GLORIOUS VIETNAM
To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam
A new spring is arriving, bringing joy and new vitality across all regions of the country. This spring becomes even more meaningful as our entire Party, people and army commemorate the 95th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930-2025), a brilliant milestone as our country enters a new phase of development towards a bright future.
Throughout the past 95 springs, our Party — the vanguard of the working class, the working people, and the Vietnamese nation — has led the country through countless hardships and challenges, achieving great victories and accomplishments that have left profound marks in our nation’s glorious history.
In 1930, the Communist Party of Vietnam was established with a special mission during a special historical context. From the mid-19th century, French colonialists had invaded our country and imposed brutal rule, forcing our nation into slavery and misery. With our tradition of patriotism and indomitable spirit, our people rose up to fight continuously and vigorously through various means and orientations, from the Can Vuong Movement and Yen The Uprising to the Dong Du, Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc and Duy Tan movements and the Yen Bai Uprising.
Our people fought with tremendous courage and endured many sacrifices, but they were unsuccessful due to a lack of a correct path, inability to unite and harness the strength of the entire nation, lack of suitable fighting methods, and most importantly, the absence of a leading organisation — a political party that could meet the requirements of the nation and the era.
Meanwhile, globally, the development of the workers’ movement and the victory of the Russian October Revolution in 1917 opened a new horizon, igniting hope for oppressed and exploited peoples, strongly encouraging independence movements across all continents.
President Ho Chi Minh working at the Presidential Palace. (File photo/VNA)
Faced with historical demands and burning with passion for national liberation, the patriotic young man Nguyen Tat Thanh set out to find a way to salvage the country. He travelled across continents, through nearly 30 countries and hundreds of cities, overcoming countless hardships and working many jobs to survive and to learn the wisdom of humanity. This journey helped the young Vietnamese man understand that the root cause of suffering among the working classes lay in the oppression and exploitation of imperialist capitalism, forming in him a clear class consciousness. With determination towards “Freedom for my compatriots, independence for my motherland”, Nguyen Tat Thanh naturally came to Marxism-Leninism as a historical necessity and found therein the fundamental issues of national liberation aligned with class liberation and human emancipation, national independence aligned with socialism.
Faced with historical requirements and guided by Marxism-Leninism, the young man Nguyen Tat Thanh-Nguyen Ai Quoc conducted many activities, meticulously preparing ideologically, theoretically, and personally for the birth of a vanguard political organisation to lead the Vietnamese revolution. He spread Marxism-Leninism in Vietnam through works such as “French Colonialism on Trial” (1925) and “Revolutionary Path” (1927), trained revolutionary cadres, and promoted the struggle movement within the country.
On February 3, 1930, in Kowloon (Hong Kong, China), under the chairmanship of Nguyen Ai Quoc, the unification conference of three communist organisations in Vietnam took place, agreeing to establish the Communist Party of Vietnam. This was a momentous historical decision, uniting Vietnamese communist organisations into a single force with clear, unified revolutionary direction. The Party’s first platform, adopted at its founding conference, determined the fundamental path of the Vietnamese revolution, meeting the urgent requirements of history and becoming a banner for unity, bringing together communist organisations, revolutionary forces, and the entire nation.
This historical event ended the crisis of direction and organisation in the Vietnamese revolution, opening a new era in our country’s history — an era of struggle for national independence and advancement towards socialism.
Since its establishment, with sound direction, proper and creative methods, practical organisational capacity, and the indomitable fighting spirit and heroic sacrifice of many generations of officials and party members, as well as the trust, support, wholehearted protection of the people, the Communist Party of Vietnam has led the country to achieve great victories of historical significance.
In just 15 years after its establishment, the Party has continuously developed and led the struggle for national liberation, leading to the victory of the August Revolution, establishing the Democratic Republic of Vietnam on September 2, 1945, abolishing the semi-feudal colonial regime in Vietnam, and opening a new chapter in the nation's history. The Vietnamese people, from being slaves, became masters of the country, society, and their own lives.
