Communist Review - Building and revamping the Party is the law of existence and development of the Party. In the condition of a power-holding Party, the Party building and revamping must be closely associated with the building of the political system, making the Party and each of the member organization in the political system always comprehensively pure and strong, ensuring the consistent, synchronous, overall and connecting character in organization and operation; enhancing the resistant capacities, guarding against and eliminating all the dangers of degeneration.

Importance and dialectical relationship between Party building, revamping and building of political system

President Ho Chi Minh has taught: “The Party is not only the representative of the interests of Party members, but also the representative of the interests of the entire working class, the entire nation and mankind” (1). The great victories of the Vietnamese revolution since having had the Party have proved to the important position and role of the Party – it is both the component part of the political system and the special neucleus that leads this system as stipulated in Article 4 of the 2013 Constitution: “The Communist Party of Vietnam - The vanguard of the working class, at the same time the pioneer of the laboring people and the Vietnamese nation, a representative loyal to the interests of the working class, laboring people and of the whole nation, taking Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh thought as the ideological foundation, the leading force of the State and society” (2). To build the pure and strong Party is the important premises that governs the character, target, task and effectiveness in building the political system; at the same time, the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the agencies and organizations of the political system are the proof to affirm the Party’s leading role in reality, the yard stick of the capacities, prestiges, role and position of the Party in power. The Party’s leading capacities and fighting energy are reflected through the efficiency and effectiveness in management of the State, the quality and effectiveness of operation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the political-social organizations. From this profound awareness, the theme of the 13^th Party Congress has developed the constituent “Enhancing the building of the pure and strong Party” of the 12^th Party Congress into “Enhancing the building, revamping of the Party and the political system to be pure and strong”.

The Party building and revamping work has a specially important role, is of vital significance for the Party and the regime and the Communist Party of Vietnam has always determined it as the key, constant and continuous task throughout the revolutionary periods. Only in the past 10 years now, the Central Committee has issues a lot of important resolutions and decisions of unified and systematic character and the Party has concentrated to give guidance to implement them in a resolute and effective manner (3). In the Documents of the 13^th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, from the theme of the Congress, the experience lessons to the guiding viewpoints and the important tasks, all have laid emphasis on the Party building and revamoing and the political system to be pure and strong, thus creating a perfect whole with a more profound and more comprehensive content.

As far as the theoretical and practical aspects are concerned, building and revamping the Party and the political system to be pure and strong have got the dialectial relationship and mutual interaction; in which, the Party building and revamping are the key point that will create motive force to promote the building of the political system; at the same time building the political system to be pure and strong, to operate effectively and efficiently will create a solid basis to consolidate the Party’s leading role for the political system and the entire society. The building of the Party and the political system to be pure and strong will help tighten the close relationship between the Party and the people, multiply the strength of the entire Party and the great unity block of the entire nation, arouse the potential of creativity, aspiration for development for a powerful Vietnam. And then, it is possible to affirm that enhancing the building and revamping of the Party and the political system to be pure and strong is the top important requirement, the inevitable demand in the process of national renovation and the ever more intensive and extensive international integration with a view to improving the Party’s leading capacities and power-holding capacities, thus contributing to promoting the efficiency and effectiveness of the operation of the political system, displaying socialist democracy, ensuring the synchrony and the conformity between the economic renovation and the political renovation, taking the country to the rapid and sustainable development.

Realities in building and revamoing Party and political sysem - important landmarks through periods of Vietnamese revolution

