Vietnam leader wants faster economic reforms
HANOI - Vietnam's ruling Communist Party on Tuesday re-appointed its top politician Nong Duc Manh, who pledged faster economic reforms and to fight chronic corruption that leaders admit threatens the one-party government.
Manh, 65, fresh from re-election as General Secretary by the party's 160-member Central Committee, used his first formal news briefing in five years to emphasize plans to "soon" industrialize the mostly agrarian Southeast Asian country of 83 million.
The Soviet-trained former forest engineer spoke directly about graft at the end of the party's eight-day National Congress, an event held every five years to approve policy and leadership.
"It is not that there is more corruption than before, it is that they are being uncovered and we need to punish them," the bespectacled Manh, dressed in a dark suit and red tie, told scores of Vietnamese and foreign journalists.
"As part of our renewal...we need to fight problems, not just wait for them to take place," said Manh, who was first chosen as General Secretary in 2001.
A multi-million-dollar bribery and football-betting scandal in a road-building agency that receives foreign aid rocked the party before the Congress. The transport minister resigned and his deputy was arrested two weeks before the opening session.
Manh said at the congress that graft "threatens the survival of our regime" but the top priority was "lifting people from poverty and hunger" and making Vietnam a middle-income country by 2020.
Per-capita annual income is just $640 but is expected to rise to $1,100 by 2010. Economic growth was 8.4 percent in 2005, one of the fastest expanding economies after China.
World trade
Vietnam, in the 20th year of moving from a centrally planned economy to one driven by markets, wants to join the
World Trade Organization this year. In November, the capital Hanoi will host leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
On the streets of Hanoi, which is festooned with red flags and yellow hammer and sickle insignia for the Congress, there was a mixture of strong opinion and disinterest.
"We do not really pay much attention to politics because we know the poor will be poor and the rich will get richer no matter who leads this country," said Thang, a 25-year-old owner of an electronic goods shop.
Thu, a construction worker, said: "It seems people in general think Manh's management style needs to be tougher."
Three out of four of the most senior political positions were to change after the congress.
Manh declined to confirm who the party recommended to the National Assembly, or parliament, for prime minister and president. Sitting Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, 72, was not elected to the Politburo or the Central Committee. President Tran Duc Luong, 69, withdrew.
Manh's re-appointment was welcomed by Vietnam's emerging private business community.
One stockbroker in the commercial center of Ho Chi Minh City told Reuters: "The re-appointment is a factor to reaffirm stability in Vietnam. This is an emerging market so it needs to be stable."
By Grant McCool , Ho Binh Minh, Nguyen Van Vinh & Nguyen Nhat Lam - Reuters - April 25, 2006.
Vietnam congress mixes old with new
HANOI - Standing tall on the podium, the newly re-elected General Secretary Nong Duc Manh completed his closing speech with the slogan: "Long live the Communist Party of Vietnam".
This slogan, which has been on display at numerous party and government offices for many decades, sums up the spirit of the 10th National Congress, which closed on Tuesday in Hanoi.
The message is clear: the party is here to rule the country for many years to come.
"The Vietnamese people chose the Communist Party as it is the only party capable to lead the nation from victory to victory," said Pham The Duyet, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, a party-affiliated mass mobilisation organisation.
"There cannot be any multi-party system, it is a matter of principle," he said in an interview with the BBC.
The congress dedicated much time to discussions of ways to "enhance party leadership and combative strength", after the general secretary admitted that corruption and other wrongdoings among the party's cadres posed a great threat to the "survival of our regime".
A major corruption scandal that broke just days before the opening of the congress has highlighted the urgency of the anti-corruption process, and in his speech Mr Manh promised to enforce the fight.
The congress has agreed on ambitious economic targets, including the maintenance of a high growth rate of 7.5-8.0% a year, and for Vietnam to achieve the status of an industrialised country by 2020.
In order to do so, Mr Manh said, the party is committed to "create a clear transformation and aim for a higher quality" in party building.
New generation
The newly elected Politburo, which serves as the top organ in the party's hierarchy, has been half replaced by younger members.
Current Premier Phan Van Khai, President Tran Duc Luong and the National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An all announced they would not seek to continue their positions after age limitation has been reinforced.
Nguyen Tan Dung, a former police boss who, at 56, is considered very young as a Politburo member, is widely expected to become the new prime minister.
Nguyen Minh Triet, 64, is likely to take over the presidency.
Top ministerial jobs such as ministers of trade, finance and natural resources and environment are also expected to be awarded to a younger set of personnel.
"It is a very positive sign that the party leadership now has many younger people," said 30-year-old Nguyen Xuan Hoa. "But age is not as important as the mindset - we need leaders with young minds."
A businessman who wanted to remain anonymous said he had not seen any breakthrough in the thinking of the party's leaders.
"I think the party is opting for a gradual process, rather than a breakthrough. But I hope they [the leaders] will change. They are under huge pressure to change," he said.
Economic challenges
Analysts say economic and therefore social and political pressure is building up as Vietnam prepares to join the World Trade Organization.
That leads to the re-consideration of many tenets of communist doctrine, including exploitation, private ownership and the capitalist economy.
The party now has to fulfil the hugely challenging task of safeguarding its political leadership while many of its core principles are brought under public scrutiny and debate.
The newly elected 160-strong Central Committee, which comprises the party's elite of central and provincial levels, now has 25 members who are serving officials of the defence and police ministries.
The heavy presence of such personnel compared with other ministries is seen as an indication of the party's desire to maintain political and social stability inside the country.
Retaining overall control over society, while at the same time seeking more vigorous economic growth, may seem an extremely challenging mission.
But according to party documents, that is what the new Vietnamese leadership plans to do.
Now all eyes are set on how they are going to make that plan a reality.
By Nga Pham - BBC News - April 25, 2006.
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