The 8th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front is an important event in the political life of the Vietnamese people. On behalf of the Party Central Committee, I warmly welcome the Congress, distinguished guests and more than 1,000 delegates from all corners of the country who have converged to the capital of thousand of years of culture and civilization to attend the Congress. Through delegates and comrades, I would like to extend the deep emotion and warmest greetings of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Viet Nam to the entire fellow countrymen and overseas Vietnamese.

Amid today’s festive atmosphere, we cannot help but turn our hearts to our beloved President Ho Chi Minh with boundless gratitude. He succeeded and promoted the traditional of unity - a great source of strength of the nation. Ho Chi Minh is a great ideologist, a strategist of genius, a great organizer, a founder and the soul of the Vietnam National United Front.

The Communist Party of Viet Nam has always highly valued the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and is belated at the unceasing development and growth of the Front - the image of the great national unity bloc, a decisive factor of the Vietnamese revolution’s successes.

Over the past five years, continuing to promote the glorious tradition and precious experiences of the Vietnam National United Front gained during the 80 years of different revolutionary stages, the Vietnam Fatherland Front have implemented successfully the Resolution of the 7th National Congress of the Front and made great contributions to the national revolutionary causes. The most important contribution of the Front is its tireless endeavor to expand and strengthen the great national unity bloc around the Communist Party of Viet Nam, and generate great strength for national development. The Front has built national unity not only through propaganda and organization development but also through widespread patriotic emulation movements and practical campaigns, attracting people of all strata to achieve political goals, care for and improve people’s lives. Most prominent campaigns are: “The entire people are united to build cultural life in residential areas,” “For the poor people,” and “The Vietnamese use Vietnamese goods.”

The Front has actively mobilized the people to participate and implement the Regulations on Democracy at grassroots level, promote the right to mastery, directly involve in settlement of local issues, contribute opinions to build the Party and administration including developing the Party and State’s guidelines and policies, supervising and criticizing Party committees, cadres and members. Especially, the Front has organized and mobilized people to make the elections to the 8th National Assembly and People’s Councils of the 2011-2016 tenure at all levels successes. The Front and its member organizations have proactively disseminated and mobilized people in implementing the Party’s guidelines, the State laws and policies; while listening to the people, gathering and reflecting recommendations and public opinions to the Party and State, especially issues relating to democracy promotion, economic and cultural development and care for people’s wellbeing, contributing to achieving social unanimity and strengthening the great national unity bloc.

The Fatherland Front has also paid attention to renewing its methods of operation, redirecting its activities toward the grassroots level. The Front’s branches in residential areas are the core force in people mobilization and the effective links in the grassroots political system. The Front’s active role in developing regulations and programs in coordination with administration and member organizations has helped Party committees and administrations at all levels draw good experiences in leadership and guidance. The Front’s member organizations have encouraged and brought into full play creativeness of members in building the model of self-management, ensuring law and order, protecting environment, developing culture, encouraging learning and caring for people in difficult circumstances. The Vietnam Fatherland Front is truly a common house for people of all strata, nationalities, religions, age groups and overseas Vietnamese to promote patriotism, will, wisdom and capacity to build and defend the country, care for people’s wellbeing, take part in building a strong Party and administration, and strengthen friendship and cooperation with other countries.

Given its achievements recorded over the past period, the Fatherland Front has proved to be worthy of its role as a representative of the people, the political base of the administration, the core organization in Viet Nam’s political system. Thus, it was awarded the Golden Star Medal (the second time) by the Party and State on the occasion of the 80th founding anniversary of the Front (1930-2010).

On behalf of the Party Central Committee, I express sincere thanks and warmly commend the Fatherland Front at all levels for their achievements, and people of social strata throughout the country for upholding patriotism, unity, response, support and efforts to implement the Party’s guidelines and State laws, contributing to make important achievements for the country over the past years.

