Nowadays, our country is accelerating national renewal when “the global and regional situations are witnessing rapid, complex, and unpredictable developments.” To lead our revolution to victory, in addition to making our Party politically, ideologically and organisationally strong, greater importance should be attached to building a morally strong Party on a par with its task requirements.
Building a pure, strong Party has always been a matter of survival to the Vietnamese revolution. To that end, it is critically important to build a morally strong Party. Prior to the foundation of our Party, leader Ho Chi Minh placed great emphasis on revolutionaries’ morality and in his Testament for the Vietnamese people, the issue on revolutionary morality still played an important role. According to him, revolutionary morality consists of the following: “To devote one's life to struggling for the Party and the revolution. This is the most essential point. To work hard for the Party, observe Party discipline, and implement Party guidelines and policies. To put the interests of the Party and the labouring people before and above one's own interests. To serve the people wholeheartedly. To struggle selflessly for the Party and the people and to be exemplary in every respect.”
Being imbued with Uncle Ho’s teachings, many generations of our party members sacrificed their bone and blood for the people and the country. They were always in the vanguard of the fight against enemies, set shining examples, and became sheer inspirations for our people. Pure revolutionary morality of communist soldiers was really a source of internal strength for our revolution and encouraged people from all walks of life to follow the Party and unite as one to overcome all hardships and lead the Vietnamese revolution to glorious victories.
In today’s national renewal, construction and protection, most of our cadres and party members always uphold the Party’s morality and tradition. They keep improving themselves to fulfil the tasks and responsibilities assigned by our Party and people. There have been numerous typical examples in business, production, culture, scientific research, protection of national independence, unification, territorial integration, political security, and social order and safety as well as in natural disaster mitigation, search and rescue, which have been honoured by the entire society. However, a section of cadres and party members have committed moral degeneration, bureaucracy, and corruption and violated the State’s law and the Party’s Charter. Their violations have damaged the Party’s benefits, reduced the strength of unity within each unit, and undermined the people’s faith in the Party. This is really a direct threat to the survival of our Party and socialist regime.
Therefore, the Draft Documents for submission to the 13th National Party Congress (hereafter the Draft Documents) have spent a considerable portion of its contents to discuss the building of a morally strong Party. The Draft Documents have conducted a thorough evaluation of both strong and weak points, while proposing measures to make our Party politically, ideologically, morally and organisationally strong in the new situation. It is the first time our Party has put morality before the organisational work.
To realise that goal, first of all, the Draft Documents have placed emphasis on self-improvement in morality and lifestyle as well as the role model-setting responsibility by cadres and party members, particularly the key ones and heads of offices and units. President Ho Chi Minh ever said that “a revolutionary must have revolutionary morality as the foundation to fulfil the glorious revolutionary mission.” Only by having pure revolutionary morality, mastering Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, and the Party’s guidelines, and keeping their absolute faith in the Party’s goal and ideal could party members successfully accomplish their assigned mission. Bureaucracy and corruption committed by party members will inflict unpredictable damage on the country’s destiny and the socialist regime’s survival. Hence, self-improvement in revolutionary morality always requires self-consciousness and sustained effort of cadres and party members. According to President Ho Chi Minh, “Revolutionary morality does not fall from the sky. It is developed and consolidated through persevering daily struggle and effort. Like jade, the more it is polished the more it shines. Like gold, it grows ever purer as it goes into the melting pot.” That process necessitates a very high level of knowledge, effort, and revolutionary morality amongst cadres and party members; at the same time, the role model-setting responsibility of key cadres at all levels should be raised. Moreover, it is essential to enhance “the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle,” self-consciously abide by the Party’s regulations on role model-setting responsibility, supplement and complete the criteria for revolutionary morality so that cadres and party members will self-adjust their behaviours.
Second, intensify the work of inspection and supervision within the Party and promote the people’s supervisory role. Over the years, our Party and State have resolutely fought against corruption at all levels, without “restricted area or exception.” Violations by many cadres and party members, including several members of the Politburo and the Party Central Committee, incumbent or retired civilian and military cadres have been strictly handled. Serious corruption cases, some of which had existed for a long time, have been investigated and solved. However, “corruption in several fields and regions are still serious, complex, and increasingly subtle, causing anger within the society,” undermining the Party’s prestige and the people’s in the Party, especially in its morality. Thus, in addition to enhancing the work of inspection and supervision within the Party, it is necessary to promote the people’s supervision. There should be appropriate mechanisms for the masses to supervise cadres and party members so that “corruption, bureaucracy, and wastefulness will not find any place to hide.” Furthermore, it is vital to express strong public opinion and hatred against corruption, wastefulness and bureaucracy as well as to “make thieves snatching our Party and people’s property unable to survive.”
Third, step up the fight against corruption and wastefulness and stringently handle violations by cadres and party members, without any “restricted area.” To do so, competent offices should focus on studying, supplementing, and perfecting mechanisms for practical, effective corruption and wastefulness prevention and control. At the same time, it is essential to well conduct the work of propagation and education to raise the awareness and responsibility of sectors, authorities, cadres and party members in this fierce fight. Consideration should be given to building mechanisms for preventing and combating corruption, “group interests,” and privilege. Corruption cases, especially the serious, complicated ones of public concern must be strictly tried. More importantly, it is necessary to stringently settle moral degeneration and violations of the Party’s discipline and the State’s law committed by cadres and party members, review, detect, and opportunely rectify loopholes in mechanisms and policies so that corruption and negative practices will be unable to exist or develop.
Fourth, combat wrong arguments by hostile forces, strongly criticise immoral viewpoints and actions, and effectively fight against distortions of our Party’s ideological foundation and our socialist regime’s nature. Besides, due attention should be paid to strictly handling the exploitation of social networks to invent stories or slander our cadres and party members. Importance should be attached to criticising the signs of moral degeneration, individualism, and “group interests” amongst senior leaders, pointed out by the 12th Party Central Committee’s Resolution No.4. Moreover, it is essential to criticise those who only focus on dealing with short-term issues in their own favour or appointing their relatives or friends with insufficient criteria to management positions to get more benefits.
Building a morally strong Party is a major issue that will have an effect on the Party’s ruling role. Therefore, this work must be carried out frequently, resolutely, and carefully in order that our Party will be really ethical and civilised to meet the requirements set by its leadership over our State and society in the construction and protection of the socialist Homeland.
Sr. Col. NGUYEN VIET HIEN, PhD
Col. DO DINH VAN, MA*
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* The Political Officer College