Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong plays a highly important role in the stability and development of Vietnam, with the three legacies of the Party building and rectification, uprightness, and the “bamboo diplomacy” policy, which not only consolidate public trust in the Party’s leadership but also inspire future generations.
So said Dr Le Hong Hiep from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, based in Singapore, while talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) about the late leader’s contributions.
He said that the first legacy is the General Secretary’s role in the Party building and rectification, and the corruption combat. Under his leadership, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)’s anti-corruption campaign has obtained considerable results in rectifying the contingent of Party cadres and purifying not only the apparatus of the administration but also other fields in society and economic sectors.
This has helped enhance people’s trust in the Party’s leadership and improve the efficiency and purity of the administration’s apparatus, thereby indirectly helping the economy to run more efficiently in the long term, the expert noted.
The second important legacy related to the first one is that the General Secretary set a bright example for the entire Party, administration, and people to follow. Throughout his time of leadership, he always showed himself as a highly upright person who took no interest in benefits for himself or his family and always stressed the role of morality and self-esteem of each person in serving the people and the Fatherland. His example will create a source of inspiration and a role model for all Party members, cadres as well as people to follow, thereby contributing to the country’s sustainable development, Hiep went on.
Besides, the General Secretary Trong made a considerable contribution to external affairs as seen in the “bamboo diplomacy” policy he emphasised in recent years. This policy has guided Vietnam to harvest especially important victories, particularly maintaining the balance in its relations with major countries and developing profound ties with the ones it has traditional friendship with.
Hiep perceived that the Party chief’s vision and approach on the foreign policy also left a big lesson for successive leaders about how to maintain the balance of Vietnam’s relations with other countries and continue promoting its role and position in the global stage so as to contribute to long-term development.
Mentioning the General Secretary’s dedications to the building and development of socialism in Vietnam and the world, Kyril Whittaker, a researcher on Vietnam’s history and politics and a member of the Communist Party of Britain (CPB), pointed out Nguyen Phu Trong's leadership over the country’s policies, including reforms of diplomacy, the corruption combat, and the fight against the degradation of revolutionary ethics.
He told the VNA that the Party chief was one of the leaders winning the people’s hearts as he always paid attention to the people’s life and stayed persistent in the principle of considering “people as the roots”, evidenced by his frequent visits to different provinces and cities to meet, talk to, and learn from the public.
Whittaker highly valued the “bamboo diplomacy” policy that General Secretary Trong inherited from and developed on the basis of President Ho Chi Minh’s thought on diplomacy. Under this policy, Vietnam has stayed flexible in the face of a changing world, expanded partnerships, and be friends with all while keeping persistence in independence, security, and the people’s right to collective mastery.
Vietnam has actively engaged in many international organisations and upheld the spirit of proletarian internationalism. In the trying time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam served as a “lighthouse” of proletarian internationalism, sharing healthcare resources with any that have demand, the researcher went on.
He also underlined the leader’s role in the fight against corruption and wrongful ideas about transformation and power abuse. Under the CPV’s leadership, Vietnam has taken strong actions to eradicate corruption at all levels, and the Party has fully brought into play the core revolutionary ethics of Marxism-Leninism. The country has also secured positive economic growth, overcome such challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic, and maintained a strong economy serving the people.
Those achievements and contributions are attributable to the General Secretary’s sharp mindset and profound understanding of reality, Whittaker continued, describing him as an excellent theorist.
The British researcher voiced his belief that Nguyen Phu Trong will be remembered in not only Vietnam but also the world for his devotion to the nation and the people as well as the building of socialism around the globe.
