Applying Ho Chi Minh’s thought to realising the Party’s Resolution

 The 13^th National Party Congress was successful. To quickly translate the Resolution of this Congress into life, all-level party committees and authorities and the people across the country should synchronously, drastically adopt various measures, with a focus on applying Ho Chi Minh’s thought in the implementation process.

The leadership process of the Communist Party of Vietnam is a series of inter-connected, closely-organised activities expressing the Party’s will and action to achieve the revolutionary goal. Once the Party issues a resolution, it is a must for the entire Party and people to realise the contents of that resolution. President Ho Chi Minh ever developed a standard, inter-connected process of leadership of the Party, including (1) formulating the Party’s action plan based on the political platform, long-term guidelines, and even strategies for each period and party congress tenure, (2) identifying the theme or project to build the draft resolution, (3) really democratically discussing and deciding issues by vote under the principle of democratic centralism within the Party, and (4) implementing the Party’s resolution. In the implementation process, a party organisation shall assign specific tasks to each affiliate or individual, develop an action plan or programme to realise the resolution into life, and inspect, supervise, review and assess the execution of the resolution to draw lessons, reward collectives and individuals with the outstanding achievements, take disciplinary action against collectives and party members with poor task performance, and adjust inappropriate issues.

In the implementation of the Party’s resolution, Ho Chi Minh raised specific issues as follows.

Firstly, it is necessary to carefully prepare a plan. When developing the plan to implement a resolution, we must be extremely realistic and avoid subjectivity. According to Ho Chi Minh, officials who only work in their office and cling on to their documents often think that their writing is brilliant. They don’t realise their subjectivity or know that their work produces no good result.

Secondly, it is important to grasp the contents of the resolution. Discussions must be held to comprehend the resolution. According to the President, discussions must be really democratic, during which everyone is free to express their opinions. Moreover, it is essential to deploy rapporteurs to present the resolution. All-level party organisations and members must clearly discuss to grasp the resolution and then develop proper action plans/programmes. In addition to elaborate preparations, rapporteurs must accurately convey the contents of the resolution relevant to localities; they must avoid spending hours of the day talking about all things “in the heavens and on the earth,” without anything useful for any locality or any person.

Thirdly, it is vital to implement the resolution actively and quickly. When he was alive, President Ho Chi Minh always reminded us how to realise a resolution. According to him, the inflexible, cumbersome, reluctant, and incomplete execution of a resolution would lead to “a pocketful of documents and announcements” as a modest effect. More seriously, doing so would undermine the Party’s organisation and discipline, while a good chance would be thrown away or wasted. He also pointed out that the Party is like a human body. Directives and resolutions are like blood vessels. A person is healthy only when blood vessels run through his/her entire body. Wherever the blood vessel stops, that part of the body will be paralysed or sicken. Similarly, the smooth execution of directives and resolutions will help facilitate authorities and organisations’ task performance.

Fourthly, due attention should be paid to bringing into play democracy and initiatives. President Ho Chi Minh believed that democracy, initiatives and enthusiasm have a close relationship with one another. Democracy will enable cadres and the masses to develop initiatives. Once those initiatives are commended, their developers will be more enthusiastic and other people will follow. No matter how large or small those initiatives are, they will practically, effectively stimulate revolutionary movements.

Fifthly, due regard should be paid to inspecting the implementation of the resolution. Stressing the important role of the inspection work, Ho Chi Minh said that clever inspection would help us to know whether resolutions are executed effectively or not. He thought that inspections would also help expose all weaknesses.

At present, the implementation of our Party’s Resolution is imposing more demanding requirements on our country’s revolution. The 13^th National Party Congress’ Resolution and documents have pointed out the goals and tasks of national development in the new period, expressed the crystallisation of knowledge of the entire Party and Vietnamese people, and illuminated our road to socialism in our country, regardless of numerous difficulties and challenges ahead. Hence, we must grasp and apply Ho Chi Minh’s thought to realising the Party’s Resolution and documents, with a focus on the main issues as follows.

