Mass mobilization as one of the Party’s fundamental tasks greatly contributes to cultivating blood relations between the Party and the people and building a firm posture of “the people’s hearts and minds”. In the new situation, it is essential that mass mobilization continue to be promoted to truly serve as a bridge between “the Party’s intent” and “the people’s will” and to uphold the strength of the great national unity in the cause of national construction and defense.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out: “The masses hold enormous power. Mass mobilization is of great importance. If mass mobilization is ineffective, everything is doomed to failure. Effective mass mobilization is the key to success”. Being imbued with this thinking, over the course of the Vietnamese revolution, our Party has adopted resolutions earmarked for mass mobilization. On the 3^rd of June in 2013, the 7^th plenum of the 11^th Party Central Committee approved Resolution 25-NQ/TW on “enhancing and reforming the Party’s leadership over mass mobilization in the new situation” (hereinafter Resolution 25). Resolution 25 has been effectively implemented ever since.

Under the Party’s leadership, the content and forms have been reformed drastically to enable mass mobilization to stay close to reality, the people’s will and their legitimate rights and interests. The content of mass mobilization has been closely associated with localities’ political task and specific circumstances while being focalized in different forms to stay close to reality. Administrations at all levels have actively communicated the Party’s line, the State’s policies and laws and local socio-economic development programs to the public and encouraging the masses to successfully implement them. In remote and border areas, mass mobilization has contributed to ethnic minorities’ positive changes in their way of life and mentality whereby they have started to settle down, to build cultural life in their villages and hamlets, to actively participate in crime prevention and control, as well as to refrain from attending illegal religious services, storing weapons, trading narcotics and cultivating cannabis plants. Mass mobilization has enabled ethnic minorities to be well aware of fiendish plots and artifices by hostile forces who seek to exploit the issues of “ethnic minorities”, “religion”, “democracy” and “human rights” aimed at undermining our revolution. The emulation movement “Effective mass mobilization” has been promoted and closely associated with the campaign “Learn from and emulate Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle” by means of various effective measures, thus fostering widespread participation from the public to contribute to socio-economic and cultural development and enhanced defense and security capability in localities.

Comrade Truong Thi Mai addressing the meeting with the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People’s Army (photo: qdnd.vn)

Mass mobilization has made significant contributions to the strengthening of the political system at grass-roots level, thereby enhancing leadership capacity of local Party committees and organizations and improving the performance of local administrations. Mass mobilization officers have properly advised local administrations on the issues of national defense and security, as well as the building of a “people’s hearts and minds” solid posture and firm defense zones. All of these have enabled the people’s trust in the Party and the socialist regime to be fostered, socio-economic development to be facilitated, the people’s living standards to be dramatically improved, national defense, security and public order and safety to be ensured, diplomatic activities to be promoted through the Party, State and people-to-people exchange channels to further raise our country’s standing in the international arena.

However, mass mobilization has still suffered from shortcomings in the leadership and direction from a number of Party committees and local administrations. Public awareness and the implementation of the Party’s resolutions and directives regarding mass mobilization have fallen short of expectations to a greater or lesser degree. Mass mobilization has yet to be well aware of the people’s hopes and aspirations. Due attention has not been paid to inspection and review concerning mass mobilization. A number of policies have yet to live up to the people’s expectations and to promote their legitimate interests. Several vexing problems have not been addressed yet. The people’s right to mastery has still either existed in name only or been violated somewhere or other across the country, which has provoked a public outcry. A section of citizens have been manipulated by hostile forces to violence, which has led to “hot spots” in terms of public disorder. Prime examples include public protests sparked by environmental incidents in Central Vietnam, draft bills on cyber security and special administrative and economic units. Meanwhile, a not-small portion of cadres and Party members, including managerial ones, have yet to be exemplary, witnessed degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle, detached themselves from the people and appeared indifferent to the people’s difficulties and vexing problems. Methods of mass mobilization have yet to be suitable enough, particularly for the intelligentsia, artists, the younger generation, and religious ethnic minorities. The training of mass mobilization officers have yet to meet requirements in the new situation. The wide disparity between rich and poor, bureaucratic red tape, corruption and violations of the people’s right to mastery have posed significant challenges to mass mobilization and blood relations between the people and the Party.

