Press conference to launch the "4th Political Contest on Protecting the Party's Ideological Foundation - 2024".

Those achievements make it even more necessary for us to protect the Party's ideological foundation to further increase the Party's leadership capacity and fighting strength, so that our Party will always exist with the nation's glorious revolutionary cause.

Protecting the Party's ideological foundation is an intrinsic need.

Right from its inception, the Party has determined to take Marxism-Leninism as its ideological foundation because Marxism-Leninism is a scientific and revolutionary doctrine. It is the sharp “theoretical weapon” of the proletariat in the struggle to liberate its class and the whole society.

Therefore, on his journey to find a way to save the country, when studying different revolutionary ideologies, Nguyen Ai Quoc realized that: "Nowadays there are many doctrines and many isms, but the most genuine, most certain, and most revolutionary ism is Leninism". That was one of the starting points on Nguyen Ai Quoc's journey to Marxism-Leninism, and then he actively spread that genuine and revolutionary doctrine to Vietnam.

Thanks to the spread of Marxism-Leninism, the Vietnamese revolution gradually ended the crisis of revolutionary guidelines and methods. The birth of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3, 1930 was a brilliant milestone marking a qualitative change in the Vietnamese revolution - from here on, our country's revolution had a genuine leadership organization.

Not only taking Marxism-Leninism as the ideological foundation of the Party, stemming from objective requirements, since the 7th Congress (1991), our Party has added Ho Chi Minh Thought as an important element of the Party's ideological foundation. The Platform for National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism (1991) approved at the 7th Congress stated: "The Party takes Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought as the ideological foundation and compass for all actions". This viewpoint continued to be affirmed at later Congresses and was clearly stated in the Constitution as well as important political documents of the Party.

Over the past 94 years, along with leading the country in the struggle for national liberation and carrying out the cause of national renewal, our Party has led the struggle to protect the Party against the fierce sabotage of non-Marxist factions, reactionary elements, and political opportunists at home and abroad. These are forces with differences, even contradictions in political stance, class ideology, or always plotting to sabotage the Vietnamese revolution.

In the current period, the sabotage of hostile, reactionary and opportunistic political forces has become more sophisticated and fierce than ever. They have taken advantage of the advantages of the fourth industrial revolution to conduct sabotage activities on the internet and social networks, creating a new environment for struggle.

More dangerously, hostile forces have taken advantage of a number of cadres, party members, artists, including many who used to hold leadership or management positions or had influence in society, who have shown signs of political ideological degradation, “self-evolution”, “self-transformation” to gather them into a “flag” to sabotage the Party. Many people have been lured, bribed, and seduced by false and distorted information, so they have voluntarily left the ranks or have taken actions to sabotage the Party from within; doubting, defaming, and distorting the Party.

Therefore, protecting the Party's ideological foundation means protecting the Party's fighting strength, so that the Party is always steadfast in its ideological stance and political mettle, and continues to steer the Vietnamese revolutionary boat in the current process of national renewal and development. Protecting the Party's ideological foundation is an inherent need, as a matter of course, a natural necessity!

Responsibility is not one person's alone

As the spirit of Resolution No. 35-NQ/TU (dated October 22, 2018) clearly states: Protecting the Party's ideological foundation is the fundamental, important, and vital content of the Party building and rectification work; is the top priority task of the entire Party, the entire army, and the entire people, in which press and propaganda agencies at all levels are the core; is the voluntary and regular work of Party committees, Party organizations, authorities, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations at all levels; of each locality, agency, unit, cadre, and Party member. Therefore, protecting the Party's ideological foundation is everyone's responsibility!

Up to now, Resolution No. 35-NQ/TU has been issued for more than 5 years and has created qualitative developments in both the awareness and actions of each cadre, party member and people in protecting the Party's ideological foundation. It can be said that there are few resolutions that have had such a wide influence and created such outstanding impressions as Resolution No. 35-NQ/TU.

If in the past, the protection of the Party's ideological foundation was mainly carried out in the fields of ideology, theory, literature and art, attracting the participation of researchers, writers and poets, now, when the space is expanded to the internet and social networks, there has been the widespread participation of many forces, including many social classes, forming a widespread network.

Typical of that participation is on many fanpages and groups on social networks about protecting the Party's ideological foundation, with the participation of many classes of people sharing positive information, commenting, and fighting against false and negative information. More impressively, the political contests on protecting the Party's ideological foundation at all levels have attracted the participation of not only cadres and party members, but also the masses, Vietnamese people abroad... That is a reliable enough measure to see that protecting the Party's ideological foundation is a sacred and legitimate task, which has received the support and joint efforts of the masses.

To participate better and more effectively in the task of protecting the Party's ideological foundation, first of all, each Party organization needs to continue to propagate and educate cadres and Party members about their sense of responsibility, and foster knowledge and skills so that each cadre and Party member can improve their capacity to protect the Party's ideological foundation. Create motivation and inspiration for cadres and Party members through the practice of the "exemplary" mechanism of the heads of Party committees and organizations at all levels.

Every cadre and party member needs to be deeply aware of the motto: “As long as the Party exists, we exist”, because the Party is both a leading organization and an educator and trainer for each of us to grow and develop. Therefore, protecting the Party’s ideological foundation must be identified as an intrinsic need, directly related to the survival of the nation as well as the development of each individual.

The people of all walks of life also need to clearly identify that the Party brings a prosperous and happy life to the people. The Party is the future of the nation, because apart from the Party, there is no political force that can gather the will and aspirations of the entire nation and lead the people to achieve great victories as recorded in history.

Spring - the beginning of a year with many good things ahead. Spring is also an occasion to celebrate our Party's new age with new developments. Spring is about protecting the Party's ideological foundation so that we have more confidence and strength, will and courage to continue to adhere to Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought - the "compass" for all revolutionary actions of our Party! We believe that, under the leadership of the Party, our entire nation will continue to overcome difficulties and challenges to achieve many new successes.

Dr. Le Thi Chien, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics