Presentation of the Delegation of the Central Public Security Party Committee, delivered by General LUONG TAM QUANG, Member of the Politburo and Minister of Public Security, at the 14th National Congress of the Party
Esteemed Presidium,
Esteemed Congress,
First and foremost, the Delegation of the Central Public Security Party Committee would like to express its strong consensus with the draft documents submitted by the Central Party Committee to the Congress. With a view to further clarifying and deepening the content concerning the protection of national security, the safeguarding of social order and safety, and the building of the People’s Public Security Force as set out in the draft documents of the Congress, on behalf of the Delegation of the Central Public Security Party Committee, I would like to present this paper under the theme: “Public Security work in realising the Party’s three strategic objectives: peace and stability; sustainable, high-quality development; and the comprehensive improvement of the People’s lives.”
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| General Luong Tam Quang, Member of the Politburo, Minister of the Public Security |
Esteemed Congress,
Over the past five years, our country has faced a convergence of challenges arising from the pandemic, natural disasters, international upheavals, economic difficulties, disruptions to supply chains, and many issues that went beyond forecasts and had no precedent, creating hardships and challenges of an unprecedented nature. In this context, our Party has continued to demonstrate its mettle and intellect, leading the entire Party, the whole people and the armed forces to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, steering the revolutionary cause steadily and swiftly forward, and bringing the forty-year process of renewal to truly great achievements. Notably, in the final years of the tenure, thanks to the Party’s strategic vision, acuity and sound judgement, the implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Congress has witnessed new, historic, breakthrough and turning-point advances. The revolution in reorganising and streamlining the apparatus of the political system, together with a series of the Party’s strategic policies pursued with determination to continue renewal, decisively remove bottlenecks, unlock resources, foster development and care for the People, has powerfully awakened throughout the Party, the people and the armed forces a spirit of “self-confidence, self-reliance, self-sufficiency, self-strengthening and national pride”, the strength of great national unity, and an aspiration to contribute. At the same time, it has shaped an overarching strategic framework enabling the country to advance rapidly and resolutely in the years ahead under the Party’s leadership. The nation’s position and prestige on the international stage have continued to rise; Vietnam has consistently remained among the group of countries with high economic growth in the region and the world; and the lives of the People have been steadily improved through practical policies on employment, healthcare, education, poverty reduction, care for those who have rendered meritorious service and for vulnerable groups, as well as support for those affected by natural disasters and epidemics.
By effectively implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress with a spirit of exemplariness and vanguard action, wholeheartedly devoted to the Party and the People, the Public Security work has recorded clear and substantive advances. From the very outset of the term, with mettle, vision and intellect, the Standing Committee and the Central Public Security Party Committee, under the leadership of the Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, have led the People’s Public Security to uphold a high sense of responsibility, to give full play to the spirit of daring to think, daring to act, daring to innovate creatively, and daring to take responsibility for the common good; to take the lead in restructuring and streamlining the organisational apparatus; to deploy regular police forces at the grassroots level; to discontinue the organisation of district-level police; to spearhead the national digital transformation process; to achieve the remarkable feat of building the National Population Database; to proactively propose the improvement of the legal framework in relation to many new and complex issues; and to remain at the forefront in rescuing and assisting the People in times of danger and hardship, in the movement “The whole country joins hands for the poor, leaving no one behind”, guided by the principle that “when the People are in need or in difficulty, the Public Security are present”. National security has been firmly safeguarded, and Vietnam continues to rank among the safest and most secure countries in the world; potentially complex issues and key hostile elements have been detected early and addressed resolutely, from afar and beyond national borders. Social order, discipline, safety and a healthy social environment have been maintained; the People enjoy a more peaceful and happier life; crime and law violations, traffic accidents, as well as fires and explosions have been curbed and reduced; and an uncompromising struggle has been waged against all forms of crime, particularly corruption, wastefulness and negative practices, drug-related crime, environmental crime and counterfeit goods, alongside efforts to build a culture of traffic safety and to establish hundreds of drug-free communes. The ceremony marking the opening for signature of the United Nations convention against cybercrime stands as a milestone affirming Vietnam’s commitment and responsibility in participating in and leading the resolution of global issues. The security perimeter from adjacent areas, the people’s security foundation and the posture of all-people security have been increasingly consolidated and strengthened, fully harnessing the strength of the people’s hearts and minds, closely linked with the all-people national defence foundation and posture. Through a term of strenuous efforts to “surpass itself”, the People’s Public Security has grown stronger and matured by leaps and bounds, and has in essence been built into a force that is “truly clean and strong, regular, elite and modern”, steadfastly affirming its role as the “sharp sword” and the “steel shield” protecting the Party, the State, the People and the socialist regime.