Today, Vietnam has been accelerating industrialization, modernization, national construction and defense amidst increasingly unpredictable global and regional situations and opportunities and challenges intertwined. Shortcomings in socio-economic development, international integration and market economy have brought about vexing problems. Hostile forces have taken full advantage of the issues of “ethnic minorities”, “religion”, “democracy” and “human rights” as well as weaknesses in the country’s socio-economic development and management aimed at slandering the Party, the State and the armed forces, promoting “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” from within, undermining the great national unity and provoking disunity among the Party, the State, the armed forces and the people.

Realities have revealed that the Party-led revolution depends on the people’s unanimous support and the consolidated great national unity for success. Therefore, in the time to come, importance should be attached to the continued improvement in the quality and effectiveness of the Party’s mass mobilization. To this end, emphasis should be placed on the following.

First, continuing to thoroughly grasp Resolution 25 and the Resolution of the 12^th Party National Congress aimed at effectuating profound transformations in mass mobilization in the new situation. Accordingly, it is necessary to enhance and reform the Party’s leadership over mass mobilization, particularly at grass-roots level; to pay due attention to vexing problems facing the people aimed at fostering their trust in the Party, consolidating the great national unity and cultivating blood relations between the people and the Party; and to encourage the people to effectively implement the Party’s line and the State’s policies and laws, thus driving mass revolutionary movements for Homeland construction and defense. The Party and State’s functional agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), and socio-political organizations should continue to better communicate all aspects of life under Doi Moi led by the Party, as well as the aims, objectives and importance of mass mobilization to the people from all social strata, particularly ethnic minorities in remote and difficult areas and parishes. The content and forms of mass mobilization should be regularly reformed to enable the people to easily understand, to remember and to follow, as well as to be well aware of their statutory rights, obligations and right to mastery. At the same time, Party committees and Party organizations should put great store by Party building and rectification, focusing on the Resolution of the 12^th Party Central Committee’s 4^th plenum and the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05 on further learning from and emulating Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle with a view to enhancing Party organizations’ leadership capacity and combativeness, improving the quality of cadres and Party members, as well as making the Party truly clean and strong. It is necessary to stay in close touch with the grass roots in order to be well aware of the people’s thoughts, aspirations and feedback, thus opportunely satisfying their lawful and legitimate demands. Regular dialogues and the quality of meetings with constituents should be held and improved respectively in order to opportunely handle complaints lodged by citizens. The people’s daily life and legitimate interests should be taken good care of while their right to mastery should be promoted.

Second, promoting the effectiveness of State agencies’ mass mobilization. The Party Secretariat’s Conclusion 114-KL/TW, dated 14^th July, 2014 should continue to be effectively implemented on enhancing the effectiveness of State agencies’ mass mobilization at all levels while the mechanism of “the Party’s leadership, the State’s governance and the people’s mastery” should be institutionalized into polices and laws that match reality and serve the people’s legitimate and lawful interests. It is essential that laws regarding human rights and citizens’ rights and obligations should continue to be amended and perfected in accordance with the 2013 Constitution and that relevant policies should be effectively implemented. Accordingly, the State agencies should closely associate their mass mobilization programs and plans with the successful implementation of Regulations on grassroots democracy while improving the quality of their advice for all-level authorities on putting into practice the Party’s line on mass mobilization. Simultaneously, new practical measures and policies regarding mass mobilization should be put forward. Close cooperation is needed among functional agencies in grasping situations to opportunely handle vexing problems facing the people and their legitimate suggestions, thus promoting their right to mastery under the motto that “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect”. It is necessary to further inspect and assess the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Directive 16/CT-TTg, dated 16^th May, 2016  on “Promoting and reforming mass mobilization among State administrative bodies and all-level administrations in the new situation” as a yardstick of their annual performance.

