In the rules-based spirit, the Vietnamese Party and State have resolutely handled officials who committed violations of law, especially those holding high-level positions, towards building a pure and strong Party, raising the Party’s prestige and consolidating public trust in the Party.

Flag hoisting ceremony in Ly Son island district (Photo: VNA) 

The strict and transparent punishment for officials with violations has won support and praise of Party members and officials, and people over the past time.

However, hostile elements have spread distorted information and twisted the truth about the settlement of violations and personnel work in an attempt to undermine unity in the Party and erode public trust.

During its 90-year history, the Party has always paid special attention to Party building work, considering this a “key task”, with the personnel work “the key of the key task.”

Party building work, therefore, has been implemented continuously through the nine decades, in which the fight against corruption and other bad deeds, along with the discipline and punishment of Party members and officials committing violations is a crucial task, as late President Ho Chi Minh had said “Embezzlement, wastefulness and red tape are the enemy of the people, soldiers and the Government.”

Over the past 75 years, under the Party’s leadership, the Vietnamese army and people have won glorious victories during the struggle for national independence, and Vietnam has continuously developed, with people’s living standards improved significantly and the country’s position and prestige enhanced in the international arena.

However, apart from these great, historic achievements, certain limitations and shortcomings remain and new problems arise.

The market mechanism and integration process have exerted adverse impacts, under which not a few Party members and officials have shown signs of degradation, appropriated public assets, causing extremely severe consequences.

Many corruptive cases have been detected and brought to light, particularly serious cases under the direction of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

Attention has also been paid to asset recovery in corruptive crimes, with 37 trillion VND (nearly 1.6 billion USD) recovered in the first half of this year.

Many defendants committed serious violations while holding high-level positions in Party and State agencies, and they have been punished appropriately, such as former Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son who has been jailed for life for “taking bribes” and “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences.”

Truong Minh Tuan, also former Minister of Information and Communications, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars for the same charges. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Hien, former Deputy Defence Minister and former Commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy was sentenced to four years in prison for “lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.”

More than 100 officials under the management of the Party Central Committee, including those holding high positions, have been given strict punishments in Party, administration and criminal regards during this term, which demonstrates the drastic and effective anti-corruption fight that is becoming a trend.

However, hostile forces have never ceased to seek ways to sabotage the revolutionary cause of the Party and people.

Prior to each National Party Congress, they intentionally spread distorted information alleging that the punishment of corrupt officials is just “internal fight,” “struggle of political factions” and “huge failures of personnel work under the Party leadership.”

They said without any grounds that the violations by Party members and officials were attributable to “the Party’s weak capacity and the lack of democracy in the personnel work”, and that personnel work has only served group interests.

With the allegations, they called for a change of political regime and abolition of the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Those out-of-tune voices, however, could not reverse the political resolve of the entire Party and people in the fight against corruption and other bad deeds, in an effort to build and rectify the Party, making it purer and stronger, matching the aspirations of the entire Party and people, for the interests and everlasting development of the nation.