VNA: A grand meeting to mark the Vietnam Communist Party's 75^th anniversary, was held in Hanoi's Ba Dinh Square on February 2. Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh delivered a speech, stressing that "The prouder we are of the heroic nation and people as well as the glorious Party, the more grateful we are to the great President Ho Chi Minh - who founded and trained the Party.

Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh, former Party General Secretaries Do Muoi and Le Kha Phieu, State President Tran Duc Luong, Prime Minister Phan Van Khai, National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Van An, former State President Le Duc Anh, former Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Pham The Duyet attended the event.

Other Party and State leaders joined leaders of ministries, departments and central organisations, revolutionary veterans, heroic mothers, the armed forces and members of the public to mark the event.

Representatives from diplomatic corps and international organisations in Hanoi were also present at the meeting.

At the meeting, Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh delivered a speech. After reviewing the glorious 75-year history of the Party and the revolution of Vietnam, the Party General Secretary said, "With all the achievements the Vietnamese revolution has recorded since the foundation of the Party, Vietnam has emerged as a country of independence and freedom advancing towards Socialism from a semi-feudal and colonial society. Vietnam has managed to establish broad international relations and increase its prestige in the regional and international arena. The Vietnamese people have liberated themselves from slavery and become masters of their own country and society. From a poor and backward economy, Vietnam is on track towards industrialisation and modernisation."

"The Communist Party of Vietnam has always maintained its revolutionary and scientific nature, been faithful to the working class and the nation, and stood firm before all challenges and difficulties to lead the national revolution forward. The late President Ho Chi Minh said at the celebration of the Party's 30th founding anniversary that in the most modest spirit of revolutionaries, we can say that Our Party is Great."

"The Party has sometimes made mistakes in its leadership. People have sometimes asked the Party to do better in some jobs. Our Party's greatness is not only reflected in its historic contributions over the past 75 years but also in its bravery to respect and listen to people's criticism and to be determined to correct its mistakes in order to advance the country forwards."

"We are proud of the heroic Vietnamese nation and people, who have founded and fostered the Party, and loyally followed the Party through the revolution's long course. The Party's intellect and strength have their source in the nation and the people's intellect and power - their patriotic tradition and culture, their initiatives and creativeness in combat and construction, their wholehearted support and protection of Party cadres and members, especially during the dangerous times.

"The prouder we are of the heroic nation and people as well as the glorious Party, the more grateful we are to the great President Ho Chi Minh - who founded and trained the Party. He has left the nation and Party a glorious cause and a valuable heritage, which are his Thoughts and his example of how to lead a pure life dedicated to the homeland's independence and freedom and the people's happiness. We will always bear in mind what the Party Central Committee said at his funeral: that the nation, the people, and the country's mountains and rivers had produced President Ho Chi Minh, a great national hero, and it is him who brought fame to the nation, the people and the country.

"On this important anniversary, we would like to express our affection for and thanks to communist and workers' parties, the working class and peace-loving people all over the world, who have been giving their precious support and assistance to our Party and people."

Regarding the importance of the coming period and the Party and people's tasks, the Party leader said, "Our country has entered the year of 2005, the last year of the 2001-2005 five-year plan, and also the last year during which tasks set by the ninth National Party Congress will be implemented, when Party organisations at all levels will organise their congresses in preparation of the tenth National Party Congress. 

"We carry out these major tasks in the context of tremendous advantage and opportunity interwoven with ponderous difficulty and challenges both domestically and internationally.

"The policy laid down by the ninth Party Congress and finalised in the Party Central Committee's sessions to mobilise our people's strength in continuing the renovation process, accelerating industrialisation and modernisation, building and safeguarding socialist Vietnam, is the quintessence of the entire Party, army and people's will and wisdom, creating an important basis for continuing to strengthen the unity of mind in the Party, social consensus, and the country's political stability. The achievements in the implementation of the ninth Party Congress's Resolution and 20 years of renovation have helped markedly improve the country's position and strength. Initial achievements in building and strengthening the Party and renewing the political system have enabled us to continue building a strong Party and State, and help them operate more effectively. The trend of peace and co-operation together with the rapid development of science and technology, the development of the intelligence-based economy, and integration into the international economy have created conditions for our country to reduce the time needed for the process of national industrialisation and modernisation.

