To step up their “peaceful evolution” strategy, the hostile forces have kept distorting the truth about the Communist Party of Vietnam and undermining its prestige in a bid to gradually remove its leadership role. However, reality has repudiated all of their distortions and proved that “ours is an ethical and civilised Party.”

At the 30^th founding anniversary of the Workers Party of Vietnam (present-day Communist Party of Vietnam), President Ho Chi Minh said that “ours is an ethical and civilised Party; it represents unification, independence, peace, and happiness.” That statement was aimed at proving the fine, humanistic, and progressive nature of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), encouraging and asking all party members to keep improving themselves in order that our CPV would be “ethical and civilised” forever.

In recent years, with the collapse of socialism on a global scale and the fall of many communist and workers parties in the Eastern European socialist countries and the Soviet Union, the anti-communist forces have kept slandering communism and ruling communist parties in the remaining socialist countries as their popular artifices aimed at undermining the prestige and role of communist parties within society and step by step removing the building of socialism in such countries. As for our country, the anti-communist and reactionary forces abroad have cooperated with political opportunists and discontented elements domestically in employing all possible artifices to criticise the CPV’s leadership, particularly distort the history, and smear the CPV. They have refused to accept the historical facts and stated that the CPV had deprived other political forces of their leadership over the revolution; therefore, it could not be “an ethical party.” They have ignored the country’s remarkable achievements in its socio-economic development under the CPV’s leadership, while deliberately magnifying several mistakes by the CPV to prove it “immoral.” Realising that a section of the CPV’s cadres and members are falling into degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, they have vocally shouted that “the CPV is no longer ethical or civilised.” Taking advantage of the temporary fall of the socialist movement on a global scale, they have criticised the CPV for taking Marxism-Leninism as its ideological foundation, adding that the CPV’s steadfastness in the goal of socialism is “obsolete” and makes it no longer a “progressive and civilised party.” Their distortions and criticisms are aimed at undermining the CPV’s prestige and reputation among the public, separating the people from the CPV, spreading doubt amongst the CPV’s members, encouraging “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the CPV, abolishing its leadership role, and creating an opportunity to seize power and put the country into the orbit of capitalism. Those arguments are extremely dangerous and must be resolutely unmasked and denounced.

First of all, it is vital to confirm that the CPV did not deprive other political forces of their leadership over the Vietnamese revolution. Vietnam’s history in the late 19^th century and the early 20^th century proved that the movements of Can Vuong, Dong Du, and Tay Du, the uprisings of Yen The and Yen Bai, and the campaigns entitled Duy Tan and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc were ignited by patriotism, but they all ended in deadlock and failure. Political organisations and parties in that period, such as the Vietnam Restoration League (1925) and the Nationalist Party of Vietnam (1927) formulated different political platforms with a view to occupying the historical arena, but they were unable to surmount the French Colonialists’ brutal suppression. The reason for their failure was that they could not resolve fundamental contradictions of the Vietnamese revolution at that time or follow the trend of the times, thereby being unable to unite the entire nation. Only since the inception of the CPV, with the flag of national independence and socialism, it had gathered the strength of the whole nation to fight for national independence, effectuated a basic turning point in the patriotic movement, and ended the Vietnamese revolution’s crisis in the national salvation policy. Thus, it is not true to say that the CPV deprived other political forces of their leadership over the Vietnamese revolution. It was history that had assigned heavy responsibility for leadership over our revolution to the CPV after the failure of political projects by other political forces at that time. The flag of national independence and socialism was the CPV’s goal and ideal and represented the people’s aspirations in accordance with the trend of the times. It was the flag which would bring our people to independence, freedom, and happiness.

To decide whether a political party is “ethical and civilised” or not, we must consider its goal, ideal and action. As for the CPV, over the past 90 years, since it entered the arena of political struggle (February 1930), under the flag of national independence and socialism, the CPV has led the Vietnamese revolution to obtain tremendous, historic achievements. Our Vietnam, which had been a semi-feudal colony, has become an independent country towards socialism. Being enslaved by colonialists and imperialists, our people have become masters of their country and society. Our country has escaped from poverty and underdevelopment. It is enhancing industrialisation and modernisation and more deeply and widely integrating into the world. Our country has established diplomatic ties with 189 out of 193 member states of the United Nations. It is an active member of more than 70 international and regional organisations. It has set up Strategic Partnerships with 16 countries and Comprehensive Partnerships with 11countries (including 5 Permanent Members of the United Nations Security Council). It is a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council for 2020-2021 tenure following its initial term of 2008-2009. In the economic field, Vietnam is a member of the World Trade Organisation. It has established trade relations with 230 countries and territories. The country’s economic size and potential have unceasingly increased. In the past, Vietnam was dependent on food import and foreign aids, but now it has become a top exporter of food and many other types of goods in the world. The people’s life has been considerably improved. The rate of poor households has reduced from 58.1% in 1993 to below 5% (according to the multidimensional poverty index) nowadays. The socio-political situation has been stable. National defence and security have been consolidated. The national sovereignty has been maintained. Our country has taken part in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission. Those achievements are associated with the CPV’s leadership and convincingly prove the CPV’s leadership capacity in the past and in today’s Homeland construction and defence and international integration. The achievements also prove that the CPV’s leadership is proper and that “ours is an ethical and civilised Party.”

