VietnamPlus Online Newspaper respectfully presents the article "Ho Chi Minh Thought Illuminates the Journey of National Development" by Comrade Trinh Van Quyet, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, and Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department.
President Ho Chi Minh - the founder and architect of our Party, the great leader of the Vietnamese nation, a national liberation hero, and an outstanding cultural figure. Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to the revolutionary cause of the nation, to the independence of the Fatherland, and to the freedom and happiness of the people.
“Our nation, our people, our land and country gave birth to PRESIDENT HO CHI MINH, the great national hero, and it was He who brought glory to our nation, our people and our land and country.” [1] That affirmation is a true summary of the stature, thought, legacy and era of Ho Chi Minh.
The glorious revolutionary history of the Communist Party of Vietnam , and all the great victories of the Vietnamese revolution, are inextricably linked to the name and career of Ho Chi Minh – the man who found the path to national salvation, linking national independence with socialism; who put forward the fundamental tenets of the ruling party, building a clean and strong party; and who ensured that cadres and party members were both leaders and truly loyal servants of the people.
Under the leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, our people achieved the victory of the August Revolution in 1945, defeated two colonial and imperialist forces in protracted resistance wars, protected the achievements of the August Revolution, unified the country, and carried out the renovation, construction, development, and protection of the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.
President Ho Chi Minh laid the foundation for building a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, and for the people, and directly led the legislative process; he founded the Vietnam National United Front (the predecessor of the Vietnam Fatherland Front today), gathering and uniting all strata of the people, building and promoting the people's right to self-governance and the strength of national unity.
What remains with the nation today is the glorious revolutionary cause, the comprehensive, profound, humane system of thought, and the shining moral example of Ho Chi Minh. “Ho Chi Minh thought is a comprehensive and profound system of views on the basic issues of the Vietnamese revolution, the result of the creative application and development of Marxism-Leninism to the specific conditions of our country, inheriting and developing the good traditional values of the nation, and absorbing the essence of human culture.” [2] It is a system of views on national liberation, class liberation, and human liberation; on national independence linked with socialism, combining national strength with the strength of the times; on building our Party “as morality, as civilization,” cadres and party members “as both leaders and truly loyal servants of the people”; on revolutionary morality, “diligence, thrift, integrity, righteousness, selfless dedication,” “sweeping away individualism”; Regarding the people's right to self-governance, "taking the people as the foundation," building a truly people's state, by the people, and for the people; regarding economic and cultural development, continuously improving the material and spiritual lives of the people, ensuring "everyone has food and clothing, everyone has access to education"; regarding national security and defense, building the people's armed forces; regarding the strength of the people, of the great national unity, "nothing is stronger than the united force of the people"; regarding nurturing the next generation of revolutionaries; regarding a foreign policy of peace, friendship, and cooperation with countries and peoples around the world...
All of this was explained by him in a scientific, dialectical, and creative way, based on the principles of Marxism-Leninism and in accordance with the rich and vibrant reality of the Vietnamese revolution. Throughout his life, he wholeheartedly served the Fatherland, the revolution, and the people. His thoughts permeated every word, every consistent and exemplary action, and the noble sacrifice of a great personality.
He consistently practiced a system of theoretical viewpoints that reflected the inherent laws of the Vietnamese revolution in a simple, accessible, yet profound way, reflecting the wisdom of a brilliant mind. It is this unity between thought and action that has created the enduring vitality of Ho Chi Minh Thought throughout history.
From the early days of the Party's founding, the first documents of the Communist Party of Vietnam bore the strong imprint of Ho Chi Minh's thought in the Brief Political Program, the Brief Strategy, and the Brief Regulations.
For the past 96 years, especially during the 40 years of reform, the Communist Party of Vietnam has consistently upheld the lesson of steadfastly applying and creatively developing Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought in planning and guiding practical actions, creating great, outstanding, comprehensive achievements of historical significance, affirming the foundation, potential, position, and prestige of the country.
From being among the 20 poorest countries in the world, Vietnam's GDP in 2025 is projected to reach over $514 billion, 1.48 times higher than in 2020, ranking 32nd globally. GDP per capita is expected to reach $5,026, placing Vietnam in the upper-middle-income group, a figure highly regarded by many prestigious international organizations. The size of the economy and per capita income are projected to nearly double, reaching over $510 billion and over $5,000 per person, respectively.