Right after the success of the August Revolution, our country faced numerous difficulties and challenges; confronting the “famine, ignorance, and foreign invasion” all at once. In this critical situation, the Party led our people to persistently protect and build the fledgling government, while actively preparing in all aspects for the resistance war against the French colonialists. With a sound direction which mobilised the strength of the entire nation, our Party led our people to defeat all the enemy's invasion plots and plans during the nine years of arduous and heroic resistance, the culmination of which was the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory, forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement (1954) on peace in Indochina.
For more than twenty years afterwards, our country was divided and there was no peace. Under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, with an iron will and unshakable determination, our people overcame countless hardships and sacrifices, carried out a great resistance war, successively defeated the war strategies of the American imperialists, completely liberated the South, and reunified the country, writing one of the most heroic pages of the nation's history, an event of international stature and profound significance.
This was the realisation of the vision and determination that our Party put forward at the third Party Congress (September 1960): “Our Vietnam is one, our Vietnamese nation is one. Our country will certainly be reunified on the basis of independence and democracy. Our people will surely reunite in peace, freedom, and happiness. Rivers may dry up, mountains may erode, but the will of the people to reunify the Fatherland will never waver, and in the end, we will undoubtedly achieve victory.”
At a time when we had to urgently fix the heavy consequences left by the war, our country once again faced new challenges. The Party continued to lead the entire army and people to strive to both restore the socio-economy and improve people's living standards, and resolutely defend every inch of sacred land of the homeland, and protect independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the national survival space. At the same time, we also carried out our noble international duty toward the people of Cambodia.
Vietnam's economy recovers, returning to high growth. (Photo: NDO)
Vietnam's economy recovers, returning to high growth. (Photo: NDO)
In response to the new requirements of national development, in order to address the shortcomings of the bureaucratic, centralised planning system that led to a socio-economic crisis in the years after the war, and based on the practical lessons learned from the Party's leadership and direction, and the implementation of the entire political system and the people, our Party formulated and carried out a comprehensive Doi moi (Renewal) policy, marking a significant turning point on the path of transition to socialism in Vietnam. The Renewal policy was born to meet the practical demands of building the country's economy, national defence and security, and foreign relations, demonstrating the Party's steadfastness and creative mindset while opening a new era for the country's development.
After nearly 40 years of implementing the Renewal process under the Party's leadership, our country has overcome all difficulties and achieved great milestones of historic significance. From being a poor, war-torn, sanctioned, and isolated country, Vietnam has now become a developing middle-income nation that is deeply integrated into global politics, the world economy, and human civilisation. It now assumes many important international responsibilities, playing an active role in key international organisations and at multilateral forums. Independence, sovereignty, reunification, and territorial integrity have been upheld, and the national and people's interests have been ensured.
The economy in 2024 has surpassed 470 billion USD, ranking 32nd globally and placing Vietnam among the top 20 economies in trade and foreign investment attraction. People’s living standards have significantly improved, with the poverty rate dropping sharply to just 1.93% (based on the multidimensional poverty standard) from 60% in 1986. Political, economic, cultural, social, scientific-technological, defence, and security capacities have continuously strengthened. Vietnam’s diplomatic landscape has expanded, with the country’s position and reputation increasingly recognised, contributing positively to regional and global issues. Vietnam has actively fulfilled its responsibilities as a member of ASEAN, the United Nations, and other international organisations and institutions, earning high regard from the international community.
The personnel selection process must serve as a mechanism to choose the best and most deserving individuals, rather than a means to legitimise the appointment or promotion of those who do not meet standards, are not truly exemplary, or do not genuinely serve the people.
The opening session of the 13th Party Central Committee conference, January 23, 2025.
The opening session of the 13th Party Central Committee conference, January 23, 2025.
General Secretary To Lam receives a delegation of outstanding overseas Vietnamese participating in the “Homeland Spring 2025” programme on January 19, 2025, at the Party Central Committee Office.
General Secretary To Lam receives a delegation of outstanding overseas Vietnamese participating in the “Homeland Spring 2025” programme on January 19, 2025, at the Party Central Committee Office.
