Combat factionalism and parochialism.

As human beings, we all have a private space: our family, relatives, friends, and homeland. In our thoughts and feelings, everyone has a "private corner" for these close relationships. Rasul Gamzatov once said, "One can take a person away from their homeland, but one cannot take the homeland away from a person."

The Vietnamese people have a long tradition of community cohesion to fight against natural disasters and invaders. This has fostered a deep sense of loyalty and affection for their homeland, family, and friends. When someone achieves success, the entire community admires and takes pride in them, sometimes even relying on them as a "hero." They believe that "blood is thicker than water." The more difficult the circumstances and the stronger the community's bonds, the more evident this is.

If that were all, there would be no need for further discussion.

When these relationships and concepts develop in a distorted way, it's easy for people to "see the trees but not the forest," to become trapped in a narrow space without seeing the bigger picture; to only see what's immediately apparent and individual without seeing the common, long-term benefit... and that is a bad habit - a "fertile ground" for individualism to flourish.

Illustration: Internet

The most dangerous situation arises when leaders at the sectoral, local, and unit levels create "playgrounds" – the most powerful factions within their own group. They form cliques, based on shared hometowns, family names, and interests, where power is corrupted and exploited, creating vested interests. There are cases where programs and projects are prioritized for the boss's hometown; cases where personnel are merely implementing "rationalization procedures" at the boss's direction; even cases where a phone call from a superior "vetoes" an entire term's personnel plan; and not infrequently, instances of "one deal, a lifetime of benefits"... Public opinion is outraged by the widespread phenomenon of "one person in power benefits the whole family," "our family's party committee," "our village's people's council," etc.

In some localities, agencies, and units, stemming from parochialism and factionalism, sensitive issues have emerged, such as the use of votes for planning, confidence votes, evaluation votes, and election votes in personnel matters, elections at congresses, or in conferences voting on investment decisions for important projects. This creates fertile ground for individualism to flourish and opportunism to run rampant.

The Central Resolution No. 4 (12th Congress) clearly stated that factionalism and parochialism in personnel work are very dangerous diseases, one of the manifestations of moral and lifestyle degradation among cadres and Party members, weakening the Party's leadership role and the nature of the state as a state of the people, by the people, and for the people. Therefore, identifying and resolutely fighting against and eliminating this dangerous "disease," purifying the ranks of cadres and Party members, and enhancing the fighting capacity, prestige, and leadership role of the Party is an urgent issue today.

In his work "Correcting Working Methods," written in October 1947, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out one of the diseases afflicting a segment of cadres and Party members: "factionalism," which leads to division. He affirmed that this disease is "very dangerous," "very harmful to the Party," because: "It harms unity... It destroys camaraderie and solidarity among comrades. It creates suspicion."

Recently, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong stated that among the manifestations of moral and lifestyle degradation among a segment of cadres and Party members, "the most concerning and upsetting issue for the people and public opinion is corruption, factionalism, parochialism, and group interests among a segment of Party members holding positions of power, including some high-ranking officials of the Party and State."

Combating factionalism and parochialism is one of the key, ongoing, and urgent tasks in purifying the current public administration. To achieve this, it is necessary to uphold the exemplary responsibility of cadres and Party members in maintaining the Party's unity and consensus. Serious self-criticism and criticism must be implemented; attention must be paid to inspection and supervision, especially when there are signs of violations, making inspection and supervision truly a sharp sword and a solid shield to protect the Party and the regime; attention must be paid to building truly clean and strong Party committees and organizations; maintaining and promoting the tradition of democracy and mutual affection among comrades; and respecting Party members with differing opinions that do not harm the common goals and interests of the collective, community, and the country.

To foster genuine unity, every cadre and Party member – especially those in leadership positions – must focus on selecting and educating individuals to enhance their political acumen, honesty, humility, and noble spirit, particularly those in leadership positions. They must possess unwavering resolve, preventing malicious individuals from manipulating them into factionalism for unhealthy motives. They must be honest, demonstrating integrity and impartiality, and saying "no" to blindly following or blindly accepting wrongdoing. They must be humble, listening to, learning from, and absorbing the good qualities of their comrades, colleagues, and the people, avoiding narrow-mindedness in their judgments. They must be noble, acting with loyalty and compassion towards colleagues within their organization, preventing individual egos from overshadowing the collective good, thus avoiding unnecessary rifts and divisions within the organization.

Every official and Party member, especially key officials, must know how to harmoniously resolve and properly handle the relationships between the public and private, between society and family, and between the collective and the individual; they must not allow sentimental thinking, concepts, and lifestyles, or favoritism, to influence public affairs and public interests, affecting discipline and the rule of law, and eroding the people's trust in the Party, the State, and the regime.