Why is it necessary to set the task of building the Party on moral foundations?

According to Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha, the 12th Party Congress set the task of building the Party on moral foundations because the decline in morality among a segment of cadres and Party members still persists.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha, former Director of the Party Organization Department (Central Organization Committee), commented that after 30 years of reform, our country has achieved tremendous achievements of historical significance in many aspects, but there are still many challenges that require further strong and profound reforms.

Nguyen Duc Ha - former Director of the Department of Party Organizations (Central Organization Committee).

Thirty years of national reform have yielded tremendous achievements.

PV:After 30 years of reform, how would you assess the outstanding achievements that our Party has accomplished?

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha:Looking back at 30 years of reform, it is clear that, under the leadership of the Party, we have overcome numerous difficulties and challenges to successfully carry out the country's reform process. As the 12th Party Congress assessed, over the past 30 years of reform, we have achieved tremendous achievements of historical significance in many aspects: political stability, socio-economic development, national security and defense not only maintained but also strengthened, the people's living standards have continuously improved, and our country's position in the international arena has continuously been enhanced.

In the early years of the reform period, when the socialist system, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics collapsed…we completely lost the aid of socialist countries and at that time we had to walk on our own two feet, while those “feet” were extremely thin, malnourished, and weak.

The difficulties at that time seemed insurmountable, but our Party overcame them, reorganized its ranks, strengthened its organization, and stood firm to continue leading the reform process forward. Entering the reform process, the Party identified economic development as the central task and Party building as the key task. Throughout the past six Party Congresses, not a single Congress document failed to emphasize Party building. In every term, the Central Committee issued resolutions and conclusions on Party building. This is a consistent ideology and viewpoint of our Party from the beginning of the reform process to the present day. Therefore, the Party has continuously grown stronger, capable of leading the revolution forward.

PV:Looking back at the Sixth Party Congress (1986), many experts believe that the most important innovation in the Party is innovation in thinking, especially creating a democratic atmosphere within the Party, innovation linked to Party rectification, implementing the spirit of facing the truth squarely, and accurately assessing the truth… What are your comments on these assessments?

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha:The Sixth Party Congress initiated the reform process because, given the global situation, without reform, we would not be able to survive and develop. From the reform perspective of the Sixth Party Congress, we were able to look directly at the truth, assess the truth accurately, speak the whole truth, and clearly identify weaknesses and their causes in order to overcome them. This is a very significant and important perspective that subsequent Party Congresses have continued to develop.

In the process of reform, the Party determined that reform must be comprehensive, but first and foremost, it must involve reforming thinking. Reforming thinking is crucial because for so many years we lived under a centralized, bureaucratic, and subsidized system, rising from a backward, semi-feudal agricultural country. Therefore, feudal mentality, small-scale production ideology, and remnants of the old regime still persist heavily. It is precisely because of this reform of thinking that our Party dares to look directly at the truth, speak the truth clearly, overcome shortcomings, and promote strengths, enabling the Party to continuously grow stronger, capable of leading the country through many difficulties and challenges, and bringing the reform process to the success it enjoys today.

Building the Party on the basis of morality.

PV:Our Party has always affirmed that Party building is a key task, with particular emphasis on building morality within the Party. In the current situation, what specific actions should be taken to demonstrate the building of morality within the Party, sir?

Mr. Nguyen Duc Ha:Building the Party on ethical foundations is a new task set forth by the 12th Party Congress. The current goal of Party building is to build a clean and strong Party in terms of politics, ideology, organization, and ethics.

Why did the 12th Party Congress set the task of building the Party on moral foundations? Because, as the 12th Party Congress pointed out, the decline in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle among a significant number of cadres and Party members still persists, has not been prevented or reversed, and the manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party are becoming increasingly complex.

Based on that reality, the 12th Party Congress added the content of building the Party on ethics. Along with that, we must closely combine it with the implementation of Directive 05 of the Politburo on promoting the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's thought, ethics, and style. This is a very important ideological foundation for cadres and Party members. Therefore, building the Party on ethics is about establishing mechanisms and relationships between individual Party members, between Party members and Party organizations, and between Party organizations themselves, reflecting the relationship between the Party and the people.

Therefore, the entire Party is currently studying Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality, and style to make our Party increasingly clean and strong. Depending on each person's job and position, studying the thought, morality, and style of Uncle Ho should become a regular, daily practice for every cadre and Party member.

Personnel management is the "key" of "keys".

PV:Throughout the revolutionary leadership process, our Party has always paid attention to personnel work and identified the building of a cadre of officials as a particularly important task, one that is decisive to the success or failure of the revolution. Regarding recent controversies surrounding personnel work, such as the Trinh Xuan Thanh case, what specific requirements, in your opinion, should be set for personnel work in the future?

Mr. Nguyen Duc HaGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has repeatedly affirmed that while Party building is a key task, personnel work is the "key" of "keys." In recent years, we have strived to make many innovations in various aspects of personnel work to ensure democracy, openness, and transparency, with the ultimate goal of selecting the right people with virtue and talent. We have also overcome some shortcomings and weaknesses and achieved some progress in personnel work.

However, recently, the issue of personnel management has been causing public outrage due to the prevalence of bribery for positions, power, transfers, and planning by nepotism, with the Trinh Xuan Thanh case being a prime example.

When certain incidents cause public outrage, some people say that personnel work was carried out according to proper procedures. However, in cases that generate public outcry and media outrage, it's impossible for the procedures to have been followed correctly.

I believe the process itself is not flawed; the problem lies with those implementing the process, who have either failed to follow it correctly or distorted it, failing to ensure transparency and openness. This relates to a crucial observation made by our Party: the degeneration of a segment of cadres and Party members. Resolution No. 4 of the 12th Central Committee requires immediate inspection, supervision, and review of all cases of cadres that are causing public concern, and strict handling of cases involving appointments that do not meet standards and procedures.

To effectively manage personnel, many factors are involved. First and foremost, there must be a process that ensures openness, democracy, transparency, and rigorous implementation; those involved in personnel management must be truly democratic, impartial, objective, and genuinely committed to the common good.

It can be said that before the reform period, the process was not as rigorous as it is now, but the selection process was still successful. The current weaknesses in Party building in general and personnel work in particular stem from the most direct, primary, and fundamental cause: cadres and Party members lack consistent self-cultivation and training in revolutionary qualities. This leads to the development of individualism, resulting in a pragmatic and self-serving lifestyle. Therefore, the first priority must be to focus on combating degeneration within the Party.

To effectively carry out personnel work, many aspects must be combined, emphasizing both political and ideological education and upholding Party discipline and State laws. Therefore, the guiding principle for implementing Resolution No. 4 of the 12th Central Committee is to closely combine construction and combating corruption, taking construction as the fundamental, long-term strategic task, while simultaneously prioritizing combating corruption as an important and urgent immediate task. This must also uphold Party discipline and State laws, and promptly and strictly handle seriously corrupt collectives and individuals.

PVThank you, sir.

According to VOV