The most important thing
(Baonghean) - December 9th is International Anti-Corruption Day. On this very day, in Hanoi, the Government Inspectorate and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam organized a seminar on the theme "Joining Hands to Combat Corruption for Development." Joining hands – of course – means not only the state agencies entrusted with this important, complex, and challenging task, but also the participation of all segments of the population. However, in reality, community participation in this area is extremely limited in Vietnam. Therefore, the delegates at the seminar unanimously agreed that mechanisms must be created to enable citizens to participate in the fight against corruption.
This viewpoint is correct but not new. We already have mechanisms to encourage and motivate people to participate in this issue. However, the results have been minimal. Specifically, last December, the Central Internal Affairs Committee issued a document guiding the purchase of information on corruption denunciations. Immediately afterwards, the internal affairs committees of provincial and city Party committees developed plans, issued regulations, allocated funds, and widely implemented the purchase of information through mass media. The price depends on the reliability, nature of each case, and quality of information, but the lowest is 500,000 VND and the highest is 10 million VND per piece of information. Those selling information are guaranteed absolute confidentiality. Initially, there were expectations that this new mechanism would lead to breakthroughs in the fight against corruption. However, to date, a full year later, no locality nationwide has purchased even a small piece of information regarding corruption denunciations.
Why is that? Is it because the people are not enthusiastic about fighting corruption, or because the compensation offered is not enough to incentivize it? Perhaps neither of these reasons is convincing. Because, in meetings with constituents or when asked, the majority of people express extreme frustration with corrupt practices and consistently demand that the Party and State take decisive and thorough measures to address them. In reality, there are citizens who actively participate in fighting corruption without demanding any compensation. So what is the reason? First, it must be understood that those who exhibit or have the means to embezzle and engage in corruption are often people with positions of power, authority, or significant responsibilities. They possess money, power, influence, and extensive connections. Touching them is not easy.
While ordinary citizens, vulnerable and powerless, have nowhere to hide if they are struck by corruption, even if they receive protection from law enforcement agencies, it's a case of "by the time justice is served, their faces have already been bruised." This isn't just theory; it's a reality. Remember in 2010, when the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption held a ceremony honoring 88 exemplary citizens who fought corruption, almost all of them confirmed that they had been harassed and threatened by corrupt individuals. For example, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa, a veteran who spent 10 years fighting corruption, lived under constant threat to her life and suffered psychological terror.
Journalist Hoang Duong, Head of Buon Don District Radio and Television Station, Dak Lak Province, was severely injured in an assault on the streets of Buon Ma Thuot after a series of articles exposing organized deforestation. Earlier this year, midwife Duong Thi Thu Thuy collected data and evidence accusing Nguyen Duc Dao, Head of the Ha Lam Town Health Station (Thang Binh District, Quang Nam Province), of embezzling nearly 100 million VND, arbitrarily opening training courses to pocket over 10 million VND, and forging the signature of the Director of the District Health Center. Immediately, the Chairman of the Ha Lam Town People's Committee, along with several others at the town's health station, signed a document titled "Request for the Return of Personnel" sent to the Thang Binh District Health Center and the Ha Lam Town People's Committee, stating that Ms. Thuy should be returned to the District Health Center because the station had an excess of midwives.
This is clearly an act of retaliation against those who fight corruption. It involves covering up and protecting wrongdoing by officials and party members in positions of power. Many similar cases occur elsewhere but remain unexposed. Looking at this, who can still feel secure and confident in fighting corruption? Furthermore, when discovered and brought to justice, the sentences for this crime are often very light, disproportionate to the consequences, further discouraging the public. This leads to a situation where people know about and witness corruption but dare not report it. This is especially true for state officials and civil servants, who are even more afraid to fight for fear of retaliation, losing their positions and power, or affecting the collective achievements… Meanwhile, the retaliatory tactics of corrupt individuals are very sophisticated and cunning. They exploit the state administrative mechanism, the principle of democratic centralism in party and mass organization activities, and use "gangster" forces to suppress and prevent anti-corruption activists in order to prolong the resolution of cases, destroy evidence, downplay the cases, bury them, isolate, neutralize, or even eliminate anti-corruption activists to evade punishment.
Therefore, for the people to truly join hands in preventing and combating corruption, specific mechanisms and policies are essential. But whatever the mechanism or policy, the main thing is to make the people feel secure and confident when declaring war against corruption. Without building trust among the people, it will never attract their participation. Even though everyone knows that corruption hinders socio-economic development, increases poverty, weakens healthcare and education systems, undermines democracy, and exacerbates injustice and inequality, building firm trust among the people in the fight against corruption is the most crucial step in attracting their participation.
Duy Huong