Vietnam’s revolutionary achievements over the past 95 years stem from various factors, with the correct and visionary leadership of the Party being the foremost decisive element. This success is also due to the sacrifice, struggle, and creative labour of the entire people and armed forces under the Party’s leadership, as well as the support and assistance of international friends. In times of hardship and challenges, the Party has demonstrated its resilience and unity, acting as a unified force in both will and action. Through its leadership, the Party has guided the political system to strive for comprehensive and remarkable achievements across all fields. At the same time, through its revolutionary leadership, the Party has been continuously strengthened and matured, proving itself worthy of its role, mission, and the people’s trust and expectations. This reality affirms that in Vietnam, no other political force besides the Communist Party of Vietnam possesses the capability, resilience, intelligence, experience, and prestige to lead the country through difficulties and challenges, ensuring continuous revolutionary victories for the nation.
Looking back on the 95-year journey of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s establishment, struggle, and growth, we express our deepest gratitude and profound respect for the great President Ho Chi Minh—an extraordinary leader, a national liberation hero, and the visionary who paved the revolutionary path, bringing honour to our nation. We also solemnly remember the Party’s pioneering leaders, heroic martyrs, comrades, and compatriots who fought bravely and sacrificed selflessly for the noble cause of revolution, for the independence and freedom of our nation, for socialism, and for the peaceful, prosperous, and happy lives of the people.
The Party, State, and people of Vietnam will forever honour the contributions of those who served the nation—families of fallen soldiers, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the Armed Forces, Labour Heroes, wounded and sick soldiers, former prisoners of colonial and imperialist regimes, soldiers who fought on all battlefronts and fulfilled international missions, veterans, and those who have tirelessly worked to create material wealth for society. We also deeply appreciate the comrades and international friends who have always stood by and supported the Vietnamese people in their struggle for national independence in the past and continue to cooperate and assist in the country’s construction and development today.
Looking back at the history, glorious and proud tradition of the Party over the past 95 years, the responsibility of today's generation of leaders and Party members in the historical process of the nation can be clearly seen. The Party's current mission is to lead and bring the country into the new era of development, the era of prosperity, successfully building a socialist Vietnam, a rich people, a strong country, democracy, fairness, civilisation, on a par with the world's powers; ensuring that all people have a prosperous and happy life, are supported to develop and get rich; contribute more and more to the peace, stability, and development of the region and the world, for the happiness of humanity and global civilisation. The top priority is to successfully implement the strategic goals by 2030, Vietnam becomes a developing country, with modern industry, high average income; by 2045, the country becomes a developed socialist country with high income.
Frankness, objectivity, science, honesty, steadfastness and caution are necessary to avoid mistakes and voluntarism.
To continue to shoulder that historical responsibility, the Party must constantly grow, maintain its revolutionary nature, and improve its leadership and governing capacity, fighting strength, and close ties with the people. The Party must always renew itself, self-rectify itself, promote internal democracy, build a strong, clean cadre team, steadfast in the goals and ideals of Marxism-Leninism and President Ho Chi Minh's Ideology. At the same time, the Party must constantly improve its theories, improve the quality of ideological work, and build a solid foundation to lead the country to develop rapidly and sustainably. Faced with new requirements of the revolutionary cause, especially in the context of deep international integration and challenges from the world situation, , more attention needs to be paid to party building work, with more drastic innovation and implementation, focusing on these key areas:
First, continuing to firmly adhere to the Party's goals and ideals. The Party was established with the mission of leading the revolution and representing the interests of the working class, the working people, and the entire Vietnamese nation. From the early days of the struggle for independence to becoming the ruling party, the Party has consistently pursued the goals of liberating the nation, building socialism, and bringing prosperity and happiness to the people. The Party exists not for its own interests but for the people's interests. The Party's leadership power is not inherent but rather is delegated by the people. The Party has no other goal than to struggle for the interests of the people, the country, and the nation.
President Ho Chi Minh emphasised: "The Party is not an organisation for making officials rich. It must fulfil its mission of national liberation, making the country powerful and the people happy." Therefore, the Party must always remain closely connected with the people, seeing the interests of the people as its highest goal, while maintaining its revolutionary nature and its vanguard role.
In the current context, the Party must remain steadfast in its ideological foundation, continue to creatively apply Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought into reality, and firmly protect the path towards socialism. At the same time, the Party must continuously renew and rectify itself, improve its leadership and ruling capabilities, and build a clean and strong Party to continue leading the nation on its path of development in the new era, realising the goal of prosperous people, a powerful nation, democracy, justice, and civilisation.
