General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh and Things to Do Immediately: When the Press is the Source of Innovation

GENERAL SECRETARY NGUYEN VAN LINH AND THINGS THAT NEED TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY

When journalism is the source of innovation

LE THO BINH

“Things to do now”

On May 25, 1986, on the front page of the People's Army Newspaper, there was an article reflecting negative news that shocked public opinion at that time. The article by journalist Ngoc Nien, titled "The negative incident at Bien Hoa Sugar Import-Export Company" pointed out and named the wrongdoings in a state-owned enterprise. Not only showing courage, the article was like a spark that ignited the dry straw of the trust that was being eroded in the hearts of the people.

From that milestone, the atmosphere of reform in the press and social life was quickly aroused. Exactly one year later, the People's Newspaper on May 25, 1987 published the first article in the column "Things to do immediately" under the title "Speak and act", pen name NVL. This pen name, as General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh himself shared, is an abbreviation of three simple but resolute words: Speak and Act.

Article by comrade Nguyen Van Linh in Nhan Dan Newspaper published on May 24, 1987.

The article reflected the stagnation, bureaucracy, and negativity in economic and social management at that time and called for real action, not just slogans. It immediately created a great resonance in society and became a symbol of the spirit of Innovation.

The opening articles of the series such as “Read and Think”, “Find Faith”, “Don’t Forget This”, “I Want to Ask”, “Must Find the Truth”, “How to Make People Believe”… marked the public appearance of a new leadership style: Dare to look straight at the truth and dialogue directly with the people through the press.

His articles were concise, not flowery, but straightforward and weighty. The article “We must be ashamed to let people suffer for so long” criticized the stagnation in agricultural reform. The article “Now is the time to speak frankly” demanded the handling of economic violations in state-owned enterprises. The article “Fighting against negativity is not only by slogans” pointed at formalism and the problem of “selectively fighting against negativity”. There were articles of only a few hundred words, but the names of people, the names of incidents, and the addresses of violations were clearly stated. That was something rarely seen in a mainstream newspaper before.

Symphony of the Reformed Spirit

The press atmosphere at that time was as lively as a grand symphony. Every early morning, from the gate of the Vietnam News Agency, the editorial offices of Nhan Dan Newspaper, Quan Doi Nhan Dan Newspaper to the newsstands in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Can Tho..., people lined up to buy newspapers that still smelled of ink. Bicycles carrying newspapers whizzed like shuttles through the streets. Newspaper offices in Ho Chi Minh City - especially Tuoi Tre, Sai Gon Giai Phong, Phu Nu Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh... - opened representative offices in Hanoi one after another to "post" at the information hub, closely following the decisions from the Party Central Committee to the Government, from the National Assembly to people's lives.

During the time when Comrade Nguyen Van Linh was General Secretary, the press was “unleashed”. He himself said: “Let artists and journalists speak the truth and write the truth. If they are wrong, give your comments, and if they are right, correct them!”

A series of investigative articles, reports, and journalistic essays that shocked society appeared, contributing significantly to changing policies and social awareness. It is impossible not to mention the profound articles of journalist Huu Tho, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan Newspaper at that time, who directly directed and wrote many works reflecting corruption and negativity in land reform and cooperative management, such as the series of articles "Need to return land to the people - Old mechanisms give birth to old relationships" (Nhan Dan Newspaper, 1989), which called for removing constraints in collective agricultural management.

Let artists and journalists speak and write truthfully. If they are wrong, please comment. If they are right, please correct them!
General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh

Also in Nhan Dan Newspaper, journalist Le Phu Khai with a series of reports “I go looking for the rice book” and “The plains are waiting for the reform rain” delved into the reality of farmers’ lives in the West, where injustices in agricultural taxes, policies to block rivers and markets, and the mechanism of asking and giving have caused farmers to fall into poverty despite living on fertile land.

