Who gives Tet gifts, and to whom?

In recent years, the Party Central Committee and the Prime Minister have strictly enforced the prohibition against giving Tet gifts to superiors, and superiors "taking advantage" of subordinates.

This year, the directives from the Party Central Committee and the Prime Minister were also issued very early, emphasizing the strict requirement to refrain from organizing visits and New Year greetings to superiors and leaders at all levels; not organizing delegations from the Central Committee to visit and extend New Year greetings to Party committees and governments of provinces and cities; and strictly prohibiting the giving of New Year gifts to leaders at all levels in any form.

The strict enforcement of the ban on giving Tet gifts, implemented over many years, has yielded noteworthy results (illustrative image).

The central government's directive to strictly prohibit giving Tet gifts, forbidding subordinates from visiting superiors during Tet, and prohibiting local authorities from visiting central government officials during Tet has yielded noteworthy results.

In fact, for many years now, the situation where government vehicles with blue license plates from various localities flocked to Hanoi around Tet has ceased.

This directive is also very significant because it relieves the heavy psychological burden on subordinates.

In the past, it was customary to give gifts and bribes during Tet (Lunar New Year) as a "duty," fearing that not giving gifts would draw attention from superiors. Many people were apprehensive and considered this a "burden," but because it had become a tradition, they still had to follow it.

Vietnamese people value loyalty and gratitude, always upholding the tradition of remembering those who planted the tree from which they eat the fruit. Therefore, during the Lunar New Year, people often exchange gifts to express their affection, gratitude, and appreciation.

It must be emphasized that giving each other small gifts at the beginning of the new year is a beautiful custom, and there is nothing wrong with it.

However, preventing this custom from being distorted or exploited for ulterior motives in giving gifts to superiors has never been an easy task.

If someone has ulterior motives, they don't need to wait for Tet (Lunar New Year) to give gifts; they can do so anytime. And with modern technology, gift-giving doesn't even require face-to-face meetings.

In other words, formally speaking, it is very difficult to recognize and control the giving of Tet gifts. Obviously, many people don't need to visit each other's homes, offices, or even call or text each other, but they can still give and receive gifts through various means.

But regardless, whether the gift is given out of affection or for personal gain, both the giver and the recipient will surely recognize it immediately.

For example, in the trial of former Chairman of the Education Publishing House Nguyen Duc Thai, which took place on the afternoon of January 16th, the proceedings revealed that thanks to favoritism towards business partners, the defendant Thai received nearly 25 billion VND in bribes. During Tet (Lunar New Year), the defendant received many gift bags, each time ranging from several hundred million to several billion VND.

Clearly, Tet gifts here no longer carry the pure meaning of expressing personal feelings according to cultural traditions and social ethics. If it were a peach blossom branch, a pair of sticky rice cakes, a chicken, or a potted plant, it could be considered a gesture of affection, but how can hundreds of millions of dong be justified?

Admittedly, detecting or investigating the giving of Tet gifts in violation of regulations is very difficult. Monitoring and handling cannot be completely effective, so the most important thing is to prevent it through propaganda and setting a good example by the leaders themselves.

Perhaps the qualities and character of the leader, the person in a position of authority, are the most crucial factors. Once they are strict and resolute in refusing to accept gifts, no subordinate, no individual seeking personal gain, will dare to offer them. In other words, the self-awareness of the officials is the deciding factor.

However, it should be reiterated that the giving of expensive Tet gifts for the purpose of disguised bribery should not be confused with giving gifts and New Year greetings out of genuine affection; one should not be so extreme as to think that even during Tet, there is no need to exchange greetings.

Giving each other small gifts at the beginning of the Lunar New Year is a beautiful custom and nothing to be ashamed of. However, the important thing is to ensure that this custom is not distorted or exploited.

In other words, giving Tet gifts isn't inherently bad, but if the gift-giving is driven by ulterior motives or ulterior motives, it becomes a negative act that needs to be condemned and prevented.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/qua-tet-ai-tang-tang-ai-192250116223646276.htm