'Democracy' or 'anti-democracy'?

In recent years, during the implementation of "peaceful evolution," some individuals, under the guise of reactionary organizations, have revived the issue of democracy through websites with overseas addresses, using the same old rhetoric. They claim that the gathering, networking, and use of websites by certain individuals to express their opinions and propagate information about the situation in Vietnam constitutes the exercise of democratic freedoms and freedom of the press... Therefore, they call these actions "fighting for democracy" and label these individuals as "democracy activists" or "democrats"... They argue that the Vietnamese State's actions are unacceptable.arrest, prosecutionThese "democracy activists" are violating democracy and human rights.

The arguments exploiting human rights are repeated so often that they become ridiculous. Source: VTV

Although outdated, such rhetoric still provokes strong indignation both domestically and internationally. It must be stated immediately that, driven by malicious motives and purposes aimed at undermining the Vietnamese revolution, hostile forces are deliberately misinterpreting the genuine, progressive democracy that our Party, State, and people are building.

Right from the moment our country gained independence, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: “Our country is a democratic country. All benefits are for the people. All powers belong to the people. The work of reform and construction is the responsibility of the people. The cause of resistance and national construction is the work of the people. The government from the commune to the Central Government is elected by the people. Organizations from the central level are organized by the people. In short, all power and strength reside in the people…” According to Ho Chi Minh's thought, the democracy that our Party, State, and people are focusing on building is a democracy where the rights, obligations, and responsibilities of citizens are closely intertwined, inseparable, and clearly manifested in the relationships between members and the community, individuals and society, and citizens and the State.

Ho Chi Minh's ideology of "The nation is founded on the people" is deeply humanistic, embodying patriotism and the fine traditions of the Vietnamese people. (Photo: Archival material)

As masters of society, Vietnamese citizens not only have the right but also the responsibility and obligation to participate in building and implementing the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws and regulations. The Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws and regulations are the embodiment of the will, aspirations, and wisdom of the entire people. The lesson of "putting the people first," which our Party has distilled, is a concise expression of socialist democratic thought. In many documents, especially in the Platform (1991) on building the country during the transitional period to socialism, our Party has affirmed that "Revolution is the undertaking of the people, by the people, and for the people…".

Like many countries around the world, in Vietnam democracy goes hand in hand with discipline and order; democracy must be institutionalized by law and guaranteed by law. Any act contrary to the Party's policies, laws, and guidelines is considered a violation of the law and is anti-democratic. The line between democracy and non-democracy is very thin. Without laws to manage and regulate it, democracy can easily be distorted into anti-democratic acts. It would be very dangerous if democracy were separated from the law. In Vietnam, there cannot be an unorganized democracy, a democracy outside the law. Every citizen and every organization has the duty to speak and act according to the correct standards, constitutional and legal. The role of the socialist rule of law in Vietnam is to guarantee a genuine, progressive, and modern democracy.

Illustrative image: Archival material

The direct contact and collusion with certain reactionary organizations and groups of Vietnamese exiles abroad to spread distorted propaganda and plot to undermine and overthrow the people's government by some individuals in the past period are as follows:serious violationsVietnamese law. That is completely an undemocratic act, an act of undermining democracy, and not "fighting for democracy" or being a "democrat" as hostile forces claim.