The country will transform into a new era.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky, Chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art, expressed his belief in the “new era” of the nation in an interview with Thoi Dai magazine.

- Sir, the whole country is currently very interested in the concept of "the era of national rise", what are your feelings about this issue?

- I strongly agree with the vision, the way of defining and explaining the concepts of "new era", "era of national rise" that the General Secretary put forward. Our country through each period enters a new stage, in principle, in general, we cannot be satisfied with what we have. If we are content and content, we will not have innovation and will not be able to create breakthroughs in all aspects of social life.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky, Chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art

This is very true if we look back at the history of the nation, from the Ly, Tran, Le, Nguyen dynasties all marked new stages of development, associated with the leadership of a wise king. Then when the French colonialists invaded Vietnam, our nation also entered a new stage. The August Revolution in 1945 can be said to be a "heaven-shaking, earth-shattering" event, it was the turning point that brought our nation into a new era, even an era - the Ho Chi Minh era.

After 1975, Vietnam also entered a new period when the country was unified and moved towards socialism. However, due to historical conditions, we still could not escape the mindset and the centralized, bureaucratic and subsidized economic system. By 1986, under the leadership of the Party headed by comrade Truong Chinh, at the 6th Party Congress, the country carried out the renovation process. Although not all problems were solved, a new viewpoint was formed: We cannot be satisfied with the old, there are things that were right at one time but are no longer suitable today.

In recent years, Vietnam has risen to become an economy in the top 40 countries in the world. People's lives have improved, and Vietnam's position in the international arena has increasingly enhanced. However, in the context of the world entering the era of Industry 4.0, other countries have strongly transformed in terms of institutions and technology. If Vietnam does not change, the risk of falling behind is very high and may fall into the "middle-income trap".

Hai Phong seaport. (Illustration photo)

As General Secretary To Lam once pointed out, the country's biggest bottlenecks today are institutions, legal policies and the management apparatus. He emphasized that the country must innovate, perhaps even undergo an institutional revolution.

As I know, recently there have been some opinions that Vietnam needs a second renovation. Although this viewpoint still needs to be discussed, there is an undeniable fact that if the country does not rise up, it will fall behind and cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers as President Ho wished. Therefore, I think this is the time to seriously look back at the past to build a civilized country, with the aspiration of the nation to rise up. This aspiration must be realized through the actions, steps, and vision of the nation. As a scientist and artist, I believe that the renovation will be successful if the spirit of great national unity is promoted to the highest level, on the basis of democracy and science.

- In your opinion, what is the main connotation of the "new" element in the "new era", and how is it different from 1986?

- The "new" thing here, in my opinion, is that on the one hand we need to inherit the achievements and lessons of nearly 40 years of innovation, but on the other hand we must also simultaneously create stronger movements to catch up with the world.

We cannot be satisfied with what we have. Currently, not only Western countries such as the US and Europe are making progress, but even Middle Eastern countries with abundant resources such as oil do not rely on that, they have entered Industry 4.0. In fact, they have built fields in the desert; or like Israel, from an arid, water-deficient country, it has now developed technology to filter seawater into drinking water... There are many examples that I can cite to show that if we do not determine the right time and priorities, it will be very difficult to catch up with other countries, this is also the idea that General Secretary To Lam shared.

- According to you, to start the "era of growth", which field should we prioritize first?

- In many speeches, especially in the conclusion of the 10th Central Conference, Session XIII and the talks with students of the strategy class, General Secretary To Lam clearly stated the content of the era of national rise and the new era. At the same time, Comrade To Lam also emphasized the theoretical system but linked to reality, including directions and ways of doing. Of course, those are the general features, next we need to go into details and concretize in life.

In my opinion, to enter Industry 4.0, the country needs to change its thinking and remove policy and legal barriers. We must develop a digital society, digital economy, green economy and circular economy, which are goals that need to be realized. Therefore, I believe that major decisions for socio-economic development always need to be carefully considered.

Besides, we also need to learn from other countries. Today's world is an open world, although the political system is different, we can absolutely learn effective ways to develop the country. Our ancestors also learned from the Dong Du and Duy Tan movements, or schools like Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc. This era is the same, we need to take advantage of the intellectual quintessence of humanity. However, the most important thing is to put all actions under the leadership of the Party, the management of the State and the consensus and participation of all classes of people.

- Sir, what is the big issue we need to focus on?

Regarding the method of implementation, in my opinion, in order to concretize the General Secretary's orientation, in addition to promoting the spirit of great national unity, we need to mobilize the highest intelligence of scientists and intellectuals. They need to participate in important issues, based on the Party's guidelines and the State's policies and laws. In a modern, democratic society, a critical voice that is responsible, rational and has a high scientific content is extremely necessary.

One more thing I would like to add is that I strongly agree with the General Secretary when, in addition to promoting the fight against corruption and negativity, he added the content of "fighting waste". The General Secretary emphasized that waste sometimes causes more harm than corruption. Therefore, we must be really determined in dealing with this problem so as not to negatively affect the development process.