Right from 1939, in the Indochinese Democratic Front movement, the Party had started the intensive and extensive “self-criticism” activity in terms of ideology and organization. At that time, General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu wrote a book titled “Self-criticism”, determining the target and motto: “Openness, courage and honesty to unmask our own wrongdoings and find the way to put them right, against the trend of opportunism and compromise, and so doing, it does not weaken the Party, but on the contrary, it makes the Party to be more united and stronger” (4). Right after the 1945 August Revolution, President Ho Chi Minh had given the quick guidance to readjust the shortcomings of cadres and party members, particularly the senior cadres in the still fledgling administration apparatus. In “the letter to the People’s Committees in regions, provinces, districts and villages” on October 17, 1945, He had criticized, warned, admonish a number of cadres occupying certain titles and rights in the administration apparatus at different levels for their shortcomings such as highhandedness, illegality, commitment of adultery, division, arrogance and so on. Especially, in October 1947, in His work titled “Correct Style of work”, for the first time, He used the group of words “Revamping the Party”, defining 12 standards concerning the ideology of a real, revolutionary Party, in which He mentioned: “To have the Party to be solid and ever lasting, these 12 standards must not be forgotten” (5); determining the duties of party members and cadres: “1/ Honour the Party’s interests above all else…. Individuals’ interests must definitely be complied with the Party’s interests. The interests of each part must definitely yield to the long-term interests”(6); it is a must to train the revolutionary moralities - humaneness, righteousness, intellect, bravery and incorruptibility. On criticism and self-criticism, He pointed out: “The purpose of criticism is to help each other correct shortcomings and make progress. Just to correct the style of work to be better. Just to have the internal unity and unification. So, criticize oneself and criticize others must be frank, thorough, honest, without any regards, without any additions or reductions” (7). President Ho Chi Minh pointed to a lot of so-called diseases such as provincialism, parochialism, individualism, coveting of fame and position, detracting from others’ merits and becoming depraved. He affirmed: “Individualism is a kind of very poisonous microbe, because it could breed other dangerous diseases” (8); therefore, He requested that in revamping the Party, we must be resolute to fight the disease of “individualism”. In May 1952, in the first rectification class of the Central Committee, President Ho Chi Minh determined: “The purpose of Party revamping is to improve the ideology and political level of party members and cadres, just to make party members and cadres to follow correctly the viewpoints and standpoints of the proletariat” (9).

In the condition of the socialist construction in the North after 1954 – a revolutionary career without any precedents – He requested that the Party building and revamping to be strong and comprehensive had to be regularly carried out. Before He had gone to the other world, He said repearedly in His sacred Testament that “the first thing first is to revamp the Party” (10). In 1961, the Party launched the Spring rectification campaign (11); its purpose was to educate cadres, party members and laboring people with the spirit of mastery, the spirit of socialist collectiveness, to make them understand clearly their tasks in production and saving in the new stage, cricticize individualism, corruption and waste, the bureaucratic commandism, conservatism and diffidence. After that, the Political Bureau continued to give the instruction on the launching of the 1965 Spring rectification campaign with a view to making cadres, party members and laboring youth union members well aware of the situation, tasks and requirements of the revolution so as to improve their revolutionary qualities and morality and criticize the manifestations of individualism.

After the country was reunified, the Communist Oarty of Vietnam has paid special attention to building and revamping the Party, which are expressed in three major contents: 1- To enhance unity and unification within the Party. 2- To promote democracy within the Party, regular and serious criticism and self-criticism. 3- To pay attention to training the revolutionary morality, resolutely sweep away individualism and the negativities and degeneration within the Party. This ideology has been deeply grasped by the Communist Party of Vietnam through its regular and continuous self-rectification of internal affairs, the launch of many intensive and extensive building and revamping classes. In face of the disintegration of the model of socialist realism in the former Soviet Union and the Eastern European copntries, more special attention has been paid to the Party building and revamping. From the 6^th Plenum and the 7^th Plenum (6^th tenure) in 1989, the Communist Party of Vietnam had the advocacies and resolutions to protect the ideological foundation of the Party, the path to advance towards socialism, before the great impact from the crisis of the socialist realism in the world. The 7^th Party Congress had approved the Program on national construction in the transitional period to socialism (the Program in 1991). The 3^rd Plenum (June 1992) had issued the Resolution “On a number of tasks on renewing and revamping the Party”; in which certain shortcomings had been frankly pointed out to be the danger which could be underestimated; it was “In the Party, a certain part has got reduced fighting will, faded ideology, hesitation, loss of confidence, in which some had the influence of the opportunist, revisionist trend and wanted to take the country onto the other path; even there was someone who had betrayed and surrendered. Not a few cadres and party members had been lured by pragmatist individualism and become degenerated and spoiled” (13).

