Reflecting on President Ho Chi Minh's words on self-criticism and criticism in the press.

On June 9th, the Central Party Office issued Document No. 1200-CV/VPTU to relevant agencies, requesting them to implement the directive of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to clarify and conclude on the information reported in the press concerning Trinh Xuan Thanh, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hau Giang province, related to a news article that has attracted considerable attention from officials, Party members, and the public.

The issue is not just about using and relabeling private vehicles as official vehicles, but more importantly, the subsequent rotation and appointment of officials, particularly regarding Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh, raises questions that need clarification. This case further highlights the crucial role of the press in uncovering and reporting the opinions of officials and the public on negative and questionable practices, as well as grievances in daily life, so that organizations, agencies, units, and localities can investigate, verify, and address them.

More importantly, the General Secretary directed that the matter be publicly disclosed through the mass media immediately after it was handed over to the relevant authorities for investigation and clarification of right and wrong. This issue was raised precisely on the occasion of the 91st anniversary of Vietnam's Revolutionary Press Day, contributing to motivating and encouraging press agencies, journalists, and reporters to be more active in the fight against negative phenomena and to not fear that the discoveries and reports of the people will be met with silence.

Thirty years ago, General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh sharply criticized what he called "the terrifying silence" to attack the "stronghold" of bureaucracy, corruption, waste, and negative practices. "The terrifying silence" refers to the silence of those in positions of power who collude, evade responsibility, and cover up for each other to engage in corruption, waste, and negative practices... "The terrifying silence" also refers to the silence of the people, of those who are proactive, in the face of blatant wrongdoing and negative practices evident to them and to everyone else.

This directive from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is perhaps also a step to awaken the phenomenon of silence and alleviate the fear of being criticized in the press in our country in recent times. This is also consistent with the guiding principles and advice of President Ho Chi Minh 66 years ago. In issue 109 of the newspaper "Su That" (Truth), published on April 15, 1949, there was an article titled "Bitter medicine cures the disease, telling the truth offends" by the author LT (pseudonym of President Ho Chi Minh), which discussed how some officials thought that publicly criticizing their shortcomings would be harmful because:

"The enemy will exploit this for counter-propaganda,"
- Reduce the authority of organizations and the government.
- It humiliates the official who committed the mistake.
- A superficial internal critique is sufficient.
That was a misunderstanding. That was being sick and afraid of medicine. That was not understanding the meaning and power of criticism."

President Ho Chi Minh pointed out how to prevent the enemy from engaging in counter-propaganda. He stated, "There is nothing better than avoiding mistakes and correcting them." He also affirmed, "If mistakes have been made, then even if we try to cover them up, people will still know." He further asserted, "A government or organization that conceals the mistakes of its officials is a 'weak' and 'regressive' government or organization." A government or organization that has the courage to clearly point out the mistakes of its officials and has methods to correct them will not only maintain its prestige but will also increase it.

"Any official who does not dare to openly admit their shortcomings, who fears criticism from colleagues and the people, and who lacks the courage to correct their mistakes, is unworthy of being an official." He emphasized: "Criticism must come from both above and below. Criticism from superiors is not enough. Criticism from comrades and colleagues is not enough. We must also welcome criticism from the masses for criticism to be complete." President Ho Chi Minh advocated that all officials, from top to bottom, must "compete in correcting shortcomings and developing strengths."

On July 31, 1952, the Nhan Dan newspaper published an article titled "Combating Bureaucracy, Corruption, and Waste" by CB (the pen name of President Ho Chi Minh), which also discussed the state of self-criticism and criticism in the press at that time. The article stated: "Recently, the people and the press have begun (albeit hesitantly and sparsely) to criticize. However, the organizations or agencies being criticized remain silent, do not publish self-criticism in the newspaper, and do not seek to correct their mistakes. This is an attitude of 'closing one's eyes and catching birds,' an attitude of 'hiding the disease and fearing medicine,' an attitude that is neither honest nor proper. We hope that those individuals and agencies that have been criticized by the people or the press will honestly self-criticize before the people and in the press."

According to Hanoimoi