POLITICAL DEBATE, VIETNAMESE STYLE: THE PUBLIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000628

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/MLS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR VM
SUBJECT: POLITICAL DEBATE, VIETNAMESE STYLE: THE PUBLIC
COMMENTS ON ROLE, FUTURE OF COMMUNIST PARTY

REF: A. HANOI 30

B. HCMC 229

C. HANOI 11

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Classified By: Ambassador Michael W. Marine per 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (C) Summary and Comment: The public's response to the
call for comments on the Communist Party's draft Political
Report has been enthusiastic and, by Vietnamese standards,
refreshingly open. Many commentators have taken on overtly
political issues, expressing dissatisfaction with the Party's
methods for selecting its leadership and concern about the
Party's overarching role in politics and society. While the
Party has no doubt tacitly approved this "debate" as a way to
further its stated goal of creating a more "open and
democratic" Party, the discussions' vigor, and some of the
sharper comments, may have come as a shock to some. Although
the openness on display has been modest, the debate and the
public's enthusiasm for it are welcome and may portend
further gains in the future. End Summary and Comment.


2. (C) In preparation for its 10th Congress, in January the
Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) released for public comment
its draft Political Report (Ref A). From February 1 to March
1, the Vietnamese public, from ordinary citizens to former
and current high-ranking officials, offered their thoughts on
the draft report. Much of the commentary focused on the need
for the Party to redouble its efforts to tackle corruption,
improve Vietnam's education system and integrate Vietnam into
the international system, including by joining the WTO.
However, in some cases, the public commentary went beyond the
draft report and addressed the role and future of the CPV.
In what have often been provocative -- and, not so long ago,
probably seditious -- comments, many have expressed
discomfort with the state of politics in Vietnam. Public
enthusiasm for the discussion has been pronounced, and
conversations with our local contacts invariably turn towards
this "political debate."


3. (C) Notably, the public commentary submitted to print
newspapers, online forums and directly to the Party itself
has reflected the following:

-- Dissatisfaction with the method of selecting Party
leadership;
-- Concern about the Party's role in Vietnamese politics and
society;
-- Support for allowing Party members to engage in capitalist
economic activities; and,
-- Thoughts on how the Party could improve its stature among
the people.

Poor Leadership Choices Harm the Nation
--------------


4. (SBU) Among the more outspoken political commentators has
been Nguyen Trung, a member of the Prime Minister's Research
Council. In a three-part series run in HCMC-based "Tuoi Tre"
(Youth) newspaper, Trung criticized the Party's broken system
of appointing and promoting cadres. This system prevents the
Party from bringing in more talented people and "fosters
loopholes and redundancy that in turn nurture degradation and
corruption." Party officials merely focus on tying
themselves firmly to the "Party boat" and pay no attention to
where the boat is heading, or even how to ensure it will not
sink. Trung went on to argue that, given the Party's
existing methods of appointing leaders, poor personnel
choices damage Vietnam's national interests by interfering
with solid policy decisions. Several examples of this are
Vietnam's late entry into ASEAN, its delayed signing of the
Bilateral Trade Agreement and now its slow accession to the
WTO, Trung asserted.

Distorted Role of Party
--------------


5. (SBU) Some public comments have criticized the overarching
role of the Party in politics and society. For example,
Nguyen Trung wrote that the National Assembly -- which is
ostensibly an independent branch of government -- is often
referred to as an agency working for the Politburo.
According to Trung, one should not misconstrue the concept of
"the Party in power" to "the Party that holds all power." In
fact, neither Vietnam's current Constitution, nor the Party's
statues, allows this. Successful ruling parties in many
countries, particularly developed ones, have been able to
deal with this issue because they clearly distinguish between
the Party and the State. "The Party and State should not be
intertwined. Everybody must work according to the

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Constitution," Trung stressed. Also according to Trung,
given Vietnam's current system of one-party rule, mass
organizations must be able to become true and competent
representatives of people from different strata of society,
instead of being treated as the Party's "extended arms."


6. (SBU) Both the relatively progressive Tuoi Tre -- which
has positioned itself out in front of this political
discussion (Ref B) -- and online newspaper VietnamNet.com.vn
continue to give extensive coverage to public and elite
reactions to Trung's comments. Tuoi Tre reported that more
than half of the comments it has received from readers have
been in response to Trung's articles. Based on our own
informal survey of VietnamNet, a significant amount of the
online correspondence it has received deals with Trung's
thoughts, and most have voiced support.

