Le Lan Anh
Vass_Institute of Americas Studies, Hanoi, Vietnam
Abstract
Ho Chi Minh’s thought is a political philosophy that builds upon Marxism–Leninism and the ideology of Ho Chi Minh. It was developed and codified by the Communist Party of Vietnam; the ideology includes views on the basic issues of the Vietnamese Revolution, specifically the development and application of Marxism–Leninism to the specific conditions of Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh’s thought on defending the socialist fatherland is one of the great contents with many profound meanings. It also reflects the official ideology of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the defense of the sovereignty of Vietnam. It can be seen that the defense of the Fatherland is an objective necessity in the historical development of Vietnam.
Keywords: Ho Chi Minh’s thought; Communist Party of Vietnam; sovereignty;
Introduction
Ho Chi Minh’s thought on defending the Socialist Fatherland is a particularly important content in his thought, formed and developed during the leadership of the Vietnamese revolution. Ho Chi Minh’s thought on defending the socialist Fatherland, as well as his military ideology, is a profound guide to the Communist Party, the State, the people and the army of Vietnam in the struggle for peace, consolidation of national defense and defense of the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the new historical context.
Ho Chi Minh’s thought on defending the socialist fatherland is the creative application of the theory of socialist fatherland defense of V.I. Lenin to the practical situation of the Vietnamese revolution, the following content:
1. Defending the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland is an objective mission
The objective inevitability of the cause of defending the Fatherland of socialist Vietnam was pointed out by President Ho Chi Minh: “The Hung Kings had merits in the country’s foundation, and we must protect the country together”. In the appeal to the nation for resistance on December 19, 1946, he said: ” We would rather sacrifice everything than lose our country, than return to slavery. Compatriots! Rise up!!…”. After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, in the face of the threat of imperialists and reactionaries, President Ho Chi Minh and the Party proposed many practical and concrete measures to maintain political stability.
During the resistance war against the U.S imperialists to save the country, President Ho Chi Minh pointed out: “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”. In his Will, he warned: “The resistance war against the U.S imperialists to save the country may still last. In the long run, our compatriots may have to sacrifice a lot of property and people. Anyway, we must be determined to defeat the American aggressor to complete victory.” The determination to liberate the nation and defend the Fatherland was a thought throughout the life of President Ho Chi Minh.
2. The goal of national defense is national independence and social justice, the duty and responsibility of all citizens.
National independence and socialism are the cross-cutting goals in Ho Chi Minh’s thought. Defending the Socialist Fatherland is the responsibility and obligation of every Vietnamese citizen. In the Declaration of Independence, he affirmed: “The entire Vietnamese people are determined to put all their spirit and strength, life and wealth to uphold that right to freedom and independence”. During the resistance war against the U.S imperialists to save the country, he called for the people of the whole country to resolve to fight to complete victory in order to liberate the South, protect the North, move towards the unification of the Fatherland, and the whole country to move to a socialist society.
3. The strength to defend the Fatherland is the synergy of the whole nation, the whole country, combined with the strength of the times.
President Ho Chi Minh has always been consistent in his view: Promoting synergy in the task of defending the socialist Fatherland is the strength of the whole nation, the whole people, at all levels of government; is the power of political, military, economic, cultural and social factors, the strength of tradition with modernity, the strength of the nation with the strength of the times.
In order to protect the socialist Fatherland, President Ho Chi Minh attaches great importance to building and consolidating all-people national defense and people’s security, building the people’s army, considering it a key force to protect defend the Fatherland, “We must build an increasingly powerful army, ready to fight to preserve peace, protect the country, and protect the cause of socialist construction”.
4. The Communist Party of Vietnam leads the cause of defending socialist Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam is the leader and organizer of all the victories of the Vietnamese revolution. President Ho Chi Minh said: “The Party and Government must lead the entire people, strive to consolidate and build the North towards socialism, and at the same time continue to struggle to unify the country, on the basis of independence and democracy by peaceful means, contributing to the defense of peace in Asia and the world”. The Communist Party of Vietnam maintains that this as the key task of political system renewal. The socialist rule-of-law state of Vietnam has absorbed achievements of humanity while maintaining its own identity; this shows the unified state power with delegation, coordination, effective control among the state bodies in the exercise of the legislative, executive and judicial powers while synchronously building power control institutions to overcome power abuse, bureaucracy and corruption. The Communist Party of Vietnam clearly defines the role and institution of leadership, which is the Party leads the State and society; the Party is responsible for its leadership before the country and people; party organizations and party members operate within the framework of the Constitution and the law. The political system’s operation mechanism is “the Party leads, the State manages and the people are the owners.”
Conclusion
The Marxist-Leninist doctrine, Ho Chi Minh’s thought on the defense of the Socialist Fatherland are revolutionary and profoundly scientific. That is the theoretical basis for the Communist Party of Vietnam to set out guidelines and strategic lines to build national defense and security, build the armed forces and defend the socialist Fatherland.
Therefore, studying and mastering the above basic contents, creatively applying them to the practice of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the current period is posing an urgency task both in terms of theory and practice.