Why is the state of 'moral and ideological degradation' getting worse?

A large number of "degenerate" cadres are due to the situation of not doing their job thoroughly because of "the disease of favoritism", which even turns into covering up for each other.

"Why is there concern in society that we cannot find the "not small number of party members and cadres with moral and ideological degradation"? It is in each person, in each organization, where else? Not having the courage to look straight at the truth, being respectful and covering up the truth will limit effectiveness" - Professor Hoang Chi Bao, former member of the Central Theoretical Council emphasized.

PV: Resolution 4 of the 12th Central Committee emphasized the degradation of a significant number of cadres and Party members. This situation has not only been raised now, but 5 years ago, Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee also emphasized this issue. What is your assessment of the results achieved after 5 years of implementing Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee?

Professor Hoang Chi Bao:Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee is a historic Resolution which, when issued, was very popular with the people and the Party. The entire Party and the entire people expected that Resolution. The Resolution talks about urgent matters in Party building, specifically the need to prevent and overcome the state of degradation, degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle of a significant number of cadres and Party members.

Professor Hoang Chi Bao, former member of the Central Theoretical Council (photo: Vu Toan)

During the past 5 years, what we have accomplished and what we have not accomplished, our Party has evaluated in the 12th Party Congress, in addition to the Political Report, there is also a review report on Party building, including how to implement Resolution 4 of the Central Committee, the Central Committee's report was very clear, transparent, comprehensive, bringing common awareness to the whole Party and the whole people. Here we can emphasize a few points, including the fact that Resolution 4 of the Central Committee, Session XI, contributed to awakening, warning, and deterrence.

The state of degradation is somewhat serious as our Party has recognized, from the effects and significance of the Resolution, as well as the implementation of this Resolution in recent years, the Party has gradually consolidated its organization and force. Obviously, it has also gradually contributed to preventing degradation, even severe degradations that are so serious that they lead to crimes, have been handled in the Court.

The second thing is that through this Resolution, we also gradually raise the sense of responsibility for each Party organization, cadre and Party member, raise the awareness of the people in proactively and actively building the Party. Uncle Ho said that we rely on the people to build the Party, the people are the masters but the people have the obligations of the masters, one of which is that the people must help keep their Party clean and strong.

The voice of the people in the 5 years of implementing the Resolution has been expressed, from the grassroots to all localities in the country, the people's comments are very sincere, profound, even with strict criticisms and also with goodwill recommendations, just hoping for our Party to be clean and strong. It started not only in the Party, but also in public opinion, among the people. Especially for generations of long-time Party members in the Party, veteran Party members, those who have experienced life through war, worried about the fate of the country, the fate of the Party, this Resolution received their special attention and attracted a consensus among the people, within the Party in implementing the Party's Resolution.

Another achievement is that along with the implementation of the Resolution, we have closely linked learning and following Uncle Ho. At first, we emphasized learning from Uncle Ho's example, but now we emphasize learning and following Uncle Ho's ideology, morality and style. By linking the study of Ho Chi Minh's legacy with Party building, we have raised the awareness of Party members and people, as well as consolidated the Party's spiritual foundation, helping to closely connect the solidarity between the Party and the people, especially when the Party has issued a Resolution on mass mobilization in the new situation. The relationship between the Party and the people is a blood relationship, building the culture of the Vietnamese people makes the Party truly moral and civilized as Uncle Ho said.

"Self-evolution" in each person, in each organization

PV: In the Resolution of the 12th Central Committee, our Party continues to emphasize the serious level of ideological and moral degradation among a number of Party members and cadres, specifically pointing out 27 manifestations of ideological and moral degradation. Can you tell us why this situation has not been pushed back after 5 years, but has become more complicated?

Professor Hoang Chi Bao:We have implemented many contents of the Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee, however, there are also many things that have not been done, weaknesses and limitations. First is the lack of thoroughness. The Resolution is very correct, but when implemented, it is not thorough.

Why not thoroughly and half-heartedly do it because we cannot escape the so-called "disease of favoritism", "favoritism", "formality", and in many places it has even turned into mutual cover-up. Therefore, the Party clearly stated that "a not small number of cadres have degraded".

Why is there a concern in society that the part cannot be found, it is in each person, in each organization, where else? Not having the courage to look straight at the truth, being respectful and covering up the truth will limit effectiveness.

Another point is that after 5 years of implementing this Resolution, people's trust has not been restored to the level we desire, especially after the 12th Congress, there have been many negative phenomena exposed in the press and in public opinion, making our torment about how the people and the Party are still an unresolved existence.

The clearest criterion to evaluate if the Party is clean and strong, if the Resolution of the 4th Central Committee is strictly implemented, is to cure the disease of bureaucracy and corruption. Bureaucracy is still very heavy, far from the people from the grassroots to the Central, everywhere there are signs of being far from the people. Far from the people is not understanding the people's lives, not being reasonable and sympathetic to the people. From work life, traffic, pollution, then the negative situation in the issue of cadres that makes people ache, the appointment of family, relatives, to the point that people even use money to buy positions, buy power, buy medals, buy rotation... as our Party admits.