At some point in its leadership process, the CPV made mistakes as it was too dogmatic and subjective or violated objective principles. However, they were just some low notes of the heroic epics of the CPV’s 90-year leadership. More importantly, when making a mistake, the CPV frankly, seriously criticised itself before the people, resolutely rectified that mistake, and renewed itself to enhance its leadership and combativeness and continue leading our revolution to move forward. Uncle Ho ever said that “if a political party has the courage to admit and point out its weaknesses and seek every possible way to rectify those weaknesses, it is a progressive, bold, strong and true party.” In other words, it is an “ethical and civilised party.” At present, realising that there is a section of cadres and party members who fall into political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, which has undermined the CPV’s prestige and the people’s faith, the CPV’s Party Committee has opportunely issued and executed resolutions on the Party building and rectification, with a system of drastic solutions. At the CPV’s 12^th National Congress, our CPV put the building of a morally strong Party on the same level as the task of building a politically, ideologically, and organisationally strong CPV. The CPV’s Central Committee’s Resolutions No.4 (11^th and 12^th tenure) have been persistently, resolutely implemented, which has fanned the flame against degradation, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation.” From the end of the CPV’s 12^th National Congress to October 2019 only, more than 70 senior-level cadres under the management of the CPV’s Central Committee were disciplined and some of them were prosecuted. The success of the fight against corruption and negative practices and the Party building and rectification, without any restricted area, have contributed to cementing the people’s faith in the CPV and proving that “ours is an ethical and civilised Party.”

In spite of the disappearance of the socialist system in the world, our CPV’s steadfastness in Marxism-Leninism as its ideological foundation is no “conservatism or obsolescence.” The reason is that the collapse of socialism in the Soviet Union and the East Europe did not result from this doctrine, which was admitted by many former leaders of the Soviet Union. It was the ruling parties’ dogmatism and revisionism towards their political guidelines, ideology, and organisation as well several supreme leaders’ betrayal of fundamental Marxist principles that mainly, directly led to the collapse of socialism in those countries. Therefore, it was just the collapse of a socialist model, not Marxist-Leninist doctrine. Besides, as changes in today’s world have yet to go beyond the principles formulated by Marxism-Leninism, it remains the most valuable revolutionary and scientific doctrine for illuminating and improving the world. Jacques Derrida, a well-known philosopher in the U.S. and France, has called for “a return to Marx.” He believes that “without Karl Marx and his heritage, human race will have no future.” Meanwhile, according to Didier Eribon, a French author and philosopher, Marxism is immortal and it is Marxism that is guiding this era. As a result, against capitalism’s impotence to deal with contradictions within itself, particularly in the global financial crisis arising from the U.S. (in 2008), many people in the capitalist countries and even several leaders of Western countries have started reading Karl Marx’s heritage. As for the Vietnamese revolution, the principal reason for our enormous, historic achievements under the CPV’s leadership is that our CPV has always been steadfast in Marxism-Leninism as its ideological foundation and the lodestar for its action. However, the CPV’s steadfastness has always been associated with its creative, proper application to Vietnam’s practical conditions. The birth of the CPV was not merely a combination of Marxism-Leninism and labour movement like other communist parties, but it was also attached to the patriotic movement. The building of the Vietnam People’s Army has been associated with building its working class nature like the others of socialist countries and improving its nature of the people and the nation. Thus, when reviewing 30 years of national renewal, the Document of the CPV’s 12^th National Congress specified that “it is necessary to remain proactive, creative and steadfast in the goal of national independence and socialism, to flexibly apply and develop Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, inherit and promote national traditions, to embrace the quintessence of the world culture, and to employ international experiences in accordance with Vietnam’s conditions.” That steadfastness means that “ours is an ethical and civilised Party.”

To make our CPV “ethical and civilised” forever, we should be imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings that “each party member and cadre must instil revolutionary ethics into themselves; they must be really industrious, thrifty, honest, righteous, public-spirited and selfless; it is vital to make our CPV really pure to deserve to be the people’s leaders and loyal public servants.” To that end, every party member, cadre, and party organisation must seriously execute the CPV’s 12^th Central Committee’s Resolution on the Party building and rectification, its Regulation 08-QĐi/TW, dated October 25^th 2018, on cadres and party members’ responsibility to set role models as their routine task, and the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW on studying and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle via various, creative approaches. Doing so will make great contributions to celebrate the 90^th founding anniversary of the glorious CPV.

Nguyen Ngoc Hoi