To express deep gratitude and determination to successfully realize the wishes of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on resolutely and persistently fighting against individualism, preventing and combating corruption and negativity; Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary, Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission, Standing Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee on preventing and combating corruption and negativity, Standing Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Judicial Reform Phan Dinh Trac wrote an article : "Deeply grasping the thoughts and viewpoints of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - Continuing to promote the prevention and combat of corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong".
The World & Vietnam Newspaper respectfully introduces the article:
 |
| General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the National Conference reviewing anti-corruption work in the 2013-2020 period (Hanoi, December 12, 2020). (Source: VNA) |
Throughout his revolutionary career, regardless of his position or field of work, from when he was a young cadre to when he held the position of Party and State leader, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has always been concerned with the work of Party building and rectification, and the fight against corruption and negativity. In particular, with the responsibility of Head of the Central Steering Committee on corruption and negativity prevention and control, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has led and directed closely and decisively, with many extremely important viewpoints and policies of profound theoretical and practical nature, demonstrating the vision, mettle, intelligence, humanity, benevolence, and persuasiveness of the leader of our Party.
With the resolute, persistent, unceasing, non-stop, no-holds-barred, no-exception, strict but very humane leadership and direction, the exemplary revolutionary ethics, the consistency between words and actions, actions go hand in hand with words of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity has been carried out very resolutely, methodically, comprehensively, in-depth, achieving many very important results, creating positive effects, spreading strongly throughout society, leaving a deep impression on cadres, party members, people and international friends.
Comrade General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong - an exceptionally outstanding leader, exemplary in qualities, talent, intelligence, and mettle of a loyal communist soldier, who devoted his whole life to the country and the people, has left us forever, but the thoughts and viewpoints of Comrade General Secretary will forever be the "compass" for the actions of our entire Party, army, and people. More than ever, Party committees, Party organizations, and each of us, cadres, and Party members, need to thoroughly grasp the thoughts and guiding viewpoints of Comrade General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, continue to promote the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong.
Corruption is "a congenital defect of power"; the fight against negative corruption is a necessary, inevitable task, an irreversible trend; it must be carried out regularly, resolutely, persistently, continuously, without rest, with high determination, concrete and drastic actions and "if anyone feels discouraged, step aside and let someone else do it"
With rich practical experience and sharp theoretical thinking, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has pointed out that corruption is a "congenital defect of power", it takes place within us, carried out by people with positions and authority; preventing and combating corruption and negativity is a struggle within each individual, in their own agency, organization, unit, and locality, related to material interests, money, position, honor, and reputation of organizations and individuals; affecting people with positions and authority.
Our Party and State have seen this early and have directed it to be done many times, resolutely, but there is still much work to be done and it must be done in the long term, more resolutely, with greater determination, persistence, perseverance, and without haste. The General Secretary requested that we should not be subjective or hasty, but also not avoid or hold back, but must proceed regularly, continuously, resolutely, persistently, without stopping, without slowing down, or slackening off in the fight against corruption and negativity.
Even when the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption was established, he also noted: The Steering Committee is not a "magic wand" that can immediately change the situation. From that, the General Secretary often reminded us to be deeply aware of the risks and harms of corruption, which paralyze the fighting power, damage the reputation, erode the prestige of the Party, and corrupt the Party, not only losing money and property, but also losing people and the regime. Therefore, the General Secretary affirmed: "The fight against corruption is a necessary and inevitable task; an irreversible trend", no matter how difficult it is, we must find every way to do it, do it by all means, do it to the end, "if anyone feels discouraged, then step aside and let someone else do it".
The General Secretary believes that if all of us, from top to bottom, have great determination, high unity, drastic and feasible implementation measures, close direction with a correct, sober, calm, non-extremist way of thinking, not allowing bad forces to take advantage, distort, incite, and sabotage, then corruption and negativity will definitely be prevented and gradually pushed back. And when "the furnace is hot, even fresh wood put in here must burn".
 |
| General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the 24th meeting of the Central Steering Committee on anti-corruption and anti-negativity. (Source: VNA) |
Degradation in political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle - the fundamental cause of corruption; must link anti-corruption with anti-negativity; link anti-corruption and anti-negativity with Party building and rectification and the political system, and socio-economic development.
Along with identifying the nature and harms of corruption, the General Secretary pointed out the objective and subjective causes of corruption and affirmed that it is mainly due to subjective causes and our own faults. In particular, the General Secretary emphasized that the fundamental and direct cause of corruption is the degradation of political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle; ultimately, it is due to the inability to overcome individualism.
