The speech of the Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh at the National Ideology and Culture Conference for summarizing the work in 2006 and deploying missions in 2007

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am very glad to attend the National Ideology and Culture Conference for summarizing the work in 2006 and deploying missions in 2007. On behalf of the Politburo and the Secretariat, I warmly welcome all of you. On the occasion of early Pig’s Year (Dinh Hoi Spring), I affectionately wish you health, happiness and new successes.

Dear all,

I have listened attentively to the reports presented by the leader representatives of the Central Ideology and Culture Board and opinions from some of you; before that, I had chance to learn in advance via specific reports on each field sent by you.

The above reports have generally shown an overview of the situation of the Ideology and Culture mission during the past year, including achievements as well as weak points and shortcomings, and at the same time propose the direction and duties of the entire branch in 2007.

I applaud the spirit of facing facts that you have performed not only in assessing the achievements and strong points at their true worth but also in specifying and self-criticizing seriously about defects, shortcomings and limitations of the branch in the performance of its tasks.

I expect with that spirit, our Conference, through the lively reality of 2006 in the whole country and every locality and field, will conduct the summation profoundly, not only repeating the existent conclusions but also drawing new and more creative and persuasive conclusions which can help to steer our actions in 2007 and following years.

Here, I won’t repeat what you have stated nearly completely in the summation reports but emphasize some most necessary points:

The first point I would like to exchange with you is that it is necessary to be properly aware of the situation and profound marks of 2006 in the country innovation process.

As we all know, 2006 is the year that a lot of significant political, economic, cultural and the like events have taken place in our country. Among those, the most outstanding is the successful Tenth Party Congress with comprehensive summation of 20-year innovation based on which decisive policies and strategies to strive for getting our country out of underdeveloped condition before 2010 and basically coming to a modern-oriented industrial nation in 2020 are brought forward.

2006 is the first year of implementing The Resolution adopted by the Tenth Congress, also the first year that we’ve achieved the target of 5 new years from the start. Last year, we made great achievements on fields of social life such as  stable socio-politics; high economic growth, we have mostly reached and exceeded the target; national defense and security maintained. As for foreign affairs, Vietnam has become an official member of the World Trade Organization, has successfully held the 14^th APEC summit, and has been nominated as an impermanent member of UN Security Council, term 2008 - 2009.

Results achieved in 2006 have strongly developed big and historically meaningful achievements of 20 years of innovation; reflected gigantic efforts of all the party, people, the army.

Over the past ten years, after The national representatives’ meeting at midterm VII (January 1994), we have frequently talked about opportunities and threats, chances and challenges during the development process. But until now, never before have we had favorable and obvious opportunities like those in 2006. Those opportunities were the result of many internal and external factors, which have created and multiplied new positions and powers for our countries. 

The Fourth Conference of the Party’s Central Committee of past tenth term identified that becoming a member of the World Trade Organization has improved the position of Vietnam on international arena, created big opportunities for fast and comprehensive development of Vietnam. This meeting clearly pointed that besides those big opportunities, we also face many challenges due to inherent weaknesses of the economy, leading and managerial shortcomings along with new arising challenges because of development process and international economic integration. Those are challenges not only in economic field but also in the political regime, the leading role of the party and socialist orientation reinforcement, national defense and security strengthening, the national character and cultural preservation, ecological protection for stable development of the country.           

Certainly, those opportunities and challenges relate and impact mutually, changeably. The opportunities themselves could not bring into play the effect, but depend on our utilization. Good utilization of opportunities will create new position and power to overcome the challenges, making the opportunities bigger and bigger. On the contrary, if we do not seize and utilize the opportunities, they will be wasted and the challenges will increase, surpass the opportunities, restrict the development. Challenges are direct pressures, but their impacts depend on our efforts and overcoming capability. If we actively have efficient countermeasures, quickly rise up the pressure of challenges, we will not only overcome challenges but also change challenges into developmental action.   

I think that our ideology task takers, concerning the reality of 2006 and short-term opportunities and challenges, firstly have to understand and promptly make use of instructional spirit of the Central.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The second thing I would like to talk to you is to understand and bring into play the important and decisive role of ideology tasks in new situation.

Ideology work of the Party (including argumentative and cultural tasks) have come into being, existed, and developed along with the preparation, foundation and operation process of the Party until now, especially after our Party lead the people to conduct successfully the August Revolution, seized the national authority and carried out two wars of resistance and now innovates, builds up the country in the socialist route for the goals of wealthy people, strong country, fair, democratic and civilized society.

