Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee unanimously criticized Mr. Tat Thanh Cang
On the afternoon of August 7, the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee’s Inspection Committee said that former city official, Mr. Tat Thanh Cang, was among 66 party members whom the Central Inspection Committee concluded having committed violations related to the Thu Thiem New Urban Area project in District 2, HCM City.
The city’s Party Committee unanimously concluded that Mr. Tat Thanh Cang and 2 members of the city party Committee in the 2015-2020 term, including Ms. Phan Thi Thang and Mr. Bui Xuan Cuong and 6 other party members, had committed violations but only being criticized by the party.
In addition, 5 more party members were disciplined in the form of warning and reprimand.
RFA radio recorded for more than 2 decades persistently complaining to the authorities at all levels, from local to central about wrongdoings in the Thu Thiem New Urban Area project, victims losing land and houses all confirmed that Mr. Tat Thanh Cang was responsible for the wrongdoing.
Since the HCM City government uncovered the violation of Thu Thiem in 2018 up to now, the people of Thu Thiem have always asked the city government to deal with the officials who committed the wrongdoing in strictly way and specifically named Mr. Tat Thanh Cang by name.
Mr. Cao Thang Ca, a voter in Thu Thiem, on the evening of August 7, told RFA that the people of Thu Thiem were not at all surprised by the news that Tat Thanh Cang was only criticized by the HCM City Party Committee. Mr. Ca emphasized:
“We already know about this. Because the interests of Mr. Le Thanh Hai and Tat Thanh Cang have colluded together not just interest groups but turned into interest groups, corrupt corporations, and criminal groups. So this is not unexpected by the people of Thu Thiem. We know that would happen. But the people of Thu Thiem will definitely not give up and people will go to the end. Because, in the term of Mr. Tat Thanh Cang from 2009-2012, as Secretary and Chairman of the People’s Committee of District 2, he has coerced more than 400 cases without land acquisition decisions, without decisions for house demolition. Therefore, this case must be a criminal case for sure.”
Thu Thiem people persistently fought to the end
Some Thu Thiem residents also recalled the case of Mr. Tat Thanh Cang assigned Dai Quang Minh Company to construct four 12-kilometer long roads, with a valuation of VND12 trillion. After that, the city government announced that the cost for the construction of these four roads was only VNDVND 8.8 trillion. However, in reality, Mr. Tat Thanh Cang took 79 hectares of land in Thu Thiem to assign Dai Quang Minh Company to build four 12-kilometer long roads and, on average, it took 7 hectares of land/1. km. Currently, Dai Quang Minh Company sells VND300 million-VND400 million/square meter on 7 hectares of that land. Therefore, a square kilometer up to ten several trillion.
The people of Thu Thiem said that the actions of Mr. Tat Thanh Cang “are an unforgivable crime.” At the same time, the people of Thu Thiem also affirmed that Tat Thanh Cang’s interests did not follow the policies of the Party and State of Vietnam, trampled the law and despised the people.
Mr. Cao Thang Ca told RFA more:
“The people of Thu Thiem persevere to wait for the dialogue with the Government Inspectorate. In this dialogue, we ask the Government to prosecute the case in Thu Thiem. Because this case is especially serious. And the person who solved this Thu Thiem case, namely Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong and Mr. Phong, must be held double the responsibility of those who committed the crime. Therefore, we will immediately denounce in that dialogue, request to discipline Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong. As long as Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong is working in HCM City, the Thu Thiem new urban area project cannot be solved.”
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong is currently the chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, for the term 2016-2021.
Some Thu Thiem residents that we discussed on the evening of August 7, accused Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong when being the District 2 District Party Secretary and a member of the Party Committee, in the period of 2007-2009, of making a decision to sell houses that people are using in areas of 5 streets and 3 wards are not within the planning scope. Most recently, Mr. Phong suggested to the Prime Minister to continue implementing the residential project north of Thu Thiem. This further demonstrates the project Thu Thiem New Urban Area was destroyed by local officials like Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong and Tat Thanh Cang.
More than 60 households under the Thu Thiem new urban area project protested in front of the Government Office,
Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai, former head of the Research Department, Central Committee for Public Affairs, told RFA on the evening of August 7 that information on disciplinary measures could be made in the form of warning, reprimand or criticism of officials, the wrong leader in the Thu Thiem case is no stranger to him. Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai said that before that, it was not rare that similar cases happened, the more you made the mistake, the more you would be forgiven.
“In this case, the crime has been exposed. Even the crime of making another plan, replacing the plan signed by the Prime Minister. Yet they handle it through speakers. As a result, they are now very contemptuous of the law. I think they completely follow Leninism and ideology. That means the dictatorship of the proletariat does not need law. Lenin has stated so. And now they defy the law, they override all the rules that they made themselves.”
Journalist Nguyen Duc, on the evening of August 7, also shared online on his personal Facebook page related to the information of Mr. Tat Thanh Cang that was only criticized for his mistakes in Thu Thiem.
Nguyen Duc said that he had received many dissatisfied opinions with the decision of the Party Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. Personally, journalist Nguyen Duc thinks that the decision to handle such violations is not appropriate and he expressed his confidence in General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to handle the wrong case in Thu Thiem.
And the Thu Thiem people shared with RFA that they will persistently “fight” for a reason and justice to the end until they have to be punished accordingly, they must recover all their assets and return to the State and the people.
“For the people of Thu Thiem, we are only left with contempt and cannot accept this. They assumed that the complainants were incited by hostile forces. But the light punishment against Mr. Tat Thanh Cang even triggers us to fight for justice. This is what they incited us to complain and seek justice.”
Mr. Nguyen Khac Mai confirmed that the spirit and will of the people of Thu Thiem are legitimate. Because, it is the practical rights and interests of the people in which people have the right to demand that criminals be punished strictly.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