This is the root, the most dangerous thing that leads to corruption; on the contrary, corruption makes the degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle more serious. Therefore, we must combine preventing and fighting corruption with preventing and fighting negativity, focusing on preventing and fighting degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle; if we only prevent and fight corruption of money and property, it is not enough; money and property can be recovered, but if there is degradation of morality and ideology, everything is lost; preventing and fighting negativity means getting to the root of corruption.
At the same time, the General Secretary requested that the fight against corruption and negativity must be linked with Party building and rectification, and socio-economic development; it is not necessary to close the door to rectify the Party; the fundamental issue in the fight against corruption and negativity is early and far-reaching prevention, with the focus on Party building and rectification, especially preventing and combating ideological, moral and lifestyle degradation among cadres and party members; special attention must be paid to and emphasis placed on cadre work.
Consistent with the motto of no forbidden zones, no exceptions, no matter who the person is; very strict but also very humane, treating illnesses and saving people
During his leadership of the revolution, Lenin pointed out that corrupt communist party members must be "punished mercilessly, even by shooting," and even "punished three times more severely" those outside the party. President Ho Chi Minh upheld the death sentence for Colonel Tran Du Chau, Director of the Quartermaster Department, which is a typical example of strictness in dealing with corruption.
Thoroughly grasping and creatively applying Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh thought and international experience, the General Secretary affirmed: The purpose of dealing with corruption and negativity is to cure diseases and save people, to discipline a few to save thousands, and to warn, deter, educate and prevent.
From there, the General Secretary requested to resolutely and severely handle corrupt and negative acts, but must be reasonable, emotional, humane, and compassionate, with the principle: All cadres, party members, civil servants, and public employees in any working position who commit violations must be promptly, strictly, and publicly handled, strictly from top to bottom, with no forbidden areas, no empty areas, no exceptions, no privileges, regardless of who the person is, without pressure from any organization or individual; if there is a case, it must be verified and clarified; actively, urgently, and clearly handled to the extent that there are signs of a crime, an investigation must be initiated, and if a crime is concluded, it must be prosecuted and tried according to the provisions of the law; if the case has not reached the level of criminal prosecution, strict disciplinary action must be taken according to the provisions of the Party, State, and organizations.
The handling process must be carried out synchronously between Party disciplinary action, State administrative discipline, organization discipline and criminal handling; Party discipline is implemented first, creating the premise for administrative, organization discipline and criminal handling; Party discipline is more strict than legal handling. Not only serious acts of corruption and negativity are strictly handled, but also those who condone, cover up and assist corruption and negativity; those who take advantage of anti-corruption and negativity to distort, incite, divide and sabotage the Party and State.
At the same time, in directing the handling of corruption and negativity, the General Secretary always requires that the handling must be strict, but also very humane: We must detect early, handle from the beginning, not let small violations accumulate into big violations; must take education, deterrence, and prevention as the main thing, combining punishment with leniency; in handling, we must thoroughly grasp objective, comprehensive, historical, and specific viewpoints, differentiate between those who commit violations due to personal motives and profiteering and those who commit violations without personal motives and profiteering; must prosecute and try in absentia criminals who are on the run according to the law; strictly handling many officials, including high-ranking officials who commit violations is something no one wants, even very painful, very heartbreaking, but for the common cause, for the strictness of Party discipline, the rule of law of the State, the purity, strength and prestige of the Party, the State and the will of the People, we must do it and resolutely do it.
These are the guiding thoughts and viewpoints throughout the process of detecting and handling corruption and negativity of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong; thoroughly grasped and seriously implemented by Party committees, Party organizations and functional agencies, bringing about clear results in practice, creating new breakthroughs, being bright spots and outstanding marks in the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity in recent times.
Linking anti-corruption and anti-negativity with power control, "locking" power in an institutional "cage"
Power is always at risk of "degeneration", corruption is "the inborn defect of power". Therefore, the guiding viewpoint of the General Secretary is to effectively control the exercise of power, to ensure that power is operated openly, transparently, correctly, in accordance with the principle: All power must be strictly controlled by mechanisms, must be bound by responsibility, with power comes responsibility, the higher the power, the greater the responsibility; taking advantage of and abusing power must be prosecuted and strictly handled.
The General Secretary requested: Leaders at all levels must remember that no one has absolute power outside the law; anyone who uses power must serve the people, be responsible to the people, and voluntarily submit to the people's supervision. Public funds belong to the public, so not even a penny or a cent can be spent indiscriminately; public power is for the people, so there must be no personal gain; one must be truly impartial, public and private must be clearly distinguished, public first and private last, for the public while forgetting private; everything must originate from the people, for the people. Absolutely do not abuse or take advantage of power, do not rely on power to make straight become crooked. For those assigned positions and powers, one must constantly cultivate, train, regularly self-reflect and self-correct.
