Communist Review - The preferential policy for people with meritorious services to the Revolution have always been of interest to the Communist Party and State of Viet Nam. This is a special policy showing the moral code of “when drinking water, remembering its source” of the Vietnamese people. Over the years, the national socio-economic development has created favorable conditions for meritorious people to be taken care of. And continuously improving and supplementing policies and laws on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services will contribute to the effective implementation of the “showing gratitude” and “when drinking water, remembering its source” activities of the Party and State of Viet Nam.  

Viet Nam has undergone thousands of years building and defending the country; various generations of Vietnamese people deeply imbued by the spirit of patriotism, nationalism, resilience, indomitability, loyalty and kindness have devoted their blood, efforts and possessions to protect the Fatherland’s independence, freedom, and unification, as well as built a beautiful country for future generations.

Inheriting the nation’s precious traditions, in the Ho Chi Minh era, under the leadership of the Party, the Vietnamese people made a glorious history in the struggle against foreign invaders to gain the country’s independence, freedom and reunification. Millions of outstanding children of the nation, most of whom were young, devoted their youth and lives to the country. Many fell on the battlefields or returned with lifelong injuries.

Millions of fathers, mothers, husbands, wives and children were unable to see their beloved children, husbands and fathers again. Understanding these great losses, President Ho Chi Minh once wrote: “The revolutionary flag has been stained in the martyrs’ blood. The martyrs’ heroic sacrifices have paved the way for our country to gain independence and freedom. Our people will forever remember their services etc.”⁽¹⁾

On February 16, 1947, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree No. 20/SL promulgating a gratuity regime for the disabled and dead, and approving the proposal to choose July 27 as the Day of Martyrs and Wounded soldiers, the occasion to honor the merits of heroic martyrs, wounded soldiers and those with meritorious services to the revolution.

Although the country still faces numerous difficulties, the Party and State of Viet Nam always attach great importance to the leadership and direction for the work of war invalids - martyrs and people with meritorious services to the revolution. Since 1947, legal documents on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services to the revolution have been developed and promulgated comprehensively, fully and promptly. These have been noted in the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and instituted into documents, such as the Ordinance on Incentives for those with meritorious services to the revolution, the Ordinance stipulating the State honorary title “Vietnamese Heroic Mother” and other preferential policies. In addition, a number of the Party and State guidelines and policies have been institutionalized, enabling the synchronous implementation of policies and preferential treatments for people with meritorious services and their relatives.

The consistent view and goal of the Party and State is to attach economic development to social development, to combine economic policy with social policy, to obtain economic growth in line with social progress and equality. The 5^th Conference of the 11^th Party Central Committee issued Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW “Several issues on social policies in the period of 2012 - 2020” was an important milestone, continuously affirming the Party’s interest in implementing social policies with the aim of rapid and sustainable development, focusing on 2 groups of basic and important policies in the system of social policies, namely: The policy of preferential treatment for people with meritorious services and the policy of social welfare.

On November 5, 2020, the Politburo issued Conclusion No. 92-KL/TW “On continuously implementing the Resolution of the 5^th Plenum of the 11^th Central Committee regarding to several issues on social policy for the period 2012 - 2020”, which highly evaluated the obtained achievements and affirmed the wise guidelines and policies of the Party, State and the superiority of the socialist regime in our country towards social policy work, including preferential policies for people with meritorious services to the revolution. The 13^th Party Congress Document also sets out requirements to improve and well implement laws and policies for the people with meritorious services basing on the resources of the State and society. It is also required to balance the State budget to raise the level of social and preferential allowances for people with meritorious services, basically address unsolved issues and upgrade the works of the “showing gratitude” movement.

On the basis of practical summarization and concretization of the Party’s guiding views on the work, including the implementation of contents and tasks as mentioned in the Secretariat’s Directive No. 14-CT/TW, dated July 19, 2017 “On continuously strengthening the Party’s leadership in the works for people with meritorious services to the revolution”. On December 9, 2020, the Government submitted to the National Assembly Standing Committee for the approval of the Ordinance on privilege treatment for people with meritorious services to the revolution (amended) at its 51^st Session. The Ordinance consists of 7 chapters and 58 articles which have fundamentally and comprehensively revised and supplemented new policies in order to continuously affirm the consistent principles of the Party and State: Taking care of health, material and spiritual life of people with meritorious services and their relatives is the responsibility of the State and society; the preferential policies for people with meritorious services to the revolution and their relatives should be determined and adjusted to the country’s socio-economic conditions in each period, ensuring the living standards of these people to be equal to or higher than the average of their residential communities. The revised Ordinance also expanded the coverage of treatment, including such beneficiaries as foreigners with meritorious services to the revolution, people imprisoned by enemies due to directly taking part in revolutionary activities, combating to defend the Fatherland, and doing international obligations after 1975; people participating the resistance war for national liberation and defense being commended by the State with the Victory Medals; martyrs’ ex-spouses raising their children to adulthood or looking after their biological father or mother. More policies were also added including health insurance and monthly survivorship allowance for martyrs’ ex-spouses; raising monthly allowance for Vietnamese Heroic Mothers 3 times higher than the standard rate etc.

