"One family" and "hundred families"

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. Photo: Tri Dung/VNA

In the treasure trove of Vietnamese idioms, there is a saying "When one person becomes an official, the whole family benefits" which has a negative connotation - a high-ranking official only cares about taking care of his own family and clan.

Currently, the situation of "One person becomes an official, the whole family benefits" still exists with new variations, including group interests that go beyond blood relations.

Speaking at the meeting of the 14th Party Congress Personnel Subcommittee on March 13, 2024, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Head of the Subcommittee, stated: Some leaders and managers, including high-ranking officials, lack exemplary behavior, are individualistic, and are involved in corruption and group interests. Whatever they do or whatever position they hold, they only consider their own and their family's benefits and benefits first, forgetting about integrity and honor.

The General Secretary said that since the beginning of the 13th term, the Central Executive Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the Central Inspection Commission have had to discipline nearly 100 senior officials under the Central Committee's management.

Behind some disciplined officials, including high-ranking officials, there are looming shadows of illegal businesses. On the contrary, behind businessmen caught in the law’s net are the shadows of leaders at all levels. Typical cases include Vu Nhom, Viet A, “Rescue Flight”, AIC, Phuc Son, Thuan An…

The manifestation of leaders using their positions to support their relatives, their factions, and those who "pay bribes" is the "rapid promotion" of some characters who lack both virtue and talent, the "winning of every bid" of weak enterprises, the situation of "the whole family becoming officials" in the locality, "transforming" public land into private land, "seizing prime land" in big cities, "incomprehensibly converting the purpose of agricultural land use" in rural areas... The concept of "the whole family benefiting" also includes the situation of trusted subordinates hiding behind "officials" to seek personal gain, causing harm to the country and the community.

Since ancient times, the idiom “When one person becomes an official, the whole family benefits” has had another version - “When one person becomes an official, a hundred families benefit”. This sentence has the opposite meaning of the previous sentence, meaning that a person holding a high position and power must have the obligation to take care of all the people.

Whether a person is an official but can take care of “a hundred families” or only cares for “one family” depends on the moral roots of that person. Whether the country and the people can rely on them or not depends on the level of integrity and revolutionary moral qualities that the leaders have.

Speaking at the online conference between the Government and localities on January 3, 2023, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong emphasized: We must select people who are truly honest, who serve the country and the people, for leadership positions. We need to do better in personnel work to select and arrange the right people who are truly virtuous, talented, honest, dedicated, and who truly serve the country and the people for leadership positions in the state apparatus.

The pervasive requirement regarding “family affection”

In recent years, in the face of objective and internal circumstances, the Politburo and the Party Central Committee have continuously issued strict regulations on revolutionary ethics and integrity for cadres and party members, avoiding the situation of "when one person becomes an official, the whole family benefits".

In Regulation No. 89-QD/TW, dated August 4, 2017, on the Framework of title standards, orientation of the framework of criteria for evaluating leaders and managers at all levels, the Politburo sets out 5 requirements.

One of them is that leaders and managers must have pure moral qualities; an honest and upright lifestyle; resolutely fight against individualism, factions, and group interests; and not let relatives and acquaintances take advantage of their positions and powers for personal gain.

Next, on October 25, 2018, the Central Executive Committee issued Regulation No. 08-QD/TW on exemplary responsibility of cadres and party members, first of all, Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Executive Committee members.

Accordingly, Politburo members, Secretariat members, and Central Executive Committee members must resolutely oppose allowing spouses, parents, children, and siblings to take advantage of their positions, powers, and prestige for personal gain; allowing spouses, biological children, and adopted children to live lavishly, ostentatiously, wastefully, or to fall into social evils or violate the law.

In Regulation No. 37-QD/TW dated October 25, 2021 of the Central Executive Committee on things that party members are not allowed to do, there is Article 11: Interfering, influencing or allowing one's spouse, children, parents, siblings, in-laws and others to take advantage of one's position or work position for personal gain.

Article 17: Intervening or influencing one's spouse, children, parents, siblings, spouse's family, oneself and others to travel, study or receive medical treatment using funding from organizations and individuals related to the industry or field under monitoring or management.

Regarding power control and prevention of corruption and negativity in personnel work, the Politburo issued Regulation No. 114-QD/TW, dated July 11, 2023.

Accordingly, the act of taking advantage of one's position and power is defined as using one's own prestige and influence and that of family members to influence and pressure others to decide, direct, propose, and vote according to one's will; allowing family members or close relatives to take advantage of one's position, power, and prestige to influence stages of personnel work.

Most recently, on May 9, 2024, in Regulation No. 144-QD/TW on Revolutionary ethical standards of cadres and party members in the new period, the Politburo required cadres and party members to uphold self-respect and honor; not to let family, relatives and others take advantage of their positions and work positions for personal gain.

Thus, the regulations on not allowing relatives to take advantage of their position and power for personal gain have been stated very specifically, consistently and are increasingly supplemented and perfected. Each cadre and party member should take this as a "mirror" as a way to cultivate and train revolutionary moral qualities, contributing to making our Party increasingly stronger.

According to baotintuc.vn