The “Peaceful evolution” strategy of hostile forces targeting our country in the fields of culture and ideology remains unchanged. Their ultimate goal is to overthrow the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam and to abolish the socialist regime in our country to reorient Vietnam towards the capitalism. To that end, they gradually undermine the influence of Marxism – Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought in the Party ideology and the spiritual life of the society with their fallacies that: “Marxism – Leninism belongs to the past – a heroic past, not the present nor the future:, “Ho Chi Minh though is no longer relevant to the new conditions of market economy and international integration, thus it cannot be set as ideological foundation”, etc. Besides, they strengthen their distortion on the Party’s guidelines, the State’s policies and laws, and the goal of national independence associated with socialism that has been the choice of our people. They argued that, that path does not match the historical evolution any more, so it hinders the development of the country. They call for the abandon of Vietnam’s socialism goal. The sooner the 12^th National Congress, the more hostile activities that they manage to carry out. Taking advantage of the campaign to get feedback from the party members and the people on the draft Political Report to the 12^th National Congress, they focus their sabotage on the Party guidelines, its draft platform, senior personels. Their fallacious arguments are “the Political Report to the coming 12^th  National Congress is more of a formalistic one. It does not dare to point out shortcomings and basic contradictions in the society, hence it will not help to alleviate people’s concerns, especially matters relating to democracy, human rights, and corruption”. They call for the formation of a ‘special group’ empowered to prepare a draft political report and give recommendations based on their subjective perception without considering the Constitution, the Party platform and charter. Through social networks, they fabricate and exaggerate shortcomings and weaknesses, undermine the reputation of key cadres of the Party, the State, and the Armed forces, causing distress and distrust of people in the Party’s leadership and the socialism.

Furthermore, hostile forces also urge ‘democratization’ in the National Assembly activities, taking advantage of “administrative reform” process to transform our political regime. They call for “the renovation of the political system, the Government, and methods to manage and develop the country”; fostering the “3 pillars”, namely civil society, market economy and rule of law state toward capitalism  derailing its socialist orientation.

With the aim to transforming spiritual and cultural standards in Vietnamese society, they disagreed with the results of the 9^th plenum (XI tenure) of the Party when fallaciously interpreted that the review of the 15 years implementing the Central Resolution 5 (X tenure) was totally groundless. Utilizing objective factors that appears in the renewal process and the deep and extensive international integration, hostile forces speed up their spread of western culture and life style, the bourgeois ideology, undermining traditional values and moral standards as well as the socialist identities in Vietnam.

Through cooperation in the fields of education and training, defence and security, journalism, communication, conference, exhibition, etc they gradually establish groups and clubs of journalists, private journalism, websites and mouthpiece of the “democrats” in Vietnam. Taking advantage of the fight against corruption, they distort social conditions, focusing on shortcomings as if in Vietnam there were a socio-economic crisis and rampant and out-of-control corruption. In the field of literature and art, journalism and press, they formed up the so called “Independent Literature League”, “Independent Journalist Association”, “Independent Trade Union”; published several books such as “Vietnam Path” (Con đường Việt Nam) by Tran Huynh Duy Thuc, “The Winning Side” (Bên Thắng Cuộc) by Huy Duc or “Den Cu” by Tran Dinh in order to defame the private lives of the Party senior leaders, etc.

They begin to form and strengthen their organizations and leagues to mobilize forces, spread fallacious interpretation that Vietnam violates the freedom of press, democracy and human rights, suppressing dissenters and inciting public chaos, political instability and social disorder. Notably, they set up close links with domestic and overseas reactionary forces to raise movement, gather forces and form up factions opponent to the Communist Party of Vietnam; utilize communication means to post and spread their articles against the Party, especially during the time of the Party congress at all levels in preparation for the 12^th National Congress.

As for the armed forces, hostile forces believe that the Communist Party of Vietnam relies its leadership on the control of the armed forces. Therefore, they strive to impact to transform and apoliticalize the armed forces by a number of subtle and insidious tricks. They focus on undermining the Party’s ideology in the armed forces, deteriorating its belief, goals and ideal of fighting. They incite to separate armed forces from the people, the Army from the Police and other social organizations. Moreover, they also ask to abandon the Party’s leadership over the Army, making it a professional and apolitical force. Besides, they also propagate and spread poisonous cultural products, selfish and practical lifestyle into the Army and poison the spirit of cadres and troops with the aim to form a negative lifestyle in the Army, contrary to the nation’s traditions and the merits of “Uncle Ho soldier”, etc.

It can be said that the scheme of “peaceful evolution” of hostile forces focusing on “self evolve” and “self transform” in the field of ideology and culture is a very dangerous and poisonous one. Its content by no mean strange to us but its methods have been adjusted. More dangerously, their propagation and sabotage are aimed at the youth, businessmen, the intellectual, artists, journalists and spanned to rural and remote areas where people’s  intellectual and their living standards are relatively low. Therefore, we must stay vigilant, clearly identify and actively fight the scheme of sabotage of hostile forces to firmly safeguard the Party’s ideology and the nation’s cultural traditions.

Pham Van Son