In building, reorganizing the Party, to improve leading capacity and fighting power of the Party as the Resolution passed by The tenth Congress has mentioned, we simultaneously have to carry out three duties: building the Party about politics & ideology, organization & officials and the inspective duties of the Party. Among those three duties, ideology tasks of the Party is the most pioneering one, contributing to proposing the policies of the Party, propagandizing, popularizing and bringing out resolutions, policies of the Party and the government into life, inspecting not only whether implementation of the policies is right or wrong, but also whether those policies are suitable with reality, they need any correction, modification, development. In the condition of a unique Party leading the country, ideology tasks of the Party not only aim to the officials, party members, but also other classes in society and the entire nation. Ideology work is the duty of the whole Party, of all members of the Party Executive Committee, every official, party members, in which ideological and cultural task takers are the main force.   

The whole view of the meeting

We often say that ideology task takers must thoroughly understand positive and active principles, tightly stick arguments to practice; say together with deeds; build together with prop; regard education, persuasion, commendation as the priority. With those principles in the cause of national innovation, ideology tasks have contributed greatly to the achievements of entire the party, all the people. Research and arguments activities, practical summation have contributed to shape the innovation policies of all the country, gradually ensured the efficient socialist model which our party and the people are building, identified more clearly developmental route of the country in the new stages. Many argument issues of Vietnam revolution have been studied and summarized. Critical education has been intensified; considerably contributes to improve generally political argument ability for officials, party members, reinforces and strengthens unification in awareness among the party and society. Propaganda, education about the policies of the party, the state’s law, increasing excellent symbolic characters in the society have been considered, contribute to create many movements of the masses. Cultures, show, press, publishing activities have plentiful and diversified changes satisfying culture-enjoyed demands of many classes.                 

In 2006, ideology work has had new developmental and progressive steps, positively contributing to the success of the tenth Party Congress and to the successful deployment of the Resolutions approved by the Congress as mentioned above.

On behalf of the State and the Party’s leaders, I highly appreciate and commend the efforts and important contribution of cultural and ideological task takers.

However, as you have told, we can not be satisfied with the attained results. Critical research, practical summation still exist many living problems which do not have full, timely and convincing answers. The quality of political argument education, ethics, manners, lifestyles in the party and the people are not high. Propaganda effect is still low. Show and culture activities can not meet the requirements of quickly changing social life, do not have literary works equivalent with the achievements and great history of the nation. Managerial and instructional tasks of the press, publishing activities are still embarrassing, rightist. Those restrictions have diminished the role and effect of thought tasks to social life and thinking unification among the party, the people.

   I completely agree with your ways of questioning that: why during past years, our country’s economics has grown quickly; life of people classes has been obviously improved and incessantly rose up; position and power of our country are stronger; the prestige of the country in the world has been increased, but the social thinking still exists many anxieties, worries; the social state of mind still has some onerous sides; urgent matters have not answered yet …? Those realities are not completely created by weaknesses and shortcomings of thought tasks, but thought tasks have to bear a considerable responsibility, and need to find the answer through practical and specific actions.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The third thing I want to talk to you is about the duties which ideology assignment has to grasp in 2007.    

2007 is the second year for implementing Resolution of the tenth Assembly of the Party, the year for Congressional selecting of twelfth session, also the year for pushing up an extremely important step in building and reorganizing the Party, reordering apparatus and officers of the Party and political system in common. Ideology assignment of the Party probably has to efficiently serve for those common duties.

Based on the forth central conference resolution, other the Central’s instructions and resolutions relating to essential duties which should be implemented in 2007 by all the Party and people, I highly approve and appreciate all the major programs and innovative objectives “Strong innovation of content and operating mode” which is identified and conducted by the Ideology and Culture Committee at this conference.

Firstly, officials of Ideology committee need to make the officials, communists and people deeply recognize that our country is at new and vital opportunities, also faces strong challenges requiring very big efforts from all the party and people to overcome. Paramount, it not only needs unification in ideology and action of all the party, people, and military to develop the power of the nation and trigger internal forces, but also take advantage of efficiency of international economic integration to create a quick growth aiming to get our country out of underdeveloped situation and achieve the target of becoming an industrialized nation in 2020. Big achievements after 20 years of innovation, experiences, especially the innovative lessons of relying on people, developing people’s power and those for people’s benefits are some unlimited sources to make our country progressed.      