On the part of agencies and organizations, it is necessary to pay attention to tightening discipline, using strict discipline and strict supervision so that cadres and party members know how to preserve, remember prohibitions, and keep limits; it is necessary to strengthen supervision and effectively control the exercise of power by people with positions and powers; in personnel work and specialized, closed, and secret fields, it is necessary to pay more attention to inspection, supervision, and control of power, especially inspection and supervision from outside; at the same time, it is necessary to publicize the process of using and exercising power according to the law for cadres and people to supervise. From there, the General Secretary requested to urgently perfect and strictly implement mechanisms on power control; to establish a mechanism for people to supervise and control power that is truly effective and efficient; to "lock" power in a "cage" of mechanisms.
 |
| Cover of the book Resolutely and persistently fighting against corruption and negativity, contributing to building our Party and State increasingly clean and strong. (Source: National Political Publishing House Truth) |
Controlling power, practicing integrity and preventing and combating corruption and negativity must first be carried out seriously and effectively within anti-corruption and negativity agencies.
Agencies with the function of preventing and combating corruption and negativity are agencies assigned with a lot of power, with many specific, complex and secretive activities; they often face negative aspects in society, making it easy for officials and civil servants to fall and be bribed. Therefore, the General Secretary requires that more than anyone else, the agencies with the function of preventing and combating corruption and negativity and the staff doing this work must be honest and clean; they cannot "While their own feet are still dirty / Hold a torch to rub other people's feet".
Therefore, preventing and combating corruption and negativity must first be carried out seriously and effectively in the agencies that prevent and combat corruption and negativity. For the cadres working on preventing and combating corruption and negativity, the General Secretary set higher demands on responsibility and courage, with extremely profound and profound advice: "Must have a heart filled with revolutionary enthusiasm, ready to act for the country and for the people; have a head full of courage and intelligence to overcome any difficulty, defeat any enemy; have strong legs and clean hands to stand firm, stand straight and reject all trivial temptations, maintain the honor of a cadre...; "as long as the Party exists, we exist", worthy of being the sharp "sword", the solid "shield" of the Party, the State and the People".
Even for the comrades who are members of the Steering Committee for the Prevention and Combat of Corruption and Negativity, the General Secretary also requested that they uphold their responsibilities, be truly exemplary models, resolutely fight against corruption and negativity, have enough courage, qualities, and qualifications to be worthy of the trust, affection, and aspirations of the people; if anyone is involved in corruption or negativity, "I" (the Party and the State) will deal with them first.
Consistently implement the "four no's" mechanism in preventing and combating corruption and negativity: "cannot", "don't dare", "don't want", "don't need" corruption and negativity
To achieve the goal of preventing and repelling corruption and negativity, the General Secretary directed: It is necessary to build a strict prevention mechanism so that corruption and negativity "cannot" occur; a strict deterrent and punishment mechanism so that corruption and negativity "do not dare" occur; and a guarantee mechanism so that corruption and negativity "do not want" or "do not need". This is both a comprehensive viewpoint and motto in preventing and combating corruption and negativity, and at the same time, it is one of the valuable lessons learned by the General Secretary through more than 10 years of directly leading and directing the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity.
To effectively implement the "four no's" motto, according to the General Secretary, it is necessary to perfect the institutions in the socio-economic fields, prevent and combat corruption and negativity, build the Party and the political system very tightly, without loopholes or shortcomings, so that "corruption and negativity are impossible"; detect and handle promptly and strictly all acts of corruption and negativity, without forbidden areas or exceptions, so that "no daring to be corrupt or negativistic"; build a culture of integrity, no corruption and negativity into a way of life for cadres, party members, civil servants, public employees and all classes of people, so that "no corruption or negativity is wanted"; implement regimes and policies of treatment appropriate to the contributions and talents of cadres, civil servants and public employees, so that "no corruption or negativity is needed".
Mobilizing the strength of the entire political system, relying on the people, building a solid "people's hearts" position in preventing and fighting corruption and negativity.
During his revolutionary activities and leadership, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has always thoroughly grasped the invaluable historical lesson "the people are the root"; truly believed in, respected and promoted the people's right to mastery; tightened the relationship with the people, listened to their opinions, and relied on the people. Practice has shown that there is nothing that the people do not know, nothing that can be hidden from the people; only by fully promoting the people's strength can we push back corruption and negativity, creating an irreversible "movement and trend".