In early 1999, before the ever higher requirements of the revolutionary cause, there had appeared inside the Party a number of weaknesses, like the degeneration in the political ideology, the state of corruption, bureaucracy and waste from a part of cadres and party members and this state of affairs had developed in an ever more serious way, the 6^th Plenum (2^nd time), 8^th tenure, issued the Resolution No. 10-NQ/TW, on February 2, 1999, “On a number of fundamental and urgent issues in the current Party building work”. Entering the tenure of the 11^th Party Congress, the Communist Party of Vietnam had looked frankly at the Party building work that had still had a lot of limitations, weaknesses, even some weaknesses and shortcomkngs had been seen through many tenurres and they had been slowly overcome, thus reducing the people’s confidence in the Party; if they were not corrected, they wold become the great challenge to the Party’s leading role and the existence of the regime. A no small part of cadres and party members, in which there were party members who had occupied  the leading and managing positions, including the senior cadres, had been degenerated in the political ideologies, morality and life style with different manifestations in their faded ideology, resulting in their falling into the selfish individualism, opportunism, pragmatism, in their running after fame and wealth, money, envy in position, localism, corruption, waste, haphazardness, unprinciple and so on. In face of this situation, the 4^th Plenum of the 11^th, 12^th and 13th tenures had promulgated  the resolutions and conclusions on the Party building and revamping. In which, the 4^th Plenum, the 13^th tenure, had issued the Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW, on October 25, 2021, “On the acceleration of the building and revamping of the Party, the political system; it is determined to stop, oush back and seriously handle those cadres and party members who are degenerated in the political ideology, morality, life style, who have manifested their “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”. These are the very important landmakrs, affirming that the Communist Party of Vietnam is always persistent, resolute, patient and focuses its intellect and energy on the building and revamping of the Party and the political s ystem to be pure and strong.

A number of tasks and solutions to continue to push ahead building and revamping of Party and political system to be p0ure and strong in new period

In the coming time, the country has been standing before a lot of opportunities and advantages, but it also has to face with a lot of intertwined difficulties and challenges. The revolutionary cause of the Party and the Vietnamese people has entered the stage when they are accelerating comprehensively and synchronously the renovation work and are proactive and active in intensive and extensive international integration. Four dangers already pointed out by the Party since the mid-term National representative conference of the 12^th National Party Congress are still ever present, even more intense to some extent. In that context, it is necessary to accelerate the building and revamoing of the Partyand the Political system in order to improve the leading capacities and the power-holding capacities  and the fighting power of the Party, improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the State’s activities; to renew the content and the mode and improve the quality and effectiveness of the operation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the political-social organizations. To combat resolutely against individualism, to stop, push back and seriously handle those cadres and party members who are decadent in the political ideology, morality, life style, who  have the manifestations of “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”; to combine closely and harmoniously between “building” and “against”, in which “building” is a long, strategic, fundamental task, “against” is the regular, urgent and important tasks. To create the new development of the Party in intellect and political abilities; the Party becomes the morality, civilization, ever more closely associated with the people and the people have placed their ever more confidence in the Party; the Party has got enough prestige and leading abilities to implement successfully the Resolution of the 13^th Party Congress and the construction and defence of the Fatherland, in which it concentrates on implementing synchronously some main tasks and solutions as follows:

Firstly, to continue to renew the political and ideological educational work; to focus on building the Party in terms of morality, enhance the responsibility of setting good examples of cadres and party members, especially of the chiefs.

To improve the effectiveness in the ideological work, creating the unity within the Party and consensus in society. To continue to thoroughly grasp and to be fully and deeply aware of the viewpoints and guiding ideas pointed out in the Documents of the 13^th Party Congress; the resolutions, instructions, conclusions, stipulations and regulations of the Central Committee on the Party building and on the building of the political system (14). It is necessary to consider this as an intensive and extensive political activity in the entire Party and the whole political system. It not only thoroughly grasps the guiding ideology and the content of the Party’s writings, but also it needs the analysis, comparison, relationship and application suitable to the realities of each agency, organization, mass organization, cadres, party members, youth union members and association members. Attention is to be paid to building the Party in morality, upholding the responsibility to set good examples, have the high sense of consciousness of fostering and training the morality of cadres and party members, particularly the leading and managing cadres and the chiefs at different levels, the higher positions the cadres have occupied, the better examples they have to set.

Secondly, to focus on building the contingent of cadres, particularly those at the strategic level and the chiefs at different levels, combining with renovation, arranging the streamlined organizational apparatus of the political system for its efficient and effective operation.

Building the contingent of cadres should stem from the requirements and tasks of the new period; through the practical activities and the revolutionary movement; to place it an overall work of the Party building and revamping; to combine with the renewal of the Party’s leading mode and perfect the streamlined organizational apparatus of the political system for its efficient and effective activities; to combine with the improvement of the people’s intellectual standards, the training pf human resources, particularly the high-quality human resources, to attract and use well the talents. To renew and improve the effectiveness of the planning work, the rotation of cadres and the assessment of cadres. To be proactive to discover the source of leading and managing cadres at different levels, particularly the cadres of strategic level for the 2025 - 2030 tenure and to prepare for the next tenure, ensuring the inheritance, stability, renovation, development in the direction of impoving quality, ensuring quantity and reasonable structure. The rotation of cadres must be suitable to the planning titles; ensure the balance and harmony between the rotation of cadres and the development of on-the-spot cadre resources; the horizontal and vertical rotation, the rotation of cadres of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the political-social organizations to other areas, and vice versa; supply the cadres with the political abilities, knowledge and capacities to the key areas, to the difficult and complicated areas; remove the state of close-up in the cadre work. To improve the quality of assessing cadres in the direction of real impartiality and objectivism, have the clear criteria and through specific products; to combine the individual judgement with the collective judgement, with the practical results in implementing the tasks of localities, agencies and units. To carry out the timely demotion and resignation and replace the cadres with limited capacities, poor prestiges and with mistakes without waiting for the end of the tenure or the end of the time-limit for promotion. To carry out well the advocacies of encouraging and protecting the cadres who are dynamic, innovative, dare to think and dare to do, always make efforts to act for the common interests.

