Our beloved General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has just passed away. Remembering him means remembering a shining example of revolutionary ethics, diligence, thrift, integrity, impartiality, selflessness, and a lifelong struggle and sacrifice for the Party, the country, and the people; an example that has the power to move millions of people's hearts, an invaluable asset in educating revolutionary traditions, fostering ideological and political stance, moral qualities, and lifestyle for cadres, party members, and all classes of people; connecting the Party's will, the people's hearts and international friends for a noble cause: peace, independence, freedom, prosperity, civilisation, and happiness.
During his lifetime, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always paid special attention to the work of building and rectifying the Party and the political system and building revolutionary ethics for cadres and party members.
The building and rectifying of the Party and the political system in general, as well as the building of revolutionary ethics for cadres and party members in particular, always received special attention from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. He devoted much effort and gave many important instructions and orientations on building revolutionary ethics, with the desire to build a cadre and party member team with sufficient qualities, capacity and prestige, equal to the task. The General Secretary repeatedly emphasised: “We must carry out Party building and rectification with a positive, resolute and strong spirit, in order to create a more obvious change in all aspects, prevent and push back the state of degradation, consolidate the steadfastness in revolutionary goals and ideals..., considering this a matter of survival for our Party and our regime.” (1)
Under the guiding light of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong left a deep impression through his articles and speeches on the revolutionary ethics of cadres and party members. The General Secretary pointed out that preventing and repelling the degradation of political ideology, morality and lifestyle of a number of cadres and party members, first of all leaders and managers at all levels, is a central, continuous, urgent and breakthrough task in the entire work of building a clean and strong Party and political system.
Under the guiding light of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and style, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong left a deep impression through his articles and speeches on the revolutionary ethics of cadres and party members. The General Secretary pointed out that preventing and repelling the degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle of a number of cadres and Party members, first of all leaders and managers at all levels, is a central, continuous, urgent and breakthrough task in the entire work of building a clean and strong Party and political system.
In many leadership positions, especially during his three terms as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong attached special importance to the work of Party building in terms of ethics. According to him, the Party's revolutionary ethics, when educated, enlightened and deeply absorbed in each cadre and Party member, will promote self-discipline, self-interest, readiness to devote oneself to goals and ideals, putting the Party's revolutionary cause above all, first of all, bringing millions of people together as one, creating invincible strength, overcoming all difficulties and challenges, and moving the revolution forward. Therefore, cadres and party members must “have moral qualities and a pure, exemplary lifestyle, trusted by cadres, party members and the people. Have a high sense of responsibility, enthusiasm and dedication to work; not be corrupt, bureaucratic, opportunistic, selfish, nor power-hungry and resolutely fight against negative manifestations, bureaucracy and corruption; not let spouses, children, or relatives take advantage of their positions for personal gain. Be conscious of maintaining solidarity and unity within the Party, be exemplary in implementing the assignment and organisational and disciplinary principles of the Party, especially the principles of democratic centralism, self-criticism and criticism; be fair and just in evaluating and using cadres.” (2)
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong conducted very deep analysis of the revolutionary qualities and ethics that cadres and party members need to have; specifically:
1- Loyalty to the Party, to the revolution.
2- Awareness of organisation and discipline, and in the condition that the Party has become the ruling Party leading the state and society, this quality must be further promoted.
3- Awareness of close connection with the masses, not only expressed in sympathy, closeness to the masses, communications, education, and organisation of the masses, but also expressed in the attitude of respecting and promoting the collective mastery of the masses to develop and firmly consolidate socialist democracy.” (3)
A genuine revolutionary party with the right guideline, a tight organisation, a contingent of clean, exemplary, dedicated cadres and party members, closely attached to the people, and supported by the people, then that party has invincible strength, and no force can stop it on the path of leading the nation forward.
In the current period, in order for cadres and party members to be up to the task, the General Secretary added important qualities that cadres and party members must have, which are: Dare to think, dare to speak, dare to do, dare to take responsibility and dare to face difficulties and challenges, be resolute in action... These are pioneering revolutionary qualities that need to be cultivated and nurtured for cadres and party members to be able to shoulder the revolutionary tasks of the current context and conditions.