President Ho Chi Minh. (Photo: VNA)
President Ho Chi Minh. (Photo: VNA)
Second, continuously improving the Party's theoretical system. A solid theoretical foundation guides the Party's actions and determines the correctness of leadership directions and national development strategies. Over the past 95 years of leading the revolution, the Party has drawn many lessons and gradually developed theoretical thinking about the path to socialism, the socialist-oriented market economy model, building a socialist rule-of-law state, national defence and security, foreign relations, and many other important areas. Perfecting the theoretical foundation is urgent for the Party to continue leading the country amid today's profound global changes across all aspects of life. However, the process of development always presents new challenges, requiring the Party to continuously assess practice, refine, and advance theory.
The work of summarising practices needs to look straight at the truth, accurately assess the achieved results, frankly and objectively point out the limitations, weaknesses, shortcomings and causes; identify the bottlenecks that are holding back the country’s development, thereby proposing breakthrough solutions, creating strong momentum for the development process in the coming time. Research work also needs to clarify the great opportunities that must be taken advantage of, the great challenges that need to be overcome, and the new elements of practice that need to be supplemented. Frankness, objectivity, science, honesty, steadfastness and caution are necessary to avoid mistakes and voluntarism. These issues must be clarified in drafting documents for the 14th National Party Congress. This is not only the task of the Party’s professional agencies but also requires the participation of the entire political system, the intellectual community, theoretical research agencies, and each cadre, party member, and person nationwide.
Third, it is necessary to continue to build and rectify a clean and strong Party. This is a task of decisive significance to the existence and development of the Party. It is necessary to constantly consolidate solidarity and unity within the Party, improve the leadership capacity and fighting strength of each Party organisation; build a truly clean and strong grassroots Party organisation, acting as the core of the political system and closely attached to the people; at the same time, it is necessary to continue to strengthen the work of inspection, supervision, and Party discipline; promote self-criticism and criticism, and resolutely handle cadres and party members who have degraded political ideology, ethics, and lifestyle, and who show signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation”; Improve the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection and supervision work to maintain discipline and order in the Party.
The work of preventing and combating corruption, negativity and wastefulness must continue to be implemented resolutely, synchronously, comprehensively and systematically, without forbidden areas or exceptions, creating deterrence and warning, contributing to cleaning up the apparatus and strengthening people’s trust in the Party. Cadres and Party members, especially leaders of Party committees at all levels, need to uphold their responsibility to set an example, always listen to people's opinions, promptly resolve people's legitimate aspirations, and create social consensus; at the same time, it is necessary to promote the people’s supervisory role over cadres and Party members, ensuring that the Party is always a leading force loyal to the interests of the nation and for the happiness of the people.
Fourth, determination should be made to consolidate the political system’s organisational apparatus towards streamlining, effective and efficient operations, overcoming cumbersome and overlapping situations. In many recent congresses, the congress documents have emphasised specific tasks on streamlining the organisational apparatus or studying and building a comprehensive model of the political system's organisational apparatus in the new period. The Party has also continuously issued many Resolutions and Conclusions to lead the implementation of the renovation policy and reorganise the political system’s organisational apparatus. However, the awareness and actions of some Party committees, Party organisations, leadership groups, and heads of some agencies, organisations, units, and localities are not complete, profound, determined or resolute. The arrangement of the apparatus is not synchronous or comprehensive and has not linked streamlining with restructuring.
Therefore, up to now, the organisation of the political system is still cumbersome, with many levels and focal points; the effectiveness and efficiency of operations have not met the requirements and tasks; the functions, tasks, powers, organisations, and working relationships between many agencies and departments are not clear, still overlapping; the division of responsibilities, decentralisation, and delegation of powers are not synchronous and reasonable, there are places where excuses are made and places where omissions or inadequate investment are made. Compared to the great changes of the country after 40 years of renewal, the development of the socialist rule of law state and scientific and technological achievements, the organisation of the political system in Vietnam is still following the model designed decades ago, many issues are no longer suitable for new conditions, which is contrary to the law of development; creating a situation of “Saying does not match doing”.
Therefore, the key task in the current and future period is to build and organise the implementation of a comprehensive model of the Vietnamese political system’s organisation to meet the requirements and tasks in the new revolutionary period.
