Cultural values of Nguyen Phu Trong

Professor Mach Quang Thang emphasized "Nguyen Phu Trong's cultural values" in sharing with The Gioi and Viet Nam Newspaper about the General Secretary's personality, career, and character...

People of Thuong Dien cultural village, Hai Phong city welcomed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to attend and celebrate the National Great Unity Day, November 2017. (Source: VNA)

Can you share a memory or impression about General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong?

I have a few memories. I will only tell you one memory: in early Spring 1987, I wrote an article to send to the Study Magazine, now the Communist Magazine. Afterwards, I was invited to the Magazine's headquarters to discuss the content of the article. The person who received me was comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, who was then the Head of the Party Building Committee (equivalent to a Department Head). This was not the first time we met.

Before that, we had several occasions to discuss the draft of the article published in the Journal. This time, I was more impressed. Sitting opposite me in the shabby, simple living room of the Journal was a man who had just defended his PhD thesis abroad, his attitude was sincere and friendly, without any words or gestures that showed arrogance. We were both people who had come from the countryside to the city, perhaps that was why we could easily sympathize with the issue of farmers in the article.

We agree on many things and there are still some contents that need to be considered further, some aspects that need to be corrected, especially seeing that we should not fall into the scholastic style when evaluating the two-sided nature of Vietnamese farmers: the positive revolutionary aspect and the negative aspect brought about by private ownership. In the West, it is true, as the classical ancestors of Marx and Lenin wrote, but in Vietnam, it is different. Looking at Uncle Ho's legacy, he almost never mentioned the negative aspect of private ownership of Vietnamese farmers.

Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong mentioned a passage in his Will, where Uncle Ho wrote heartfelt lines honoring farmers. Here is an excerpt: “During the years of resistance against French colonialism, then against American imperialism, our people, especially farmers, have always been extremely loyal to our Party and Government, contributing money and people, willingly enduring all difficulties and hardships. Now that we have completely won, I propose to exempt agricultural tax for one year for agricultural cooperatives to make our people happy, feel at ease, and be more excited, boosting production.” Perhaps, Uncle Ho has continued the tradition of many wise kings in the nation’s history of leniency towards the people after the war to create a plan that takes deep roots and lasts. That is Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong’s thinking, unlike some people who think that he is somewhat conservative.

Professor Mach Quang Thang believes that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a simple and sincere person. (Photo: NVCC)

What is your perspective on the General Secretary's personality and career?

To me, he was a man with a rather difficult life. The published photos show that Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong had to work until the last days of his life, without rest, with an old and sick body. It was hard but glorious, because his whole life was dedicated to the people, to the country, to the progress of humanity.

Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong was not part of the generation of leaders who fought against foreign invaders to liberate and protect the Fatherland, but the fierceness of fighting against "internal invaders" had exhausted his mind and energy. And he had grown up through those fierce battles. That is why cadres, party members, compatriots, comrades in the country as well as many people of conscience abroad deeply respected him when he passed away.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highly values the role and position of foreign affairs. He affirmed that domestic and foreign affairs are always two fundamental issues of countries and that “today’s foreign affairs are not only a continuation of domestic policy, but also a strong driving force for the development of nations and peoples”. How do you evaluate the ideology and legacies of the General Secretary?

As General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said, it has always been the case, from ancient times to the present, from the West to the East, that foreign affairs are extremely important. But during the period when Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong holds the important position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam - the Party that leads and governs the political system and the entire society of our country, it is even more important. Because the country is in the trend of globalization, international integration, and an open country, it must expand international relations, and needs cooperation, friendship, and mutual development.

The strength of the Vietnamese nation needs to be combined with the strength of the times. Internal and external forces need to be combined to create a combined strength. Internal forces are decisive, external forces are important. But in many specific cases, it is impossible to distinguish between internal and external forces because they transform into each other. With internal forces alone, our country cannot develop quickly and sustainably. Therefore, I really appreciate the viewpoint of comrade Nguyen Phu Trong: "Foreign affairs today are not only a continuation of domestic policy, but also a strong driving force for the development of nations and peoples".

What about the "Culture of Integrity" in General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, sir?

I think that the culture of integrity is a very valuable characteristic and one of the “outstanding points” in the personality of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong. President Ho Chi Minh used Confucianism when talking about the word “Integrity”: “A person without integrity is worse than an animal”; and he also said, “Integrity means being straightforward, not being evil, trying to do the right thing no matter how small, and trying to avoid the bad thing no matter how small”; that, “if you want people to be upright, you must be upright first”; that “an honest nation is a rich nation”.

As a student of Uncle Ho, comrade Nguyen Phu Trong also had similar views when he said: "Honor is the most sacred and noble thing". Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong did not just say that once, but through following the media, I saw him say it many times. The most admirable and valuable thing is that he lived up to those words until the moment he left this world. That is "Nguyen Phu Trong's cultural value".

It is meaningful that the General Secretary chose the image of a bamboo tree to talk about our nation's foreign affairs and diplomacy, imbued with the identity of "Vietnamese bamboo", "firm roots, strong trunk, flexible branches"; imbued with the soul, character and spirit of the Vietnamese people: Soft, clever, but very resilient. What is the importance of applying the image of a bamboo tree in building the current foreign affairs and diplomacy?

The foreign policy school, bamboo diplomacy that comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has expressed in a number of forums and even in his recently published book, is the consistent viewpoint of our Party and State in the current and upcoming period. Bamboo is a symbol of Vietnam. Using images to generalize and orient the thinking and actions of organizations and individuals in the political system is a very "valuable" image.

Every patriotic Vietnamese citizen can hear and read and immediately understand the meaning of that phrase. Especially the specialized cadres working in foreign affairs and diplomacy, just follow that and you will get good results, without needing to analyze or explain much. Is that an advantage in the folk metaphor applied to political activities, and should be preserved and developed?

For the people at home as well as international friends, the General Secretary has left many special impressions. In your opinion, what is the deepest impression?

It is difficult to answer this question because each person approaches it from a different angle. I see comrade Nguyen Phu Trong as a simple, sincere, approachable person, with a charming way of speaking, hating evil and loving good.

As for the Vietnamese people, if we find the deepest thing about Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, it is, as many people have said, that he is a “great furnace man”. To international friends, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong is a polite and sincere person...

Thank you very much!

* Assoc. Prof. Mach Quang Thang, former Head of the Department of Science Management, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, former Senior Lecturer, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

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