General Secretary: "It hurts when morality declines"

On April 10, General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong met with representatives of the Presidium of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Thanking the Front members for their contributions, he said that "the country has never had the foundation, potential and position like today."

"The first reason is thanks to the high solidarity and unity within the Party and the highest agencies. Every month, key leaders meet, frankly consider and agree on the upcoming program," he said.

Accepting the opinions of delegates attending the meeting, especially the opinion of "both fighting and building", the General Secretary emphasized that Vietnam is takingbuildis basic,againstis important.

"No one likes discipline, but discipline is to warn and deter, so that those who are involved can correct their mistakes," said the General Secretary, adding that recently, a series of regulations have been issued, such as regulations on setting an example, against buying positions, power, and degrees...

He believes that familiar relationships and group interests are being prevented by mechanisms and policies, not just by trial. Development also takes the economy as the center, Party building as the key, culture as the foundation, national defense and security are important...

However, with the information on the internet, the General Secretary feels very sorry when morality is degraded. "Morality is the spiritual foundation. The more market economy, the more attention must be paid to preserving culture, that is the nature of socialism," he said.

Answering the question of whether the socialist orientation has faded, the General Secretary said that Vietnam has always been steadfast in following socialism, innovating but not changing its color, having many economic sectors but must move towards socialism. He informed that two days ago, the Document Subcommittee met to prepare for the 13th Party Congress, requiring that the platform must be steadfast, no one is allowed to say or do anything against the platform.

"The state economy is the mainstay, the private economy is an important driving force, economic sectors must be equal, independent, autonomous but internationally integrated, integrated but not dissolved," said the General Secretary.

Moving towards the 13th Party Congress, the General Secretary said he will accept all contributions from veteran cadres, from power control mechanisms to control and supervision to prevent abuse of power and corruption of people.

Regarding the issue of religion, the General Secretary said the Party and State always create conditions for religions to develop. However, religions must not allow negative phenomena such as selling gods and saints to occur.

Previously, President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man said that people across the country were excited about the results achieved in Party building and rectification and believed in the Party and State's determination to fight corruption. Many serious corruption cases have been strictly handled, without any "no-go zones", creating trust among the people.

Mr. Nguyen Tuc, Chairman of the Cultural and Social Advisory Council of the Front, said that the similarity of recent cases involving high-ranking officials is that they all violated the principle of democratic centralism, so it is necessary to supervise party members who are key officials in carrying out their exemplary responsibilities.

Professor Tran Ngoc Duong suggested that it is necessary to continue to build and further strengthen the mechanism of power control. "Public opinion wants the Party to strengthen its control of political power, otherwise it will be manipulated by the heads of local Party committees and authorities," Professor Duong warned.

Sharing more about foreign affairs, the General Secretary affirmed that Vietnam is ready to be a friend and reliable partner with all countries. In 2015, when he visited the US, the world said "20 years ago, no one could have imagined that today at the White House in the US, there would be a very interesting meeting between the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the President of the US - two countries that once considered each other as enemies".

Recently, President Donald Trump also visited Vietnam twice at the 2017 APEC Conference and the US-North Korea Summit at the end of February 2019.

The North Korean leader was also surprised by the warm welcome. Through contact, Mr. Kim Jong-un felt safe in Vietnam, so he changed, became more open and trusting. When saying goodbye to the General Secretary, he hugged, shook hands, got into the car, opened the window and waved goodbye.

"These are some specific examples that further demonstrate Vietnam's increasingly enhanced image in the international arena," said the General Secretary.