reform in the contents and organisation of emulation movements. In addition to routine emulation movements, there should be specialised ones. Emulation movements should be based on specific plans, contents, targets to facilitate inspection, supervision, and participation of all people. Moreover, patriotic emulation movements should be combined with the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and lifestyle as well as campaigns and other movements launched by sectors and organisations.

Grounded on their functions, tasks, and practical conditions, committees, ministries, Fatherland Fronts, unions, and localities should make emulation movements relevant to each aspect of social life, each region, and each social stratum. In the economic field, emulation should be aimed at synchronously building and completing mechanisms for sustainable economic development and environmental protection, fostering scientific and technological development, innovation, and digital transformation, making a breakthrough in raising productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the economy, stimulating all potential and resources available for the country’s rapid and sustainable development. In the cultural and social fields, emulation should be aimed at building and developing an advanced culture imbued with national identity, characterised by “nation, democracy, humanity, and science” as its core values, raising the quality of education and training, developing high-quality human resources, well implementing social security policies, and improving the people’s health and material and mental life.

In the defence, security, and diplomacy fields, it is necessary to keep launching emulation movements for building revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern armed forces with high-level synergy and combativeness to deal with all possible situations. In the building of the Party, State, and political system, emulation movements should be aimed at making all-level party organisations and authorities pure, strong, lean, compact, efficient, and effective, enhancing their leadership and combativeness, and resolutely, persistently preventing and fighting against corruption, wastefulness, and negative practices. Fatherland Fronts and unions should renew their movements and activities, while well performing their roles in building the national great unity block and promoting all potential and resources from the people and their members as a contribution to successfully fulfilling political tasks of ministries, sectors, and localities.

Third, building and multiplying effective models, typical examples, and “good people, good deed” examples

President Ho Chi Minh said: “Taking good examples from the masses, cadres, and party members to educate each other is also a very lively, highly persuasive method of educating the masses by the masses themselves”. To that end, committees, ministries, sectors, and localities should focus on building and multiplying typical examples in each year and period, from grass-roots to central levels, ranging from discovering, cultivating, reviewing, and multiplying typical examples. At the same time, they should grasp and well implement the Project on “Propagating typical examples in the period of 2022 – 2025” approved by Prime Minister. In this regard, it is necessary to be fully aware that detecting, disseminating, cultivating, and multiplying typical examples represent the responsibility of party committees, ministries, sectors, localities, Vietnam Fatherland Fronts, unions, organisations, and enterprises to make contributions to encouraging collectives and individuals to follow typical examples and successfully fulfil their assigned tasks. Press agencies from grass-roots to Central levels must consider the propagation and dissemination of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, the Party’s guidelines, and the State’s laws and policies on emulation, commendation, patriotic emulation movements, and typical examples as a key task. They should proactively, actively coordinate with Fatherland Fronts, unions, and all-level Councils for Emulation and Commendation in propagation work, while opening special pages and columns to introduce, propagate, and stimulate patriotic emulation movements and new typical examples and elements. To diversify forms and methods of propagation, they should organise more review conferences, forums, and knowledge contests for honouring typical examples and intensify propagation on social networks and digital platforms for the sake of “taking the good against the evil”.

Fourth, continuing to raise the quality of commendation work in a practical, accurate, timely, open, transparent fashion as a huge positive change in education and example setting

Commendation work should be in accordance with the State’s relevant legal documents, particularly the Law on Emulation and Commendation. Significance should be attached to reviewing, amending, and perfecting legal documents to meet requirements set by reality. It is necessary to obey and well implement the principles of accuracy, openness, transparency, equality, and timeliness as well as ensure uniformity between the commended object and the obtained achievements. Great weight should be added to commending new typical examples and elements, people directly involved in labour and production, individuals and collectives working in sea, island, border areas or in difficult areas. Due regard should be paid to dealing with commendation-related backlogs in the resistance wars to ensure that “no one will be left behind” and resolutely combating negative practices and formalism in commendation work.

Fifth, enhancing leadership and direction and well implementing the work of inspecting, supervising, and reviewing emulation and commendation

Based on their higher echelons’ emulation-related directives and plans, party committees and organisations should formulate proper guidelines, contents, and measures of leadership for emulation movements. Importance should be attached to educating on the motive and determination for emulation, building, cultivating, and multiplying typical examples, and promoting the synergy created by organisations and forces. Key cadres and heads of offices and units should be fully aware that stepping up patriotic emulation movements is their task and responsibility; they should be fully aware of the importance of emulation and raise a sense of responsibility in the implementation process. Besides, they should set good examples to encourage the masses to take part in emulation movements.

The role and responsibility of all-level Councils for Emulation and Commendation should be raised, while due attention should be paid to improving the effectiveness of emulation clusters and blocs and training a contingent of cadres and officials in charge of emulation and commendation with political steadfastness, thorough grasp of the Party’s guidelines and the State’s laws and policies, great knowledge and experience, a good relationship with the masses, and devotion to emulation movements. At the same time, building a stable, lean, compact, effective, efficient apparatus from grass-roots to Central levels is also a deciding factor in the quality of staff work and implementation. In addition, it is necessary to well perform the work of inspecting, supervising, and reviewing emulation movements to draw lessons on raising the quality and effectiveness of patriotic emulation movements.

Although 75 have elapsed, President Ho Chi Minh’s Appeal for Patriotic Emulation remains its historical, theoretical, and practical values. In the current Fatherland construction and protection cause, the President’s ideology on patriotic emulation still acts as the lodestar for patriotic emulation movements to reach a new height and make contributions to building up the national great unity strength for the goal of wealthy people, rich nation, democracy, equality, and civilisation on the path towards socialism.

NGUYEN TRONG NGHIA, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Commission for Communication and Education