Thirdly, to focus on perfecting mechanisms and policies in a synchronous, unified and effective manner.

To concentrate to concretize and institutionalize in time the Party’s advocacies; to review, amend, add and perfect the stipulations and reglations; to perfect the legal system to be the sufficient, synchronous, unified, feasible, stable, open and transparent one. To add and perfect in a more comprehensive way the mechanisms, institutions concerning the building and revamping of the Party and the political system, to combat against corruption and negativity in the spirt of good combination between “building” and “combat”’ between the building of revolutionary morality and combat against individualism; through which it can help cadres and party members enhance their resistance to all temptations and poinsonous “viruses”, not to be degenerated and corrupted in political ideology, moral quality, manners, life styles, thus making a contribution to guarding against and overcoming in a more powerful and resolute manner all the manisfestations of degeneration and negativity; to prevent, combat, guard against and especially remedy all the “diseases” arisen in the conditions of the market economy and international integration; to keep the Party’s strict discipline. To review, amend, add and perfect the function, task, rights, responsibilities, the relationship in work at the Party committees and administrations at all levels, to ensure well the relationship that “the Party leads, the State manages, the people are the masters”; to determine clearly the authorities and responsibilities, to overcome the state of affairs that the Party undertakes things for the State or relaxes its leadership.

Fourthly, to enhance the examination, supervision and discipline of the Party; to resolutely and persistently struggle to prevent corruption and negativity and treat seriously cadres and party member who commit violations.

To create strong changes in the examination, supervision and discipline of the Party, combining the prevention with the strict treatment of those who violate the discipline. To improve and renovate the method, process and skills in carrying out the examination, supervision and discipline of the Party in the closer, more methodical and scientific direction; in which, to focus on the mechanisms, proactive measures, early discovery and prevention from a far of all the shortcomings and violations of the Party organizations and party members. To intentify the examination and supervision of the Party organizations, the chiefs, the key cadres in the areas, locations and positions that are easy for corruption, negativity and have a lot of prolonged claims. To pay attention to self-examination and self-supervision and discover in time from the internal affairs. To enhance the control of assets and income of cadres in accordance to the Party’s stipulations and to the State’s law. To build the contingent of cadres of the agencies in charge of examination, investigation, auditory and law protection so that they will have firm abilities, integrity, honesty, bravery to fight, knowledge, deep skills, firmly grasp the advocacies and lines of the Party, the policies and laws of the State.

Fifthly, to promoe the role and responsibilities of the people-elected agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the political-social organizations; to really rely on the people to build and revamp the Party and the political system to be pure and strog.

To improve the quality and effectiveness of the activities of supervision of the National Assembly, the people’s council at different levels; to supervize and organize social criticism, contribute opinions to the building of the Party, of the administration of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, of the political and social organizations and of the press. To continue to perfect the mechanism for the people to take part in building and revamping the Party and the political system to be pure and strong. To soon concretize the Party’s stipulations, at the same time to institutionalize and perfect the stipulations in terms of prevention and combat against corruption and negativity and the stipulations in terms of controlling the power in the direction of openness, transparency, clearity so that each cadre, party member and each people can be able to supervize the self-improvement and training of morality and life style of cadres and party members; to take part in the supervision and contribution of opinion to build the Party and the political system to be pure and strong. The heads of the Party committee levels and the authorities at different levels must enhance their assountabilities, implement seriously the stipulations of the Party and the State concerning the reception and the dialogue with the citizens; the reception and give timely guidance to settle the problems and claims from the people, particularly the problems relating to morality and life style of cadres and party members.