Fifth, it is necessary to build a contingent of cadres, especially key cadres at all levels. Faced with increasingly high requirements for development and integration, the contingent of cadres, especially key cadres at all levels, must meet important criteria: have strong political will; have pure ethics, high sense of responsibility, be truly exemplary, honest, dedicated to serving the people, not self-interested, not corrupt, negative; have innovative and creative thinking; know how to seize opportunities, dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good, not avoid, stagnate, or be passive in the face of newly arising problems; have practical capacity, leadership and management ability. To do this, it is necessary to strongly innovate thinking in personnel work.
Processes related to personnel work must serve as a mechanism for selecting the best and most deserving individuals, rather than merely formalising the appointment and promotion of those who do not meet the required standards, are not truly exemplary, or lack a genuine commitment to serving the people. Beyond ensuring transparency in the appointment and rotation of officials and strengthening inspection and supervision, it is essential to establish mechanisms for identifying, protecting, and valuing talented individuals. At the same time, a clear accountability system must be put in place, ensuring that those who recommend or appoint unqualified, unethical, or incompetent officials are held responsible. Additionally, decisive measures must be taken to combat position-buying, power-seeking, and group interests in the planning, appointment, and utilisation of personnel.
The extension of Metro Line 1 increases traffic connectivity for the region.
The extension of Metro Line 1 increases traffic connectivity for the region.
Sixthly, it is crucial to strengthen the application of science, technology, and digital transformation in Party building. Advances in information technology, artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and digital transformation are profoundly impacting all aspects of social life. The integration of scientific and technological achievements into party building is not only an urgent necessity but also a breakthrough to enhance the leadership capacity and combat strength of the Party in the new era. IT and AI will contribute to modernising the management of Party members and the administration of Party organisations. Developing a digital-based Party member management system will enhance transparency, accuracy, and efficiency in record-keeping, career tracking, evaluation, and classification of Party members.
This will enable Party committees at all levels to accurately assess their personnel, thereby implementing appropriate training, development, and rotation mechanisms while overcoming bureaucracy and any lack of practical engagement. Digital technology also enhances the effectiveness of political and ideological education. Digital platforms and social media can be leveraged to disseminate the Party’s guidelines and policies to a broad audience of officials, Party members, and the public in a fast, dynamic, and effective manner. Moreover, emerging technologies improve the ability to detect early issues, analyse trends, forecast developments, and propose appropriate solutions. Digital technology provides accurate and objective data, enabling Party committees to make well-informed decisions based on scientific analysis rather than subjective judgment.
Seventhly, the urgent key task for 2025 for Party committees at all levels, each branch, and every Party member is to focus their efforts and intellect, alongside the people, to strive to complete and exceed the targets outlined in the resolutions of Party committees. Special emphasis should be placed on socio-economic development targets. Efforts need to be made to successfully organise Party congresses at all levels, leading up to the 14th National Party Congress, with particular attention given to contributing opinions on the Party’s documents. It also involves introducing and selecting truly exemplary individuals who are dedicated to the nation and the people to participate in the political system at all levels. A genuinely democratic and united atmosphere must be created, one that fosters enthusiasm for labour, production, construction, and the development of the homeland across all segments of society.
Looking back at the past 95 years of the Party's formation and development, we have every right to be proud and fully confident in the bright future of both the Party and the nation. In 1945, when leading the entire people to successfully carry out the August Revolution, the Party had only around 5,000 members. However, with the appropriate direction, unwavering spirit, indomitable will, and love for the country, the Party led the people to victory and founded the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
By 1960, when the country entered the long-term resistance war against the US for national salvation, the Party membership had increased to approximately 500,000 individuals, becoming the core force leading the entire nation in the struggle for independence and reunification. Today, with more than 5.4 million Party members, the country’s strength continues to grow in terms of both quantity and quality, capable of shouldering the responsibility of advancing the nation in this new era.
Each Party member represents a symbol of trust, intellect, and the collective will of the people. The Communist Party of Vietnam, guided by the principles of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought, will continue to fulfil its historic mission with excellence.
Published: February 2, 2025
Design: Diec Duong
Photos: Nhan Dan, VNA
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