Significant progress has been made in cultural and social fields, and people's lives have improved fundamentally and comprehensively. The Human Development Index (HDI) reached 0.766 points, placing Vietnam in the group of countries with high human development. The happiness index in 2025 will rank 46th out of 143 countries, an increase of 33 places compared to 2021. National defense, security, order, and social safety are ensured, and the potential of the all-people national defense system has been built quite comprehensively.
Vietnam has proactively and actively promoted foreign relations and increasingly deep and comprehensive international integration; actively participated in the international community's efforts to address global issues, and is a reputable and responsible member, playing an active role in regional and international institutions. The leadership role and prestige of the Party continue to be enhanced, strengthening the people's trust in the Party, the State, and the socialist system.
Program for building the country during the transitional period to socialism. It has been affirmed: “The Party takes Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as its ideological foundation and guiding principle for action” and Ho Chi Minh Thought “is an extremely great and valuable spiritual asset of our Party and nation, forever illuminating the path for our people's revolutionary cause to achieve victory.” [3] The study, research, application and development of Ho Chi Minh Thought has always been identified by our Party as the most important content of Party building work, having both a foundational role and a key position; This serves as a foundation for enhancing political acumen, theoretical thinking capacity, summarizing ability, and leadership skills to effectively address practical issues, combat and prevent the decline in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle, and address manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party. It also strengthens the fight against corruption, waste, and negative phenomena, builds a clean, strong, and comprehensive Party and political system, and contributes to building the foundation and spiritual strength of society in striving to achieve national development goals.
In implementing Directive No. 05-CT/TW dated May 15, 2016, of the XII Political Bureau "On promoting the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality, and style" and Conclusion No. 01-KL/TW dated May 18, 2021, of the XIII Political Bureau, Party committees and organizations at all levels have seriously and effectively implemented the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's thought, morality, and style.
Party committees at all levels, based on the actual situation of each locality, agency, and unit, have incorporated the content of studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style into their annual action programs, resolutions, and plans, closely linking them with political tasks, emulation movements, and campaigns; focusing on Party building and rectification, the political system, breakthroughs in socio-economic development, and addressing key and pressing issues of practice.
The Politburo and the Secretariat have incorporated the study and emulation of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style into the content of annual and term-long inspections and supervision of Party committees and organizations at all levels. The dissemination of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style has been emphasized, with many diverse forms. The awards for creating and promoting literary, artistic, and journalistic works on the theme of "Studying and Emulating Ho Chi Minh's Ideology, Ethics, and Style," directed by the Secretariat, are increasingly in-depth, attracting active participation from artists, intellectuals, and all strata of the population.
The "Ho Chi Minh Cultural Space" model, an initiative of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, is being replicated in many provinces and cities and is gradually being implemented abroad, contributing to bringing the ideological, moral, and stylistic values of President Ho Chi Minh closer to cadres, Party members, and the people. Many agencies and units are eliminating cumbersome administrative procedures, supplementing and developing working regulations and codes of conduct based on Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style, innovating working styles, focusing on being close to the people, listening to and engaging in dialogue with the people.
Promoting the exemplary role of cadres and Party members, especially those in leadership positions, in conjunction with adhering to revolutionary ethical standards and public service ethics, has created positive changes in the awareness, working methods, and discipline of cadres, civil servants, and public employees. As a result of these changes, the people's trust in the Party and the State continues to be strengthened.
The 14th National Congress of the Party affirmed the aspiration to build a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam, steadily advancing towards socialism.
In the context of the country entering a new era with increasingly high demands for quality growth, governance capacity, and national competitiveness, the study and practice of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, methods, and style must become more in-depth, substantive, and effective, truly serving as an endogenous resource to encourage the entire Party, people, and army to maximize the spirit of "strategic autonomy, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-strength, and national pride," and successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Party. This requires a profound transformation in awareness and action within the Party, the political system, and the people, thoroughly understanding and implementing the study and practice of Ho Chi Minh's thought, ethics, methods, and style in the spirit of action: "speak less - do more - do it to the end - do it effectively," maintaining the "four steadfast principles," promoting strategic autonomy, establishing a new development model, using development to stabilize, and stability to promote rapid and sustainable development, improving the lives and happiness of the people, and firmly protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.
