Constructive government and the power of the press

The voice of the press that criticizes policies and reflects reality is also the voice of the people. That voice is indispensable in the process of building a constructive government, an action-oriented government, a serving government, and an honest government.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a meeting of the Government Standing Committee on the implementation of the Enterprise Law and Investment Law. Photo: TTO

Not long after the Government was reorganized and just a few days before the conference between the Prime Minister and the business community nationwide (April 29 in Ho Chi Minh City), public opinion was "in turmoil" when the press continuously mentioned the Xin Chao coffee shop case in Ho Chi Minh City.

Deputy Head of the Government Office Le Manh Ha recounted that while reporting on the Conference between the Prime Minister and businesses, the Prime Minister brought up an article about the Xin Chao restaurant case. And he immediately gave his opinion on how to handle the case without waiting for advice from the authorities.

The Xin Chao cafe case ended with a happy, reasonable, and emotional ending for the cafe owner, but for those who steer the national economic ship, the problem does not stop there. At the conference with thousands of businesses held on April 29, among many important messages, the Prime Minister especially emphasized the requirement of not criminalizing civil and economic relations, ensuring a safe environment for businesses to operate. This message continued to be repeated by him many times at meetings and was later affirmed by the Government in Resolution No. 35 on supporting and developing businesses.

Since taking on his new responsibilities, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has repeatedly emphasized his consistent viewpoints in his leadership and administration. That is, building a development-oriented government, an action-oriented government, a serving government, and an honest government. And the story of the coffee shop owner - from being reported by the press to becoming a policy in the Government's Resolution - is just one example showing the very important role of the press in contributing to implementing those viewpoints of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has repeatedly affirmed that handling each specific case is very important, but more time must be spent on institutional work. In institutional building, perfecting the market economic institution for business development and improving the business environment is considered the "key of the key" task at present. Cases such as Xin Chao Coffee Shop or the recent case of Viet Foods being "wrongfully" confiscated tons of sausages and suffering heavy losses show that if a good institutional foundation is not established, such incidents can completely repeat themselves in the future.

At a recent meeting with journalists, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the Government is focusing on removing difficulties for businesses and the press is an important information channel for the Government to refer to. “If we only rely on official documents and administrative documents, the information is not necessarily complete. Leaders also need the press to have accurate, honest and timely information,” the Prime Minister emphasized.

This is the reason why in Resolution No. 35 on supporting and developing enterprises, the Government assigned the Ministry of Information and Communications to preside over, compile statistics, and synthesize news and press articles that detect negative behaviors and hinder business operations, send them to competent authorities for resolution, and publicize the results of the handling. From specific cases in the press, policymakers have more data to detect obstacles and inadequacies in policies and policy implementation, thereby perfecting legal regulations.

Democracy and the rule of law are “twins” in a modern political system. It is clear that if we want to build a developmental state, a state that serves the people, we must listen to the voice of the people. There are many different channels for the voice of the people to reach the government at all levels, including a very important channel through the press. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc affirmed that the more democratic the country is, the more important the openness, transparency and voice of the press are. According to the Prime Minister, “the voice of the press is the voice of public opinion, and also our own strength”.

The government and people increasingly appreciate and expect more from the genuine power of the press.

According to Chinhphu.vn