The General Secretary always emphasised that one of the most important moral qualities of cadres and party members in the current period of renewal is to be devoted to the people, always strive for the people's interests, in any conditions and circumstances, must be for the people's interests; always put the people's interests first and foremost; all for the interests of the nation’s people, for the prosperous, free and happy life of the people. In particular, the General Secretary summarised and generalised the profound thesis that: “A genuine revolutionary party with the right guideline, a tight organisation, and a contingent of clean, exemplary, dedicated cadres and party members, closely attached to the people and supported by the people, then that party has invincible strength, and no force can stop it on the path of leading the nation forward.” (4)
One of the invaluable lessons learned by the General Secretary from the history and practice of national development, especially from the practice after nearly 40 years of leading the renewal process, is to always "believe in and care for the people, take the people as the root." Therefore: "in all the work of the Party and the State, we should always thoroughly grasp the viewpoint that “the people constitute the roots” and truly believe in, respect, and promote the people's right to mastery. People are the centre and the subject of the renewal course; all guidelines and policies must truly come from the aspirations and legitimate rights and interests of the people, and take their happiness and prosperity as the goal to strive for." (5). Therefore, the General Secretary requested that every cadre and party member, first of all leaders and managers, must respect and promote the people's right to mastery, care for the people's material and spiritual life, understand their aspirations, listen to their opinions; support and learn from the people's creative experiences; help the people when they encounter difficulties; and resolutely fight against bureaucracy, oppression and all acts that violate the people's right to mastery. The General Secretary further emphasised that this is an extremely important issue, a very urgent requirement for party members, because this quality determines the people's trust in the cadres and party members. At the same time, it has a decisive meaning for the prestige, position, and reputation of the Party.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed that training in revolutionary qualities and ethics is necessary for all cadres and party members, regardless of their working position, including those who have worked for a long time, to have experienced many working positions and have been tested in practical revolutionary activities. In particular, for leaders and managers, in addition to knowledge and organisational capacity, the General Secretary set higher requirements, which are "to pay special attention to the issue of political qualities, to be steadfast in the working class stance, to understand the Party's guidelines, to be dynamic and creative on the basis of the economic management principles of socialism, to have high organisation and discipline, to have a good leadership style, to be thrifty, simple, exemplary in lifestyle, and to unite and rally everyone." (6)
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong himself is also a bright example of practising revolutionary ethics that has the power to move and spread strongly in the Party and the whole society.
The bright example of revolutionary ethics of the General Secretary is not only reflected in his writings and speeches, but also in his exemplary practice of revolutionary ethics, always training, cultivating, striving to study, following the example of President Ho Chi Minh and especially being exemplary in following Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality and lifestyle. He is an exemplary leader of absolute loyalty and steadfastness in the Party's goals and ideals, always putting the interests of the revolution and the nation above all else; always listening to opinions, being close to the people, and living a pure, frugal and simple life. His life is a bright example, with the power to move and urge the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army to follow, thereby creating a natural and strong influence among the masses, making revolutionary ethical standards become close in the thoughts and actions of the contingent of cadres, party members, soldiers, and the people.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a typical embodiment of lifelong self-cultivation and revolutionary ethics training, imbued with Ho Chi Minh's thought on self-cultivation of revolutionaries. "We ourselves must be upright first, then we can help others to be upright. If we cannot do it ourselves, then it is unreasonable to expect others to do it.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a typical embodiment of lifelong self-cultivation and revolutionary ethics training, imbued with Ho Chi Minh's thought on self-cultivation of revolutionaries. "We ourselves must be upright first, then we can help others to be upright. If we cannot do it ourselves, then it is unreasonable to expect others to do it." (7). He always strictly trained and cultivated himself according to the virtuous qualities of a revolutionary: diligence, frugality, integrity, uprightness, public-spiritedness, and selflessness. As a typical and bright example of revolutionary ethics, he was a "leader who embodies the dignity and personality of the Party." (8). He is also the pride, trust, and expectation of the cadres, party members, and people for the Party, the political regime, as well as the bright future of the nation that the entire Party, people, and army are striving to build and move towards.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's example of revolutionary ethics is clearly demonstrated in the following specific aspects:
The General Secretary is a bright example of practicing revolutionary ethics according to Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle. The moral example of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is very convincing and prestigious. He not only raised his views on moral qualities and revolutionary character, but he himself is also a bright example of practicing revolutionary ethics according to Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle, demonstrating the consistency in "saying and doing", thereby creating a strong spreading example, urging cadres, party members and people to follow, forming beautiful ways of thinking as well as positive, clean and healthy lifestyles in the Party and the whole society.
One of the things that the General Secretary did that left a deep impression, demonstrating the consistency in "saying and doing" of revolutionary ethics, was his simple, honest, and upright lifestyle, not wasting public assets. There are many typical examples of the General Secretary’s simple lifestyle that left a special impression of simplicity and honesty.
