Vietnam’s ruling party conducts anti-corruption campaign or just internal purge

Status on the facebook page of journalist Luu Trong Van

After the Politburo made a decision to dismiss two Deputy Prime Ministers Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam, public opinion divided into many trends and different ways of reacting on this move.

The first tendency is to be happy that the big worms have been eliminated, and think that the Party’s handling is satisfactory. The second trend is more conservative, saying that this is only an internal purge that does not affect the people and society. The third trend is the opposite, people who follow this trend express grief and nostalgia for the loss of talented leaders.

In the first trend, journalist Luu Trong Van – who often calls himself “the guy” has a status on his Facbook personal page, with the title “Be fair to the people.”

In his status, “he” said that there were people who showed affection and nostalgia for Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam because of the fault of the intentional propaganda system. The fault of not having a free media, no independent press to expose the truth. And this error does not give people justice when the truth is always a blind game. This observation is absolutely correct, the people who until now still worship the leaders inflated by the media are the poisoned people of a long process of indoctrination. For the time being, there is no need to talk much about them.

According to Luu Trong Van, the truth in this case is the “brutality that cadres receive brirery in all cases.” The truth is that “for a long time, the Vietnamese judiciary has often been lenient with famous or successful incumbents.”

He urged to stay with the side of the people.

His arguments are very reasonable, very logical, the appeal is also very sincere.

Two new individuals were deposed by the Party

However, the crux of the problem that he posed lies in “what is the truth in this case“. What we know, even about the crimes of the two recently dismissed Deputy Prime Ministers, is also from the information provided by the Party. So, is it the whole truth? Or just part of the truth? that “half of the truth, is not the truth.”

Surely no one will think that these two Deputy are completely innocent, completely innocent in the cases that have happened, including those who love them. But, there are questions still lingering in the hearts of critics, that is, are these two really the individuals with the largest responsibility? Or they are just scapegoats? Or are they even just victims of the power arena, of purges within the Party, of “pro-China” or “pro-Western” factions?

The bribery in both “rescue flight” and “Viet A” cases is too big, too obvious, and clearly shows that it is organized and directed from top to bottom. Then whether these two men, now former Deputy Prime Ministers, have the courage to be as big as the sky, dare to arbitrarily ignore their subordinates’ abuse, even directing and guiding their subordinates. During the pandemic, the fare to board “rescue flights” is not a secret, everyone knows and the media has many articles about this. The story of people flying around to Cambodia and then returning from Cambodia by road to Vietnam, which is much cheaper than direct flights, was also reported at that time. Social media is full of groups guiding each other on this cheap detour. So is Mr. Pham Binh Minh so incompetent or ignorant that he personally directs or ignores his subordinates’ abuse? The Viet A case is similar, the price of the test kit is not a mystery, millions of people have to test and many people have to test it many times, information is full on social networks and newspapers. Today’s Vietnamese, many families with relatives abroad, or overseas Vietnamese themselves can compare prices.

In short, the “truths” announced by the Party are not necessarily true. Although the tear side deserves support, it should not be so without considering fairness from the perspective of the person who fell from the horse.

Article on the English Tieng Dan page by author Lam Binh Duy Nhien

In the second trend, considering the dismissal of Mr. Minh and Mr. Dam as an internal purge. This trend is mostly of expats, who have a calmer, more sober approach.

Author Lam Binh Duy Nhien, an overseas Vietnamese in Switzerland, has an article published on the English Dan newspaper in the US with the title “Internal Purge Story.” The author’s point of view is that although these two Deputy Prime Ministers have made many mistakes, their dismissal is just an internal purge of the Communist Party. The two DPMs are considered to be two faces with degrees, knowledge, and trained abroad. But in the totalitarian regime, when the competition for power and the temptation of money became universal values, the two men could not escape, could not go far. In a democracy, if an official commits a crime, that official is investigated by the judiciary. The investigation process is completely independent, not subject to the direction and interference of any party or organization, whether it is the Government or the National Assembly. The results of the investigation process will be disclosed in full after the completion of the investigation, or published in parts according to the stage of the investigation. No party should remove an official from its party for committing a crime. If guilty, it must be tried by an independent court.

Only when Vietnam has an independent judiciary can there really be justice, both for the people and for the officials.

Thoibao.de (Translated)

Kasse animation 7.8.2023