Party Should Welcome Capitalists
--------------


7. (SBU) Public reactions to the draft Political Report have
also addressed the proposed revisions of CPV statutes that
would allow Party members to participate in (heretofore
"exploitative") capitalist activities (Ref C). Tran Dang
Tuan, standing Director General of Vietnam Television,
commented that if the Party does not allow its members to
engage in capitalist or private economic activities, it
cannot justify its current policies regarding national
economic development. "If the Party's policy is to encourage
only non-Party members to engage in economic activities, one
cannot help but think that this policy is merely one of
convenience, while in fact the Party still considers private
economic activities to be unsavory. One could conclude that
there is still the possibility that capital goods or assets
might be nationalized at some point in the future," Tuan
surmised.


8. (SBU) In separate published commentary, Tran Van Tho, a
lecturer at Waseda University in Japan, argued that, in a
multi-party system, citizens can choose to follow the party
that best represents their interests. However, in a
one-party system, because citizens have no choice,
discrimination against any element in society is unjust and
immoral. Given the current significant contributions of
Vietnam's private sector, if the Party were to continue to
prevent both capitalists from becoming Party members and
Party members from engaging in capitalist activities, then it
would seem that the CPV's ultimate goal is to get rid of
capitalism, which would be harmful to the Vietnam's "doi moi"
(renovation) process.

Strengthen the Party...By Allowing An Opposition?
-------------- --------------


9. (SBU) In Vietnam, criticism of the Party is often couched
in constructive suggestions for strengthening it and
bolstering its supremacy. Some of the public commentary over
the past few weeks has been no exception. Nguyen Quang A,
President of VP Bank, wrote that if the CPV truly believes
that socialism means a "rich people, strong country and a
just, democratic and civilized society," and if it were able
to come up with specific plans to realize this motto, it
would undoubtedly be able to attract many more members. It
would win the public's support, and the common people would
wholeheartedly follow it, "unless another party exists that
strives for the same goals and proves to be much more
effective at realizing them." He goes on to argue that
opposition forces should be encouraged to participate in the
cause of national development if the Party and "all those
involved" can agree upon common values in and objectives for
a prosperous and democratic society.

Party Stalwarts Respond
--------------


10. (SBU) Showing that Party loyalists have not been asleep
at the switch, former Politburo member Nguyen Duc Binh
expressed his opposition to Party members' participation in
capitalist activities. Binh quoted Ho Chi Minh as saying
that Party members must not participate in exploitative
activities and called on the Party to continue the path
toward socialism that it has chosen. Any support for "a
so-called 'transition' in terms of Party membership" is akin
to "supporting political pluralism," he argued. Many letters
to the editor received by VietnamNet disagreed with Binh's
view. Readers specifically criticized Binh for being too
academic, inflexible and subjective, and for ignoring current
trends.


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Political Discussion Not Ready for Primetime?
--------------


10. (SBU) Although the period for public comment on the draft
Political Report officially ended on March 1, the public
discussion has continued, even making it to live television.
During a March 5 talk show on VTV, both Nguyen Quang A and
Nguyen Trung called on the Party to facilitate true freedom
of expression to allow for genuine public discussion of
critical national issues. However, according to a contact in
VTV's News Department, the CPV's Commission for Ideological
and Cultural Affairs expressed its "discomfort" with the
show. VTV canceled a subsequent re-airing of the program
and, when the Embassy asked VTV for a copy of the tape, we
were refused.

Comment: What's Going On?
--------------


11. (C) While impressive by Vietnamese standards, and
refreshing to those used to monotonic expressions of
unwavering support for the Party, the political "debate"
taking place most likely has the Party's tacit approval. The
CPV has made clear its goal of becoming a more "open" and
"democratic" party to broaden its public appeal. To that
end, the Party may revise its statutes to transform itself
from a "vanguard of the working class" to a "representative
of the interests of the whole nation." In this light, while
the vigor of the public discussions, and perhaps some of the
commentators' sharper comments, may have come as a shock to
Party leadership, the discussion itself likely has not.


12. (C) How and to what extent the public commentary is
reflected in the final Political Report and the upcoming
Party Congress remain to be seen. That said, the tone of the
discussions, the buzz on the street and the public's
enthusiasm for the debate are all welcome. Even the modest
openness on display is a good thing and may portend further
gains in the future.
MARINE