Together with other party organisations within the Military, the Army Corps 4’s Party Organisation has been focusing its leadership on preparing and holding the all-level party congresses under higher echelons’ directives and guiding documents.

Grasping and strictly executing the Directive 35-CT/TW, dated May 30^th, 2019 by the Politburo and the Directive 747-CT/QUTW, dated July 23^rd, 2019 by the Central Military Commission Standing Board on the all-level party congresses towards the 13^th National Party Congress, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee issued a specialised Resolution on holding the all-level party congresses towards the 10^th Congress of the Corps’ Party Organisation for the 2020-2025 tenure. The Resolution included focal points of party congresses, preparation of documents and organisation of debates, personnel work and election of party committee members, quantity and election of representatives to higher-level party congresses, and schedule for party congresses at all levels. At the same time, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee selected the Regiment 1’s Party Organisation and the Division 309’s Party Organisation as the first units to hold party congresses so as to draw lessons. The Corps’ Political Department proactively advised the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee to issue a decision on establishing sub-committees and the Editorial Board for the Documents of the 10^th Congress of the Corps’ Party Organisation. In addition, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee held a conference with the participation of units’ key cadres and asked them to prepare documents of party congresses in an elaborate, scientific, close fashion, correctly assess their party committees’ leadership efficiency, point out their weaknesses, draw lessons, develop leadership guidelines in the following tenure, and make breakthroughs in performing their central task and overcoming their shortcomings.

In the process, party committees must grasp the guiding ideology which is “renewal, intellect, democracy, discipline, quality, and maintained political stability and unity within each Party Organisation,” while promoting collective knowledge and responsibility to prepare and hold party congresses. Superior party committees must quickly complete draft documents so that inferior ones could draw up their documents and comment on superiors’ documents during their party congresses. Inferior party cells and committees must submit their draft documents and personnel plan for new party committees to their direct superiors for approval prior to their party congresses.

A conference to introduce directives, plans, and guiding documents on the all-level party congress towards the 13th National Party Congress

Grounded on the plan made by the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee, the Political Department issued the Guidance 607/HD-CCT on “studying, grasping, and disseminating documents on the all-level party congresses,” which required synchronous and uniform introduction of the content and organisation of the all-level party congresses within the Corps’ Party Organisation. At the same time, it held a refresher course for secretaries and deputy secretaries of the party organisations and heads of the all-level political offices so that they could play a core role in introducing the Guidance. Focuses of the refresher course was placed on new points of the procedure for preparing and holding the all-level party congresses, particularly for developing and discussing documents, making personnel plans for new party committees, and conducting elections of party committee members as well as a number of issues on the Party’s internal political protection. While establishing inspection delegations, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee directed affiliated party committees to grasp and completely resolve the ideological issues, maintain internal unity, and promote the synergy with a view to successfully holding their party congresses.  Up to now, all party committees within the Corps’ Party Organisation have finished studying and introducing higher echelons’ directives, plans, and guiding documents. All party members, cadres, and the masses have been fully aware of the political significance and importance of the all-level party congresses. The role and responsibility of party committees have been encouraged to make all necessary preparations for the all-level party congresses.

