The 14th National Party Congress is scheduled for January 19 - 25, 2026 (Photo: VNA)  

As Vietnam prepares to enter a new era of development, the 14th National Party Congress has drawn great attention from officials, Party members, and society at large, particularly over personnel matters.

Personnel work has always been of paramount importance to the Party. The documents of the 13th National Congress described it as “the key of keys”, a view echoed by Party General Secretary To Lam, who has called it "the work of all works”.

More specifically, preparing personnel for the 14th National Party Congress means preparing candidates for the Party Central Committee, its Politburo and Secretariat, and top Party and State roles.
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The 14th National Party Congress is scheduled for January 19-25, 2026. A key agenda item is to elect a new Party Central Committee, which then will elect its Politburo and General Secretary.

The gathering comes as Vietnam has undergone nearly four decades of Doi Moi (renewal), starting with the renewal of 'economic thinking' at the 6th Congress in December 1986. Therefore, the 14th Congress is of pivotal, watershed significance, and its personnel work will have a decisive impact on the country's development trajectory.

In recent days, there has been much public discussion surrounding the Party's personnel matters ahead of the crucial 15th plenum of the Party Central Committee. On December 9, General Secretary Lam met with standing members of the subcommittees in charge of making preparations for the 14th Congress, directing the Personnel Subcommittee to finalise tasks for submission to the plenum. In early November, the 14th plenum agreed on the number of members for the Politburo and the Secretariat for the 14th tenure.

It is understandable that not only officials and Party members, but also the general public are keen on the 14th National Party Congress. However, such interest can be expressed in many different ways.

There is no legal regulation that prohibits “the entire population from discussing Party personnel over cups of tea”. Yet, such talks could lead to unforeseen consequences.

In reality, past blunt attacks on Party and State policies have largely failed. Recently, hostile forces have turned to more sophisticated tactics, planting insinuations of so-called “soft sabotage” under the guise of “objective discussion".

Posing as constructive critics of 13th-term personnel flaws, they aim to downplay five years of the Party and State’s fight against corruption and negative behaviours. They subtly insinuate that major criminal cases and disciplinary actions against senior officials are merely factional purges or simply “for show,”, “a superficial repainting”.

Framed as "forecasts of top leadership posts", hostile forces stir up north-south divides, the 'dominance' of one agency over another, the division between this and that sector or ministry, and the 'overarching influence' of one individual over others and the collective.

Claiming to back leaders who truly care about the people, they skillfully incite public sentiment, quietly undermine the credibility of officials in planning or those with strong prospects of being elected to key posts, and hint at the need for a “new approach to personnel thinking” that differs from the Party’s guideline.

Under the cover of “raising concerns about unverified information”, these saboteurs spread fabricated figures, events, or stories on social media, placing them in a gray zone between truth and falsehood, allowing any interpretation, with the sole aim of sowing confusion and doubt, neither confirming nor denying anything outright.

Posing as credible sources, they leak purported Politburo slates or "quartet" lineups, suggesting pre-cooked deals among factions ahead of the 14th Congress and even the 15th plenum.

It is known that the current Party Central Committee released the full draft documents to be submitted to the 14th Congress for public consultation, inviting feedback from officials, Party members, and citizens nationwide from October 15 to November 15, 2025.

Over one month, authorities gathered some 5 million comments with 13 million opinions on the draft documents for the Congress. The standing members of the subcommittees preparing the 14th Congress absorbed these opinions to the greatest extent possible to refine the texts.

Contributing feedback to the 14th Congress’s documents is the most practical way for every citizen to join Party efforts to shape a prosperous future for Vietnam. Each comment represents a crystallisation of brainpower, dedication, and civic responsibility, helping to formulate policies aligned with the people’s aspirations and the country’s development needs.

There is also another way to demonstrate civic responsibility toward the nation’s destiny: refraining from spreading harmful information in any form, even when cloaked as “harmless” regarding personnel work for the 14th Congress. As the Party General Secretary noted, each person can contribute in their own way to “greening” the information environment with positive content, bolstering the confidence among officials, Party members, and citizens; fostering social consensus; and jointly striving toward the goal of national development./.