However, to be frankly speaking, there have been constraints and restrictions in the Front’s work. Methods of mobilization and rally of force have not been on a par with new requirements; the Front has not yet had coordinating mechanism and not coordinated regularly with member organizations to understand and reflect people’s thinking and aspirations; campaigns and emulation movements in some places have been nominal and not effective; the role as representative, protector of legitimate interests of the people, supervision and social criticism has been limited. The Front has been slow in completing its committees at different levels; there are difficulties in renewing its mechanism of operation; administrative way of working has remained.

The 11th Party Congress set out orientations and tasks of Viet Nam’s revolution in the coming time: “Continue to enhance the leading capacity and fighting strength of the Party, accelerate comprehensively the renovation process; build a transparent and strong political system; promote democracy and great national unity; rapidly and sustainably develop economy; improve people’s material and spiritual life; firmly maintain socio-political order; increase foreign relation activities; defend independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity; create foundation for the country to fundamentally become a modernity-oriented industrialized country by 2020.” For the Fatherland, the Party affirmed that the Vietnam Fatherland Front is a political base of the people’s administration; represents the people’s legitimate rights and interests, rallies and promotes great national unity, exercises democracy, enhances social consensus, conducts social supervision and criticism, participates in Party and State building, and people’s external relations, and contributes to national construction and defense.

The Political Report of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee at this Congress fully reflects ideologies and viewpoints stipulated in the Documents of the 11th Party Congress, resolutions of the Party Central Committees and closely follows the country’s development to correctly assess the situation, map out practical orientations, tasks, and solutions for the 2014-2019 tenure. Some issues need to be emphasized for the Congress to discuss, review and decide.

1. In my opinion, one of the overall, important and primary tasks of the Fatherland Front in the coming years is to continue building and strengthening the great national unity bloc, rally people of all stata, ensure high unanimity on ideology and actions, strive to successfully implement the Party’s guidelines and the State laws to achieve the common goal of firmly maintaining independence, national sovereignty, socio-political stability, and build a strong and civilized country with people living in plenty and happiness.

A profound lesson learnt from practice is for whatever issue, whether big or small, to succeed, it is necessary to reach unity, synergy, internal consensus, and social agreement; the more the revolution wants to advance forward, the firmer the great national unity bloc must be built. We are accelerating the renovation process, industrialization, modernization, national construction and defense in a favorable context. However, there are numerous difficulties and challenges because this is a new and unprecedented cause which has upset old ways of thinking, living and working amid fierce sabotage activities under different forms of hostile forces. That is why, more than ever, we should consolidate unity, consensus, promote national strength to follow Ho Chi Minh’s ideology under the leadership of the Party.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front constitutes a vivid image of great national unity. The Front must promote the vanguard role of the working class and the huge potential of the peasant class, the intellectuals, and businesses; foster the worker - peasant - intellectual alliance as the foundation of the great national unity bloc. At the same time, bring into play the role of outstanding individuals in different social strata, nationalities, religions, and overseas Vietnamese; pay attention to concern, aspirations and interest of each people stratum, create favorable conditions for people to bring into full play their creativeness and make active contribution to the common cause. The Front must promote democracy, exchange and discuss in a sincere way, ensure equality, and mutual sympathy; eliminate the inferiority complex of the past and class, accept differences which do not run counter to national interest; make the Front at all levels truly become the center of unity, rally of social forces, the venue for people to raise their voices and aspirations, and contribute their wisdom and efforts for national construction and defense.

2. We all understand that socio-economic development is the central and extremely important task. The Fatherland Front should continue to play the key role in mobilizing widely and effectively to fulfill this task. Continue to successfully carry out the campaign “The entire people are united to build new cultural lifestyle in residential areas,” “Building new rural areas,” and other patriotic emulation movements, encourage all people and all economic sectors to contribute knowledge, money, and efforts for economic development, to get rich for themselves and their families while promoting community coherence and humanism, eradicating hunger, reducing poverty, caring for people who have rendered great service to the country, engaging in humanitarian work, assisting poor households, families and individuals in difficult situations, and helping each other to improve the quality of life. The Front should encourage people to practice thrift to conserve resources for building public works, expanding production and businesses, uphold the principles of economic growth on a par with social and cultural advancement.

