Action Expectations for Innovation

Editor's note: There is still more than a year to go until the 14th National Party Congress, but at this time, the country is clearly feeling the preparation for a new phase. In that context, along with the 79th anniversary of Vietnam's National Day, Vietnam Weekly had a conversation with Dr. Nguyen Si Dung, who has many concerns about current events.

At the beginning of the conversation, Mr. Nguyen Sy Dung had some thoughts:

We are, perhaps, in one of the longest periods in a peaceful environment for national development. The Communist Party of Vietnam will be 95 years old in just a few months, having had a glorious revolutionary career, with great achievements such as 80 years of the August Revolution, the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, 50 years of national reunification and nearly 40 years of the Renovation process...

Dr. Nguyen Si Dung

The turmoil of the recent leadership transition period has brought worries about disruption, but also opened up hope for a new decade, with many opportunities for the country to develop significantly. Of course, on the condition that the leaders can overcome the existing challenges, which we can all feel quite clearly.

We believe that the new generation of leaders will become the driving force for the country's new development phase. In a single-party system, inheriting and ensuring the continuity of the Party's leadership is inevitable. But the new leaders will add vision, energy and aspiration to help the country keep pace with the times.

New Era of Country and People

How can the era you just mentioned be briefly described?

Dr. Nguyen Si Dung : Opportunities and challenges are intertwined. The opportunities are huge but the challenges are also huge. The world is in a fierce competition between major countries, with many geopolitical instabilities appearing in many places. The rise of protectionism greatly affects countries with large economic openness like Vietnam.

Our country is located in a geostrategic position of US-China competition, and our Party, under the leadership of the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, has very skillfully handled this complex relationship as best as possible. In such a complex context, Vietnam can still do business and trade with all countries, and still open up markets. Maintaining such a strategic environment is an extremely great achievement.

But this is a dynamic balance, requiring continuous handling of specific situations and specific events, not something that can be established once and for all.

The coming artificial intelligence (AI) revolution can radically change all aspects of economic, political and cultural life of human society. However, the strategic orientation of our nation in this revolution is still unclear.

The consequence of the agricultural revolution that occurred thousands of years ago was that our nation had to suffer the fate of a thousand years of Chinese domination. The consequence of the industrial revolution that occurred hundreds of years ago was that our country had to suffer the fate of 100 years of colonialism and imperialism. So in the 4.0 revolution, the AI ​​revolution, what will our nation be like? This is a very big question, and hopefully the newly transferred generation of leaders will find the answer.

We have created a favorable international environment, but whether our internal strength, from institutions to businesses and people, is truly sufficient to exploit that favorable strategic environment for development is something to consider.

Optimistic and cautious

There is certainly a lot of talk about the changes that are happening and will happen. What are your thoughts on this?

Actually, I have little opportunity to participate in such discussions. However, the general feeling is quite optimistic, although some people are cautiously optimistic. Because everything happens too quickly. The choice of history comes very quickly, it takes more time for the new leader to introduce his vision, even his doctrine.

General Secretary and President To Lam chaired a Politburo meeting to give comments on documents on August 30, 2024. Photo: VNA

Personally, I see our key leaders and senior leaders as practical activists who, over time, have revealed their technical capacity and aspirations.

Initial comments, based on seniority, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has spent more than half of his term as a national leader. What has happened shows that he is wholeheartedly promoting development. He is an aspirational leader. Aspiration for a strong Vietnam.

General Secretary and President To Lam, as far as I know, must have been nurturing a vision for the era of the 4.0 industrial revolution. What he has shown in his role as Minister of Public Security, especially in the process of advising and implementing Project 06, with the determination of the entire public security sector in a short time to build a national database on population, clearly shows that.

The whole world is in the 4.0 revolution, the artificial intelligence revolution. This is an opportunity for countries like Vietnam to make a breakthrough. National leaders must have a vision of that era. It can be said that both General Secretary and President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh have a vision of the major issues of this era.

In addition, we have a General Secretary and President who can communicate quite fluently in English. He spent a year studying English in Australia, and I witnessed him using that language quite naturally with Americans.

English is a great tool to understand the world and modern national governance knowledge. Furthermore, the image of him driving a Vinfast electric car carrying the General Secretary and President of Laos on his first trip as President also shows that he belongs to the generation of leaders of modern times.

He is not only a technocratic leader but also a talented politician in promoting work, determined to realize his plans and ideas.