An image depicting the army marching towards Hanoi to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Capital's Liberation Day. (Photo: Doan Tung)

In fact, we need to understand that waste here is not only waste of material resources but also waste of brainpower. Therefore, there needs to be a reasonable arrangement and use to maximize the intelligence of talented people. When there is a suitable mechanism for everyone to contribute to building the country, I think the set goals will be realized.

- What difficulties do you predict we will face in the coming time?

- Firstly, when we decide to enter a new era, one of the big challenges is that old thinking and ways of doing things still exist in the staff. Therefore, the key point is that stagnation and conservatism need to be quickly resolved.

I can give an example of how identifying inappropriate institutions will hinder the development of businesses, people and all areas of life. Developed countries have had hundreds of years to build a solid legal foundation and they are still continuing to develop it. In Vietnam today, the apparatus is still cumbersome, overlapping and everything is still in the process of completion, supplementation and new construction.

Therefore, if you keep doing things the old way with the old mindset, it will be very difficult to be effective.

Second, the people who create the new era must be well-trained. We cannot continue to apply empiricism but must put all decisions on the scale of science. Imposing thinking will prevent us from taking advantage of national resources, especially the gray matter and intelligence of the nation. The leadership principles of the Party and the State must still be maintained, but there needs to be a mechanism to promote the role, position and contributions of Vietnamese intellectuals at home and abroad.

Currently, there are many excellent Vietnamese students studying and working abroad. This is a high-quality human resource that we need to exploit effectively. There are two main approaches to this issue: First, we create appropriate mechanisms and policies to call on them to return to contribute to the country. For example, in 1946, when Uncle Ho went to France, he met many scientists such as Tran Dai Nghia, Tran Duc Thao, Pham Ngoc Thach and other talented people and successfully convinced them to return to serve the country.

Even if they work abroad, we can still connect through embassies and Vietnamese community organizations there. Contributions do not necessarily have to be by returning home, but can be ideas, initiatives… In my opinion, the important thing is that they feel respected and their opinions are recognized and applied.

- In a new era of the entire Party and people today, what do you expect for the future of the country?

- If we do exactly what General Secretary To Lam mentioned and effectively implement the upcoming 14th National Congress Resolution, with consistency in viewpoints, orientations and visions, I believe that the country will have a turning point in the new era.

Thank you very much!

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hong Son, Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission:

Surpass yourself

The new development context has many advantages and difficulties, but the aspiration for national development is very great. Therefore, to achieve the set goals, we need to make "extraordinary" efforts and "surpass ourselves".

It is necessary to clearly define and unify the perception of the role, position and importance of managing and effectively using economic resources; considering this a task of the entire political system. On that basis, thoroughly grasp and organize the implementation of the Party's resolutions and conclusions on managing and effectively using resources. Managing and effectively using economic resources will help improve labor productivity, practice thrift, and combat waste, thereby helping to successfully implement the industrialization and modernization process associated with growth model innovation and economic restructuring; protect the environment, adapt to climate change, ensure national defense and security, improve the effectiveness of foreign affairs; help avoid the risk of falling behind and falling into the middle-income trap; create momentum to bring our country into a new era of development, becoming a modern industrialized country with high income in the direction of socialism.

Dr. Pham Tat Thang, Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Head, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Central Committee for Mass Mobilization:

Diversify resources

Continue to improve social security policies in line with the socio-economic development process; improve and supplement specific mechanisms and policies to ensure that disadvantaged groups have full access to basic social services. Supplement and improve mechanisms, policies, planning, and investment in upgrading the social security system to ensure diversity, comprehensiveness, and suitability with socio-economic development conditions and the State's ability to mobilize and balance resources. Diversify resources, promote socialization, and implement publicity and transparency in the exploitation, management, and use of resources to implement social policies and develop the social security system. Continuously build and foster political awareness and capacity to implement human rights and practice socialist democracy. Create mechanisms and policies for businesses and people to enhance their material and financial potential, adapt to market mechanisms and international integration, including the policy of "relaxing people's strength", nurturing people's strength "leaving no one behind", and improving the quality of human resources.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Van Phuc, Vice Chairman of the Scientific Council of Central Party Agencies, former Editor-in-Chief of Communist Magazine:

The key is digital transformation

General Secretary To Lam affirmed that digital transformation must truly be a revolution that brings the country into a new era - the era of the Vietnamese people's rise. Our country is facing a new opportunity, which is both an opportunity and a challenge on the path of development. Under the leadership of the Party, with the consensus and joint efforts of the entire Party, the entire people and the entire political system, we will definitely successfully carry out the digital transformation revolution, creating a breakthrough in the development of productive forces and perfecting production relations, bringing our country and our people to a new era, an era of progress, civilization and modernity.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/dat-nuoc-se-chuyen-minh-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-209820.html