Preventing and combating peaceful evolution: “Hoa card”

In preventing “peaceful evolution”, we absolutely must not be negligent, subjective, or lose vigilance, leading to passivity and confusion in this “smokeless” but fierce and arduous war. *Illustration photo: CPV*

The event of President Vo Van Thuong leading a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to attend the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing (China) from October 17 to 20, 2023 is one of the important diplomatic activities. This is also the first visit to China by President Vo Van Thuong in his new position, so it has attracted the attention of international observers. And of course, it cannot avoid scrutiny and distortion by political opportunists at home and abroad.

The “Belt and Road” initiative was first raised by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visit to Central Asia (September 2013) and Southeast Asia (October 2013). In terms of scope and geography, the “Belt and Road” initiative stretches from Asia to Europe and can be expanded to Africa and Latin America. To date, China has twice organized the “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Forum. In both occasions, senior leaders of Vietnam participated and delivered important speeches. Thus, President Vo Van Thuong’s participation in the event is a continuation of the multilateral and bilateral relations that Vietnam has been pursuing, aiming to promote stable and sustainable Vietnam-China relations; at the same time contributing to common stability and development. However, those who sabotage it are “making a mountain out of a molehill”. They dig up, add to distant stories or make up untrue stories to destroy the neighborly relationship that for generations, the leaders of the Party, State and people of the two countries have always tried to preserve to make the relationship better and better.

The New Horizons page - a notorious anti-communist news site, has published fabricated information about the visit of President Vo Van Thuong even before the event took place. The article also brought up a story from a few years ago, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Vietnam and attended the APEC Summit Week, then made a distorted argument: “President Xi Jinping accepted the invitation to visit Vietnam but demanded to “upgrade” China-Vietnam relations to a “new level”. Then it spread the news that China had booked 800 rooms at the most luxurious hotels in Hanoi - a display of “the world’s number one delegation”, in line with a state visit of a great nation... The article also made a “blind man touching an elephant”-like assessment: China will have some requests that will make things difficult for Vietnam and raised the question of whether “bamboo diplomacy” is still effective?... All the distorted and fabricated information as well as the “concerns” of political opportunists are aimed at confusing public opinion about Vietnam’s foreign policy, especially towards China. Then a group of people, every anniversary of the Gac Ma incident, gather at the Ly Thai To monument (Hanoi) to carry out The so-called “memorial of the soldiers who died” on this island. They gathered in the name of patriotism, but everyone knows the dark purpose of this group of people! They created crowds, hung banners, shouted anti-China slogans and called it a demonstration of “patriotism”. This action was repeated for many years and besides gathering and causing trouble, they did not make any move to show gratitude to the soldiers of Gac Ma who died, including those who are still alive!

Putting together events over a long period of time, it is not difficult to recognize the plot to incite “anti-Chinese” sentiments that those who deliberately oppose the Party, the State and the people of Vietnam have carried out over the past years. They ignore the legitimate and appropriate rights of the majority of the people when they live and work in an open and friendly atmosphere. They deliberately sabotage the policy of putting the past behind them, normalizing post-war relations, living together in peace and developing that our Party and State have been pursuing. And there are many other “anti-Chinese” activities that those who oppose them have been and continue to carry out.

Vietnam-China relations have had many ups and downs in the past decade, especially the entanglements in issues related to the East Sea. As a country that has gone through many wars, and whose people have shed much blood to preserve peace and independence, we cannot forget the painful past, nor let our guard down. Our Party always takes national interests as the criteria. And Vietnam has always been consistent in its flexible and adaptable foreign policy and guidelines based on a correct understanding of partners and objects. In the field of defense diplomacy, Vietnam implements the "3 no's" defense policy: Not participating in military alliances; not being a military ally of any country; not allowing any country to set up military bases in Vietnam and not relying on one country to fight against another... Thus, the foreign policy of the Party and State of Vietnam is not a temporary diplomatic strategy or tactic but a political policy that is open, transparent, and in line with the development trend of the world. What has been happening in diplomatic relations in general; the relationship between Vietnam and China in particular has completely refuted the false arguments that the New Horizon page and anti-communist news sites are trying to distort and sabotage.

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