Entering the new period, the entire Party, people and army should enhance their unity, pool their efforts and unanimity to take care of the country’s affairs and cultivate the people’s sentiments and confidence, “to maintain our Party in real purity, to deserve being the leader, the really loyal servant of the people” (15), lead the renovation to continue to advance forwards to successfully implement the goals of national development as pointed out by the Resolution of the 13^th Party Congress: “To improve the leading capacities, the power-holding capacities and the fighting power of the Party; to build the Party and the political system to be pure and strong comprehensively; to consolidate and strengthen the confidence of the people in the Party, the State and the socialist regime; to arouse the aspirations for developing the prosperous and happy country, to promote the willpower and strength of the great national unity in combination with the epochal strength; to intensify comprehensively and synchronously the renovation, industrialization and modernization; to build and defend solidly the Fatherland, maintain firmly the environment of peace and stability; to strive to the middle of the 21^st century, our country will become a socialist-oriented developed country” (16)./.

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(1) Ho Chi Minh, Complete works, the Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, tomb 6, p. 290

(2) The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2014, p. 9.

(3) On December 31, 2011, the 4^th Plenum, 11^th tenure, issued the Resolution “A number of urgent issues on the current Party building”. Having carried out the Decision No. 21-KL/TW, on March 25, 2012, ò the 5^th Plenum, the 11^th tenure, in Feberuary 2013, the Political Bureau decided to set up “The Central Steering Committee in Prevention and combat against corruption” under the Political Bureau headed by the General Secrretary; at the same time it again set up the Department of Home Afairs as the Standing Committee; and recently on September 16, 2021, the Political Bureau decided to add the function and tasks to prevent negativity for the Steering Committee. On October 30, 2016, the Party Central Committee, 12^th tenure, issued the Resolution of the 4^th Plenum on “Enhancing Party building and revamping, stop and push back the degeneration in the political ideology, morality and life style, the manifestations of “self-evolution”. “self-transformation” in the internal affairs”. On October 25, 2021, the Party Central Committee, 13^th tenure, issued the Stipulations No. 37-QĐ/TW to replace the Stipulations No. 47-QĐ/TW, on November 01, 2011, of the Party Central Committee, the 11^th tenure, “On the things Party members are not permitted to do”. On May 15, 2016, the Political Bureau, the 12^th tenure, issued the Instructions No. 05-CT/TW, “On enhancing study and follow ideology, morality and manners of Hồ Chí Minh”. On May 18, 2021, the Political Bureau, the 13^th tenure, gave guidance to review the implementation of Directions No. 05-CT/TW and organized the national conference to present the results and decided to issue the Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW, “On the continuity to implement the Instructions No. 05-CT/TW, on May 15, 2016, of the Political Bureau , “On enhancing study and follow ideology, morality and manners of Hồ Chí Minh”. On October 25, 2021, the 4^th Plenum, the 13^th tenure, issued the Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW, “On enhancing the building and revamping of the Party and the Political System; determined to stop, push back and strictly treat cadres and party members who are degenerated in the political ideology, morality, life style, with the manifestations of “self-evolution”, “self-transformation”.”

(4) The Documents of the Party, Complete works, the National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2000, tomb 6, p. 624

(5), (6), (7), (8) Ho chi Minh: Complete works, Ibid, tomb 5, p. 290, 290, 272, 295

(9) Ho Chi Minh: Complete works, Ibid, tomb 7, p. 415

(10) Ho Chi Minh: Complete works, Ibid, tomb 15, p. 616

(11) The Resolution No. 12-NQ/TW, on February 25, 1961 of the Political Bureau “On the mobilization of the Spring Rectification”

(12) The Instructions No. 88-CT/TW, on January 2, 1965, of the Political Bureau, “On the mobilization of the Spring Rectification”

(13) The Documents of the Party, Complete works, the National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2007, tomb 52, p. 190

(14) Particularly the Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW; the Stipulations No. 08-QĐi/TW, on October 25, 2018, of the Party Central Committee, “On the responsibility to set an example of cadres and party members, first of all, Politburo members, members of the Secretariat and members of Party Centrall Committee; the Stipulations No. 37-QĐ/TW, on October 25, 2021 of the Party Central Committee, “On the things Party members must not be permitted to do”; the Stipu;ations No. 41-QĐ/TW, on November 03, 2021, of the Political Bureau, “On the dismissal and resignation of cadres”; the Conclusion No. 14-KL/TW on September 22, 2021, of the Political Bureau, “On the advocacy to ensourage and protect dynamic, innovative cadres for the common interests”.

(15) Ho Chi Minh: Complete works, Ibid, tomb 15, p. 612

(16) The Documents of the 13th Party Congress, the Truth National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, Hanoi, 2021, tomb I, p. 111-112

This article was published in the Communist Review No. 981 (January 2021)