Effectively implement the Resolution of the 9th Plenum of the Party Central Committee on building and developing Vietnamese culture and man including an important task of creating a strong transformation to build new type of man who develop comprehensively with ethics and dignity; and build a healthy cultural environment. Preserve and promote traditional cultural values, do away with backward habits and customs; develop and foster new, advanced, and modern cultural values appropriate with national identity. I request the Fatherland Front to closely coordinate with branches and competent authorities to step up campaigns to build a learning society, cultural families, civilized lifestyle, encourage residential areas, families and people particularly young people practice a lifestyle of culture any where any time. Set store by abiding laws and order, ensure public order, environment hygiene, practice civilized lifestyle in marriage, funeral and festival. Resolutely criticize and condemn bad practices, social ills, miscellaneous lifestyle, imitation of foreign practices without selection; and fight against non-cultural behaviors.

3. As a political alliance, a broad organization of the people, a political base of the administration, the Fatherland Front should continue to mobilize the people to build the Party and administration and consolidate the political system. Fulfill its function of supervision and social criticism towards Party organizations and administration, including supervision of cadres, Party members, people-selected representatives, public employees, civil servants and Government offices at all levels; actively fight bureaucracy, corruption and waste to make Party organizations and administrations at all levels of the people truly transparent and strong for the people. Proactively contribute opinions to the Party and State in policy and mechanism making, act as a sharp-minded and sincere criticizer so that the Party and administration can adjust and improve themselves for better leadership and governance. In December 2013, the Party Politburo adopted the Regulations on supervision and social criticism of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations and the Stipulations on contribution of opinions to build the Party and administration by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations. These are fundamental regulations enabling the Front to implement its supervision role in the coming time. I hope and believe that the Fatherland Front will assume this role successfully.

4. The Vietnam Fatherland Front should continue to renovate the content and working method to associate more closely, practically, effectively with the people at grassroots level, and avoid administrative way of working. All movements must be for the people’s legitimate interests, solve issues of their concern; be united and rally people to realize Party and State’s guidelines and policies; join in social management, and strengthen the close link between the people and the Party and State. Attach importance to multiplying good examples, criticize wrong doings, and do way with nominal practices. To achieve these, it is necessary to improve the quality of cadres, first and foremost, full-time cadres at all levels, pay attention to coordinate with administration, and member organizations through mechanisms, programs, and concrete plans to pool synergy for the political system in implementing common tasks. Mobilization of the people is the cause of the entire Party, the people and the political system but the Front has the key role to play.

The Communist Party of Viet Nam is the leader and an important member of the Vietnam Fatherland Front. The Party has the responsibility of making active contribution to support the Front successfully fulfil its mandate. Over the past years, Party committees and organizations have exerted efforts in leading the Front to implement the Party and people’s tasks. However, in some places, Party Committees, cadres and members have not yet been fully aware of the role of the Fatherland Front, its important role and tasks to build the national great unity bloc, hence lack of attention to the work of the Front. Mechanisms and policies towards the Front have not been thoroughly solved, resulting in difficulties to the Front activities.

Fully grasp the spirit of the 11th Party Congress and resolutions of the Party Central Committees, I urge Party committees and administration to continue leading and coordinating more closely with the Front, completing mechanisms and policies on the Front’s work to consolidate the great national unity bloc and improve the quality of the Front’s work in the new situation. Let Party Committees at all levels and Party organizations, administration, cadres, Party members and public employees heighten responsibility to fulfill the assigned tasks while listening directly, learn, and settle difficulties and obstacles of the people and successfully carry out the work of mobilization.

With new determination and spirit of the 8th Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, we believe that in the coming years, the Fatherland Front at all levels will continue to take dynamic, creative, renewal, and effective actions, rally people of all strata to the great national unity bloc, strengthen the close relations between the Party and administration, and create synergy for national construction and defense.

Unity, unity, great unity,

Success, success, great success!

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The title is chosen by Communist Review

This article was published on Communist Review No 864 (October 2014)