Grasping higher echelons’ directives on party congresses at all levels towards the 13^th National Party Congress, the General Technical Department’s Party Committee and Command have determined that party congresses at all levels would be a good opportunity for making party organisations pure, strong, and capable of leading units to successfully fulfil all tasks in the new situation. Therefore, party committees at all levels within the Party Organisation have always focused their leadership on this work with the greatest political determination.

A conference to introduce the Directives on all-level party congresses towards the 13th National Party Congress

Ensuring a thorough grasp and synchronous, uniformed execution

After the issue of the Politburo’s Directive 35-CT/TW, dated May 30^th, 2019 and the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive 747-CT/QUTW, dated July 23^rd, 2019 on organising all-level party congresses towards the 13^th National Party Congress as well as the General Political Department’s Guidance 2008/HD-CT, dated October 26^th, 2019 on “executing the Central Military Commission Standing Board’s Directive on all-level party congresses towards the 13^th National Party Congress,” the Party Committee Standing Board of the General Technical Department (GTD) released the Directive 1143-CT/ĐU, dated August 29^th, 2019 on “holding all-level party congresses within the GTD’s Party Organisation towards the 11^th Military Party Congress and the 13^th National Party Congress, while directing the Political Department to develop the Guidance 8669/HD-CT, dated November 13^th, 2019 for the entire Party Organisation. According to those documents, party congresses at all levels must ensure inheritance, stability, renewal, creativity and development, promote democracy, uphold principles and discipline, and centre on quality, effectiveness, practicality, safety, and thrifty. Party committees must bring into play collective knowledge and heighten the responsibility of forces, organisations, cadres, and party members for preparing and holding party congresses at all levels.

As most of the party committee members and commanders at all levels within the GTD are technical cadres, particularly at party cell level, they are confronted with a lot of difficulties in and confusions about preparing and holding party congresses and dealing with arising issues. Hence, the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has directed affiliated party committees and political offices to hold training courses on the party and political work, the Party building, and particularly the organisation and operation of party congresses for those cadres in accordance with higher echelons’ directives and guiding documents. At the same time, a conference has been held to help cadres and party members grasp the Central Military Commission’s guidelines on party congresses, to achieve a consensus among them, to build up their determination, and to heighten their responsibility. The GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has directed the Political Department to formulate plans and set goals and requirements for leadership over preparations. It has instructed its affiliated party organisations to hold their party congresses under higher echelons’ direction, while assigning the party organisations of the Department of Military Weaponry, the Automotive Engineering Technology College, the Engineering and Equipment Journal, and the Depot KV2 (under the Department of Military Weaponry) to hold party congresses in advance of others to draw lessons. Besides, due attention has been paid to propagating party congresses in diverse, creative forms to create a wide and deep political movement within offices and units.

Democracy in the personnel work for party congresses

Personnel work serves as a deciding factor in the success of each party congress and will play a core role in each office and unit’s task performance in the new tenure. Thus, the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has placed emphasis on closely leading and directing the personnel work and even the elections of party committees and delegates to higher echelons’ party congresses under the regulations, ensuring the quality, proper structure, inheritance, and development in accordance with the personnel strategy. Under the Politburo’s Directive 35-CT/TW  and the Resolution, dated July 25^th, 2019 by the GTD’s Party Committee on “building a contingent of cadres within the GTD, particularly commanders at general department and department levels on a par with the task requirements in the new situation,” members of new party committees must have typical political zeal, morality, lifestyle, knowledge, professional competence, working method and prestige to meet the requirements set by leadership over the execution of the party congress resolutions at their level and higher levels. Delegates to higher-level party congresses must be capable of representing over other members of their party organisations to make contributions to the success of those party congresses. The GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has directed affiliated party committees to resolutely avoid including cadres with bad qualities, abilities, prestige, and task performance or those having the signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle, or those with the manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” or those violating the Party’s regulations and the State’s law in the personnel plan for party congresses at all levels. As a result, appointment of members of new party committees and delegates to higher-level party congresses has been in accordance with higher echelons’ direction and succeeded in achieving unity and consensus from within.