1. Develop action plans/programmes to implement the Resolution in a proper, specific, comprehensive manner. In order to formulate both general and detailed action plans/programmes, we must take the specific conditions of the Party, the country, and each sector, locality, office, and unit into consideration. Such plans/programmes represent basic designs, without which we could hardly execute the Resolution effectively. More importantly, we should specifically, practically identify the tasks, goals, and solutions in accordance with each locality and sector, which need to be designed carefully by organisations and experts and democratically discussed. It is essential to avoid copying higher echelons’ action plans/programmes. Poorly-designed action plans/programmes will bring about disorientation or spontaneous, unscientific actions within a ruling Party, an action Party, and a Party that is able to gather all people and combine the strength of the great national unity block with the power of times for the goals set by the Party’s Resolution under Ho Chi Minh’s teachings: “our Party has a large number of members; however, in the fight against enemies, all members act as one” (a consensus of will and action).

2. Grasp and introduce the Resolution to the whole Party, Military and people closely, seriously. To that end, in addition to old-style methods, it is necessary to renew the study and introduction of the Party’s Resolution so as to ensure the diversity, effectiveness and practicality. Besides, it is important to organise courses to study the Resolution in each period and for group of party members, while emphasis should be placed on introducing the contents relevant to each office, unit and locality. Greater importance should be attached to selecting and building a contingent of rapporteurs with pure revolutionary morality, thorough knowledge of the Resolution’s contents, and capabilities in presentation and management so that they could be expert in conveying the Resolution’s contents and correctly analysing each issue in detail. Moreover, it is essential to promote the self-consciousness of cadres, party members and all citizens in the study of the Party’s Resolution and documents. Amidst the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to apply information technology to renewing forms and methods of learning and teaching in accordance with each office, unit and locality’s particularities to both opportunely introduce the Party’s Resolution and facilitate epidemic prevention and control.

3. Supervision and inspection of the execution of the Resolution should be enhanced. Without inspection or supervision, there will be no leadership. In the Party’s process of leadership over our country’s revolution, particularly in the renewal period, all weaknesses and shortcomings committed by party organisations, cadres and party members have stemmed from the lack of close inspection and supervision. When the work of inspection and supervision is carefully conducted, we will achieve a consensus in the implementation process at all levels. Grasping Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, we must match words with action and deal with the irresponsible execution of the Party’s Resolution. Doing so will enable us to translate the Party’s Resolution into life and prevent party organisations, cadres, and party members from falling into inertia.

4. It is necessary to demonstrate the desire to build a powerful, prosperous, happy country via the successful implementation of the Party’s Resolution. We must affirm that never have the Vietnamese people had such a burning desire to build a powerful, prosperous, happy country whose status is equal with major powers across the five continents like today. That desire is clearly manifested in the Party’s knowledge and will. The Party represents the working class, all people, and the entire Military to demonstrate that desire via its practical actions. National independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity are our country’s most sacred and fundamental national rights and become an unchangeable principle for its foreign policy and home affairs. The Party’s Resolution is institutionalised in the State’s Constitution and legal system; therefore, the successful execution of the Party’s Resolution means the fulfilment of citizens’ rights, duties, and obligations. It is also the way all the Vietnamese people improve their revolutionary morality. Hence, the whole Party, Military and people should bring into play patriotism, self-reliance, the great national unity strength, and the spirit of renewal and creativity to surmount all difficulties and turn the Party’s important decisions into actions for the sake of “wealthy people, strong nation, equality, and civilisation.”

The successful implementation of the above-mentioned measures will contribute to quickly translating the Party’s Resolution into life and developing the country for the people’s happiness as President Ho Chi Minh ever wished: “our entire Party and people, closely joining their efforts, will build a peaceful, reunified, independent, democratic and prosperous Vietnam, and make a worthy contribution to the world revolution.”