The three challenges that Vietnam’s communist regime is facing were raised by To Lam on January 27, 2021, at the discussion session of the 13th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) in the following order.
The first is “conspiracy, anti-violence, riot, the overthrow of the hostile forces” is more and more poisonous and dangerous. The second is the threat of territorial sovereignty in the South China Sea (Vietnam calls it the East Sea) associated with challenges in dealing with relations with major countries and maintaining the prestige of the Party and the regime before the local people. Third, the risk of self-evolving and internal self-transformation associated with the decline of people’s confidence.
In June 2020, at a conference to gather comments on the draft Political Report of the Hanoi Party Committee for the 2020-2025 term, Deputy Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang also said that there are three challenges that are threatening the political security of Vietnam.
Observers of the domestic and foreign political situation, Dr. Ha Hoang Hop, said that all three points Mr. To Lam said were intended to address all the risks facing the Vietnamese government, both from inside and outside. In particular, the “reactionary element” and the South China Sea are both inside and outside Vietnam. And the peaceful developments are only inside. He added:
“On the first point, in essence, he asserted that anything contrary to the Communist Party of Vietnam is reactionary. That is, anti-communist Vietnam is reactionary. This risk cannot be dissolved, nor can it be resisted. Imprisonment and persecution are not solutions. Those who are called reactionary by them only exercise their right: the freedom to express opinions according to international law enacted by the United Nations. It was legal and could not be said to be bad.
The second point is new in the voice of the minister of public security. In the past, no public security minister has mentioned protecting the sovereignty of the South China Sea, although that is not wrong.
The mission of the Ministry of Public Security is to ensure order at sea 50km from the shore. Outside there are the duties of the Coast Guard and the Navy. So the East Sea issue is fine because it is national sovereignty. That national sovereignty, territorial integrity is an important item of national interests. Police are an armed force tasked with protecting national interests.”
“Hostile forces” in Vietnam are said to be individuals and organizations that have conspiracy and acts that harm the sovereignty, territory, and other areas of the country, contrary to the provisions of Vietnam’s law and international law. The phrase “hostile forces” has also been controversial in Vietnam when it is used too widely for even those who have a voice of criticism and dissent with government decisions.
Member of the National Assembly Truong Trong Nghia said at the National Assembly hall at the meeting on the afternoon of June 15, 2020, “Every time people react to the government’s policy of action, civil servants have to question, self-check why the people’s hearts do not agree, do not rush to attribute them as hostile forces to deal with. Because doing so is to make the Party away from the people, to push the people towards the hostile forces.”
So when did the phrase “hostile forces” appear in Vietnam? Journalist Nguyen Vu Binh, a former employee of the Communist Magazine, told RFA in June 2020:
“I don’t know when it came from, but I remember when I joined the Communist Magazine in 1992 that there was already that word for those who speak for freedom of expression, freedom of the press and democratic freedom … If I remember correctly, it appeared from 1989 to 1990, when the Soviet Union and the communist bloc in Eastern Europe fell. It is called raising vigilance, that is, it is still permanent, but depending on the time to talk more or less general idea like that.”
Both Deputy Minister Luong Tam Quang and Minister of Public Security To Lam point out three similar things that they see as a challenge that threatens political security in Vietnam.
With the first challenge, the State of Vietnam disarms them by arresting and imprisoning those they consider reactionary, hostile, or anti-state. Dr. Ha Hoang Hop analyzed that in this world there is only one definition of reactionary, which is against progress. Thus, To Lam’s definition of reactionary is wrong, so there is no neutralization. In addition, when they imprison those whom they consider crimes against the State, there is no crime against the State in international law. The state is a kind of social organization that everyone has the right to criticize. People just don’t have the right to use violence to criticize the State. Using violence is rebellion, is against the law.
From a citizen perspective, Lawyer Dang Dinh Manh outlined three challenges on his personal Facebook that RFA has asked for permission to use:
“With the 1st and 3rd challenge. The reconciliation should be done by sincerely implementing the policy of national harmony and reconciliation to eliminate hatred. At that time, there were no longer “hostile forces” or “reactionary” Vietnamese people against the Vietnamese. At the same time, the “self-evolving” and “self-transformation” will also naturally lose motivation and disappears.
With the second challenge. When the people are a united bloc, united towards the common goal of the national interests, resources instead of being used to “oppose each other” will be gathered and created new and stronger resources in the face of challenges and threats of national sovereignty.
However, after 45 years of national reunification, it is also necessary to recognize the fact that the ability to harmonize and reconcile the nation is too difficult. It was like an unresolved hatred curse. Only when the interests of the nation and the nation are paramount, above those of partisan interests, political tendencies, local areas … can hatred and curse be solved. At that time, I thought this person turned dragon soon.”
Challenges in the South China Sea, researchers in this field have repeatedly suggested that this record must be made transparent. The next thing is that Vietnam needs to complete legal documents to sue China’s territorial encroachment to international courts so that it can be considered objectively and fairly.
The remaining challenge is the risk of self-evolution and self-transformation within the Party. This has been warned by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in his party since 2016, right after the opening of the 4th Plenum of the Central Committee in the 12th tenure. Mr. Trong emphasized that to fight, prevent and repel a recession of political ideology, lifestyle ethics; prevent and repelling so-called “self-evolving” manifestations” and “self-transforming” are a central task of the 2016-2021 term.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