Third, regularly strengthening the mass mobilization apparatus, focusing on building mass mobilization officers, the VFF and socio-political organizations at all levels. The 12^th Party Central Committee’s Resolution 18-NQ/TW, dated 25^th October, 2017, should be thoroughly grasped and strictly observed on “Some issues about continuing to reform and rearrange the political apparatus towards greater efficiency and effectiveness”. Emphasis should be placed on the line that at provincial level, the Party committee’ office should jointly serve advisory bodies, that “wearing two hats” for heads should be piloted, and that a number of the Party, State and VFF’s bodies with similar functions and duties should be merged at provincial and municipal levels where possible. It is necessary to review, reform and perfect functions, duties, authority, organizational structure and working relationships among advisory bodies from central to local levels. It should make effective the planning, training, retraining, rotation, assignment and employment of mass mobilization personnel with special attention paid to building managerial cadres, particularly at strategic level. Cadres who commit breaches of discipline, lack professional competence and ethics and lose credibility should not assigned to mass mobilization. It is necessary to build a contingent of cadres who are highly qualified in terms of professional competence, morality, political theory and professional experience. President Ho Chi Minh’s teachings should be followed whereby mass mobilization officers are to “think with a brain, see with eyes, listen with ears, walk with feet, speak with a mouth, do with hands”, “stay close to the people, learn from the people and follow the people” under the motto of “sincerity, enthusiasm, caution, perseverance, tact and effectiveness”. Importance should be attached to the training, retraining, management and employment of mass mobilization officers who come from ethnic minorities and religious communities or work in remote, border, maritime and island areas of strategic importance in terms of defense and security.

Fourth, stepping up mass mobilization by the entire political system. Cadres, Party members, public employees and civil servants across the political system should promote their sense of responsibility for mass mobilization. Regulations should continue to be enforced on the cooperation among State bodies, all-level administrations, the VFF and socio-political organizations in mass mobilization in order to refrain from overlapping and formalism towards practicality and effectiveness. The entire political system should focus on better communicating the Party’s line and the State’s policies and laws to the public and encouraging the latter to strictly observe them; participate in the implementation and supervision of socio-economic and cultural development programs and enhanced defense and security capability in localities; handle shortcomings at grassroots level which are directly related to the people’s lawful and legitimate rights and interests, especially in remote and difficult areas as well as the whereabouts of ethnic minorities and parishes; assist the people with hunger eradication, poverty reduction and improved living standards. The cooperation program for mass mobilization should be effectively implemented between the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilization, the Government’s Party Committee, the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People’s Army, the Ministry of Public Security, and so on, in order to enhance the effectiveness of mass mobilization within the State administrative bodies and the armed forces as well as to proactively counter hostile forces’ distortions and incitements aimed at undermining the great national unity and provoking disunity among the Party, the State, and the people. Party committees and administrations at all levels, particularly in border areas, should closely cooperate with the armed forces in encouraging the masses to increase their vigilance and to actively participate in building the “all-people national defense posture” and the “people’s security posture”, as well as to effectively implement the campaigns “The entire people participate in crime prevention and control”, “the Youth strive for a peaceful life and national sovereignty”. At the same time, the emulation movement “Effective mass mobilization” should be stepped up in order to promote the people’s creativity and strength in building new cultural life and new socialist people, foiling and countering “peaceful evolution”, “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”, preventing crimes and eradicating social evils, thus creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development and ensured defense and security in localities.

Fifth, concentrating on the inspection and supervision of mass mobilization. The inspection and supervision should focus on the institutionalization of the Party’s line on mass mobilization as well as the enforcement of regulations on mass mobilization in accordance with Resolution 25 and the 10^th Politburo’s Decision 290 on “Regulations on mass mobilization for the entire political system”. Regular dialogues should be held in order to opportunely handle the people’s suggestions, complaints and their lawful and legitimate demands, thus preventing the re-emergence of “hot spots”. Inspection and supervision should be stepped up as to cadres’ training of professional ethics and their quality of service to the people and sense of responsibility for mass mobilization. In the meantime, it is necessary to counter manifestations of detachment from and indifference to the people, red tape, bumbledom, extortion and breaches of discipline in order to foster the people’s trust in the Party, the regime and Party committees and administrations at all levels. With the achievements and experience from the Party’s “Effective mass mobilization” over the past years, mass mobilization should continue to be reformed comprehensively and synchronously towards greater effectiveness, contributing to building a firm posture of the “people’s hearts and minds” in the cause of national construction and defense and to achieving the goal of a prosperous people and a strong, democratic, equitable and civilized country” firmly advancing to socialism.

Truong Thi Mai, Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC), Head of the PCC’s Commission for Mass Mobilization