Speaking on effective implementation of the Party's policy on uniting people of all religions during the renewal process, Ho Xuan Man, Party Central Committee member and secretary of the provincial Party Committee, who is the head of Thua Thien- Hue delegation, stressed that the Party has always attached importance to religious work. 

He pointed out developments of religious situation in Thua Thien-Hue, which  is considered the religious centre of the central region with four religious organisations recognised by the State's the Buddhist Sangha, the Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and the Caodai Church.

"Religious organisations in Thua Thien-Hue better grasped the Party and the State's guideline and policies regarding religious issues, and their relations and co-operation with local authorities have grown closer, with most religious believers in the province rejoicing at the country's achievements and trusting the Party's direction," he said.

According to Man, the Thua Thien-Hue Party Committee has made it a regular task to instruct local authorities and mass organisations to create favourable conditions for religious believers to practice their religions within the law.

Hundreds of places of worship have been repaired and built in Thua Thien-Hue during the past years, and hundreds of religious dignitaries have been allowed to go abroad to attend international events and study or receive medical treatment. Hundreds of books on religions have been published, and regular religious activities have received support and help from the local authorities, especially charitable activities. Religious organisations have opened hundreds of kindergartens for thousands of children. Charity clinics run by the Buddhist Sangha and the Catholic church have provided medical checks-up and treatment to tens of thousands of people both in and outside the province. Religious organisations in Thua Thien-Hue have also co-operated with local authorities in developing electricity supply networks, roads, schools and other works to serve local people.

Ha Thi Khiet, member of the Party Central Committee and President of the Viet Nam Women's Union, meanwhile said the spiritual and material life of Vietnamese women has been improved thanks to the achievements recorded during the implementation of the Doi Moi (renewal) process during the past 20 years.

"Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (CPV), all strata of women have brought into full play their potential and creativeness to make great contributions to the successful implementation of the national socio-economic development tasks," she said. "Women's position in Viet Nam has been raised while gender equality has seen remarkable progress, with the development of better opportunities for women to raise their capability, secure jobs, develop the economy, reduce poverty, increase incomes, stabilise life and build a happy family based on equality and progress.

"Regarding the implementation of eight millennium development goals (MDGs), the United Nations in 2005 assessed that Viet Nam was a bright example in the implementation of three goals, including the elimination of illiteracy, reduction of poverty and improvement of gender equality. Viet Nam is one of the countries in its region that has had considerable success in the gender development index, ranking 87th among 144 countries world-wide," Khiet cited foreign opinions about Viet Nam's achievements. "With 27.31 per cent of deputies at the 11th National Assembly being women, Viet Nam takes the lead in Asian countries in terms of women in parliament. Additionally, the number of Vietnamese women taking part in the People's Council at all levels is higher than that of the previous tenure."

According to the President of the Viet Nam Women's Union, to further improve gender equality and create favourable conditions for women to take part in state and social management activities and fulfill their tasks as citizens, labourers and first teachers of their children, it is essential to work on the following tasks: Strengthening the Party's leadership in order to further improve public awareness on gender equality; continuing to build and perfect the legal system and policies that ensure gender equality; and intensifying supervision, examination and evaluation of the implementation of laws and policies on gender equality, including regular supervision by the National Assembly and the People's Council at all levels, as well as in the examination and evaluation activities of the Party's organisations, state management agencies, the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and other organisations at all levels.

The Viet Nam Women's Union and the National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Viet Nam must step up recommendation and consultation work to the Party and State on realising gender equality. It must also attach special importance to developing the union’s structure and staff, especially staff at the grassroots level.

Speaking of national security and social order, Public Security Minister Le Hong Anh said: "The security and social situation has been changing rapidly with many unforeseeable developments. This requires a thorough understanding of the situation and its context, a continuation of renewing policies and solutions in order to firmly protect internal political security, preventing interference into internal affairs, intensifying the struggle against enemies' ideological sabotage, raising the efficiency of economic and information security work, preserving national cultural identities during the course of international economic integration, foiling all activities associated with "peaceful evolution" and subversive activities of hostile forces, ensuring security and social order in all key locations, stopping all criminals, restricting and gradually excluding factors causing instability, and maintaining national security and social order while defending the Fatherland, the Party and the socialist system." 