"However, from an overall point of view, our country remains an underdeveloped one. The country is in danger of lagging behind economically because of its economy's poor efficiency and competitiveness. Social polarisation, the gap between rich and poor, degradation in ethics and lifestyle, bureaucracy and corruption among a number of public employees and Party members are urgent social problems. Hostile forces are intensifying their activities against Vietnam's revolution through the "peace evolution" strategy by attempting to cause unrest or a coup d'etat and other sinister schemes. Meanwhile, the world situation is unfolding complicatedly with unpredictable natural disasters and epidemics.    

"To fulfill the tasks set by the ninth National Party Congress, especially this year's tasks, our entire Party, people and army should continue to follow the Party's line thoroughly and focus on important targets of the national development strategy: to boost efficient and sustainable socio-economic development rapidly, make the Party more transparent and healthy in politics, ideology and organisation, and make culture a spiritual foundation for society, as well as a goal and a driving force for development.

"In economic development, we should continue building market-oriented economic institutions along the socialist line, liberate the production forces and bring out the full potential of all economic sectors in which the State sector must operate effectively and play a key role. National industrialisation and modernisation should be further accelerated with priority given to agricultural and rural industrialisation and modernisation. Economic growth must be closely combined with social progress and equality in each development policy. All people are encouraged to make money legitimately and engage in hunger elimination and poverty reduction, caring for the families of those who have rendered services to the nation, and ill-fated people, and more attention should be paid to socio-economic development in remote, mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited areas."

On the Party building, General Secretary Manh said, "Our Party has throughout the past 75 years upheld the national tradition, led our people in surmounting difficulties and challenges and taken the revolution from one victory to another. The Party's correct leadership is a decisive factor for all victories of the Vietnamese revolution and the effectiveness and righteousness of the country's renovation process. Nowadays, our Party needs to be constantly strengthened and renewed to become stronger in a political and an ideological sense and in its organisational capacity to guide our people in the course of building and defending the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the goals of a prosperous people, a strong country, and a just, democratic and civilised society.

"In its leadership role, the Party should always keep in mind the late President Ho Chi Minh's teachings: The Party's task is to wholeheartedly and loyally serve the country and the people. The Party does everything for the people's interests and nothing for itself.

"The Party must devote itself to caring for the people, fostering its close links with the people and putting itself under the people's surveillance. The Party playing the leadership role and the people playing the role of masters of their own destiny are important principles included in Ho Chi Minh's Thoughts. The entire Party must speed up a campaign to build and improve the Party. We need to enhance political education and uphold the tradition of solidarity and unity within the Party itself, heighten the democratic and disciplinary spirit in the Party's activities, constantly conduct self-criticism and criticism, observe moral principles, lead a healthy lifestyle, and resolutely fight individualism, opportunism, and pragmatism. All cadres and Party members should seriously study Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's Thoughts, and must grasp thoroughly the Party's Platform, statute, guidelines and policies and consistently follow such principled viewpoints as: national independence along with socialism is our Party and people's ideal goal; Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh's Thoughts are the ideological foundation to direct every action of the Party and revolution; the Communist Party of Vietnam is the sole force that can lead the Vietnamese revolution."

The Party leader called for accelerating the fight against bureaucracy, wastefulness and corruption in a firm spirit and with concerted efforts in the areas of politics, ideology, administration, economics, law, mechanism and policy. Party and State cadres at all levels, especially key officials, must set an example in maintaining their qualifications and in fighting against corruption and wastefulness, he said.

He called upon all Party committees and cells at a grassroots level to play their leading role towards the administration, fatherland front and mass organisations, economic organisations and administrative agencies. They should increase their combat strength, renew and improve the quality of their operations.

General Secretary Manh emphasised the need to help excellent workers, farmers, intellectuals and labourers in all economic sectors, and young people and students, to become members of the Party.

He called for strengthening the Party's leadership capacity and combat strength as well as its capacity in forecasting and resolving issues.

Luu Van Man, a revolutionary veteran; Do Thi Thanh Phuong, deputy secretary of  the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union chapter of Tay Ho district's Quang An ward; and Tran Trung Hung, an outstanding representative of the public expressed their belief and pride in the Party and beloved Uncle Ho, saying that they would contribute to the national renovation process to build a civilised and prosperous country./.