'Democracy' or 'anti-democracy'?

In the implementation of “peaceful evolution” in recent years, some people, in the name of reactionary organizations, through websites with addresses abroad, have raised the issue of democracy with old-fashioned tones. They believe that the gathering, connection, and use of websites to express their witness and propagate about the situation in Vietnam is an exercise of democratic freedom, freedom of the press... And so they call those actions “fighting for democracy” and those people “democracy activists”; “democrats”... They believe that the Vietnamese Statearrest and handle"Democracy activists" are violating democracy and human rights.

The repeated arguments about human rights abuses are so ridiculous. Source: VTV

Although it is outdated, when hearing such tones, public opinion both at home and abroad is still very indignant. It must be said right away that, because they are influenced by evil motives and purposes of opposing the Vietnamese revolution, the enemies are deliberately misunderstanding the true, progressive democracy that our Party, State and people are building.

Right from the time the 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 innovation and construction is the responsibility of the people. The cause of resistance and nation building is the work of the people. The government from the commune to the Central Government is elected by the people. The organizations from the Central Government are organized by the people. In short, all power and strength are in the people…”. According to Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the democracy that our Party, State and people focus on building is a democracy in which the rights, obligations and responsibilities of citizens are closely linked, inseparable and clearly expressed in the relationships between members and the community, individuals and society, citizens and the State.

Ho Chi Minh's ideology of "The people are the root of the country" is imbued with humanistic spirit, crystallizing patriotism and the fine traditions of the Vietnamese people. Photo: Document

As masters of society, Vietnamese citizens not only have the right but also the responsibility and obligation to participate in building and organizing the implementation of the Party's policies and guidelines, the State's policies and laws. The Party's policies and guidelines, the State's policies and laws are the convergence of the will, aspirations and intelligence of the entire people. The lesson of "taking the people as the root" that our Party has drawn is a concise expression of socialist democratic thought. In many documents, especially in the Platform (1991) on building the country in the transitional period to Socialism, our Party has determined that "Revolution is the cause of the people, by the people, for the people...".

Like many countries in the world, in Vietnam democracy goes hand in hand with discipline; democracy must be institutionalized by law and guaranteed by law. Any act that goes against the Party's policies and laws is considered a violation of the law, anti-democratic. The line between democracy and non-democracy is very fragile. Without laws to manage and regulate, 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 disorganized democracy, democracy outside the law. Every citizen and every organization must have the duty to speak and act according to correct, constitutional and legal standards. The role of the socialist rule of law state in Vietnam is to guarantee a genuine, progressive and modern democracy.

Illustration: Document

The acts of direct contact and collusion with a number of reactionary organizations and groups of Vietnamese exiles abroad to propagate distortions and plot sabotage in order to overthrow the people's government by a number of subjects in the past time areserious violationsVietnamese law. That is completely anti-democratic behavior, destroying democracy, not "fighting for democracy" or "democratic" as hostile forces claim.