General Secretary, President and the fire of compassion to destroy 'internal invaders'

Perhaps now, Vietnamese people are no longer unfamiliar with the rhetorical expressions “lighting a fire”, “lighting the furnace”, “dry wood”, “fresh wood”… - when they are used to talk about the uncompromising fight against corruption launched and vigorously directed by General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong over the past 3 years.

The struggle, which initially had doubts, but as time went on, its motives, goals and signals became clearer. It was a life-and-death struggle with all the heart and soul of the entire Party and people to completely destroy the "internal invaders", for the goal of making the Party clean and the Country strong.

It can be said that the fight against corruption has never been talked about as much as it is now. Because everyone understands that corruption is an "internal enemy" - a great disaster that depletes resources, weakens the nation's pillars, and corrupts the ethics of party members - those who are trusted and loved by the people because of their pure ethics, selflessness for the people and the country.

More than anyone else, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has seen the danger of the corruption pandemic, and with all his courage and careful calculation, has raised the flag of eliminating corruption and abuse of power.

Someone may like or dislike the way some newspapers talk about “The Great Furnace - Nguyen Phu Trong”, someone may have initially had many comments and expressed doubts about its feasibility, but clearly, the corruption furnace lit by the Party leader, after 3 years of drastic action, along with the cooperation of the entire population, has had a satisfactory answer.

5 incumbent Central Committee members were disciplined

News from the 9th Central Committee Conference in the last days of 2018 excited the people. Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tat Thanh Cang - the 5th incumbent Central Committee member to be disciplined and the 3rd among them to be expelled from the Central Committee.

Since the beginning of the 12th term, in less than 3 years, more than 60 officials under the Central Committee's management have been disciplined - an unprecedented number, clearly demonstrating the effectiveness of the Party's fight against corruption.

40 cases and 500 defendants out of nearly 60 corruption cases have been brought to trial with severe and satisfactory sentences. Since the beginning of the term, 21 cases have been tried at first instance with 263 defendants, of which 3 defendants were sentenced to death and 9 to life imprisonment.

Pham Cong Danh, Dinh La Thang, Trinh Xuan Thanh, Ha Van Tham, Phan Van Anh Vu, Tram Be, Tran Phuong Binh, Phan Van Vinh, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Bui Van Thanh, Tran Viet Tan... Then there are the names that were once famous and have just been arrested, such as Tran Bac Ha... The list of corrupt worms related to banks and land that have been exposed keeps getting longer and longer and shows no signs of stopping.

That shows that the Party leader's furnace-burning campaign is fierce and determined, but cannot be retreated because of temporary difficulties. Criminals must be punished by law, and corrupt assets must be recovered for the country and the people.

After just over half of the term, the number of corruption cases brought to trial has tripled and the amount of money recovered has increased 40 times over the past 20 years.

The “Great Furnace Man” lit the furnace burning with the fire of conscience and justice, determined to destroy the pandemic of corruption and abuse of power. That fierce fighting spirit gradually restored people’s trust in a clean, non-corrupt, and devoted ruling party for the country and the people.

Cannot not cut out the abscess

Although we know that disciplining and prosecuting former comrades is extremely difficult and painful, for the sake of a healthy body, we cannot help but cut off what is already a festering sore.

Not only former leaders of corporations and large banks, but also a number of leaders and former high-ranking leaders of the Party and State, National Assembly deputies, Armed Forces Heroes, Labor Heroes, and even those in fields considered "sensitive" such as the police and army, if involved in corruption, have faced and are facing the law.

Obviously, the Party's fight against corruption has no forbidden zones and no exceptions. Anyone, once their hands are dirty, must be severely punished.

It is difficult to expect a state that is completely free of corruption. It is just that it is limited as much as possible. Because power and abuse of power always go together. Abuse of power for corruption is the most common behavior of those in positions of authority in the leadership.

The clean hands campaign initiated and directly directed by the head of our Party and State, the furnace of corruption must continue to burn brightly with the fire from the patriotic heart of each person. And we must find a way to prevent the "woodenization" of officials, especially leaders.

Van Thieng