'Regardless of whether they are the children of officials or commoners, is promotion to a higher position always done properly?'

It's not about how quickly or slowly someone gets promoted, whether they're from a privileged background or an ordinary citizen, but rather whether you're making the appointments correctly and accurately.

VOV.VN interviewed Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc, former Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children of the National Assembly.

PV:Over the past period, many irregularities in personnel management have been announced, dealt with, and recommendations for disciplinary action have been made by the Central Disciplinary Committee. Sir, do you think that personnel management in the past period still has many issues that need to be re-evaluated?

Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc:In every era, the issue of people, of cadres, is extremely important. From the very beginning of the revolution, President Ho Chi Minh paid great attention to this matter. At Party Congresses, this work has also been set as one of the important tasks. The 4th Plenum of the 12th Central Committee also affirmed that "cadre work is the key of all keys."

Following the conclusions of the Central Disciplinary Committee in the recent past, we Party members are very pleased that the Party and the State have recognized and correctly identified the "problem" and are resolutely addressing it. However, we are also saddened that violations in personnel work are too widespread, occurring at every level, in every sector, and in every locality.

Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc, former Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children of the National Assembly.

It can be said that in personnel management, we have accomplished much, but the effectiveness has been limited. Everywhere seems to follow the correct procedures, yet so many violations occur. So what are the loopholes in personnel management? If we cannot identify and address them, then all other issues will remain merely theoretical, because personnel management is the key to everything, and in the current context, it is even more crucial.

PV:Given the numerous cases of misconduct by officials discovered recently, many of those involved are children, acquaintances, or were appointed "rapidly"... What are your thoughts on this?

Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc:In my opinion, we shouldn't differentiate between children of influential families and those who aren't, or between rapid and slow progress. Fast progress is fine, rapid progress is fine, slow progress is fine, but ultimately, what should be the result?

In the past, we made the mistake of differentiating between the children of landlords and the children of wealthy farmers, and as a result, many talented people were not appreciated. So, if we now differentiate between the children of officials, we will repeat the same mistakes.

We shouldn't discriminate based on background, but rather focus on the process of advancement. We shouldn't be concerned with whether someone rises quickly or slowly. Truly talented and virtuous individuals should be appointed early to encourage and utilize their abilities. If we always follow the strict process of starting as a team leader, deputy head of department, etc., and gradually climbing the ranks within three years, then by the time they reach senior positions, they will be at least 50-60 years old. Meanwhile, many countries don't base appointments on age; in some countries, people become presidents by the age of 40.

In my opinion, the issue isn't about speed of promotion, nepotism, or being an ordinary citizen, but whether the appointments were made correctly and accurately. Therefore, responsibility should lie with those who committed the wrongdoing and those who recommended and appointed them.

Since feudal times, the nominator and the nominee had to share a common ground; if there was merit, the reward was shared, but if there was wrongdoing, both had to bear responsibility. So, in the case of the wrongdoing of Da Nang Party Secretary Nguyen Xuan Anh, could he have risen to that position on his own, or did he need someone to introduce and nominate him?

PVAs you just mentioned, what kind of process is needed to appoint truly talented and virtuous people so as not to cause public resentment that "children and grandchildren of influential people" are given preferential treatment over "ordinary citizens"?

Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc:Public outrage is not unfounded. The reason it's so quick is that when someone can jump 1 meter, they're assigned to jump 1.5 meters. That's too fast, too reckless. And when someone can jump 1.5 meters but is assigned to jump 1.3 meters simply because they're underage, that also hinders talent development. Therefore, there needs to be a mechanism to train and promote cadres quickly, the faster the better.

Living under a socialist regime, everyone is equal, receiving the same education, having the same training environment, and those who meet the criteria should be promoted. But I emphasize that promotion should be based on established standards.

Equality is impossible; we've been practicing egalitarianism for too long, and we've suffered from poverty because of it. We cannot suppress exceptionally talented people; we must create conditions for them to develop their abilities.

But exceptional talent and exceptionally rapid promotion require a special review process. For example, promotion according to the proper procedure involves several levels, but for exceptional promotion, which additional levels are required must be clearly defined, such as adding 2-3 more levels of review.

Now that it's the 21st century, we must utilize talent in ways like this. Only then will we have young cadres. Otherwise, if we follow the traditional procedures, people will only be able to get promoted at 55 and their term will end after only 5 years. The fact that officials serve only one term sometimes creates a mentality of focusing solely on their term in office.

Therefore, personnel management needs significant innovation—decisive and genuine innovation—not driven by outdated thinking, herd mentality, or community bias. There are realities that give rise to this mentality, such as people being promoted to deputy or head of department without ever having held a managerial position. How can they manage effectively under such circumstances? What criteria should be used to determine talent? It must be based on practical experience, not academic qualifications.

PV:As you just said, there are special mechanisms and procedures to encourage exceptionally talented people. Therefore, those who violate the rules, regardless of their rank, must be dealt with strictly and fairly, as a normal part of personnel management, to avoid the deeply ingrained mentality of "once you're up there, it's hard to come down" that exists today?

Mr. Nguyen Viet Chuc:In the process of appointing officials, it is essential to follow the correct procedures, and these procedures must be genuine and adhere to the correct criteria. Especially now that the Politburo has issued regulations on criteria for appointing officials, appointments and promotions must be based on those criteria, not on background.

And of course, once someone is promoted, they must continue to strive and improve. If, at some point, they don't strive enough or don't meet the standards, they must be demoted; it's not the case that once they've been promoted, they can't be demoted.

Even the children and grandchildren of influential people, when they commit wrongdoings such as using fake diplomas, violating regulations in appointing officials, making promises that don't match their actions, etc., must be criticized and punished.

I am very interested in the opinion of the National Assembly's Law Committee that there should be a comprehensive review. This year is the year of grassroots congresses, so a nationwide and Party-wide review should be conducted, and there should be a reminder from the Central Committee that if any Party branch or Party committee makes mistakes, not only should the offending cadre be disciplined, but the entire Party committee should also be subject to appropriate disciplinary action. These forms of disciplinary action must be closely linked to ensure seriousness.

PVThank you, sir.

According to VOV