Culture of resignation!
Currently, the National Assembly is discussing the methods and procedures for taking a vote of confidence and a vote of no confidence for positions elected or approved by the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels. There are two options being discussed by National Assembly deputies: either taking a vote of confidence for all elected or approved positions (430 at the Central level, 50 to 65 at the provincial level, 20 to 30 at the district level, and 5 to 7 at the communal level) or only taking a vote of confidence for key officials (49 at the Central level, 20 at the provincial level, 12 at the district level, and 7 at the communal level).
(Baonghean) -Currently, the National Assembly is discussing the methods and procedures for taking a vote of confidence and a vote of no confidence for positions elected or approved by the National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels. There are two options being discussed by National Assembly deputies: either taking a vote of confidence for all elected or approved positions (430 at the Central level, 50 to 65 at the provincial level, 20 to 30 at the district level, and 5 to 7 at the communal level) or only taking a vote of confidence for key officials (49 at the Central level, 20 at the provincial level, 12 at the district level, and 7 at the communal level).
According to the opinion of National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung, this procedure will be carried out in 2 steps: One is to take a vote of confidence to probe, then a vote of confidence or no confidence will be held to decide the position of that official! Many delegates believe that taking a vote of confidence is the opening step for the period of resignation culture to form in our political life. Those delegates said that when an official receives a very low vote of confidence, he should resign to preserve his honor, and should not wait until the National Assembly or the People's Council has to make a mandatory request to resign! It seems that this idea is very good, but there is still room for discussion. Resignation is the attitude of a person who is entrusted with power and authority in the face of the changing reality of life. It often goes hand in hand with self-respect and a cultured way of expressing it. There are many reasons for a decision to resign, not simply the ability or capacity to complete the task.
Does Vietnam have a culture of resignation? The answer is yes! Vietnam not only has a culture of resignation but also a “culture of abdicating the throne” since the Ly Dynasty, the Tran Dynasty and even later periods! Nguyen Trai, Tran Nguyen Han, Chu Van An, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Nguyen Khuyen… are all officials who resigned one after another at different times in the history of the feudal regime. I don’t know where or when we stopped considering resignation as a cultured behavior. On the contrary, we associated it with political dissatisfaction and discontent, so that no one dared to resign anymore! When no one dared to resign anymore, we foolishly said that Vietnam did not have a “culture of resignation”! What a vicious circle. So now, if we want to have a culture of resignation, we must first consider resignation as a normal thing, a healthy thing in administrative culture. The person who resigns must be considered by the people as a person of good character, worthy of honor and respect. Not all Vietnamese officials are greedy for power and position! If the view of society changes, we can believe that the attitude of officials will change a lot in implementing the culture of resignation, because the culture of resignation is not unfamiliar to our superior cultural tradition.
Back to the issue of “voting confidence”. Some delegates said that those who receive low confidence votes should resign to preserve their honor! Actually, that is not the case! There are many reasons why an official receives low confidence votes because he/she fails to complete the assigned tasks, such as health, old age, sudden family circumstances, accidents, unexpected disasters... Such people have nothing to call dishonorable! However, when an official with a low confidence vote resigns, I am afraid that the resignation no longer has much positive meaning! The culture of resignation always goes hand in hand with self-respect and the desire to have a worthy successor so that the work handed over to others becomes better every day. Holding a position or resigning is only for one purpose: to do a good job for the people and the country!
Thach Quy (Vinh City)