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Re-elected Vietnam communist boss defends one-party rule Communism better than democracy, says Vietnam party boss
(about 2 hours later)
HANOI, Vietnam — Vietnam’s re-elected leader, a 71-year-old Communist Party ideologue, made it clear Thursday that one-party rule was here to stay, insisting that the collective leadership he heads is a better alternative to what he called authoritarianism disguised as democracy. HANOI, Vietnam — One-party rule in communist Vietnam is a far better alternative to authoritarianism disguised as democracy, the 71-year-old ideologue who was re-elected as party chief and consequently the country’s leader said Thursday.
General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (pronounced noo-YEN’ FOO’ CHONG’) was re-elected Wednesday as head of the party and the leader of a 19-member Politburo that will govern Vietnam for the next five years. The decisions were made at the end of a weeklong congress of the 4.5-million-member party, which rules the lives of 93 million Vietnamese. “A country without discipline would be chaotic and unstable ... we need to balance democracy and law and order,” said General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (pronounced noo-YEN’ FOO’ CHONG’).
“Vietnam’s Communist Party is one-party rule but we also have principles of democracy and accountability of the leaders. Otherwise, good deeds would be credited to individuals while failure would be blamed on the group and no one would be disciplined,” he said. Trong was re-elected Wednesday as head of the Communist Party and the leader of a 19-member Politburo that will govern Vietnam for the next five years, after squashing a short-lived challenge for the top post by his No. 2, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (pronounced noo-YEN’ TAN’ ZOONG’).
“The principle of the Communist Party of Vietnam is collective leadership with accountability and responsibility of the individual, which can never become authoritarian. It is not proper to name them, but in a number of countries, in the name of democracy, all decisions are made by one person. So which is more democratic?” The Communist Party has been in power since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, and every five years elects a new leadership. The party has 4.5 million members in a country of 93 million people, who have no direct say in how their leaders are elected. People do elect a National Assembly, but it is considered a largely rubber stamp body whose members are vetted by the Communist Party before they can contest.
Apparently justifying the iron-fisted rule of the Communist Party, Trong said the country needs discipline to meet its goal of becoming a modern, industrialized society
“However, a country without discipline would be chaotic and unstable ... Democracy should go alongside discipline. There should be no imbalance. We should not go to either extreme. We need to balance between democracy and law and order. “
Along with Trong, a new crop of leaders were elected to the Politburo and the 180-member Central Committee, the other key component of the ruling structure.
The renewal of the leadership means little change for Vietnam, where the people have no direct role in selecting the party leaders.The renewal of the leadership means little change for Vietnam, where the people have no direct role in selecting the party leaders.
Trong is expected to continue to push the economic reforms led by outgoing Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. The prime minister is the de facto No. 2 in the hierarchy, and the post will be held by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc after it is endorsed by the National Assembly later this year. “I very much hope the new faces in the Politburo will push with reforms and bring the country forward, but I don’t know whether they can do that,” said Tran Thi Tram, selling lotteries on the sidewalk in central Hanoi. “They will also have to really tackle the corruption problem, Otherwise the people would be the ones to suffer most.”
Despite having a reputation for being pro-China, Trong is not likely to be totally subservient to Beijing as that would risk massive anger from ordinary Vietnamese who harbor a deep dislike and historical suspicion of China. Trong cited the National Assembly and the thousands of party organizations at grassroots as representing the voice of the people.
“Many people were afraid that a conservative trend would prevail if Mr. Trong is re-elected. But ... whoever they may be, and however conservative they may be, when they are at the helm they are under pressure to carry out reforms,” Le Hong Hiep, a visiting Vietnamese fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore, told The Associated Press. “Vietnam’s Communist Party is one-party rule but we also have principles of democracy and accountability of the leaders. Otherwise, good deeds would be credited to individuals while failure would be blamed on the group and no one would be disciplined,” he said.
Trong’s re-election was an expected outcome, even though he was briefly challenged by Dung in what had become a relatively public power struggle. Dung was ousted from the Politburo also this past week, and now that he has become virtually a lame duck prime minister, it is not clear how he will make any decisions incumbent on his office. He said that the party “can never become authoritarian” unlike some democracies.
Trong’s camp has accused Dung of corruption and mismanagement, but analysts believe that the accusations were an excuse since the widespread corruption that seeps through the system is not likely to vanish overnight with Dung’s departure. “It is not proper to name them, but in a number of countries, in the name of democracy, all decisions are made by one person. So which is more democratic?”
There is no organized movement in Vietnam calling for multi-party system.
Dissidents, who are active on social media, are quickly crushed. The biggest organized group that’s vocal against the one-party system is based in the United States, and is branded a terrorist group by the government.
U.S. officials have said Vietnam has shown greater restraint in arrests and prosecution of dissent last year, but stressed it needs to do more to improve its human rights records. According to U.S. officials, there were about 100 prisoners of conscience in 2015, down from more than 160 in 2016. International human rights groups and the U.S. government has criticized Vietnam for using vague security laws to silence dissidents, but Hanoi has said only law breakers were put behind bars.
Trong is expected to continue to push the economic reforms led by Prime Minister Dung during his 10 years in office. Dung will be replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc after his appointment is endorsed by the National Assembly later this year.
Trong’s camp has accused Dung of corruption and mismanagement, but analysts believe that the accusations were an excuse for the widespread corruption that seeps through the system and is not likely to vanish overnight with Dung’s departure.
Addressing that question, Trong said there was a need to “particularly sustain the accountability and responsibility of the leaders and supervise power to ensure corruption and wastefulness are brought under control.”Addressing that question, Trong said there was a need to “particularly sustain the accountability and responsibility of the leaders and supervise power to ensure corruption and wastefulness are brought under control.”
Trong said he was surprised to be re-elected “because I am quite old. I am the oldest member in the leadership of Vietnam. I myself asked to be retired but due to responsibility tasked on me by the party I had to accept.” Despite having a reputation for being pro-China, Trong is not likely to be totally subservient to Beijing as that would risk massive anger from ordinary Vietnamese who harbor a deep dislike and historical suspicion of China. Tensions have spiked recently over overlapping territorial claims in the South China Sea, where Beijing’s massive construction of man-made islands has pushed the Philippines and Vietnam closer to the U.S.
“Many people were afraid that a conservative trend would prevail if Mr. Trong is re-elected. But ... whoever they may be, and however conservative they may be, when they are at the helm they are under pressure to carry out reforms,” Le Hong Hiep, a visiting Vietnamese fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asia Studies in Singapore, told The Associated Press.
The third most important member elected to the Politburo was Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, who will be the country’s new president.The third most important member elected to the Politburo was Minister of Public Security Tran Dai Quang, who will be the country’s new president.
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Tran Van Minh contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.