To nurture the illusion of disrupting the path to socialism in our country, hostile forces spare no deceitful tactics. Among them, the argument that “Socialist regimes are naturally corrupted” is a ludicrous and most ridiculous distortion hostile forces have tirelessly propagated in recent times.
Recently, while the anti-corruption efforts of our Party and State have become increasingly effective, yielding many positive effects recognised and highly appreciated by the people and the international community, there have been numerous vicious arguments from hostile forces against these successes. Not only do they deny our anti-corruption achievements, but they also spread fabricated and distorted narratives, claiming that anti-corruption efforts in Viet Nam are merely factional purges within the Communist Party of Viet Nam. More blatantly, they propagate the argument that corruption is inherent in socialist regimes, the intractable disease of “single-party authoritarian regimes.” With this rhetoric, they deliberately associate and assert that only socialism breeds corruption and that corruption cannot be eradicated in such a regime. The deep-seated purpose of these arguments is to manipulate public opinion, tarnish the social landscape, undermine the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts in Viet Nam, sow doubt, erode the people’s trust in the Party’s leadership, the State’s management, sabotage the cause of nation-building and national defence of our Socialist Vietnamese Motherland.
In this matter, they are either grossly incompetent in their understanding or deliberately “overlook” the increasingly clear theoretical issue: corruption is a product of societies with classes and state, an inherent flaw of power. This means that as long as there are social classes and states, corruption arises wherever power exists, at any historical moment, regardless of the nature of the state’s regime, whether it would be multiparty or single-party political systems. Yet they deliberately ignore an obvious fact: corruption is currently a global issue in every country, under any regime, regardless of their level of development.
According to the annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) reports published by Transparency International (TI), no country in the world achieves a score of 100 points, indicating complete transparency and absence of corruption. Throughout history, and especially in recent years, we have witnessed shocking corruption scandals that have reverberated globally. Among them, the Watergate scandal stands out, where President Richard Nixon of the United States abused political power for personal gain from 1972 to 1974, thus leading to his resignation before facing impeachment, etc. In less developed countries, we are also familiar with high-profile corruption cases, such as Arnoldo Aleman, the 81st President of Nicaragua, who was arrested on corruption charges related to his embezzlement of $100 million of state funds immediately after his term ended in 2002. Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada was convicted of corruption and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2013. Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye was impeached by the (South Korean) National Assembly in December 2016 on charges of corruption, involving personal connections to increase influence and financial gain, etc. These cases demonstrate that corruption exists in all social systems, yet hostile forces only target socialist countries to smear. Their so-called “objective assessment” is truly laughable.
Even more ironically, while hostile forces try to attribute negative traits to socialism with their immature theoretical understanding and weak practical evidence, those who are objective and thoroughly study socialism find it easy to recognise that socialism is inherently opposed to corruption and frauds. Those who follow classical Marxism-Leninism have clearly identified the root cause of corruption as the existence of societies with classes and states, and have always been resolute in combating and eradicating this problem at its roots, which means successfully building communism to eliminate classes and the state. A socialist state led by a communist party is the tool to achieve this goal. Immediately after the October Revolution, recognising the issue of corruption, V.I. Lenin stated: “Three chief enemies now confront one, irrespective of one’s departmental functions;... the first is communist conceit; the second - illiteracy, and the third - bribery,” and “If there is anything that could destroy us, it is them." At the same time, V.I. Lenin also called for “expelling from the party from 100,000 to 200,000 people who have infiltrated into the Party and not only do not know how to fight against bureaucratic red tape and bribery, but also obstruct this struggle.”
In our country, since the Party took power, it has consistently refuted any deliberate attempts to associate corruption and frauds with the essence of the socialist regime that our Party and people have chosen. Throughout his life, President Ho Chi Minh always considered corruption, wastefulness, and bureaucratic red tape as “internal enemies,” “enemies within,” which are very dangerous and threaten the existence of the Party and regime, and must be resolutely eliminated. He pointed out that “Corruption, wastefulness, and bureaucratic red tape, whether intentional or not, are also allies of colonialism and feudalism because they hinder our resistance and national construction efforts. They damage the purity and determination of our cadres. They undermine our revolutionary virtues of diligence, thrift, integrity, and honesty … For these reasons, combating corruption, wastefulness, and bureaucratic red tape is as important and urgent as fighting enemies on the battlefield.”