To successfully implement the 10th Party Congress's Resolution on the tasks of ensuring national security and keeping social order, Anh said, emphasis should be put on several major tasks: Party committees at all levels should focus instructions on propaganda and education to make Party members, cadres and people aware of the importance of protecting security and social order in the present situation, to raise their vigilance and ensure all take responsibility for, and participate in, the work of maintaining national security and social order. It is necessary to intensify Party building, and combine this work with the defence of the Party and the maintenance of internal political security; to continue bringing into full play the aggregate power of the political system; to strengthen the great unity of the nation and uphold the strength of the entire nation in security and social order maintenance; to take the initiative in developing co-operation with other countries in work on protecting national security and keeping social order in accordance with the Party's external policies; and to continue reinforcing authorised agencies in charge of national security and social order maintenance. 

On strategy to combine economic development with settlement of social issues and environmental protection in big urban and economic centres, Nguyen Van Thuan from Hai Phong City said: "With the situation of Hai Phong City in mind, the Hai Phong delegation is in agreement with the Party Central Committee's assessments on the achievements during the past five years, which include "positive changes in the combination of economic development and the settlement of social issues".

Thuan affirmed that it is really important to enhance education and awareness on the need to combine economic development, the settlement of social issues and environmental protection, including the management and dissemination of information on a modern and civilised urban lifestyle. Special attention should be paid to bringing into play economic advantages and to lure investment to boost economic development to serve as a foundation for solving social issues during economic development while ensuring the protection of the ecology and the environment; to improve the capacity and effectiveness of the operation of industrial zones and management of new residential areas; to carry out economic development together with raising leadership and combat capacity and bringing into play the leading role of the Party's Committees at all levels, while mobilising international and domestic social sources as well as raising responsibilities of the State, investors, producers, business people and individuals.

In his speech on ethical issue, Vu Quoc Hung from Phu Tho Province said: "Degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle leading to bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness and harassment is evident in not a small proportion of cadres, public officials and Party members. It is a very serious issue, resulting in discontent, worry and loss of trust in the Party and the State among the people. This is also a factor hindering the progress of the renewal cause and a great threat to the existence of the Party and our Government.

On reasons for this degradation, Hung stressed: "First, the Party and the State were not able to fully anticipate the negative impact of the market mechanism when the country shifted to the market economy and opened the door to integration, therefore failing to prepare for the thinking and resistance capacity for cadres, Party members and the people against these impacts. Timely examination and identification of negative phenomena arising during the renewal process has not been conducted to devise effective preventive measures and solutions. Second, education on ethics and lifestyle for cadres and Party members has not been conducted regularly, and is neglected in not a few places. Third, there is not sufficient awareness on Party building being the key task, resulting in a lack of action; the Party and society lack high political determination to prevent the degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle within the Party, and there is not enough will to push back bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness and harassment."

Hung also suggested three tasks to solve the problem. First, to dramatically raise the awareness of the entire Party, first of all in Party committees and throughout leaders at all levels, to help them fully grasp the seriousness and the danger of degradation in political ideology, ethics and lifestyle, and the problems of bureaucracy, corruption and wastefulness to the country's stability and growth. Second, to attach importance to the quality of education in political ideology, dignity and lifestyle for officials and Party members, especially leaders and managers at all levels, and officials and Party members working in vulnerable fields such as those concerning money, projects, licence granting, investigation, the judiciary, personnel, planning and policy-making. Third, to be tougher and more resolute in instructing execution work, including the punishment of wrongdoing.

"Instructions must be deployed synchronously in battling degradation in political ideology, ethical values, lifestyle as well as in preventing and fighting bureaucracy, corruption, wastefulness and other negative phenomena," he said./.