Those backlogs have not been resolved. That is due to insufficient awareness and unsynchronized actions, so even when corruption has been discovered and dealt with in time, the final answer that people expect, which is the recovery of corrupt assets, has not been achieved.

All of that shows that although the Resolution of the 11th Central Committee, 4th Session, is very correct, the organization and direction of implementation is not good, one can say not thorough, so there are still many limitations. Therefore, at the 12th Congress, our Party must openly admit that in reality, because of such shortcomings, the Party is not truly clean and strong. Such awareness is a very strict self-criticism.

20 years ago, at the 7th Congress, our Party admitted that although our Party is large, it is not strong. All of these things show that there are still many problems in implementation, so we must continue to implement it in this 12th term and at the same time, the Politburo and the Central Committee continue to have new Directives and Resolutions. The Politburo has Directive 05 on studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh, considering this an important measure in Party building and rectification. The recent 4th Central Committee not only emphasized the fight against degradation but also against self-evolution and self-transformation.

Preventing self-evolution and self-transformation is a vital solution.

PV: Party building continues to be emphasized in Resolution 4 of the 12th Central Committee. What is your comment on emphasizing this in the current situation?

ProfessorHoang Chi Bao: Fighting against self-evolution and self-transformation internally, which encompasses all, is fighting against degradation, which the Party emphasizes in the current situation, is very correct and very necessary, because the degradation is very serious and widespread.

Second, our country has entered a new period of development, a period of promoting international integration. A period of transforming an agricultural country into an industrial one. A period of maintaining independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity is a sacred issue.

In such a situation, the Party's responsibility is even greater, its responsibilities are even heavier, the historical mission that the nation and people assign to the Party is more than ever to protect the Party, to make the Party clean and strong, to protect the regime which in essence is to protect the people.

Therefore, this time the Resolution clearly states, critically assesses the current situation, meticulously identifies all manifestations of self-degradation and self-evolution within the Party with a system of 27 manifestations, along with viewpoints and solutions, especially large groups of solutions for us to rectify the situation, which is very necessary. Consider this a strategic solution of vital nature, whether the revolution succeeds or fails, whether the goal is achieved or not, whether the cause is preserved or not? The importance of this Resolution issued by the Party has such meaning.

PVSir, in Party building, the content of building ethics in the Party has also been mentioned many times by our Party in the Resolution of the 12th Party Congress and the Resolution of the 4th Central Committee. To carry out this task well, in your opinion, what specific solutions do we need?

ProfessorHoang Chi Bao:The issue of ethics in the Party, especially when the Party is in power, is very important. Why did Uncle Ho define the Party as ethics and civilization? For a long time in the past, when talking about Party building, we often emphasized three areas: politics, ideology and organization.

That is true but not enough and the 12th Congress, in such a situation, emphasized for the first time the building of the Party in terms of ethics. The content of building the Party in terms of ethics enriches the content of building the Party.

Building the Party in terms of ethics reflects the current situation that the Party must be morally clean to be worthy of being the ruling leader. Therefore, many measures have been proposed to implement them, which we are implementing and will continue to implement in the long term.

First, we must study and follow Ho Chi Minh's ideology and style, including his moral example. His whole life was an exemplary model of revolutionary ethics, diligence, thrift, integrity, and uprightness. Now we must rely on his ethics, ideology, and style in terms of ethics, both in terms of moral awareness and moral sentiment, especially sentiment towards the people. We must also build ethical behavior, that is, in lifestyle, in work, and in activities.

I think we should take advantage of that, especially since Uncle Ho left us five outstanding works, which have been officially ranked as national treasures by the Party and the State. Those five works all emphasize the issue of ethics. To build ethics in the Party, each person must have ethics following the example of Ho Chi Minh.

Practicing ethics in lifestyle and work and setting an example for leaders is extremely important. This must be considered a major measure. Only by being exemplary in ethics and having a clear lifestyle of leaders can we set an example for the entire Party and the entire people.

One measure that I think is very necessary is to include ethical content in the Party's education program. In society as well, we must move towards building a code of ethics, setting out standards, principles, measures of evaluation, things to do, things to avoid. Everyone, especially party members, must implement this code of ethics as their political responsibility. We must do it according to our conscience to fight against the moral degradation in today's society.

We must revive national morality, first of all, we must revive morality within the Party, and especially we must fight against irresponsibility to the point of apathy. That is not enough, we must educate in integrity, in honor, and in the shame of corruption.

Finally, we must pay close attention to the power of public opinion, of the mass media, especially the press, to always promote good people, good examples, to criticize and eliminate bad things, that is, to carry out Uncle Ho's words "building and fighting go together", each good person is a beautiful flower, the whole nation is a beautiful flower garden. Therefore, we must promote good people and good deeds to repel bad things, evil things, then we will have a good moral life in the Party, setting an example for the people and society. And that is the main way to build morality in the Party.

PV: Thank you sir./.

According to VOV