The decision of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to resign is causing a stir in Vietnam’s public because of the great difference between capitalist leaders “elected by the people” and Vietnamese leaders led by the ruling party in the authoritarian country.
Because the current Vietnamese perspective has absolutely no resignation culture, an act stemming from self-esteem and self-awareness when knowing that the person has no longer reputable, not healthy enough and lucid to serving the people.
It is not clear because of the randomness or the topical nature of the issue of “leadership health” that recently on August 24, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision according to which medical records and results of medical examination as well as treatment and health check of members of the Politburo, the Party Central Secretariat are on the list of “top secret.”
The resignation is not unfamiliar to Vietnam’s modern culture, but it has completely disappeared in the last few decades.
In 2012, there was also an impressive response between national legislator Duong Trung Quoc and then PM Nguyen Tan Dung during a parliament’s meeting. Mr. Quoc praised PM Dung for apologizing and asking for a form of discipline, which is remarkable because this is the first time in history … However, Mr. Quoc suggested that Mr. Dung should break with a flat apology with a “resignation culture” to set an example for officials, like state officials in advanced nations act.
Finally, Quoc closed with “two questions: one, what did the PM think about the idea that he was heavily responsible for the Party but lightly responsible to the people, and second, does the PM agree that it will start a government advancement, moving towards a resignation culture to step by step break with an apology?”
However, Prime Minister Dung’s answer is that he obeys the Party’s order “for 51 years“, which means that he will “continue to do so and seriously do” and “do not give up, refuse any task assigned by the Party.” It seems that Mr. Quoc was also around playing puns and PM Dung also played words again.
However, this answer can be decoded with a simpler style of writing than “I do not resign and I only obey the Party’s orders.”
Returning to the information about the health and lives of Vietnamese leaders, it must be said that this is a very hot topic and attracts a lot of public attention, and the person who is most interested is still General Secretary cum President Nguyen Phu Trong.
After a long absence in the media, recently, Nguyen Phu Trong continued to be absent at the 75th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on August 28, 2020.
People’s newspaper said PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his wife presided over the ceremony, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan and Permanent Secretary Tran Quoc Vuong were also present.
Recently, Trong was also absent from the national funeral of former Communist Party General Secretary Le Kha Phieu although he was “head of the funeral committee.”
In April 2019, Nguyen Phu Trong’s health became a topic of discussion in Vietnam after his visit to Kien Giang province.
Mr. Trong reappeared a month later with pictures of a meeting with a belt around his stomach, but Thanh Nien newspaper used Photoshop to remove the belt when it posted the photo on the cover paper.
Domestic media did not see the images of Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong when reporting on meetings and events.
Until April 25, responding to reporters at a regular press conference, Vietnamese Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said verbatim as follows: “The high work intensity and the weather change have been affecting the health of Secretary-General and State President Nguyen Phu Trong. Comrade General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong will soon return to normal work.”
However, the number of recorded public appearances of Mr. Trong is still very limited.
Last October, the People’s newspaper accidentally released a video showing Mr. Trong walking difficult in the reception of the Lao leader.
Since then, the state media has released almost no video showing Mr. Trong walking.
Commenting on the decision to “optimize” health information of state leaders, on personal Facebook with nearly 75,000 followers, writer Luu Trong Van wrote:
“According to me, the party leadership’s health secret in the above list is that the party’s internal affairs must be issued by the general secretary or the permanent secretariat to the party members, not by the prime minister. The issuance of this decision by the prime minister is improper involvement in the internal affairs of a partisan organization.
As for the health of the president, the prime minister, and the chairperson of the National Assembly must be openly transparent. People should know their health and oversee their capacity and leadership ability.
It is the right of the People!
People can only be deprived of that power by a law voted by the majority of the country’s parliamentary.
He suggested that National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, the National Assembly’s members should have a say on issues related to the law and this right of the people.
I also ask the lawyers to comment on the correctness or not of the prime minister’s decision on the health security of the members of the Politburo and Secretariat,” writer Luu Trong Van raised a proposal.
Remember in May 2020, the whole world was buzzing about waiting for test reports whether President Trump was infected with the Wuhan virus or not and even Vice President Mike Pence had test results at the same time. The American press and especially the opposition of course really want to examine whether there are hidden problems or lack of transparency from the doctor announcing the test results to the president or not. And of course, the health of the president is the topic of concern for the whole world, not only the American people, so it is difficult to conceal or delay reporting the results to the media.
Information about the cure as well as the death of Mr. Nguyen Ba Thanh, the Party Secretary of Danang, was devoured by the public through the Power Portrait page with specific detailed reports, while the mainstream press did not reveal a single line of news.
Recently, the health of late President Tran Dai Quang also was raised by the foreign press, while the domestic press was almost silent.
“The health of the head of state affects the efficiency of national governance, so in Democratic countries, it is always transparent and public,” Writer Luu Trong Van continues to write.
“Honesty is one of the top standards required by a democratic head of state.
It is shown by the resignation remarks of Japanese PM Shinzo Abe “Now that I am sick and have to be treated, I cannot let the situation happen while suffering because my physical strength is no longer good enough for issuing good decision to lead the nation. Hence I have judged that if I no longer respond to the trust of the nation, I should not continue to hold the position of prime minister.”
In Vietnam, the integrity and health of the head of state are “a national secret.”
Nobody knows how President Tran Dai Quang had a life-threatening illness and he still worked without knowing whether it was effective or not, for the benefit of the people or not, until … death.
No one knows what is the current state of the health of President Nguyen Phu Trong after a stroke in Kien Giang in April 2019?
It is not easy for a healthy person to be strong enough to deal with the country’s national problems, let alone an elderly and sick person.
If the state does not disclose the health status of any of its heads, it is disrespectful to the people and irresponsible to the people.
If you are the head of state and do not disclose your illness, your good and bad health to people, you lie to people.
Respect his personality for the Japanese people and the noble and noble honesty of Mr. Shinzo Abe,” writer Luu Trong Van expressed his opinion.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