At the same time, the General Secretary was also the one who promoted the awareness of saving and preserving public assets. He always understood that those assets were accumulated from the sweat and tears of the people, so cadres and Party members should have the responsibility to preserve and cherish them when using them, and absolutely must not let them go to waste. This both demonstrates the moral qualities of a revolutionary and shows the gratitude and respect for the efforts of the people.
We saw the image of an old official state car associated with the late Party chief during his time working as the highest leader of the Party and a very simple office mostly containing books and research documents. All these simple things exude a very simple and noble personality.
In his daily communication style, when meeting the people, late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was very close, democratic, and dedicated. As the head of the Party, State, and National Assembly, he regularly visited localities at the grassroots level and met with voters, and people from all walks of life to listen to their voices and understand their expectations.
With a close and caring style, he showed that there is closeness and affection, without distance between the leader and the masses. He had a sincere heart dedicated to the country and the people, so he was able to understand the thoughts and legitimate aspirations of all classes of people and develop policies in line with the people’s wishes, as well as create harmony between “the Party’s will and the people’s expectations.”
The late General Secretary was always concerned about the responsibility of cultivating revolutionary ethics for himself and his staff and party members in the new context
What makes a man’s personality and helps him gain respect from those around him is self-respect and the preservation of his own honour. The General Secretary always reminded himself of that and strictly cultivated himself every day, as well as calling on people to remember and practice it. During his visits and working sessions with officials of ministries, sectors, and agencies at both central and local levels, the Party chief repeatedly mentioned the saying about responsibility, pride, and the preservation of honour and ethics: “Honour is the most sacred and noble thing” for humans.
At the ceremony to receive the 55-year Party membership insignia (February 2023), the General Secretary said: “I vow to strive, sacrifice, and be absolutely loyal to the Party’s ideology and revolutionary cause until the rest of my life; as well as cultivating and training myself; and following the ideology, morality, and lifestyle of President Ho Chi Minh to be worthy of being a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as in the lyrics of a song: “If I were a flower, I would be a sunflower; if I were a bird, I would be a white dove; if I were a rock, I would be a diamond; and as a human being, I’m a communist.””
Such heartfelt sharing from a staunch communist has become a guiding principle for the process of cultivating and training revolutionary ethics of cadres, party members, and the people.
The General Secretary always paid attention to educating revolutionary ethics for cadres, party members and the people.
Education on revolutionary ethics is one of the important contents of the Party’s leadership and in the building and rectifying of the Party and political system. Therefore, the General Secretary stated: “Focusing on education to maintain a strong will, building a sharp political awareness, and increasing resistance to negative manifestations, the dark side of society and the sabotage and distortion of hostile forces...” (9)
He often paid attention to and reminded others of the task of building and perfecting revolutionary ethical standards and building a culture of integrity and anti-corruption among cadres and party members. According to the General Secretary, the most important thing was self-awareness and high unity of will and action. Cadres and party members must respect integrity and honour, and they must feel ashamed when they and their relatives have corrupt or negative behaviours. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong set a shining example in resolutely and persistently preventing and combating corruption to build a clean and strong Party and political system, worthy of the people’s trust.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always paid attention to promoting the movement of studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style among cadres, party members, and the people. He also focused on boosting the patriotic emulation movement and the building and defending the Fatherland to practically implement revolutionary ethics in the new period. He said: “Each cadre and party member must seriously fulfil the responsibility of setting an example; the higher the position, the more exemplary they must be in cultivating moral qualities, lifestyle, and working style for the masses to follow; must demonstrate a steadfast ideology, correct viewpoint, dare to think, dare to do, and dare to take responsibility for the country and the people; must have a scientific, democratic, and practical leadership style, being the nucleus of solidarity, creating motivation and promoting collective intelligence, following the spirit of Uncle Ho’s teaching: “A living example is worth more than a hundred propaganda speeches.” (10)
With a long-term vision, the General Secretary determined that the general direction of the current Party building and rectification is to continue to foster good traditions, strengthen the revolutionary, pioneering and exemplary nature of the Party, and build a truly clean and strong Party in terms of politics, ideology, ethics, organisation, and personnel. It is also necessary to innovate leadership methods and consolidate the close connection between the Party and the people, ensuring that the Party has enough strength to continue to lead the country’s innovation cause to gain new achievements.
Under his attention and direction, the education of revolutionary morality has become an important content in the national education system and through propaganda and press work. On June 12, 2021, speaking at the National Conference summarising 5 years of implementing the Politburo’s Directive No. 05-CT/TW, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: “Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle is a very necessary task, an extremely important, regular and duty for the entire Party and people”. (11)
Propaganda work, with many creative methods, has had a powerful impact, spreading awareness and actions among cadres, party members, and the people, making Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality, and style the spiritual foundation of society. Many exemplary collectives and individuals have emerged, truly spreading influence in society, awakening emotions, motivations, patriotism, national consciousness, and the desire to dedicate and serve the country among people from all social strata, encouraging the people to steadfastly and enthusiastically strive to achieve the goal of national independence associated with socialism, advancing firmly into the 21st century.
