Be vigilant against misleading narratives and subversive activities aimed at combating corruption and negative practices.

Regarding the 5th Plenum of the 13th Central Committee, both before and after the Plenum, hostile and reactionary forces created false and distorted narratives to undermine the process, especially in the fight against corruption and negative practices. Therefore, every cadre, Party member, and citizen needs to be extremely vigilant.

The 5th Plenum of the 13th Central Committee (from May 4th to 10th, 2022) approved many important contents with immediate and long-term significance for the country's development, such as: issues of land management and use; agriculture, farmers, and rural areas; development of the collective economy; building grassroots Party organizations and Party members; results of self-criticism and criticism by the Politburo and the Secretariat in 2021; and discussed and reached a high level of consensus on the policy of establishing provincial-level steering committees on preventing and combating corruption and negative phenomena…

A view of the 5th Plenum of the 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Photo: Internet

Many mainstream international media outlets highly praised the content adopted at the 5th Central Committee Conference. The results of this conference demonstrated the Party's political determination to "match words with actions," concretizing its views and orientations on six important issues. However, some media outlets with an unfavorable view of Vietnam, such as Radio Free Asia (RFA), BBC Vietnamese, Voice of America (VOA), and websites of exiled reactionary organizations like Viet Tan and Chan Troi Moi Media, have published numerous articles, information, and assessments that distort the truth and steer public opinion in a negative direction.

On forums, groups, and social networks, extremist elements often spread speculative and biased information to create public panic. From there, they create comment streams to disrupt information, turning falsehoods into truths and distorting the truth. Reactionary elements thoroughly exploit the issue of combating corruption and negative practices to distort the truth and create pretexts for subversive activities.

They falsely claim that the anti-corruption campaign is ineffective, that "the furnace burning is not going as planned," or that "fighting corruption in the old way cannot be sustainable." RFA has published a series of articles that are biased and unrealistic about the fight against corruption and negative practices in Vietnam; claiming that the fight against corruption is merely "dogmatic philosophy," or "pruning the branches to make the tree grow more luxuriantly"...

Many extremists and political opportunists continuously make negative comments aimed at completely denying Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts, such as: "Corruption in Vietnam is like a virus deeply ingrained in the cells of the Communist Party, from top to bottom"; "Vietnam's anti-corruption efforts are like an ant on a banyan tree branch." They fabricate experts and publish articles claiming that the establishment of provincial-level steering committees on anti-corruption is a "failure" for Vietnam, a "step backward" in the fight against corruption...

Clearly, the aforementioned arguments are utterly illogical and baseless inferences aimed at slandering the Communist Party and the State of Vietnam.

The RFA website and other reactionary websites have published numerous articles that falsely and inaccurately portray the anti-corruption efforts in Vietnam.

The reality proves that corruption is not a "unique product" of Vietnam, but occurs in all countries worldwide, a global problem. This has been clearly recognized in the 2003 International Convention against Corruption: "Corruption is no longer a problem; it is a phenomenon that transcends national borders and affects all societies and economies, making international cooperation to prevent and control corruption a necessity."

According to several recent studies, the problem of corruption in nearly half of the world's countries has not improved much. In fact, in many countries, corruption is increasing, affecting almost every aspect of life among people on every continent.

In recent times, the fight against corruption and negative practices in Vietnam has been carried out decisively and in the right direction, yielding positive results. From the beginning of 2022 to the present, the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Negative Practices has monitored and directed the initiation of new prosecutions in 4 cases involving 23 defendants, the initiation of new prosecutions in 3 cases involving 7 defendants, and the addition of charges against 4 defendants in 2 cases; the completion of investigations and supplementary investigations in 5 cases involving 134 defendants; the prosecution of 3 cases involving 34 defendants; the first-instance trial of 2 cases involving 14 defendants, and the appellate trial of 1 case involving 4 defendants. Among these, 8 officials are under the central government's management.

Regarding this matter, after thorough research, evaluation, discussion, and consideration, all 63 provincial and city Party committees and the Central Executive Committee have discussed and reached a high level of consensus on the policy of establishing provincial-level steering committees for combating corruption and negative practices. This serves as a foundation for the entire country to further build upon the achievements already made, expanding the scope and depth of anti-corruption and anti-negative practices efforts.

The Central Committee's decision to establish provincial-level Steering Committees for combating corruption and negative practices demonstrates a firm resolve to show no tolerance or cover-up for corruption and negative practices; ensuring that the fight against corruption and negative practices is carried out smoothly and synchronously from the central to local levels, fostering unity from top to bottom and clear-sightedness from all directions, and pushing back against the situation of "heated discussions at the top, but inaction at the bottom".

Never before has the fight against corruption and negative practices been directed so strongly, synchronously, decisively, and effectively as in recent times; leaving a prominent mark on the international community, creating high consensus in society, and consolidating and strengthening the trust of cadres, Party members, and the people in the Party and the State. This is a persistent and long-term endeavor, requiring the tireless efforts of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army. Corruption will certainly be prevented and pushed back, contributing to building our Party and State to be increasingly clean and strong, meeting the requirements of the revolutionary cause and the trust and expectations of the people.