The Party Committee and the High Command of the Border Guard Force acknowledge that grasping and successfully implementing the 4^th Party Central Resolution (12^th tenure) on Party building and rectification is their focal task, required attention to make contribution to the building of a clean and strong party, meeting the leadership requirements in the new situation.

Grasping the guidelines and plan of the MOD on the implementation of the 4th Party Central Resolution (12^th  tenure), the Party Committee and the High Command of the Border Guard force have focused on leading, guiding and organizing the implementation in a methodical and forceful manner at all levels. A class was organized for commanding officers and commissars of the whole force to study, aiming at providing them the targets, detailed viewpoints, tasks, solutions as well as manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” identified in the Resolution. Therefore, the unification on awareness and responsibility of all party committees and each officer, party member and soldier was formed in the implementation process. At the same time, party committees and organizations were required to uphold their responsibility, conduct thorough preparation for the campaign of self-criticism and criticism, first and foremost, the self-criticism report of the party committee and each of its member; to bring into play the advisory role of departments and agencies on the implementation in order to assure the accomplishment of the preset purpose and requirements.

In a strict, democratic, and unified atmosphere to look straight at the fact and speak out the fact, focusing on the 27 manifestations of the deterioration in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle as well as manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” identified in the Resolution, the meetings on criticism and self-criticism of party committees and organizations have been organized to frankly discuss, analyze, and point out the strong points, the limitations and shortcomings, the causes and responsibility of the party committee and each of its members; combining the implementation of the Directive No.5-CT/TW of the Politburo (12^th tenure), the Directive No.87-CT/QUTW of the Standing Board of the Central Military Commission on “stepping up the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics, and style”. The Standing Board of the Border Guard’s Party Committee has suggested reviewing contents for 12 departments and 23 party members of its belonging party committees, and  of Provincial Border Guard Command Party Committees; assigning its members to attend and guide the review process, aiming at clearly identifying the causes, responsibility and methods to overcome them. It has also required party secretaries and commanding officers at all levels to have their own action plan of the implementation of the Resolution; officers and party members wrote their own commitments on preserving their virtues and dignities; including the content of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ethics, and style, and criticism and self-criticism into the regular meetings of each party committee and organization.

Lt. Gen. Pham Huy Tap chairing the conference on self-criticism and criticism held by the Border Guard's Party Committee (Photo: bienphong.com.vn)

Through the process of reviewing, criticism and self-criticism, the Border Guard’s Party Committee and High Command have pointed out the shortcomings that need overcoming, such as, the leadership of political and ideological education has been somewhat limited and inflexible; the understanding of the cadre’s thought has not been timely; the management of cadre’s and party members’ (including the organization’s leaders) thought, particularly their social relations, has not been efficient. Within its Party, there have been members with manifestations of degradation in political ideology, ethics and style, the violation of State law, military disciplines, and units’ regulations, the laziness in studying and training themselves, and the limitation in their task accomplishment…. The practice of democratic centralism, collective leadership and individual accountability, the criticism and self-criticism of several party committees and organizations have sometimes been conservative; the quality of several works, such as personnel work, organization, inspection and supervision has partially been limited… The causes of the above mentioned shortcomings and limitations, first and foremost, belong to the Party Committee, the Standing Board, and Party organizations at levels, and the limitations in political will, specialized knowledge, ability, and working methods and style of a portion of cadres and party members, including the leaders.

After the criticism and self-criticism campaign, the Border Guard Party Committee has made out a plan to readjust their shortcomings and limitations, set out measures to improve the quality of party organizations, cadres, and party members.

Focusing on leading, managing, and improving the efficiency of education on political ideology, ethics and style for cadres and party members. The reality shows that the sense of accountability of cadres and party members (particularly on political ideology, ethics and style) is the factor that influences the personnel reputation and the improvement of the leadership efficiency of leaders, party committees and organizations. Thus, the combat against manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” of a certain amount of cadres and party members has been both the basic and regular content, and the urgent issue of the Border Guard Party Committee. In order to do it, the party committee has managed its lower levels to focus on improving the educational quality of political ideology, law, disciplines, ethics and style at units for different targeted groups. The focal points include the strict implementation of the program and content of political education at units; attaching it with the acceleration of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and style; the adherence of things that party members are not allowed to do; good implementation of Emulation movement; the creation of favorable environment for cadres and party members to train themselves and devote their talents. The party committees, and the commanding officers at all levels should uphold their responsibility; speak and act in accordance with the Party’s Resolutions; strengthen the intra-party protection; create the political steadfastness to cope with the complexity of the situation; and pay attention to the nurture of exemplary personnel who are typical on political ideology, ethics, and style. At the same time, efforts should be made to counter deterioration in political ideology, ethics and styles as well as manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”.

The Party Committee and the High Command of the Border Guard have paid special attention to leading to improve the quality of personnel work, meeting the task requirements in the new situation. The Party Committee has directed its lower levels to review the quality of personnel work, focusing on recovering from shortcomings and limitations, building and implementing documents on personnel work in order to uphold the leadership of the party, to promote the role and responsibility of the party secretaries and commanding officers in managing, evaluating, suggesting and appointing cadres. The Party Committee and the High Command have requested their grassroots-level party committees to successfully carry out the personnel preparation, particularly the managerial cadres, in the spirit of righteousness and the assurance of promoting their forte and capability; to renovate the selection, promotion, and appointment process in the direction of encouraging democracy and activeness from grassroots level, and the consultation role of functioning agencies.

In addition, Party committees and organizations have seriously conducted the practice of the principle of democratic centralism, collective leadership and individual accountability. The whole High Command’s Party committee has seriously implemented the Derective No-18NQ/DU, dated 25/7/2008 of the High Command’s Party Committee on “improving the leadership capability and combativeness of grassroots-level party organizations and the quality of party members in the new situation”, closely attaching to the function, task, and principles; actively renovating leadership and management style aiming at bringing into play the collective knowledge and promoting individual’s responsibility; practicing proper democracy at the grassroots. Party committees at all levels should regularly review, supplement and strictly implement the working regulations and leadership principles on important tasks; proactively renovate methods and working habit; seriously and effectively conduct the party’s meeting and resolutions; annually hold meeting on collective and individual criticism and self-criticism practice; identify breakthrough contents to improve the quality of training, combat readiness, regulation and law practice; resolutely step up the struggle against manifestations of red-tape, bureaucracy, and authoritarian.

The Border Guard Party Committee and High Command have always paid due attention and direction over the improvement of the quality of criticism and self-criticism, the supervision and inspection of its affilliated party committees and organizations. The outcomes recorded in the criticism and self-criticism practice in the spirit of the 4^th Party Central Resolution (12^th tenure) in the Border Guard High Command’s Party Committee is just the initial progress. In the time to come, the Party Committee should require its lower-level committees and organizations to make it the regular activity, and proactively adjust, supplement programs and plans to supervise and examine the readjustment of shortcomings and limitations pointed out in the practice, particularly the manifestations of degradation in political ideology and ethics, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” in a portion of cadres and party members. They should also seriously implement the Party’s regulations; successfully conduct the inspection and supervision; properly solve the cases of discipline violation, letters of complaint and denunciation, particularly the complex cases that caused irritations in their units.

Successfully conducting the task of Party building in the spirit of the 4^th Party Central Resolution (12^th tenure) is the political responsibility of all party organizations and members of the Border Guard force. The successful implementation of the Resolution is the foundation to build the Party Committee clean and strong, meeting the tasks of national sovereignty and  border security protection and management in the new situation.

Lt. Gen. Pham Huy Tap

The Border Guard’s Party Secretary and Commissar