A Damaged Brand
By DUY
HOANG
November 15, 2007
(Wall Street Journal, Nov 15, 2007)
Founded in 1930, the Vietnamese
Communist Party is struggling with its identity -- and role. Take the current
debate over whether to change the party's name. This rebranding exercise
stems from a recognition that the communist label is anachronistic, and
reflects poorly on officials who travel abroad to pitch trade and investment.
And it's not mere semantics -- the party's name says a lot about the party's
perception of itself and the image it wants to project at home and abroad.
Reports of a possible name
change began floating early last year, prior to the 10th Party Congress. The
articles, which appeared in Vietnamese-language, state-run Web sites, were
probably meant as a trial balloon to gauge public opinion. Like the tough
talk on corruption, discussion of the name change ceased right after the
party conclave, with no further official action.
Recently, however, Singapore's
Straits Times and local Vietnamese bloggers have reported that party cadres
have been instructed to study the issue further. Hanoi-based sources further
suggest that two potential names under consideration are the "Labor
Party" and "People's Party."
Owing to the party's murky
decision-making process it's far too soon to say whether this speculation
will become reality. But in many ways, the party has already practically
embraced such a change. For most of its life, the Vietnamese Communist Party
was of the Marxist-Leninist mold in terms of ideology and organization.
Though not officially saying so, it has ditched Marxism in recent years.
First for its own survival and then to enrich its members, this ostensibly
Leninist party has started to embrace capitalism.
But the challenge for the
communist leadership is more serious than finding a new bottle for the old
wine. Article 4 of the current constitution enshrines the Communist Party as
"the force leading the state and society." So the constitution
would probably have to be amended in the event of a name change, with
references to "communist party" swapped with a successor name.
If the
Party is going to go to that kind of trouble, then what about the name of the
country itself? If "Communist Party of Vietnam" is out-dated, the
country's name -- "Socialist Republic of Vietnam" -- is just as
much so. That raises a broader, more uncomfortable question for the party:
What is the point of a socialist republic if there is no longer a communist
party serving as its vanguard? One solution could be to revert to the former
name of the North before 1975, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. But that
would raise even more difficult questions on what a "democratic
republic" really means. For instance, should there be democratic
elections in such a political regime?
At a more fundamental level,
how can this new entity justify why it should have the automatic right to
lead the country? The Communist Party says "history" has bestowed
upon it the responsibility of monopoly power. This tenuous claim would appear
even more absurd coming from a successor party to the communists.
That is an inconvenient truth
that the leadership in Hanoi
have tied themselves in knots to rationalize. By discarding a damaged brand,
the party would like to renew its supposed mandate. Because the foremost goal
is to maintain power, there is no ideological dimension to the internal
debate. It is not a question of reformers versus conservatives, but rather
how to prolong the party's control in a post-communist era. In a sign that
the party feels threatened by the small but determined democracy movement, a
name change would also be an effort to institutionalize power in the face of
growing domestic opposition.
Within Vietnam, the communist label no longer
makes party membership attractive for young people. While an older generation
may have enlisted out of idealism, many twenty-something professionals
joining today do so to advance their careers. For many young Vietnamese,
especially those who studied abroad, affiliation with communism is an
embarrassment.
It's too soon to say whether
the name change will be approved, although it looks possible. Regardless of
whether the ruling party in Vietnam
is de jure communist or de facto fascist, however, the ultimate impediment
for the country's 85 million people is the one-party dictatorship. The
Vietnamese Communist Party can call itself whatever it likes, but the
Vietnamese people must have the right to choose the leaders of their country
and participate in its political life. Without democracy, Vietnam will never develop to its
potential.
Mr. Hoang is a U.S.-based
leader of Viet Tan, a pro-democracy, unsanctioned political party active in Vietnam.
|