US embassy cable - 03HANOI1805

UNCLAS HANOI 001805 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, MARR, PREL, SOCI, ECON, VM, DPOL 
SUBJECT:  CPV WRAPS UP 8TH PLENUM -- DEFENSE, SALARY 
 
REF:  A.  FBIS SEP20030714000009  B.  HANOI 1756 
 
-     C.  HANOI 0175 
 
1.  (U)  The Communist Party of Vietnam's (CPV) Ninth 
Central Committee held its eighth plenum in Hanoi July 2-12, 
with major addresses by General Secretary Nong Duc Manh and 
issuance of a formal communiqu.  (Ref a provides 
translation.)  The major themes, which CPV insiders said had 
been determined months -- perhaps even years -- in advance, 
were national defense strategy as well as salary and social 
insurance issues.  (Ref c reported on the CPV's seventh 
plenum, which focused on land, minorities, and religion.) 
 
2.  (SBU)  The full text of the resolution on national 
defense strategy has yet to be made public, but the 
communiqu described its contents at length.  It repeatedly 
noted the need to reassess national defense "in the new 
situation," while highlighting successes in protecting 
national sovereignty, the leadership of the Party, and the 
socialist regime over the past decade.  When asked where the 
CPV viewed new threats arising, one Vietnamese newspaper 
editor privately admitted to Pol/C that they were "from 
inside," not from external forces.  According to the plenum 
communiqu, the Central Committee also highlighted that 
"strengthening the Party is the key task" along with 
upholding the Party's "absolute and direct leadership" in 
ensuring national defense and security.  It noted as well 
the importance of a favorable international environment and 
the "core task of economic development" in pursuing 
Vietnam's goals. 
 
3.  (SBU)  Embassy contacts indicated a lively debate on 
salary and allowances issues, with some stiff resistance to 
o 
CPV proposals to abolish subsidized and/or free housing and 
to diminish perks like automobiles for senior cadres.  The 
communiqu made no explicit reference to these issues, but 
cited past progress in "eliminating the system of paying 
wage and allowance in kind and replacing it with cash" and 
set the goal of "overcoming the subsidization practice." 
The communiqu also admitted the need to make salaries more 
attractive, to reward productive service, and to discourage 
"earning through illegal and irrational means."  According 
to one contact, the policy on housing will be gradually 
implemented over the next decade, accompanied by increased 
salaries to offset these new expenses. 
 
4.  (SBU)  Comment:  Embassy will continue to try to obtain 
further insights into the contents and significance of the 
plenum and its decisions, although CPV contacts are often 
quite close-mouthed about such "internal" issues.  Sources 
robustly denied that any major personnel deliberations had 
d 
been in the works at this plenum, as suggested in ref b. 
The twin themes were a rather odd mix, but reflect both CPV 
sensitivity to perceived threats to its leadership and a 
recognition of the need to update its handling of cadres in 
light of current economic realities, which increasingly have 
lent themselves to corruption and a corresponding weakening 
of the CPV's prestige and legitimacy. 
BURGHARDT