Firmly adhering to the Party's principled guiding viewpoints, Ho Chi Minh Thought serves as the ideological foundation and compass for the Party's actions, constantly supplementing and perfecting it to suit practical realities. This is precisely the spirit of "Maintaining constancy while adapting to change," as he once advised. Firmness means upholding the roots and foundation, but this does not mean being conservative, rigid, mechanical, or dogmatic; rather, it means maintaining core values that have been proven correct by practice. We should not mechanically quote his words but grasp the "spirit," the "essence" of his methodology. It is necessary to summarize practical experiences, valuing the lessons learned from successful models and innovative approaches among the people, elevating them to the level of theory.
We must creatively apply Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, methods, and style through practical actions, focusing on removing bottlenecks to build development, upholding and promoting the spirit of continuous innovation in thinking, especially strategic thinking; being consistent and steadfast in strategy, flexible and adaptable in tactics, closely adhering to reality, and strongly innovating the methods of national governance; transforming these values into guiding principles to orient all decisions and practical actions. We must use the principle of "the people as the foundation" to transform thought into action; always asking: "Does this benefit the people? Does it harm the interests of the people?" and "How can we benefit the people?". We must always practice "saying and doing," "doing things to the end," "doing things with concrete results," and resolutely combating the situation of "thinking one thing and doing another," "doing things just for the sake of doing them," and "doing things halfway." It is essential to deeply internalize and correctly understand Ho Chi Minh's thought, ethics, methods, and style to create a fundamental shift in action, so that the study and practice of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, methods, and style become a self-driven need, a driving force for innovation, and a foundation for development. At the same time, emphasis should be placed on practicing "self-reflection and self-correction" regularly, seriously, and with a proactive attitude in building a team of cadres and Party members who are truly exemplary in political acumen, character, competence, and prestige, thereby enhancing the Party's leadership, governance, and fighting capacity, as well as the State's management, administration, and development-building capabilities.
“If you cannot overcome your own shortcomings, yet want to defeat the enemy; if you cannot reform yourself, yet want to reform society, then it is truly illogical”[4]. It is necessary to “self-examine and self-correct” from guidelines, policies, resolutions to practical actions. In the new era, global integration and the nation's aspiration to rise up, “self-examine and self-correct” must be implemented, viewed, and evaluated objectively and transparently, taking the satisfaction of people and businesses, concrete results, and real-time data as the highest measure.
We must act decisively and scientifically; resolutely correct ingrained thinking, eliminate outdated mindsets and fear of making mistakes, and shift to a modern governance model linked to innovation, self-training, skill improvement, continuous learning and access to new knowledge in governance, digital economy, and digital society; and perfect the institutional framework to enable citizens to participate in social monitoring and criticism.
It can be said that the life and career of President Ho Chi Minh is a beautiful symbol of unwavering yet creative spirit; upholding principles without dogmatism or rigidity; always starting from reality and aiming for the happiness of the people. This is the enduring value and immense source of spiritual strength that instills faith and will in the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army on the journey of national development.
Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, methods, and style will forever remain the solid ideological foundation and source of inner strength for the entire Party, people, and army to overcome all difficulties and challenges, and to steadfastly advance in the new era - an era of prosperous, civilized, thriving, and powerful development.
[1] Communist Party of Vietnam: Complete Party Documents , National Political Publishing House, Hanoi 2004, vol. 30, p. 275.
[2] Communist Party of Vietnam: Complete Party Documents , National Political Publishing House - Truth, Hanoi 2016, vol. 60, p. 130.
[3] Communist Party of Vietnam: Party Congress Documents during the Renovation Period , National Political Publishing House, Hanoi 2019, Vol. 2, pp. 514-515.
[4] Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works , National Political Publishing House - Truth, Hanoi 2011, vol. 7, p. 82.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tu-tuong-ho-chi-minh-soi-sang-hanh-trinh-phat-trien-dat-nuoc-post1111152.vnp
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