US embassy cable - 05HANOI256

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 000256 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PINR, VM, DPOL 
SUBJECT:  Communist Party Wraps up Plenum 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  The Communist Party of Vietnam's Central 
Committee met January 17-25 to kick off preparations for the 
10th Party Congress, to be held in the second quarter of 
2006.  Among the major issues reportedly discussed were 
Party membership for capitalists, the participation of Party 
members in "capitalist economic activities" and amendments 
to the Party's 1991 Political Platform.  Plenum delegates 
also discussed twenty years of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renewal) 
policy, with Central Committee members reportedly "greatly 
optimistic" about developments Vietnam's reform efforts. 
End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) held the 11th 
Plenum of the 9th Party Congress January 17-25.   During a 
January 28 meeting with Pol/C and Political Assistant, 
Nguyen Tien Nhien, Director of the CPV External Relations 
Commission's North America and Western Europe Department, 
described the recently completed Plenum as "more important 
than most" because of its focus on key Party documents and 
reports to be submitted to the 10th Party Congress. 
Although Nhien could not "say for sure," the Party Congress 
will likely be held in the second quarter of 2006. 
 
3. (SBU) According to Nhien, the CPV Central Committee 
members attending the Plenum discussed detailed outlines for 
the following reports:  the CPV's Political Report, a report 
on theoretical and practical issues regarding Vietnam's "doi 
moi" (renewal) process over the past 20 years, a report on 
several articles of the CPV Political Platform (adopted in 
1991 during the 7th Party Congress), a report on possible 
amendments to current CPV statutes, a report on Party- 
building tasks, a plan for the nation's socio-economic 
developments for the period of 2006-2010 and a report on the 
Politburo's and the Party Secretariat's leadership during 
the 2001-2006 period.  More detailed drafts of these 
documents will be approved at the 12th Party Plenum, which 
will reportedly be held no later than June 2005, before 
being publicized for public comments from Party units and 
individuals.  The final reports will be adopted at the 13th 
Party Plenum.  In short, the Plenum "kicked off the 
preparations for next year's Party Congress," Nhien said. 
 
4. (SBU) Asked to characterize the tone of Plenum's 
discussions about the pace and scope of Vietnam's "doi moi" 
process, Nhien reported that Plenum participants "reached 
consensus on the key issues" facing the Party and the 
nation.  He added that Central Committee members shared 
"great optimism" about national developments and the speed 
and direction of Vietnam' "renewal efforts."  "It should 
come as no surprise that there are different opinions about 
the current pace of reform," Nhien noted, "but, importantly, 
the Central Committee reached agreement on several issues in 
line with the Party's organizational principle of 
centralized democracy" (which he explained means minority 
deferment to the majority). 
 
5. (SBU) Nhien claimed that the Party's 1991 Political 
Platform would be amended to reflect current international 
and domestic circumstances.  Although most of the leading 
principles outlined in the Platform would remain, amendments 
are needed to address "dramatic changes" in Vietnam's socio- 
economic situation, as well as progress in the Party's 
efforts to improve freedoms and human rights, which Nhien 
termed as "a big step forward."  Other political changes in 
the world arena also need to be reflected.  The Party 
adopted its Political Platform back in 1991 when the "world 
socialist system had not yet collapsed," Nhien observed. 
 
6. (SBU) Responding to Pol/C's question, Nhien said that the 
Central Committee members had discussed and "settled to some 
extent" the issue of "capitalism and the Party," but this 
"still needs to be thoroughly discussed by the whole Party 
and nation" before making major changes to Party policy. 
Nhien opined that, in the months ahead, the CPV may come up 
with a final decision on specific wording to be put in Party 
statutes and related documents concerning the participation 
of Party members in private economic activities as well as 
opportunities for private business people to attain Party 
membership. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  Current Party regulations explicitly 
prohibit Party members from "exploiting labor," but the 
contradictions between the CPV's proscriptions and Vietnam's 
economic realities are hard to ignore.  We have heard 
elsewhere that the debate surrounding "capitalist 
membership" in the Party and Party members' participation in 
"capitalist economic activities" figured prominently in the 
Plenum, with the Chinese Communist Party's "Three 
Represents" the implied model for this possible CPV 
"reform."  Discussions about this change, as well as the 
debate about how far Vietnam's "doi moi" policy has come - 
and still needs to go - will figure prominently in intra- 
Party discussions as it prepares for next year's Congress. 
End Comment. 
 
MARINE