The system of preferential policies for people with meritorious services has been comprehensively improved and implemented by the whole political system. The work of taking care of people with meritorious services has undergone drastic changes, triggering a profound gratitude movement from the Central to grassroots levels. What’s more, the policies for people with meritorious services have been expanded in terms of beneficiaries with subsidy level being increased annually according to national economic conditions. Particularly, the problem of handling backlog of requests for certification of war invalids and martyrs in localities was basically resolved in 2020⁽²⁾.

Up to now, the whole country has confirmed over 9.2 million people with meritorious services, of which over 1.3 million people are entitled to receive monthly allowances. Subsidies are granted once a year to 6,000 to 8,000 cases. Over 580,000 people with meritorious services are sent for regular nursing programs and 40,000 people are provided with educational support. The standard allowance level for people with meritorious services has been lifted in line with the base salary roadmap. In the period of 2012 - 2019, the level increased by about 40%, from 1,515,000 VND in 2018 to 1,624,000 VND in 2019.

From 2012 to the end of 2019, the whole country basically completed its housing support program, providing accommodation for 393,707 households with meritorious services across the country, exceeding the target of Resolution No. 15-NQ/TW on “Several issues on social policy for the period 2012 - 2020”, dated June 1, 2012 approved by the 5^th Conference of the Central Party Committee (11^th Tenure). The policy of housing support has contributed to life stabilization and life quality improvement for people with meritorious services. The network of nurturing, nursing, orthopedic, and rehabilitation facilities is comprehensively planned, with 65 facilities nationwide being invested in equipment and services to meet the basic requirements of nursing for meritorious people, especially seriously wounded soldiers. More investment has been paid in building, upgrading and repairing martyrs’ graves, cemeteries, monuments with 3,200 martyrs’ cemeteries and over 3,000 monuments across the country. The search, gathering and identification of martyrs’ remains have been actively implemented with synchronous and practical solutions. The movements of “The whole people take care of the families of war invalids, martyrs and those with meritorious services to the revolution”, “Showing gratitude’ has been increasingly developed, well supported and responded by the whole society.

Properly implementing preferential policies for people with meritorious services is both a sacred sentiment and a great responsibility of the whole political system and people, and a decisive factor to ensure social progress and justice, demonstrating the superiority and good nature of the socialist regime, contributing to the consolidation of the great national unity bloc, strengthening the people’s confidence in the Party and State. Therefore, it is necessary to turn awareness into practical and specific actions that positively contribute to the implementation of the policy on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services, improving efficiency and making the movements of “Showing gratitude”, “The whole people take care of the families of war invalids, martyrs and people with meritorious services to the revolution” a regular activity in social life.

In the coming time, along with implementing the revised Ordinance on Incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs will continue to study and improve the policies on preferential treatment for people with meritorious services, considering it as a key area, in which the following issues are focused:

Firstly, continuing to deeply grasp and implement President Ho Chi Minh’s thought on the work of war invalids and martyrs; ceaselessly taking care of wounded soldiers, their families and people with meritorious services to the revolution; considering the work as a good moral code, duty, responsibility as well as a love for comrades and compatriots within each Vietnamese person.

Secondly, focusing on leading and directing the implementation of the Party’s guidelines, policies and laws of the State towards war invalids, wounded soldiers, their families and people with meritorious services. In particular, special attention is paid to the families of those in difficult circumstances, those who are currently living alone and without support, and those living in ethnic and remote areas and former revolutionary bases, with the aim of no meritorious people living under poverty.

Thirdly, continuing to promote extensive dissemination of the Party and State’s guidelines and policies on preferential policies for people with meritorious services to the revolution, new contents of the 2020 Ordinance on Incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution. Regularly evaluating, summarizing, and comprehensively studying problems that remain in the implementation process to promulgate documents detailing and guiding the implementation of the Ordinance, creating favorable conditions for implementing these preferential policies in real life.

Fourthly, prioritizing resources to address urgent needs of people with meritorious services, such as taking care of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, providing vocational training, creating jobs, and providing practical support to their families. Promoting the movement of socializing the work of taking care of people with meritorious services to the revolution by mobilizing all social resources in combination with the State’s ones.

Fifthly, enhancing the State management capacity, effectiveness and efficiency in the work of taking care of people with meritorious services to the revolution; speeding up the search and identification of martyr remains. Focusing on inspecting and strictly handling cases of abusing policies for illegal profits; ensuring objectiveness and fairness among stakeholders, building people’s trust in preferential policies for people with meritorious services.

The 74^th anniversary of Invalids and Martyrs’ Day this year comes at a time when the whole country strives to fulfill the goals set out in Directive No. 14-CT/TW, dated July 19, 2017 of the Secretariat “On continuing to strengthen the Party’s leadership in the work for people with meritorious services to the revolution”. This is not only the political task assigned by the Party and State, but also the responsibility and moral code of each Vietnamese person to continue to light up the flame of gratitude to those who have contributed to the revolution./.  

---------------

(1) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Volume, Truth National Politics Publisher, Hanoi, 2011, vol.10, p.3

(2) Considering and resolving 5,900 backlog cases; assessing and submitting to the Prime Minister for granting the Fatherland citing certificates for more than 2,000 martyrs, appraising over 2,500 war invalids and beneficiaries of policies like war invalids

This article was published in the Communist Review No. 970 (July 2021)