2006年VOA标准英语-Tenth Party Congress Re-Elects General Sec

By Matt Steinglass
Hanoi
25 April 2006

The Tenth Party Congress of Vietnam's Communist Party has reelected General Secretary Nong Duc Manh for a second five-year term. The Congress selected a new Politburo and Central Committee with a surprising number of new faces.

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If there was any suspense¹ about who would lead Vietnam's Communist Party for the next five years, it ended Tuesday morning at the closing session of the Tenth Party Congress, when Politburo member Truong Tan Sang announced the man selected by party members as general secretary.

Nong Duc Manh center, stands with Nguyen Tan Dung, right, and Nguyen Minh Triet, during Communist Party Congress in Hanoi   
  

Nong Duc Manh, 65, has served as general secretary since 2001. His re-election struck a note of continuity at a time of significant turnover² in the party's leadership.

The Party Congress elected eight new members to the 14-member Politburo. At the previous congress in 2001, just four new Politburo members were selected. As for the Party's 160-member Central Committee, 78 members - almost half - are new this year.

Vietnam's 72-year-old prime minister, Phan Van Khai, and its 68-year-old president, Tran Duc Luong, withdrew frm the Central Committee during the congress, meaning they will not be continuing in their posts. The National Assembly will officially elect their replacements³ at its next meeting, which has not been scheduled yet.

Many party members and political observers expect that 56-year-old Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung will become the next prime minister. The new president is expected to be 62-year-old Nguyen Minh Triet, now the head of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.

The congress took place in the shadow of a multimillion-dollar corruption⁴ scandal in the Transportation Ministry⁵, which led to the arrests and resignations of senior officials.

David Koh, an expert on Vietnamese politics at Singapore's Center for Southeast Asian Studies, says corruption was high on the agenda at the congress. However, he notes that in the end, no one lost a seat on the Central Committee or the Politburo because of it.

"Corruption definitely has affected⁶ the Congress in a certain way in a sense that it raised awareness⁷ among the delegates of the congress and the Central Committee," he explained, "that they really have to put the right people in place. And here what I mean by right people are people who are known to be honest and have integrity."

The congress also adopted a new Party Statute⁸, calling on members to fight corruption. Nguyen Si Dung, vice⁹ chairman of the office of the National Assembly, says this reflects the issue's prominence¹⁰.

"It's very important. It's maybe the hottest issue for the coming term of the party now," he said. "The request to have an oversight¹¹ function for every party organization is another powerful tool to fight corruption."

Another closely watched issue was how the congress would address the question of the private sector¹² versus¹³ the state-owned sector. The new party charter for the first time declares that members can participate in private business.

Nguyen Si Dung thinks this is an important shift.

"If party would have members that could do business, then businessmen would feel more comfortable to do business themselves. And that is very important," he said.

But in fact, says Koh, many party members have already ties to private business, either directly or through family members.

"Policy making in Vietnam most of the time has a policy following reality. … It would seem to me that this is merely another case of policy chasing after reality," he said.

The change in the rule reflects the large and growing role private business has in the country's economy.

Despite the role of private business, Vietnam's Communist Party also wanted to show that some things remain the same - including the official mission of the party.

The party's mission, says Central Committee member Le Huu Nghia, is "to successfully carry out socialism, and eventually communism."

1 suspense   

n.（对可能发生的事）紧张感，担心，挂虑

参考例句：

• The suspense was unbearable.这样提心吊胆的状况实在叫人受不了。
• The director used ingenious devices to keep the audience in suspense.导演用巧妙手法引起观众的悬念。

2 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

3 replacements   

n.代替( replacement的名词复数 )；替换的人[物]；替代品；归还

参考例句：

• They infiltrated behind the lines so as to annoy the emery replacements. 他们渗透敌后以便骚扰敌军的调度。 来自辞典例句
• For oil replacements, cheap suddenly looks less of a problem. 对于石油的替代品来说，价格变得无足轻重了。 来自互联网

4 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

8 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 prominence   

n.突出；显著；杰出；重要

参考例句：

• He came to prominence during the World Cup in Italy.他在意大利的世界杯赛中声名鹊起。
• This young fashion designer is rising to prominence.这位年轻的时装设计师的声望越来越高。

11 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。