Trịnh Văn Quyết: The Higher the Position, the Greater the Oversight by the Party and the People

Trịnh Văn Quyết, head of Vietnam’s Central Propaganda Department, said senior officials must face more concrete and public oversight, including supervision by party organizations and the people.

He made the remarks on the morning of Sept. 3 while explaining Politburo Directive 07 on promoting the study and practice of Hồ Chí Minh’s ideology, ethics, methods and style during the country’s new development period.

Directive 07, signed by General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm on July 13, replaces Directive 05 from 2016 and Conclusion 01 from 2021. Quyết said the change reflects rapid and unpredictable developments in the world and region, as well as new forms of ideological opposition operating in cyberspace.

He also pointed to Vietnam’s new development phase after the 14th Party Congress, including a goal of double-digit growth and two centenary targets. Those ambitions, he said, require a different way of learning and working. After 10 years of implementing Directive 05, formalism remained a major problem: people studied extensively but achieved limited change, made many commitments but delivered few products, and held regular reviews while some difficult issues affecting citizens remained unresolved.

The new approach therefore shifts from “learning and following” to “learning and practicing.” Quyết described the difference this way: “Directive 05 answered the question of what to learn and how to follow it, while Directive 07 answers the question of what results practice should create and how to measure them.”

The directive also links practicing Hồ Chí Minh’s example with encouraging and protecting officials who dare to think, act and accept responsibility for the common good. Officials who avoid decisions, shift responsibility or fear accountability should be replaced, he said.

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Directive 05 answered the question of what to learn and how to follow it, while Directive 07 answers the question of what results practice should create and how to measure them.