Every cadre and Party member needs to seriously fulfill the responsibility of setting an example, with the higher the position, the greater the responsibility in cultivating and practicing moral qualities, lifestyle, style, manner, and work habits for the masses to follow. They must demonstrate strong thoughts, correct viewpoints, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility, wholeheartedly serve the country and the people; possess a scientific and democratic leadership style, and closely connected to reality, truly being a nucleus of solidarity, gathering, creating motivation, and promoting collective intelligence, according to the spirit taught by Uncle Ho: “A living example is worth more than a hundred propaganda speeches.
To promote the movement of studying and promoting General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s exemplary revolutionary morality, in the coming time, we need to focus on effectively implementing the following key points:
The first is the promotion of the people's mastery and awakening the strength of all social strata. Throughout General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's ideology is the focus on the people, on humanity, on wholeheartedly and devotedly serving the Fatherland, and serving the people; building new people, taking the people as the subject and centre of the renewal, construction, and defence of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has emphasised the humanistic and good values of the socialist society that our people are striving to build under the Party's leadership: “We need a society in which development is truly for people, not exploiting and trampling on human dignity for profit... And, we need a political system in which power truly belongs to the people, by the people and for the benefit of the people, not just for a wealthy part”. (12)
In the coming time, it is necessary to continue building and perfecting mechanisms, regulations, and rules to enable the People to exercise their mastery in all fields of social life. The Party and State must ensure and promote the true mastery of the People, especially in participating in building the clean and strong Party and political system, contributing to the development of the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's laws. We need to understand more deeply the spirit of the 13th National Party Congress’s Document, which is, "in all Party and State affairs, it is essential to thoroughly grasp the view that 'the people are the roots'; truly trust, respect, and promote the people's mastery, persistently implement the motto that 'the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, the people benefit'. The people are the centre and subject of the national renewal, construction, and defence cause; all guidelines and policies must truly originate from the life, aspirations, and legitimate rights and interests of the people, taking the happiness and prosperity of the people as the goal to strive for." (13)
Second, the emulation movement to study and follow President Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality, and style continues to be promoted, towards being deeper, more substantial, and effective, focusing on spreading exemplary models in society. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong himself is a great example in creatively applying and developing President Ho Chi Minh's ideology; upholding the self-discipline and cultivation following President Ho Chíi Minh's morality, thereby inspiring, encouraging, and motivating cadres and party members to practice revolutionary morality according to the great example of President Ho Chi Minh: diligence, thrift, integrity, righteousness, impartiality, selflessness, dedicating all life to serving the Fatherland and the people.
Third, it is essential to fully and deeply understand the important position and role of Party building work in terms of morality; recognise the urgent need to enhance revolutionary morality among cadres, party members, and various social strata. Efforts should be made to enhance the propaganda and thorough understanding of the content of the Politburo’s Regulation No. 144-QD/TW, dated May 9, 2024, on “the revolutionary ethical standards of cadres and party members in the new period". The tasks aim to ensure that each cadre and party member fully and deeply understands the important role of Party building work in terms of morality; and making revolutionary morality a distinctive and prominent quality in cadres and party members. The regulation is expected to become a sharp weapon for the cadres and party members to overcome all challenges and temptations, repel the risk of political, moral, and lifestyle degradation, and manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party. Thoroughly grasping the Regulation No. 144-QD/TW and studying the exemplary revolutionary morality of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, the cadres, and party members actively ensure consistency between "words and deeds"; maintain the honour and self-respect of a party member; prevent and combat manifestations of political, moral, and lifestyle degradation, so that our Party truly "embodies morality and civilisation," contributing to building and consolidating the ethical and cultural foundation of society, making Vietnamese culture and people truly an endogenous strength and motivation to promote the renewal, construction, and defence of a prosperous, civilised, and happy socialist Vietnam.
Fourth, continue to innovate and enhance the persuasiveness of political and ideological education, especially education on the nature, goals, ideals, missions, the organisational and operational principles of a ruling Party, and the tasks of cadres and Party members, thus contributing to enhancing the Party's stance and steadfastness in its goals and ideals while mounting resistance against all risks, especially the risk of degradation in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle. Regarding Party building in terms of ethics, it is necessary to integrate with fighting against degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, in which the work of Party building plays a fundamental, long-term, and consistent role. Fighting is an important, urgent, resolute, and persistent task as it is implemented with comprehensive and strong solutions, affecting many stages, many aspects, and many contents, thus contributing to creating a solid revolutionary ethical foundation in the new period.