Secondly, the deeper innovative mission goes, the more essentially it requires a new range of intelligence, active spirit, creation in building & organizing to implement resolution of party. The new matters of industrialization, modernization, building market economy oriented in socialist, building legitimate state of socialist of, by and for people and etc. need to be researched, solved from reality& basis of our country’s innovation and reference to foreign country’s experiences. The officials of the Ideology and Culture Committee have to be pioneer in researching argument, summarizing reality; strongly attach to the lives of people; discover, rear and popularize new factors, good initiatives, the good ways of working; summarize, generalize arguments for contributing to develop and perfect innovative policies. Beside that, they also have to widely, deeply propagandize and popularize innovative ideologies, arguments for all the party and people to make the general power for development of our country.

Thirdly, we need to strongly develop the role of culture, spirit premises and motivation of nation during career of building and protecting nation. The tenth assembly resolution emphasizes in implementing synchronously three duties: Economic development is major; building party is essential; Develop culture, spirit premises of society. The ideology and culture task of party must play a vital role in career of building an advanced culture of Vietnam, warm national character, making uncle Ho ideas into practical “ culture is also a battlefield. Intelligentsia, artist is the soldiers on hat battlefield.

Fourthly, in 2007 and next years, ideology and culture field must play an important role in deploying efficiently the campaign “study and do like uncle Ho’s ethical example”. We have to propagandize, educate, campaign, supervise, speed up, fight, criticize to build revolutionary ethics in the party, and society like uncle Ho example; determine to push back and overcome corruption, waste, bureaucracy, all the sign of individualistic. Ideology and culture field and every officials, communists, officers and workers need to identify firm ideological stand, absolutely loyal to revolutionary career of the party, people; be exemplary in assignments and daily life by taught principles of uncle Ho “ the people only love and esteem honest ones.” To instruct people, you have to be exemplary to take the others to follow”. We need to develop the tradition of the field, be dynamic, creative in new situation, be positive in innovating content and methods of implementing ideology tasks; say and write how to be honest, lively, attractive, and persuadable; each sentence and each word has to be filtrated from intelligence and devotion for people and the party. 

Fifthly, we have to build the system of offices to do strongly, unified ideology and culture task in all the party which is enough power to excellently complete hard duty in new period.

We are striving to synchronously build institution of market economy oriented in socialist, legitimate state of socialist of, by and for people; to be positive and active in integration into international economy and etc. Those new conditions set up requires which have to continuously innovate, reorder organization and apparatus of the party’s offices, state in common and all offices in political system. The objectives of this innovation are better guarantee of the leading role of the Party, social management efficiency of state following law, developing people’s right, taking advantages in widening cooperated international relation. The 4 Central Conference of the tenth session consulted and passed innovative resolution, reordered offices of the Party and State. Beside that there also has unifying the Central ideology and culture committee. This is a big policy of the party to strengthen the lead of the party not only in propaganda and training field but also enhancing the efficiency of offices in this field. In 2007, the Central Ideology and Culture committee in particular and propaganda-instruction field in general need to have detailed, logical plans;  ensure right principles and be prompt to reorganize the system; arrange officials team in accordance with central resolution. The central, political bureau, secretariat will study to have suitable policy to reinforce, strengthen logically propaganda-instruction system form central to units to develop well role of the field and to reinforce firmly ideology and culture battlefield in new situation. But at first, we need to be active in implementing efficiently the function of advice, guidance, instruction, supervision, fighting in ideology and culture battlefield, especially in research and argument field, practical summation, operating guidance, educating arguments in political system and national education; instructing press, publishing, culture, show; understanding and handling promptly complicated situations arising in ideology and culture field.

Sixthly, we have to enhance our fighting spirit in tasks of ideology; rectify deviatory, vague ideologies; fight and criticize wrong points of view; reject distorted and hostile theoretical points; determine to defeat conspiracy of peaceful happenings in ideology field.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our country is entering a new spring, the spring of noble ideals for the cause of building and protecting nation; for national independence, the socialist and happiness of people. Glorious and heavy missions are placing on our party’s shoulder; including the people doing ideology and culture tasks.  

With the new position and power, in 2007, we have belief and hope about continuously achieving big successes of our country in all fields and assuring to bring innovation to a new altitude.

Congratulate Ideology and Culture field on achieving important results in 2007 and appropriating with the belief of the party, state and people.

Wish a great success to your Conference.

Thank you very much.

(Translated by THKC)