The People's Army Newspaper was not left out of the reform movement. Journalist Nguyen Thanh Le, with his articles “The Story of the Bamboo Bridge in the Barracks” (1988) and “The Lake of Tears in the Military Base” (1989), condemned the unjust bureaucratic management in military farms and forestry farms, where poor people were sent to forced labor and exploited under the name of “building a national defense economy.”

In Ho Chi Minh City, the Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper became a strong forum for social criticism. Articles such as “The burden of taxes” in remote areas by journalist Bui Van Long, “Floating markets without buyers” (1989), “Rice grains drifting according to licenses” (1990) exposed the reality of farmers in the Mekong Delta having to sell unripe rice, being forced to pay low prices due to the outdated system of traders and floor price policies.

Tuoi Tre newspaper, under the leadership of journalist Vu Kim Hanh, continuously published investigative articles that created a big buzz such as "Nameless Cooperative", "The Man Who Cycled Three Days Just to Get a Temporary Absence Certificate" and the series "Rice and Tears" (1990)... The reality these articles pointed out forced authorities at all levels to review the formal cooperatives, dissolve hundreds of "ghost" units and carry out reforms, granting land to farmers.

Letter from General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh to the Editorial Board of Nhan Dan Newspaper regarding the series of articles "Things to do immediately".

It is also necessary to mention the famous journalists who left their mark during this period. Do Phuong, later General Director of Vietnam News Agency, participated in writing sharp editorials (in Nhan Dan Newspaper) on administrative reform and democratization within the Party; Tran Mai Hanh (in Cong An Nhan Dan Newspaper) had many articles on judicial reform, including the series "Memories of a wrongful conviction" that shocked public opinion; Phan Quang (in Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper) with the series of reports "From Dong Thap Muoi to the land of death" painted a tragic picture of farmers during the period of mechanism transition; Nguyen The Ky (Nghe An Newspaper, later Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department) with articles in the early period of renovation in the central countryside such as "A crop-splitting season in Quy Chau"...

Those writers, through their dedication, have entered into real life, turning newspapers into "courts of public opinion" to attack bureaucracy and stagnation, bringing the voices of the people - especially farmers - to the newspapers, forcing the political system to adjust, listen and reform.

Along with journalism, innovative literature, especially literature printed on paper, has breathed new life into the thinking of cadres and people.

In 1987, Van Nghe Magazine published the short story “The Retired General” by Nguyen Huy Thiep. The work revisits the image of the revolutionary hero with a naked and humanistic view. This is an important milestone, when a writer dares to raise the question: Does the revolutionary ideal retain its value in old age, when it collides with practical life?

In the same year, Tran Quang Huy published “The Story of the Tire King” in Van Nghe Newspaper, reflecting the tragedy of Mr. Nguyen Van Chan, a craftsman in Hanoi, who was convicted and had his property confiscated for doing business outside the subsidy mechanism. This memoir was not only an excellent work of journalism but also a strong voice of criticism, contributing to promoting the Renovation process in Vietnam.

In 1989, the memoir “The Kneeling Woman” by Nguyen Khac Phuc caused a public uproar. The main character, a mother from the central region, knelt down and begged a commune official to let her child go to school because she had no household registration or basic citizenship certificate. The work was a direct “punch” to the harsh administrative management system at that time. Not long after, the universal education and household registration policies began to be considered for relaxation.

It is impossible not to mention “That night... what night?” (1988) by Phung Gia Loc, a masterpiece of journalistic writing recounting a night of forced tax collection in a rural village, which offended and angered the people. The work caused a stir. General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh requested an investigation into the incident and not long after that the policy of “leveling agricultural tax” was abolished.

It is worth mentioning that the editorial offices at that time did not “fight alone”. They received direct support from the Party Central Committee, especially from General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh. He himself repeatedly called and sent letters praising the editorial offices, encouraging the articles that were “written correctly and to the point”. In a press conference at the end of 1989, he clearly stated: “Fighting negativity without the press is like fighting an enemy without information. The press must take the lead”.