Fifth, continue to innovate and improve the quality of meetings of Party committees, while promoting self-criticism and criticism spirit among each cadre and Party member. Self-criticism and criticism must be done as regular daily activities as a way to help each cadre and Party member “examine and correct” themselves to be in line with responsibility and revolutionary ethical standards. Any bad actions and deeds of cadres and Party members in work and daily activities will be promptly identified, if detected through self-criticism and criticism, they will receive sincere comments from their comrades, thereby helping to prevent mistakes and avoid small mistakes becoming majorly serious negative outcomes. It is important to make self-criticism and criticism a routine and habit, so that each cadre and party member can constantly improve their personality, practice organisational and disciplinary awareness, and voluntarily fulfil their party member duties in a regular, serious and effective manner.
Sixth, continue to enhance discipline within the Party; foster the prevention and fight against corruption and negative phenomenon, under the spirit “no off-limits zones, no exceptions”, strengthen inspection and supervision work, and innovate in the Party's leadership methods. It is necessary to promptly review and expel from the Party any individuals showing degradation in political thought, morality, and lifestyle, while strictly handling those who have seriously violated the Party's principles. Each Party committee, Party organisation, and Party leader must always attach importance to inspection and supervision work, while enhancing the responsibility of Party committees and inspection committees at all levels. It is important to avoid the situation where leaders of organisations, agencies, and units only pay attention to advancing professional growth and ignore the work of Party building.
Seventh, press agencies, reporters, journalists, and communicators need to increase coverages on good people doing good deeds among cadres, Party members, and the masses, which helps to create a widespread influence in the community as well as strengthen and consolidate people's trust in the Party's leadership. It is crucial to step up communication work to help cadres, party members and the masses grasp the ideological legacy and pure moral example of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. The late Party chief's revolutionary moral example is a valuable asset and a source of great encouragement, which has created a widespread movement to study and follow his revolutionary moral example in the ministries, branches, and Party committees and organisations throughout the entire political system; thereby, evoking pride and trust among cadres, party members and people of all walks of life in the glorious Party, great President Ho Chi Minh, and the heroic Vietnamese nation.
Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong passed away, leaving behind infinite sorrow for our entire Party, people, and army. He was the complete and perfect embodiment of the qualities, ethics, talents, aura, and intelligence of an exemplary, steadfast communist of the generation of Vietnamese leaders in the Doi Moi (Renewal) period, who was respected, trusted, loved by cadres, party members, people, and our compatriots abroad, as well as receiving appreciation from international friends. His exemplary and shining example of revolutionary ethics has become the pride of our entire Party, people, and army, encouraging and motivating us to follow while contributing to building a pure, strong, and comprehensive Party and political system. Turning sadness into revolutionary action, following the example of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, cadres, party members, and all classes of people vow to constantly cultivate, practice, and improve revolutionary morality while striving to build a stronger, happier, and more democratic, prosperous, and civilised country.
Reference:
(1) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2022, pages 225 - 226
(2) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, page 34
(3) Nguyen Phu Trong (pen name Trong Nguyen): “Improving revolutionary qualities and capacity of cadres.” Event Profile Page (The Communist Review), No. 523, July 25, 2024, pages 25 - 26
(4) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, page 226
(5) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, page 48
(6) Nguyen Phu Trong (pen name Phan Chinh): “Improving Party’s leadership capacity and combativeness.” Event Profile Page (The Communist Review), No. 523, July 25, 2024, page 30.
(7) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, page 6, page 130
(8) Eulogy at the Memorial Service for Nguyen Phu Trong, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee.
(9) Nguyen Phu Trong: “Promoting the positivity, activeness and creativity of the trade union in caring for and building a strong working class to meet the requirements of the revolutionary cause in the new period.” Communist Review, No. 912, October 2018, page 11.
(10) Nguyen Phu Trong: “Striving to study, practice, follow the ideology, morality and lifestyle of President Ho Chi Minh.” Communist Review, No. 968, June 2021, page 9
(11) Nguyen Phu Trong: “Striving to study, practice, follow the ideology, morality and lifestyle of President Ho Chi Minh.” Communist Review, No. 968, June 2021, page 4
(12) Nguyen Phu Trong: Some theoretical and practical issues on socialism and the path towards socialism in Vietnam, pages 21-22
(13) Communist Party of Vietnam, Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2021, volume I, pages 27 - 28