On August 13, the Political Bureau held a national conference in Hanoi guiding the implementation of the 11 th Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee’s (CPVCC) Resolution 4 on criticism and self-criticism of Party members and leaders at all levels.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Le Hong Anh, a member of the Politburo and Standing member of the CPVCC Secretariat, chaired the conference.

In his opening speech, Trong said that since the start of July this year, the Politburo and the CPVCC’s Secretariat have been implementing the criticism and self-criticism of collectives and individuals.

From this month, the work will be carried out at Party committees in provinces and cities, as well as the Party organisations and Party committees of centrally-run agencies, he said, adding that it will be later expanded to lower levels.

Delivering a report on the implementation of criticism and self-criticism of the Politburo and the CPVCC Secretariat’s collectives and individuals, Anh said that preparations for the work have been done carefully and responsibly.

The Politburo and CPVCC Secretariat have set examples of criticism for lower levels and the whole Party to follow, with collectives first and then individuals. The collectives were involved in criticism and self-criticism for four days and individuals, 12 days.

According to Anh, through criticism, the Party will understand the concerns related to Party building better, especially the problems regarding the leadership and management of State-owned businesses, as well as the shortcomings in individuals and the implementation of the principle of democratic centralism, collective leadership and individual responsibility.

This was a great opportunity for members of the Politburo and CPVCC Secretariat to strengthen mutual understanding and improve their abilities, he stressed.

He said that during the criticism process, for complicated cases, the Politburo and CPVCC Secretariat would direct the CPVCC Commission for Inspection to clarify them.

At the CPVCC’s 5 th meeting, the Politburo proposed setting up a central steering committee on anti-corruption directly managed by the Politburo and the re-establishment of the Department of the Interior, which acts as an advisor for the Politburo and CPVCC Secretariat on internal policies.

It has also issued a document guiding the implementation of Q&A sessions at CPVCC meetings.

The Politburo has instructed Party organisations belonging to the National Assembly and the CPVCC Commissions for Organisation and Mass Mobilisation to urgently put together procedures and ways of gathering votes of confidence for people holding positions elected or approved by the NA and People’s Councils.

These bodies have also been asked to put together supervisory and social criticism mechanisms for the Fatherland Front and socio-political organisations, and mechanisms for the Fatherland Front, socio-political organisations and people to contribute ideas on issues related to Party building and administration.

After criticism, the Politburo and CPVCC Secretariat’s members will make further criticism of themselves to complete their individual self-criticism reports which are then submitted to the CPVCC.

The CPVCC Commission for Inspection will promptly clarify cases entrusted by the Politburo, ensuring objectiveness, seriousness and principle. The Politburo will also hear a report by the Government’s Party delegation on the implementation of plans to restructure the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) and Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines).

Concluding the conference, Trong noted nine new points compared to previous criticisms and pointed out that Criticism must make serious, objective and appropriate assessments on all strengths, weaknesses, limitations and shortcomings.

After the conference, the participants will direct criticism and self-criticism work at their agencies and localities, said the Party leader.

“We need to be fully aware of the importance of criticism and self-criticism, and determined to use accurate and scientific methods of organisation,” Trong said.

Criticism and self-criticism is one way of making the Party stronger and honest, thus restoring and consolidating the public confidence in the Party, the system and the authorities, he stressed.