President Ho Chi Minh's Testament states: “Unity is an extremely precious tradition of our Party and people. Comrades from the Party Central Committee to local Party cells must preserve the unity and unanimity of the Party as they would preserve the pupils of their eye.”
Unity within the Party can only stem from a correct political line, the wise leadership of the Party Central Committee, and the dedication and responsibility of party organisations and members who “serve the class, the people, and the nation wholeheartedly.” Unity within the Party is a key element in building, consolidating, and developing national unity and international solidarity. President Ho Chi Minh emphasised that to practice unity and solidarity, the Party must: “Implement broad democracy within the Party, regularly and strictly practice self-criticism and criticism as the best way to consolidate and develop the unity and solidarity of the Party. There must be a spirit of mutual comradeship and affection.”
As the core of leading the construction of national unity, President Ho Chi Minh advised the Party, the State, and government and organisations at various levels to focus on “the work related to the people first and foremost.” For President Ho Chi Minh, people represent the nation. He had absolute faith in the intellect and strength of the people. He wrote: “To achieve victory in this colossal struggle, it is necessary to mobilise the entire population, organise and educate the people, rely on the great force of the entire population.”
He believed that, regardless of the difficulty of any task, if supported and assisted by the people, success will be achieved. However, to earn enthusiastic support from the people, it is essential to build and consolidate national unity and establish absolute trust between the Party and the people. Additionally, it is crucial to “always pay attention to the thoughts and needs of the people... Always care about the economic, political, and cultural life of the people...” while “The Party must have a good plan to develop the economy and culture, aiming to continually improve the people's living standards.”
Following President Ho Chi Minh’s wishes, since 1986, our Party has resolutely carried out the policy of Doi Moi (Reneal) to lift the country out of economic-social crisis and improve the people's living standards. In 1989, farmers were exempted from agricultural taxes as instructed in his Testament.
Policies to eradicate poverty and reduce poverty have become major initiatives, which were launched nationwide; war veterans and the families of fallen soldiers benefit from increasingly higher social policies, and the spiritual life of the people has been also being elevated. The Vietnam Fatherland Front and various political-social organisations have launched numerous movements to develop the economy and build a cultural life, such as: “Eradicating poverty, reducing poverty”, “Striving for excellent production, legitimate enrichment”, “Encouraging the development of agriculture and forestry”, “Building rural transporation”, “Roof tiling”, “Encouraging education”, “Encouraging virtue”, and “All people unite to build a cultural life.”
Notably, the nationwide campaign on “Building new rural areas” has created a new appearance of rural areas and improved both the material and spiritual lives of the people. As a result, from being an agricultural country frequently lacking food and resources, Vietnam has made remarkable strides in agriculture and is now among the leading nations in exporting rice, coffee, pepper, cashew nuts, and rubber, as well as ranking in the top for fruits, seafood, and other products globally.
From a country with very low development rates, which was heavily impacted by the ravages of war, Vietnam has become one of the fastest growing and most stable countries in the region. The living standards of the people have continuously improved in both material and spiritual aspects, with the general intellectual level and cultural enjoyment steadily rising. These are significant achievements.
However, amidst domestic and global fluctuations, the adverse effects of the market mechanism, the distortion and sabotage of the Party's policies and attacks from hostile forces have led to some cadres and party members to experience ideological and ethical decline, a fading sense of purpose, reduced vigilance, weakened fighting spirit, poor organisational discipline, and estrangement from the masses. Many party committees and branches still face various issues with a lack of democracy, superficial self-criticism and criticism, and some party members fall into “individualism”, leading to internal discord and diminished public trust within the Party.
In line with President Ho Chi Minh’s advice on internal Party unity, for the past 55 years, our Party has focused on the task of building and rectifying the Party, always considering Party building as a key mission. This has involved continuously upholding the spirit of criticism and self-criticism within the Party, viewing it as the Party's principle of existence and a factor ensuring unity within the Party and public consensus.
Along with developing and implementing specialised resolutions on Party building and rectification, the Politburo has launched nationwide political movements and campaigns on the theme of “Studying and Following President Ho Chi Minh’s Ideology, Morality, and Style.”
With a frank attitude and no "forbidden zones" and a resolute approach to correcting mistakes and shortcomings, various levels of the Party (from central to grassroots) have shown significant progress and improvement. The leadership capacity and fighting spirit of many organisations, committees, and party members have increased, as demonstrated by their uncompromising stance against distorted, erroneous, reactionary, and harmful ideological expressions; corruption; and efforts to counteract ideological, ethical, and lifestyle degeneration, "self-evolution", and "self-transformation." They are also committed to protecting the Party's ideological foundation, socialist regime, enhancing internal unity, and gaining social consensus.
Following Ho Chi Minh’s example, each cadre and party member has demonstrated discipline, developed a service-oriented working style, and led by example in actions and speech, bringing a renewed vitality to the Party and confidence to the people, thus contributing to the Party's purity and strength.
Regarding international solidarity, President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology holds that: “The Vietnamese revolution is a part of the global peace-loving, democratic, and socialist forces.” The solidarity and support of democratic, progressive forces and peace-loving people worldwide play a crucial role in the success of the Vietnamese revolution. Simultaneously, the victory of the Vietnamese revolution positively contributed to the global revolutionary movement for peace and development.
In his Testament, Ho Chi Minh noted: “I hope that our Party will work hard to contribute effectively to restoring unity among fraternal parties on the foundation of Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism, with full reason and sentiment.” Following his Testament, in the spirit of pure proletarian internationalism, combining national strength with the strength of the times, and seeking support from democratic, progressive, and socialist countries, our Party led the people to complete the mission of liberating the South and reunifying the country.
Implementing President Ho Chi Minh’s guidance on international unity, in the renewal process, our Party has implemented an “independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative, and developmental foreign policy; multi-lateralised and diversified foreign relations; been a trustworthy friend, partner, and an active, responsible member of the international community” on the spirit of deeply and broadly integrating into international cooperation in an active and proactive manner, aiming to transform our country into a developed industrial nation by 2045.
Reflecting on 55 years of implementing President Ho Chi Minh’s Testament, it has been noted that “with all humility, we can say that our country has never had such wealth, potential, position, nor international prestige as it does today.” The success of the Vietnamese revolution and the renewal process demonstrates the correct policies, the wise leadership of the Party, and the enduring value of the Testament that President Ho Chi Minh left for our Party and people.
