VZCZCXRO2022
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHHI #0839/01 1030830
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130830Z APR 06
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1456
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 0931
RUEHZS/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000839 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR VM
SUBJECT: 10th Party Congress:  CPV Offers Preview, Aims for 
Transparency 
 
Ref: A) Hanoi 767; B) Hanoi 11; C) Hanoi 628; D) HCMC 320; 
E) Hanoi 30; F) Hanoi 791; G) Hanoi 771 
 
HANOI 00000839  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) In a preview of the Communist Party's upcoming 10th 
National Congress, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan 
underscored that the Party's key focus will be on how to 
continue Vietnam's economic and social development efforts. 
Sticking close to well-known positions in a presentation to 
the diplomatic corps and international press that was aimed 
at showing off the Party's transparency, the Deputy Prime 
Minister stressed the need for the Party to bolster the "doi 
moi" (renovation) policy, fight corruption and tackle 
pressing social issues.  Contrary to a number of recent 
rumors, the Party Congress delegates will not depart from 
past practice and directly elect the Party Secretary 
General.  Instead, they will elect a new Central Committee, 
which in turn will elect the Secretary General, Politburo 
and Party Secretariat.  DPM Khoan did not reveal anything 
about personnel changes.  End Summary. 
 
Mechanics and Agenda 
-------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On short notice, the Communist Party of Vietnam 
(CPV) convened an April 12 briefing for the diplomatic corps 
and foreign press on the April 18-25 10th National Party 
Congress (NPC) (Ref A).  Deputy Prime Minister and Party 
Secretariat member Vu Khoan led the briefing, and he opened 
 
SIPDIS 
by explaining that the upcoming congress is the culmination 
of six months' work by grassroots Party organizations.  Some 
1,178 delegates will attend the NPC; of them, 949 will 
represent localities and 229 will represent GVN agencies 
(these figures are still tentative, DPM Khoan noted).  The 
1,178 delegates will belong to 73 delegations:  64 groups 
from provinces and cities and nine functional blocs 
representing State agencies in various disciplines:  police 
and security; the offices of the President and Prime 
Minister; culture and ideology; science and education; 
economics; mass organizations and mobilization; external 
relations; and, internal affairs.  The delegation sizes are 
determined by the number of Party members in their 
respective organizations and, in the case of regional 
groups, the locality's population and "importance." 
 
¶3. (SBU) On this occasion, and in departure from past 
practice, no foreign delegations will be invited to attend 
the NPC, DPM Khoan continued.  This will allow delegates to 
focus on the discussions at hand.  During the NPC, there 
will be daily briefings for the diplomatic corps and press, 
and a post-NPC summary of achievements.  "There is nothing 
to hide," the DPM averred. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The NPC will have four main items on its agenda: 
review to what extent the goals set at the 9th NPC (in 2001) 
have or have not been met; look back on 20 years of 
Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy and see what was and 
was not achieved; discuss tasks related to Party building, 
including amending the Party statutes (Ref B); and, elect 
Party leadership in the form of the Central Committee, the 
Party Secretary, Politburo and the Secretariat to steer the 
Party's work. 
 
Economy Shapes NPC Agenda 
------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Driving this agenda will be four main "themes," DPM 
Khoan explained.  First among them is the recognition that 
achieving Vietnam's central task of economic development 
requires the Party to increase its leadership capacity and 
"fighting spirit."  Second is the need to promote Vietnam's 
national unity.  "Whenever Vietnam is able to come together, 
it can do great things," DPM Khoan said.  Vietnam's 
successes over the past five years are proof of this, and 
the Party must tap into the energy and creativity of the 
people.  The third theme is the need to "boost 
comprehensively" the doi moi policy and strengthen the doi 
moi process.  Finally, tying these three themes together is 
the fourth and most important theme of lifting Vietnam from 
underdevelopment and low income. 
 