Imbued with President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, our Party and State have always had a correct perception of corruption and honestly admitted its existence as a social issue. Consequently, our leadership has always held a consistent standpoint: the struggle against corruption and frauds is a critically important task in the work of Party building and the development and perfection of the political system to maintain political stability, socio-economic development, consolidate the people’s trust in the country leadership, building a transparent and strong Party and State, and cultivating disciplined and honest cadres and civil servants. This political determination has been manifested in practical effectiveness through the coherence of mechanisms, institutions, and the operational system supporting these mechanisms.
In terms of mechanisms and institutions for preventing and combating corruption and frauds, our Party and State have emphasised the issuance of numerous documents to strengthen socio-economic management, gradually moving towards the goals of making cadres “cannot, dare not, want not, need not to commit corruption". According to Report No. 06-BC/TW dated July 23, 2022, from the Politburo summarising the 10-year anti-corruption efforts from 2012 to 2022: The Party’s Central Committee, Politburo, and advisory bodies have issued over 250 documents on Party building and anti-corruption; the National Assembly has passed more than 300 laws, ordinances, and resolutions; the Government and Prime Minister have issued over 2,600 decrees, decisions, and directives; Party committees and organisations under the Party Central Committee have issued over 45,000 documents; ministries, agencies, and localities have issued nearly 100,000 documents to specify and guide the implementation of anti-corruption and anti-fraud measures. In addition, proposals have been made to amend, supplement, repeal, or replace over 2,000 legal documents that are no longer suitable, closing any “loopholes” to make corruption and fraud “impossible.”
Furthermore, the anti-corruption and anti-fraud apparatus, from central to grassroots levels, has been established, perfected, and operated in a coordinated and effective manner under the direct and comprehensive leadership of the Party, the management of the Government, and the oversight of the National Assembly, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front, socio-political organisations, and the people. To comprehensively direct anti-corruption efforts nationwide, on 1st February 2013, the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption, under the Politburo’s leadership, was established with the General Secretary serving as its head. Since August 2022, 63 provincial-level Steering Committees for Anti-Corruption and Anti-Fraud have been established and have been operating effectively. The Central Committee of Internal Affairs and the internal affairs committees of provincial-level party committees have also been reinstated. The coordination among functional agencies and units, such as Party inspection, supervision, and internal affairs bodies, central and local inspection, auditing, and investigative agencies, etc., in anti-corruption efforts has been emphasised and strengthened. International cooperation in anti-corruption and anti-fraud has also seen new developments. The roles of elected bodies, media agencies, and the people in anti-corruption efforts have been emphasised, upheld, and harnessed to create comprehensive strength in this challenging struggle.
The reality demonstrates that with the spirit of “no restricted zone”, “no exception”, regardless of one’s status or any individual pressures, the work of detecting and dealing with corruption and frauds has been conducted systematically, comprehensively, decisively, and effectively. The scope and targets of anti-corruption efforts have been expanded to include district and grassroots levels, handling both incumbent and retired officials, including high-ranking officials and those within the armed forces. Many complex and prolonged cases involving multiple levels, sectors, and regions have been directed and decisively resolved. During the period from 2012 to 2022, Party committees and inspection commissions at all levels disciplined 7,390 party members for corruption, including 170 officials supervised by the Party Central Committee, with four incumbent and former Politburo members, 29 Party Central Committee members and former Party Central Committee members, and 50 generals in the armed forces. Since the beginning of the 13th Party Congress term, more than 50 officials supervised by the Party Central Committee, including eight four incumbent and former Party Central Committee members and 20 armed forces’ generals have been disciplined.
These results show that the fight against corruption and frauds has “become an irreversible trend and movement,” a task that belongs to everyone, reflecting the determination and responsibility of our Party and State on this issue, “rendering all distortions and sabotage attempts by hostile forces ridiculous and futile.”
Senior Colonel NGUYEN CONG KHUONG – Major NGUYEN TRAN NHAN NGHIA
Military School of Military Region 5