From the organization and reorganization of the entire police force, no longer having the model of General Departments, to everything following the direction of "elite ministries, strong provinces, comprehensive districts, and grassroots communes", mobilizing the entire force to collect population data in the previous term, to promoting a series of bills related to the field of security and order to be included in the National Assembly's agenda, as well as his role in the Party building and rectification campaign initiated by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong... all clearly demonstrate that quality.

Systemic Stagnation and Hope for Action for Innovation

Back to the issue of the times. In the current context of the country compared to the period before the 6th Congress, what challenges do you see our leaders facing?

If the 6th Congress took place in the context of our Party having to face basic problems of people's lives such as food, then currently, we are having a headache with the stagnation of the system.

At the beginning of the term, in 2021, the Politburo issued Conclusion 14, then the Government institutionalized it with Decree No. 73/2023/ND-CP on encouraging and protecting dynamic, creative cadres who dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good, but it can be said that up to now, everywhere we look, we still see stagnation...

We are in the era of the 4.0 revolution, it is no longer the story of “big fish swallowing small fish”, but “fast fish swallowing slow fish”. However, we are witnessing the decision-making of all levels and sectors being very slow with a mentality of pushing and avoiding.

So how should our leaders respond to that challenge, sir?

There is much to do, both short-term and long-term.

Regarding General Secretary and President To Lam, I see a new signal from his viewpoint when he chaired the first meeting of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Negative Actions two weeks ago. Of the three contents he emphasized, the first is that anti-corruption and negative actions must serve socio-economic development, not hinder development because of promoting this cause.

I think this is a very correct strategic direction! We must have specific solutions to ensure legal safety for civil servants at all levels.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is resolutely directing the review and handling of inadequacies and overlaps in the legal system. National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man is also actively participating in the Government's efforts to resolve this issue.

But along with dealing with such specific problems, we must continue to improve the law-making process, in which high priority must be given to the policy-making stage. We need to prepare well in terms of policy before starting to make and amend laws. Otherwise, the overlapping and inadequacies in the legal system will reappear, over and over again. In addition, issues related to legislative techniques and drafting techniques of legal documents also need to be addressed.

We need to respect and promote the role of institutional operating agencies, especially in the fields of bidding, investment, and land. Photo: Hoang Ha

Besides, I think that the congestion and stagnation of the apparatus is not only due to laws, but the cause lies mostly in the organization of law enforcement, as well as in inspection, examination, investigation, prosecution and trial.

We need to respect and promote the role of institutional operating agencies, especially in the fields of bidding, investment, land, etc. When localities and ministries need guidance to carry out their work, these agencies must provide guidance immediately, and must be considered the most prestigious opinions in terms of expertise. These opinions cannot be challenged by inspections and examinations, but can only be rejected through legal proceedings.

But as it is now, stagnation also stems from the fact that we don't know what is right to do and what is wrong to avoid.

The nation yearns for a flag to lead Innovation.

Innovation was ignited during the 5th Congress, but it was only when General Secretary Truong Chinh took office and decided to rewrite the political report to be presented to the 6th Congress in the spirit of looking straight at the truth that we entered the Innovation period. So what do you expect at this stage, when the important subcommittees preparing for the 14th Congress must be very busy?

We do not yet know the shape of the draft documents of the 14th Congress. But in our country, the strategic issues of the next 5 years, even the vision for 10 years and beyond, are certainly contained in this document.

Dr. Nguyen Si Dung: "I believe that if we look straight at the truth, speak the truth clearly and are determined to innovate, we will be able to perceive the current situation." Photo: Hoang Ha

In terms of progress, unlike the XII session, the preparation of draft documents for the XIV Congress was pushed forward by the XIII Central Committee. In the XII session, the outlines of the reports were discussed at the 10th Central Conference, while in this XIII session, they were brought up for discussion at the 9th Central Conference.

Being stirred up so early will be very convenient for General Secretary To Lam, in his position as Head of the Document Subcommittee, to review all preparation work as well as mobilize more human resources and experts to advise on further approaches and solutions to the issues that the times are posing.

I believe that by looking straight at the truth, speaking the truth clearly and being determined to innovate, we will be aware of the times, identify the problems we are facing and will have solutions to overcome them.

The aspiration of the 6th Congress was to overcome the crisis. The aspiration of the 13th Congress, clearly expressed in the theme of “awakening the aspiration to develop the country”, and I think it is still true for the upcoming 14th Congress: the aspiration for a strong Vietnam.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ts-nguyen-si-dung-ky-vong-hanh-dong-cho-cong-cuoc-doi-moi-2317794.html