In the coming tenure, alongside opportunities and favourable conditions, the four dangers identified by our Party persist and manifest themselves in more acute forms and new guises. The cause of national construction and defence is facing four major challenges: (i) The challenge of promptly identifying and grasping epochal trends and dynamics, and of making timely leadership decisions for the country, effectively addressing the relationship between internal and external factors, between development and security, and between risks and opportunities. There will be increasing pressure to “choose sides” and “choose alignments” across the political, diplomatic, economic, defence, security and technological domains; (ii) the challenge of promptly identifying new spaces, fields and objects requiring protection; and of effectively identifying and addressing security risks and new forms of infringement upon security and order arising from the rapid development of science and technology, the country’s enhanced position and potential after forty years of renewal, and the implementation of new development thinking; (iii) the rising expectations of the People for the country’s robust advancement in the New Era, and for the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the Party’s strategic guidelines; and (iv) the challenge of realising the objectives of socialism in ensuring social security, eradicating hunger and reducing poverty, and improving the quality of the People’s lives.
In this context, the Public Security work will focus on realising “the Party’s three strategic objectives: peace and stability; sustainable, high-quality development; and the comprehensive improvement of the People’s lives”, with the following key tasks:
Firstly, firmly upholding the principle of the Party’s absolute and direct leadership in all respects over the People’s Public Security; continuing to set an exemplary standard, to take the lead, and to be one of the core and vanguard forces in implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the Party’s strategic guidelines. There must be a strong renewal of thinking on the protection of national security, shifting from the mere fulfilment of “public duty” to “public duty combined with service”, from a mindset of “command and obedience” to one of “command, obedience, and proactive policy proposal and development creation”; and a decisive transformation of operational methods from the purely traditional to an approach that closely integrates tradition with modernity. Beyond firmly safeguarding national security early and from afar, protecting the country before dangers arise, and absolutely preventing strategic surprise, the Public Security must proactively move ahead, turning challenges into opportunities for national development, continuously strengthening security capacity, and increasing contributions to peace and stability in the region and the world.
Secondly, maintaining the country’s position among the world’s leading nations in terms of security and safety; building a society that is orderly, disciplined, safe and healthy, for the peaceful and happy lives of the People, thereby creating a firm foundation for successful development. This entails strengthening the protection of regime security, governmental security, cultural and ideological security, economic security, cyber security and data security; ensuring the protection of key leaders, strategic-level cadres of the political system, and the scientific and technological elite; and fundamentally addressing potential complex factors affecting security and order, preventing passivity or surprise. It also requires proactively identifying and firmly safeguarding security in new spaces and domains, and effectively combating new methods and tactics of crime. Efforts will be made to build 50% of communes nationwide and 18 localities free of drugs, moving towards a crime-free society. The Public Security will continue to play a leading role in the national digital transformation process, laying the foundation for administrative procedures unconstrained by administrative boundaries, fostering digital trust, building a digital society and digital citizenship, and developing the digital economy, the data economy and the data industry. Priority will be given to building a culture of “Rule of Law” and a culture of traffic safety; strengthening the security perimeter beyond national borders; enhancing the protection of national and ethnic interests and the legitimate interests of Vietnamese enterprises and citizens abroad; actively participating in the resolution of global issues; and expanding international cooperation in implementing the Hanoi Convention, with a view to making Vietnam a regional hub for cooperation in combating cybercrime in the Asia-Pacific.
Thirdly, building a revolutionary, regular, elite and modern Public Security that is “the most disciplined, the most loyal, and the closest to the People”, taking the lead in social security work and firmly consolidating the people’s heart-and-mind posture. Focus will be placed on building a contingent of cadres and Party members with iron discipline and strict order, steely political mettle, high professional competence in operations, law and technology, imbued with humanistic values and close to the People. The effective implementation of the principle “when the People are in need or in difficulty, the police are present” will continue. The Public Security work in supporting vulnerable groups and those in difficult circumstances will be elevated, contributing to addressing the root causes of issues related to security and order, and to fully harnessing the “people’s heart-and-mind posture” in building and defending the socialist Fatherland.
Finally, creating breakthroughs in the development of an autonomous, self-reliant, dual-use, modern security industry and a security services market, thereby strengthening security capacity and making a positive contribution to the country’s objectives of sustainable, high-quality development. Drawing from the practical requirements of ensuring security and order - particularly cyber security in the course of digital transformation and state management of security and order - efforts will focus on research and development, technological self-reliance, and the production and supply of security industry products and services. These will both meet the demands of safeguarding security and order and enable mastery of core technologies, reduce imports, serve the domestic market, and progress towards export. The focus will be on five product groups: cyber safety and security industry products and services; big data industry products and services serving digital transformation; technical and professional equipment; fire prevention and firefighting products; and products for the early detection, warning and prevention of security and order risks.
Under the leadership of the Party, the management of the State, the coordination of ministries, sectors and localities, and with the support and assistance of the People and international friends, drawing on the proud tradition of more than eighty years of building, fighting and growth, the entire People’s Public Security is determined to act “Following Uncle Ho’s teachings - Renewing thinking - Enhancing knowledge - Being regular and modern - For the Party and for the People”, thereby laying a solid foundation for the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the Party’s strategic objectives.
Wishing the Congress every success.
Thank you very much.