Flag hoisting ceremony in Lý Son island district. VNA/VNS Photo

Hạnh Quỳnh, Vietnam News Agency reporter

In a rules-based spirit, the Vietnamese Party and State have resolutely handled officials who committed violations of law, especially those holding high-level positions, towards building a pure and strong Party, raising the Party’s prestige and consolidating public trust in the Party.  
Strict and transparent punishments for officials who break the rules have won support and praise from Party members, officials and people. 
However, hostile elements have spread distorted information and twisted the truth about the settlement of violations and personnel work in an attempt to undermine unity in the Party and erode public trust. 
During its 90-year history, the Party has always paid special attention to Party-building, considering this a key task, with personnel work the key of the key task. 
Party-building, therefore, has been implemented continuously through the nine decades, with the fight against corruption and other bad deeds, along with the punishment of Party members and officials committing violations, is a crucial task, as late President Hồ Chí Minh said: “Embezzlement, wastefulness and red tape are the enemies of the people, soldiers and the Government.”
Over the past 75 years, under the Party’s leadership, the Vietnamese army and people have won glorious victories during the struggle for national independence, and Viet Nam has developed, with people’s living standards improved significantly and the country’s position and prestige in the international arena enhanced. 
However, apart from these achievements, limitations and shortcomings remain and new problems arise. 
The market mechanism and integration process have exerted adverse impacts, under which not a few Party members and officials have shown signs of degradation and appropriated public assets, causing extremely severe consequences. 
Many corruption cases have been brought to light, particularly serious cases under the direction of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption. 
Attention has also been paid to asset recovery from corruption, with VNĐ37 trillion (nearly US$1.6 billion) recovered in the first half of this year. 
Many defendants committed serious violations while holding high-level positions in Party and State agencies, and they have been punished appropriately, such as former Minister of Information and Communications Nguyễn Bắc Son who was jailed for life for taking bribes and violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences.
Trương Minh Tuấn, another former Minister of Information and Communications, was sentenced to 14 years behind bars for the same charges. Nguyễn Văn Hiến, former Deputy Defence Minister and former Commander of the Vietnam People’s Navy, was sentenced to four years in prison for lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.
More than 100 officials under the management of the Party Central Committee, including those holding high positions, have been given strict punishments in Party, administration and criminal regards during this term, demonstrating the drastic and effective anti-corruption fight. 
However, hostile forces have never ceased to seek ways to sabotage the revolutionary cause of the Party and people. 
Prior to each National Party Congress, they spread distorted information alleging the punishment of corrupt officials is just an “internal fight,” “struggle of political factions” and “huge failures of personnel work under the Party leadership".
They say without any grounds that the violations by Party members and officials were attributable to “the Party’s weak capacity and the lack of democracy in the personnel work”, and that personnel work has only served group interests. 
With the allegations, they called for a change of political regime and abolition of the leadership of the Communist Party of Việt Nam.
Those out-of-tune voices, however, can never reverse the political resolve of the entire Party and people in the fight against corruption and other bad deeds, in an effort to build and rectify the Party, making it purer and stronger, matching the aspirations of the entire Party and people, for the interests and everlasting development of the nation. VNS