Eliminate the idea of retreat

Speaking at the recent conference reviewing one year of activities of the Provincial Steering Committee on preventing and combating corruption and negativity, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong requested to "fight to eliminate the idea of retreat, saying that if the fight against corruption and negativity is too strong, it will hinder development and discourage creativity."

From the practical results of the fight against corruption and negativity in recent times, the General Secretary's direction needs to be deeply absorbed into each Party committee and cadre and Party member to immediately eliminate the idea of retreat.

1. To clarify this issue, we need to analyze whether the fight against corruption and negativity in recent times has been “too strong” or not? The answer is that corruption and negativity have been pushed back, but are still painful and complicated.

The evidence is that after many major corruption and negative cases were brought to light; many officials, including high-ranking officials, had to receive appropriate punishments before the law; but new cases still appeared with even larger scale and nature, such as the cases that are still "hot" in public opinion: Viet A case, FLC Group, Tan Hoang Minh, Van Thinh Phat Group, AIC Company, Vietnam Register and some provincial and municipal registration centers... That shows that the fight against corruption and negative acts not only needs to be maintained but also needs to be implemented more strongly.

Preventing and combating corruption and negativity is a consistent policy of the Party and State, and is also what voters and people expect and demand. In meetings with National Assembly deputies before and after the fifth session of the 15th National Assembly, voters in many places across the country requested that the Central Government continue to fight against corruption and negativity without stopping; many opinions also suggested increasing the penalty framework for corrupt acts.

Therefore, the idea of retreat is certainly not the “people’s heart” and certainly not the “Party’s will”. That idea certainly only exists in those who do not fully understand, are still vague, fearful or have fallen into a state of degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, and have even fallen into a state of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”. Instilling that idea is also the trick of reactionary forces and political opportunists to sabotage the Party and the State, and to shake the fighting spirit of the Party committee and the political system.

Corruption and negativity are a type of crime; fighting against corruption and negativity is the responsibility and obligation of the whole society, first of all of the political system and each cadre and party member. Corrupt and negative behavior not only goes against the fundamental values of society and people, but also threatens the survival of the regime.

In recent years, especially in the last two terms, thanks to the elimination of "worms and termites" from the apparatus, the Party organization and political system have become increasingly clean and strong, constantly improving their leadership capacity, fighting power and operational effectiveness and efficiency. Thanks to that, even in the context of the whole world being miserable due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Vietnam is still a bright spot in economic growth. Our country has never had such a foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today. The successes in the country's foreign affairs activities further reinforce this assessment.

2. Therefore, not only must we eliminate the idea of retreat, but we must also move forward and further strengthen the fight against corruption and negativity.

To do that, first of all, Party committees at all levels and the entire political system need to focus on propaganda and education work to thoroughly overcome the state of vague, distorted, and erroneous perceptions, first of all among cadres and Party members, regarding the Party and State's viewpoints on fighting against corruption and negativity. Party committees at all levels must include this content in the thematic activities of each Party cell so that cadres and Party members can frankly exchange and discuss, thereby reaching a consensus on the view that we must fight uncompromisingly against corruption and negativity.

Party committees and organizations at all levels need to seriously organize the study and learning of the work of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong "Resolutely and persistently fight against corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong". This is a handbook that converges profound and convincing values in theory and practice of the fight against corruption and negativity in our country. By studying the work of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, cadres and party members are equipped with correct awareness and political courage to act confidently and responsibly in the fight against corruption and negativity in the short and long term.

At the same time, all levels and sectors need to focus on implementing Resolution No. 27-NQ/TU dated November 9, 2022 of the 6th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing to build and perfect the socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam in the new period. In particular, the focus is on continuing to perfect the legal system and the mechanism for organizing strict and effective law enforcement; at the same time, building a professional, modern, fair, strict, honest, serving-the-Fatherland, serving-the-people judiciary; building a culture of integrity... All must aim to form a mechanism in which officials do not dare, cannot, do not need and do not want to be corrupt.

In the immediate future, Party committees and authorities at all levels should focus on eliminating manifestations of "holding back", "defending", "shielding", maintaining safety, overcoming the situation where a number of cadres and civil servants, especially leaders and managers at all levels, avoid, shirk responsibility, are afraid of making mistakes and do not dare to do anything; soon have mechanisms and policies to encourage and protect those who are dynamic, creative, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility...

The Standing Committee of the Hanoi Party Committee is finalizing to soon issue a Directive on “Strengthening discipline, order and responsibility in handling the work of Party committees, localities and units under Hanoi city”. Along with the resolute directions of the Steering Committee of the City Party Committee on preventing and combating corruption and negativity when putting more than 60 cases and incidents under surveillance since its establishment, this is the concretization of the General Secretary's direction with practical actions, determined to eliminate the idea of retreat.

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