Congress's motto - the compass for all actions

The Party Congress documents are a critically important research work of strategic significance, serving as a focal point for the concentrated intelligence, will, vision, and more of the entire political system and all strata of the people, charting a new stage of development for each locality as well as for the country and the nation.

The Congress's motto is the compass for all actions. In the photo: The Presidium of the 1st Congress of Phuoc Long Ward Party Delegates, term 2025-2030. Photo: Ngoc Thuan

In that spirit, within the scope of this article, I have some comments on the "motto" in the Draft Political Report submitted to the Congress of Delegates of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee for the 2025-2030 term.

Solidarity is the source of national strength

The Draft Political Report states the motto: "Solidarity - innovation - integration - breakthrough - development". The history of thousands of years of the nation has proven that solidarity plays a vital role and holds a key position in the development of the country and the Vietnamese revolution. It is considered a precious tradition, a source of strength, and a red thread running through the strategic line of our Party and State.

After 30 years of seeking a path to save the nation and engaging in revolutionary struggle, President Ho Chi Minh concluded: “Solidarity, solidarity, great solidarity; Success, success, great success.” His teaching has not only become an essential and consistent strategic guideline of the Party, a source of great strength and a decisive factor in the victory of our people’s cause of building and defending the Fatherland, but also a way of life, a motto, and a call to action for the Vietnamese people.

Therefore, I fully agree with the draft’s selection of “solidarity” as the first element in the five-element motto. However, I propose removing the three elements in the middle - “innovation - integration - breakthrough.” Specifically, I suggest replacing “innovation” and “integration” with two elements: “democracy” and “discipline".

From the practice of national development and leadership, our Party has always identified Party building and rectification as having a critical, pivotal role. However, to carry out this work effectively and achieve tangible improvements, the Party’s Platform, as well as its resolutions, directives, and conclusions, have consistently affirmed that combining the promotion of democracy with the strengthening of discipline is a key solution. Moreover, it is well understood that the deeper purpose of practicing democracy is to unleash the creative capacity of all Party members, fostering solidarity and consensus among comrades. Meanwhile, discipline and order are the rules, regulations, and statutes established to maintain a strict, self-conscious, and consistent order within a Party organization and among its members.

Real life has proven that if democracy does not go hand in hand with discipline, sooner or later, "excessive democracy" and "disorganized democracy" will arise. And if discipline lacks democracy, it will give rise to autocracy and dictatorship. More dangerously, “excessive democracy” will create conditions for opportunists, discontent, and undisciplined people to cause harm and destroy the organization. However, if discipline is harsh and arbitrary, it will stifle or even eliminate creativity and cause disunity. In a broader sense, violating the principle of democratic centralism is also violating Party discipline, because this is the basic organizational principle of the Party. On the contrary, if democracy and discipline are combined smoothly and closely, it will be a condition to ensure the goal of “unity, stability, innovation, and development”.

“Solidarity”, “democracy”, and “discipline” are inseparable

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh often reminded us: To achieve unity, democracy must be widely practiced, and discipline must be strict. Democracy must go hand in hand with discipline and order… There must be discipline within democracy, and democracy must embody discipline.

Therefore, the three elements of “solidarity”, “democracy”, and “discipline” are inseparable, especially in the work of Party building and rectification. Because solidarity is the source of creating comprehensive strength, democracy will ensure the active participation as well as the honest and sincere voice of everyone; meanwhile, discipline is the factor that establishes order and efficiency. And only when these three elements are harmoniously combined will a solid foundation be created for sustainable development. Therefore, “solidarity”, “democracy”, and “discipline” are three inseparable elements.

Regarding the element “breakthrough” mentioned in the draft, it could be considered for replacement with “creativity.” Creativity is the ability to generate new, unique, and valuable ideas, solutions, or products. It involves combining existing elements in novel ways or developing existing things in new ways. In short, creativity is the process of discovering, developing, and implementing new ideas or executing them in innovative ways.

A breakthrough, on the other hand, is the sudden and positive overcoming of existing barriers, limitations, or stereotypes, resulting in revolutionary achievements or changes in a particular field. A breakthrough is not merely a minor improvement but a significant leap forward, sometimes transforming an entire industry or way of life. It often opens up new opportunities and can redefine current standards or expectations in a given field. In short, a breakthrough creates substantial and powerful changes, renewing things suddenly and positively.

Thus, from the above analysis, it can be seen that, from a semantic perspective, the connotations of “creativity” and “breakthrough” share similar, even nearly identical, content. In other words, creativity encompasses breakthrough, and breakthrough inherently contains creativity. However, real-life experience has shown that, within an appropriate scope, fostering focus and specialization can generate creative solutions in a specific field, industry, or locality. Meanwhile, new ideas, technologies, or breakthrough solutions only truly create a significant impact and deliver benefits when applied on a broader scale, such as at the national or even global level.

Based on the above viewpoint and the reality of Dong Nai Province, I boldly propose replacing the element “breakthrough” with “creativity.” Accordingly, the motto of the Dong Nai Provincial Party Congress for the 2025–2030 term could be revised to: “Solidarity – Democracy – Discipline – Creativity - Development.”

By: Diep Vien
Translated by: Hong Van - Minho