Because the people's teeth are not speaking.

(Baonghean) - In the past, meetings and discussions would be heated, with many opinions and contributions aimed at finding the most optimal solution. These tense meetings served to reach a consensus on action, clarifying abilities, understanding, and a sense of responsibility. Today, meetings are often silent, making it difficult to assess people's talent, incompetence, and character.

It's a fact that very few people participate and speak up at meetings. In community meetings, the chairperson usually raises an issue, explains a few points, and then invites the participants to speak. The meeting falls silent for a moment and then unanimously agrees, as if it were a report or assessment. If any opinions are expressed, they are usually just repetitions of points from the report or praise of achievements; there are few opinions that further analyze the issues, and even fewer criticisms or questions. If this is the case in meetings, then in daily life, criticism or suggestions are even rarer, with everyone remaining silent and letting things pass.

From silent meetings, lacking constructive criticism and feedback, and failing to identify and correct mistakes, to a situation where minor issues escalate into major problems, with superiors unaware of the need for corrective action. People remain silent during meetings, but engage in heated discussions and commotion outside of them. When voting, people raise their hands in agreement but harbor resentment; high levels of agreement but lack consensus, resulting in ineffective implementation and even chaos.

In the struggle for democracy, the fighting spirit of cadres, Party members, and civil servants is severely diminished. There are also many cases where, for the sake of the collective good, those who want to criticize wrongdoing and defend what is right are retaliated against, or are not supported or protected, further stifling their fighting spirit. Furthermore, there are many leaders who, despite calling for contributions and criticism, harbor ulterior motives; anyone foolish enough to speak out against wrongdoing risks being severely punished and facing trouble with their superiors. In many places, democracy is merely a formality; discussions take place, but the superiors make all the decisions. Over time, this becomes a habit, and any suggestions from colleagues are useless! As President Ho Chi Minh taught: To get the people to "speak up," cadres must be completely impartial, respect opinions, and sincerely make corrections. There's a proverb that says, "Knowing something but not telling it is inhumane; knowing something but not telling it clearly so that it can be corrected is unjust." This allows small mistakes to accumulate into big ones, leading to legal trouble and eroding the people's trust in the Party and the regime.

We are implementing Resolution No. 4 of the 11th Central Committee on "Urgent Issues in Party Building Today." I believe that for the resolution to succeed, in addition to the Party's resolute stance, the participation and input of the people are crucial. Besides organizational measures, the courage of the people is essential. If we continue with the current policy of "silence is golden," the resolution will certainly fail.

The question arises: why are the people not speaking up? This raises the need to re-examine whether democracy at the local level is merely a formality, which is why the people are not speaking out...?

Integrity