Promoting democracy, knowledge, and responsibility during party congresses

A party congress will always be centred on correctly assessing the execution of resolutions at its level and higher levels, which will act as a determinant to the success of party congresses. Hence, the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has focused its leadership and direction on commenting on and discussing party congresses’ documents. According to it, the all-level party congresses must encourage responsibility and knowledge of participants during discussions, ensure democracy, practicality, and effectiveness, and avoid formalism. Different opinions must be elaborately discussed and clearly concluded with the unanimous and constructive spirit. To enable party members to comment upon party congresses’ documents, party committees must study and follow the Guidance 8669/HD-CT, dated November 13^th, 2019 by the Political Department so as to develop party congresses’ documents, particularly political reports. Those documents must honestly express the performance of the central political task and the Party building, while pointing out strengths, weaknesses, causes, lessons, and guidelines and measures for new-tenure leadership. Grasping higher echelons’ direction, party organisations have carefully studied the real situation within their offices and units to prepare political reports. They have correctly evaluated and anticipated the situation, advantages, and difficulties relating to their political task, staff work, and technical support, thereby setting out guidelines and measures for leadership in the new tenure in a comprehensive and long-lasting manner. To raise the quality of party congresses’ documents, the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board and the all-level party committees have founded sub-committees for congress documents or assigned party committee members to be in charge of those documents under the direct leadership of party secretaries at the same level. With the support from competent offices, congress documents have been completed and submitted to higher-level party committees for approval under a close, uniformed procedure. As a result, the system of documents, especially political reports at the all-level party congresses within the GTD’s Party Organisations have really brought into play collective knowledge and ensured the good quality, thereby meeting the fundamental requirements.

The all-level party organisations have given instructions to participants in the all-level party congresses on method of approaching and studying draft documents of the 13^th National Party Congress, with priority given to discussing focal points of the documents. In this regard, emphasis has been placed on assessing the implementation of the 12^th National Party Congress’ Resolution, the achievements in the country’s 35-year renewal (1986-2020), and the 10-year Strategy for socio-economic development (2011-2020), the Party building and the execution of the Party’s Charter in the 12^th tenure as well as on discussing the 10-year Strategy for socio-economic development (2021-2030). Greater importance has been attached to discussing the defence-security work, goals of national development (2021-2025), defence-security consolidation, Homeland protection, external affairs, and Party building. During discussions, speeches have been centred on key or new or controversial issues. Meanwhile, comments on immediate superiors’ political reports have been aimed at major guidelines, goals, targets, and measures directly relating to their party organisation, party cell, office, and unit. Discussion about political report at each level has been directed towards the issues relevant to the performance of function and task, the Party building, the thorny issues, and weaknesses. Speeches at party congresses have been carefully prepared and clearly expressed the spirit of self-criticism and criticism. Debates have been encouraged to deal with controversial or new issues during party congresses. Besides, the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board has directed affiliated party committees to well conduct the ideological work and promote the role of the mass organisations in commenting on draft documents of the all-level party congresses under the Guidance 60-HD/VPTW, dated January 17^th, 2020 by the Office of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Doing so has helped cadres, party members, the masses, and employees within the GTD to grasp the major guidelines and directions mentioned in draft documents of the 13^th National Party Congress and their immediate superiors’ party congresses.

Thanks to heightening democracy and promoting knowledge and responsibility during party congresses, up to now, all party cells and party organisations within the GTD’s Party Organisation have successfully held their party congresses under the regulations. In the process, leadership by the GTD’s Party Committee Standing Board and the all-level party committees has been clearly exercised. The status of party committee heads has been maintained and raised during the all-level party congresses. Bringing into play the outcome of the party congresses at grass-roots level, the GTD’s Party Committee would continue to prepare and successfully hold the GTD’s Party Congress for the 2020-2025 tenure.

Maj. Gen. TRAN DUY HUNG, Commissar of the GTD