Therefore, the General Secretary repeatedly emphasized: The great strength and driving force of the fight against corruption and negativity is the consensus, support, response, and active participation of the people and the entire political system and the press, with the core being the agencies with the functions of preventing and fighting corruption and negativity, such as internal affairs, inspection, auditing, investigation, prosecution, trial, and execution. Without relying on the people, the fight against corruption can hardly succeed.
The General Secretary cited the valuable teachings of President Ho Chi Minh to remind Party committees, Party organizations, cadres and Party members to deeply remember and implement: "We must know how to rely on the people, listen to the people, whatever the masses welcome and support, we must be determined to do and do it at all costs; on the contrary, whatever the people do not agree with, even hate and oppose, we must resolutely prevent, correct and strictly handle violations"; "must make the masses despise corruption, waste and bureaucracy; turn tens of thousands and millions of vigilant eyes and ears of the masses into spotlights shining everywhere, not allowing corruption, waste and bureaucracy to hide". The General Secretary requested to build a solid "people's hearts" in preventing and fighting corruption and negativity.
 |
| On March 2, 2023, the Party Executive Committee coordinated with the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organize a conference to study and disseminate the General Secretary's book on preventing and combating corruption and negativity. (Photo: Anh Son) |
Gradually expand the fight against corruption and negativity to the non-state sector and improve the effectiveness of international cooperation in corruption prevention and fight.
Corruption and negativity not only occur in the state sector, but also have the help and effective support of subjects operating outside the state sector. On the other hand, corruption crimes are international in nature, a problem of all countries. Therefore, the General Secretary requested to effectively implement activities to prevent and combat corruption and negativity in the non-state sector, while strengthening international cooperation in preventing and combating corruption; solutions to prevent and combat corruption and negativity must be consistent with the cultural traditions of the nation and with the socialist-oriented market economy of Vietnam.
Step up negotiations and signing of mutual legal assistance agreements and cooperation agreements in the fight against crime with other countries; closely coordinate with judicial agencies of other countries and international organizations to arrest and extradite corrupt criminals in hiding, transfer documents and evidence and recover corrupt assets that have been smuggled abroad. Actively participate in international initiatives and forums, research and exchange experiences with other countries and international organizations in the fight against corruption.
Internalize and implement the United Nations Convention against Corruption in accordance with the roadmap, in accordance with Vietnam's conditions. Regularly summarize and draw experiences, constantly innovate thinking, and perfect theories on preventing and combating corruption and negativity in Vietnam.
Close coordination, "right role, know the lesson", "unanimous, smooth"
One of the lessons that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has drawn from the practice of leading and directing the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity is to focus on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, promoting the core role and close, synchronous, rhythmic, timely and effective coordination of agencies with the function of preventing and combating corruption and negativity.
During the operation, if a violation with signs of crime is detected, the competent authorities shall immediately transfer the case file to the competent investigation agency for investigation and handling according to the provisions of law; if the violation is related to a cadre under the management of the Party Committee, it shall be reported to the Standing Committee of that Party Committee, and at the same time, the file and documents shall be transferred to the inspection committee at the same level for handling according to the Party's regulations. The comrade requested that in the fight against corruption and negativity, there must be absolutely no "fighting for my rights", "crabs rely on their claws, fish rely on their fins"; there must be "the right role, know the lesson"; "unanimity among the top and bottom, and smooth communication".
To ensure centralized and unified leadership and direction from the Central to local levels, the General Secretary directed the research and submission to the Central Executive Committee for decision to establish a Steering Committee for anti-corruption and anti-negativity at the provincial level. Thanks to that, the work of anti-corruption and anti-negativity at the local level has had a clear change, gradually effectively overcoming the situation of "hot above, cold below", affirming the correct and timely policy of the Central Committee and of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
With 80 years of life and nearly 60 years of rich and persistent revolutionary activities, Professor, Doctor, and General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong with his scholarly and sharp intellect has left behind for the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army a valuable ideological and theoretical system about Vietnam's revolutionary path in the new era. Throughout his life of revolutionary activities, the work of preventing and combating corruption and negativity, building and rectifying the Party and political system held a particularly important position for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army vow to unite, unite, join forces, unite, take advantage of opportunities, overcome challenges, continue to promote prevention and fight against corruption and negativity, contributing to building a truly clean and strong Party and State; Successfully implementing the goal of building a peaceful, independent, unified, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam that the General Secretary cherished and strived for all his life.
Source
![[Photo] National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man holds talks with Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/9/19/5cb954e3276c4c1587968acb4999262e)
Comment (0)