Musician Tran Dai Dung presents his composition at the closing ceremony of the Literature and Arts composition camp with the theme "Preventing and combating corruption"

This is the first time the Provincial Union of Literature and Arts Associations has organized a literature and arts creation camp with the theme of preventing and combating corruption. The creation camp had the participation of 15 artists from 4 member professional associations. At the end of the creation camp, the Organizing Committee received 53 works, many of which were of good quality, reflecting the determination of our Party and State, the involvement of functional agencies, the response and active participation of all classes of people in the fight against corruption and negativity. The works also demonstrated the exploration and creativity with many different styles of artists in expressing this difficult topic.

Writer Nguyen Thi Duyen Sanh with the short story “Phi mua tan” and writer Nguyen Duc Si Tien with the short story “Don’t let the child be ruined”, with content referring to the consequences of corruption on the family and the community, through a fierce but also humane writing style. Writer Dang Van Su with the short story “Sap tra nhau” seems to tell a small story in the village through characters with seemingly small statuses in society, but also sounds the alarm about the problem of “envelopes” that has crept into many corners of life.

Poet Van Cong Toan participated in the writing camp through 5 poems that directly expressed his feelings about the reality of corruption that is present in all parts of the country. His pen is not afraid to speak directly about “hot” issues, but also shows his determination to eliminate them from social life. For example, he wrote: “…In unison, we light the furnace/ Fresh wood burns with dry wood/ The common good of life/ We surpass each other with a heroic and fragrant voice!” (Echo of Anti-Corruption).

Poet Trieu Nguyen Phong approaches this topic from a different perspective. His poems are his thoughts and feelings, longing for people with both virtue and talent to care for the people and the country. For example, in the poem Standing Posture - Bamboo Tree, he wrote: “I lie down and listen to the wind passing by/ The bamboo tree carries the sun on its shoulders/ The official does not have enough virtue and talent/ So he retreats and stands outside the cloudy porch/ There are many talented and kind-hearted people/ They stay up all night and day to pick up the few…”.

Author Nguyen Van Vu, in his article “Over-discussing the prevention and fight against corruption”, has made a profound mention of corruption. The situation of embezzlement, waste, negativity and corruption in Vietnam has been going on for decades, occurring in all areas of social life and in all sectors and levels. Corruption and waste have had a huge impact on socio -economic development and reduced people's trust in the Party and the State. The author affirmed: “In order to prevent and fight against corruption effectively, it is necessary to build a strong rule-of-law State; train a team of qualified and ethical leaders and managers; publicize and make transparent the administrative procedures and investment progress of the State; inspection and examination work must be carried out promptly and accurately”.

The anti-corruption work of the ancients such as Dang Huy Tru, Chu Van An, Pham Su Manh, Nguyen Binh Khiem, Nguyen Van Giai... and also the anecdotes about anti-corruption of the ancestors were also retold by a group of authors of the Folk Literature Association, including writer Le Vu Truong Giang and researcher Nguyen The.

Artist Nguyen Van Thanh of the Theater Association ended the writing camp with a humorous sketch titled “Lubrication”. Artist Nguyen Van Thanh shared that corruption exists in many different forms, not just the big corruption at the high level, but sometimes it is also a type of “petty corruption”. The characteristic of petty corruption is that the material value of the bribe is not large, often not to the extent of criminal prosecution, but it occurs quite commonly, in almost all areas of social life. Through his work, the author wants to reflect the above situation, and at the same time, it is also a message: “Preventing and fighting corruption is not simple, it requires a heart, a vision, and preventing and fighting corruption does not require extreme caution, not generalizing. To do so, it is necessary to actively implement solutions to prevent, detect, and handle corruption, while protecting and promoting positive factors in the fight against corruption. Promoting the role of the People and society such as the Front, mass organizations, socio -political organizations ... in preventing and fighting corruption in general and petty corruption in particular”.

The Music Association participated in the composition camp with 4 authors: Tran Dai Dung, Viet Duc, Nguyen Dinh Trung and Pham Phuoc Nghia. They created 5 works with the main inspiration still being the sounds calling for everyone to join hands in preventing and fighting corruption, in which the role of the people and studying and following Uncle Ho's teachings are highlighted.

According to writer Ho Dang Thanh Ngoc, Chairman of the Provincial Union of Literature and Arts Associations, due to time constraints, there may be works that are “written in haste” or have not yet explored the depth of this topic, but above all, the initial results of the creative work of artists in such a short time are very valuable. He also believes that in the future, artists will have more great works on this topic.

Article and photos: DANG TRINH