Political Report 
---------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) In the run-up to the 10th NPC, the Party invited 
the people of Vietnam to comment on the draft Political 
 
HANOI 00000839  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
Report, DPM Khoan noted (Refs C and D).  In reviewing these 
comments, the Party divided them into three categories: 
those that were constructive and expressed goodwill and thus 
were incorporated into the Political Report and other CPV 
documents; those that required further study and 
consideration; and, those that required the Party's 
"feedback to achieve consensus."  This commentary process 
was meant to involve not just the 3.1 million members of the 
CPV, but the entire population, and even overseas 
Vietnamese.  (DPM Khoan further noted that Party membership 
rolls had increased by 12.3 percent, from approximately 2.5 
million members, in the five years since the previous NPC.) 
To put the Political Report into final, the NPC delegates 
must vote on and approve it. 
 
Vietnam's Successes... 
---------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) The Political Report contains an assessment of the 
past five years and the tasks that Vietnam has accomplished 
(Ref E).  These include:  maintaining Vietnam's rapid 
economic growth, at an average of 7.5 percent year-on-year; 
reducing poverty and eradicating hunger; ensuring the 
nation's stability; building a law-based country and 
pursuing legal reform; and, underlining the importance of 
Party building. 
 
...and What Still Needs to be Done 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) However, there are issues and concerns that still 
need to be addressed, DPM Khoan continued.  These are: 
Vietnam's growth rate is not commensurate with its 
potential, and Vietnam needs to increase its economic 
efficiency; problems in education and public health remain, 
and the poverty level (23 percent) is still too high; 
stability, national defense and public security need to be 
further improved; and, mass organizations and State agencies 
need to catch up with the rest of society.  DPM Khoan 
explained that these shortcomings are due to a "mindset" 
that is not in line with reality; the implementation and 
enforcement of laws and decrees are poor; and, personnel 
policies remain problematic.  However, in spite of these 
problems, they do not overshadow everything that Vietnam has 
achieved, the DPM said. 
 
Major Tasks 
----------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Vietnam has set for itself the goal of lifting 
itself from underdevelopment and, specifically, seeks to 
increase its per capita income from USD 640/year to USD 
1000/year by 2010.  Sustainable growth with social 
development, environmental protection and increased economic 
efficiency are Vietnam's top priorities.  In public 
commentary on the draft Political Report, there was general 
agreement on the major tasks facing the nation: 
 
-- Improve the market mechanism; 
 
-- Accelerate industrialization and modernization; 
 
-- Place a high priority on the role of industry, because 
Vietnam is still basically an agricultural nation; 
 
-- Stress regional and international integration, including 
WTO accession and full global integration by 2010; 
 
-- Emphasize education and training and the development of 
human resources for the development of the nation; 
 
-- Pay attention to social equity and poverty reduction; 
 
-- Increase awareness of culture; 
 
-- Continue to strive to maintain a peaceful environment, 
defend the nation and maintain stability; 
 
-- Maintain the policy of being a friendly and reliable 
partner with all nations (Ref F) and continue to play an 
active role in international organizations ("Vietnam must 
contribute to, and not just benefit from, international 
organizations," DPM Khoan said); 
 
-- Take measures to enhance national unity and the 
strengthen the role of mass organizations, address issues 
involving ethnic minorities and religious groups; 
 
 
HANOI 00000839  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
-- Strengthen the rule of law; and, 
 
-- Improve Party building, which to date has been lacking. 
 
¶10. (SBU) On this last point, DPM Khoan explained that, to 
do this, the Party must concretize and institutionalize the 
mechanisms in which the Party plays a leading role, the 
Government is an "ombudsman" and the people are the 
"master."  The Party also has to ensure that it is clean; 
right now, there is too much bureaucracy, corruption and 
waste, he acknowledged (Ref G). 
 
Leadership Selection Process:  Nothing New 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (SBU) The DPM explained the NPC will elect the new 
Central Committee, and the Central Committee will elect the 
Party Secretary General, Politburo and Secretariat.  (Note: 
In response to a question from a Japanese Embassy 
representative, DPM Khoan denied the rumor that, in a change 
from the past, the over 1,000 NPC delegates would vote 
directly for the Secretary General.  End Note.)  All Party 
members can run for Central Committee positions, and the 
process of vetting candidates has been taking place for 
several months.  Responding to a question from a French 
Embassy official, the DPM said that the list of NPC 
delegates would not be made public.  "It is not secret, but 
it also does not need to be published in the press," he 
said. 
 
MARINE