In a healthy society, morality and law must go hand in hand to maintain discipline and human dignity. But in Vietnam, the corruption of the ruling apparatus has led to a complete reversal of social moral standards. What was once considered wrong and illegal is now accepted, even praised as obvious.
The Trinh Van Quyet case is a blatant example: From 21 years in prison in the first-stance hearing reduced to 7 years for “remedying the consequences” in the appeal hearing. This questionable concession not only shows that the law can be bent but also reflects the compromise between criminals and authorities. Meanwhile, society accepts the argument of “greedy but getting the job done” as if stealing from the public is only blameworthy if the corrupt official did his duties ineffective.
Ethical standards are distorted to the point that actions such as returning lost property or police solving basic crimes that are part of their professional responsibilities are celebrated as achievements. Even more alarming, people have to pray that “officials do nothing” to avoid further disasters. That is a sign of a desperate society.
Wrongful officials are being “criticized” while wrongful citizens are prosecuted. The law becomes a selective tool, strictly applied only to ordinary people. At that time, justice is humiliated, and ethical standards are just a cheap layer of paint covering a system that is rotten from the inside.
In this context, talking about reforming or restoring standards is unrealistic. Because we cannot expect the one who is destroying ethics to be the one to save it.
Thien Nhan
