Vietnam Communist Party plenum gets under way HANOI - Vietnam's Communist Party has kicked off a key meeting to prepare for a five-yearly party congress scheduled to convene in early 2001, official media reported on Tuesday. The Vietnam News Agency (VNA), in a brief report, said the plenum of the powerful 170-member central committee began on Monday and would discuss draft reports to be presented at the congress. Party officials were also expected to discuss the retirement of some members on the central committee and the elite 19-member politburo at the plenum, meetings that usually last for a week. On average, around one third of the members on those bodies retire at each congress. A party congress is the most important gathering on Vietnam's political calendar, setting the tone for the subsequent five-year period and beyond. All politburo members sit on the central committee, which generally holds a plenum around every six months. Ultimate power rests with the politburo. Reflecting the secretive nature of the plenum, a party official on Monday denied that the meeting had begun. Reuters - April 11, 2000.