Patriot Nguyen Tat Thanh has taken parts to unions and organizations to be experienced with revolutionary activities. The roads have led him to become a professional revolutionist.
His ideology of finding a way to save the nation and the people of Vietnam was enlightened by French Socialist Party at that time when he worked for this party. However, he disagreed with this party for its neglecting of colonization issues.
In the light of Lenin Theses, Nguyen Ai Quoc has acted out his awareness and helped to set up French Communist Party in December 1920. By 1924, Nguyen Ai Quoc visited Russian Soviet Union where he witnessed the strength of Russian Bolsheviks. And, he nurtured his wish to form a nation savior party – a communist party for Vietnam.
He, then, systematized his ideas in Duong kach menh, 1927 (revolutionary way). He confirmed that revolution would need revolutionary Party that is strong enough to ensure revolutionary success.
In the January 6-7th 1930 meeting to unite national parties into Vietnam Communist Party, Nguyen Ai Quoc presented brief theses and policies as well as brief Party regulations. His action reflected his deep understanding of Marxist-Leninist doctrine.
By naming the party Vietnam Communist Party, Nguyen Ai Quoc was against suggestion of Communist International for the name of Indochina Communist Party. Nguyen Ai Quoc argued: “One party is for one nation only, therefore, the name should be Vietnam Communist Party”.
This reflected new conception of nation versus classes and nation versus international. Those relationships are strategic for Party’s success. Once the Party was set up, Ho Chi Minh constantly cared for Party build-up.
In talking about Marxist-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh considered it to be Party’s ideology and vital factor to enhance communism without detaching the class from the nation.
In his last years of life, Ho Chi Minh expressed his words of sentimental attachment of comrades and the people. He said that to make a strong party, the organization should be strict under principles of “Democratic centralism, group leadership, individual duty, criticism and self-criticism, discipline, self-awareness, and unity”. Those principles should be grasped to apply to specific situations. Those principles are observed in the unity of a system with prioritization for democratic centralism. However, those vital principles for the Party only bring up strength under proper methods from upper levels to lower ones. If this fails, all mobilization would be meaningless.
Ho Chi Minh thought high of human training. To build up a Party to save the nation, he started out training courses for the youths in terms of awareness and challenges. He concentrated the training on talent and morality, of which morality comes first as the root of strength for a revolutionist.
Ho Chi Minh required each member of the party to be a pioneer with close connection to the public. He confirmed that the public is everything, losing the public means losing everything.
Democratic issues have becoming hot issues of national revolution. He required that the public should talk. If the public is afraid then it is not democratic.
Ho Chi Minh ideology was especially stressed on Party build-up and re-organization. Ho Chi Minh has devoted to this conception as normal daily activities not anything so great and big. The re-organization or set right of wrong conducts is both for the sake of the Party and the public.
In 2010, the whole Party is mobilized to study and follow Ho Chi Minh ideology of Party build-up. Study of this ideology is a hard job while following is harder. New requirements for the Party and the public from now to 2020 and further to 2050 are made. The question whether Vietnam could become a power in the world was answered long before in the roots of Ho Chi Minh ideology.
By PhD Nguyen Viet Hung (Dean of Party build-up Department of Ho Chi Minh City School for Civil
Servants and Officials) – Translated by Vi Bao
