Why is the situation 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", even turning 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 that was very popular with the people and the Party when it was issued. The entire Party and the entire people expected that Resolution. The Resolution talked about urgent matters in Party building, specifically the need to prevent and overcome the state of degradation, degradation in political ideology, morality 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)

Over the past 5 years, what we have accomplished and what we have not accomplished, our Party has assessed 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 entire Party and the entire people. Here we can emphasize a few points, including the fact that Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee 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 forces. Obviously, it has also contributed to gradually preventing degradation, even severe degradations that are so serious that they lead to crimes, which have been handled in court.

The second thing is that through this Resolution, we also gradually raise the sense of responsibility for each Party organization and cadre, Party member, raise the awareness of the people in proactively, positively building the Party. Uncle Ho said to rely on the people to build the Party, the people are the masters but the people have the obligations of the masters, one of those obligations is that the people must help their Party to be 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 have given very sincere and profound opinions, even severe criticisms and well-intentioned 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 the 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 Resolution.

Another achievement is that along with the implementation of the Resolution, we have closely linked it to studying and following Uncle Ho. At first, we emphasized studying Uncle Ho's example, but now we emphasize studying 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 spiritual foundation of the Party, 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 flesh-and-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 seriousness of the 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 in the Resolution of the 11th Central Committee, Session 4, 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”, formalism, and in many places it has even turned into mutual protection. 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, 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 with 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 inadequate 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 Resolution 4 of the 11th Central Committee was very correct, the organization and direction of implementation was not good, one could say not thorough, so there were still many limitations. Therefore, at the 12th Congress, our Party had to openly admit that in reality, because of such shortcomings, the Party was 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?

GSHoang Chi Bao: Fighting against self-evolution and self-transformation internally, which covers everything, 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 as a sacred issue.

In such a situation, the Party's responsibility is even greater, the Party's 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?

GSHoang 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 Party building.

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, which we are implementing and will continue to implement in the long term.

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

I think we should take advantage of that, especially since Uncle Ho left us 5 outstanding works, which have been officially ranked as national treasures by the Party and the State. Those 5 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 can leaders 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 implement it as 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 integrity, educate honor, and educate people to know the shame of corruption.

Finally, we must pay great 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, good deeds to push back bad things, evil things, then we will have a good moral life in the Party, set 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