To ensure the success of all party congresses, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee focused its leadership and direction on commenting on, discussing and preparing congress documents. The Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee directed its affiliated party committees to give instructions on approaching, studying and discussing higher echelons’ congress documents. Comments on documents must focus on new issues and controversial topics. Comments by inferiors on direct superiors’ documents must centred on major guidelines, policies, goals, targets, and action plans related to their party organisations, party cells, offices, and units. Discussion about political reports during a party congress must be directed towards performing units and offices’ function and task, building the Party, and overcoming thorny issues and weaknesses. Addresses must be carefully prepared and made succinct; moreover, they must clearly express the spirit of criticism and self-criticism. Political reports prepared by party committees must include an objective, honest, and situation-related evaluation. They must clarify strong points and shortcomings, while drawing valuable, comprehensive lessons. Besides, due regard must paid to grasping major viewpoints, guidelines, and policies from the draft documents of the 13^th National Party Congress, higher echelons, and offices and units  in order to set out tasks and action plans in a practical and effective manner for the following tenure and years. The Corps’ Party Committee required its affiliated party committees to grasp the Directive 103/CT-BQP by the Minister of National Defence on enhancing discipline management and ensuring safety within the Military so as to prevent any sign of violation of the State’s law and the Military’s discipline, create a huge positive change in discipline and ideological management, step up military standard order building, increase the Corps’ combat strength and combat readiness capacity, and make it capable of fulfilling all assigned tasks. Discipline management must be included in the political reports and discussed at the all-level party congresses within the Corps’ Party Organisation while measures must be developed to completely settle serious violations of discipline.

When drawing up their draft documents, party committees must adhere to higher echelons’ directions, the previous party congresses’ resolutions, and the practical condition of their offices and units. Also, they must ask their inferior party committees and mass organisations for opinions on their draft documents. The all-level party congresses must bring into play collective responsibility and knowledge and ensure democracy and effectiveness during discussions. Controversial issues must be carefully debated and clearly concluded under the spirit of unity.

The Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee attached special importance to the personnel work for the new tenure. It closely reviewed a contingent of party committee members within the Corps’ Party Organisation to ensure proper structure, inheritance, and development under the plan on offices and units’ managerial cadres and commanders. Nominees for new party committee members must have good political qualities, pure morality, healthy lifestyle, good knowledge and working method, and great prestige. To that end, party committees must scrutinise the age and in-service time of incumbent party committee members and particularly key cadres to make the personnel plan for their party congresses. Due attention should be paid to establishing 3 groups of ages in order to ensure inheritance and development. At the same time, it is essential to ensure both quantity and quality of party committee members, combine the building of party committee members with that of key cadres, and promote individual role in realising collective decisions. The all-level party committees must be comprised of commanders or deputy commanders or key cadres of affiliated offices and units. Party committees of the Corps’ functional offices must be composed of commanders, deputy commanders, and key cadres of several departments and affiliated units (battalions and depots). The standing board of a party committee should consist of commanders, several deputy commanders, and heads of political agencies. Commissars should be party committee secretaries while commanders should be deputy secretaries. Up to now, the Corps has basically consolidated a contingent of commanders at all levels to meet the requirements set by the personnel work for the all-level party congresses.

In the process, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee directed offices and units to step up the Determination to Win Emulation Movement, actively study and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, and execute the Campaign entitled “promoting tradition, devoting talent, deserving to be Uncle Ho’s soldiers in the new period,” thereby creating a spiritual incentive to gain new achievements to celebrate the all-level party congresses within the Corps’ Party Organisation. Doing so would enable offices and units within the Corps to raise all organisations, party members, and staff members’ responsibility, maintain vigilance and combat readiness, and concentrate on preparing their party congresses. Moreover, the Standing Board of the Corps’ Party Committee required offices and units to enhance the work of propagation, launch emulation movements to celebrate the all-level party congresses, the 90^th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the 45^th anniversary of the South Liberation and National Reunification, the International Workers’ Day, 130^th anniversary of the birth of President Ho Chi Minh, 75^th anniversary of the August Revolution and the National Day. Via emulation movements, cadres and soldiers would be fully aware of the all-level party congresses’ significance and importance, promote their responsibility for preparing and holding party congresses, and resolutely combat the hostile forces’ wrong viewpoints and distortions, particularly their acts of sabotage against our Party’s personnel work.

With a sense of political responsibility and determination of cadres, party members, organisations, and forces within the Army Corps 4, the 10^th Congress of the Corps’ Party Organisation for the 2020-2025 tenure will be successful and make significant contributions to the 11^th Military Party Congress and the 13^th National Party Congress.

Sr. Col. TRUONG NGOC HOI, Commissar of the Army Corps 4