Anti-corruption fight an irreversible trend: Party chief

At a conference reviewing 10 years of the anti-corruption campaign, Trong said fighting corruption has become a trend that cannot be reversed, and the movement is supported by the people, authorities and acknowledged by the international community.

The fight against corruption has helped socio-economic development, maintained political stability and strengthened national defense, he asserted.

Trong also said the results of the anti-corruption fight have refuted claims that the fight is an “internal conflict.”

“There has never been a time when anti-corruption efforts have been so strong, coordinated, relentless, proper and effective,” he said.

However, there are still certain challenges in detecting corruption and resolving its consequences, for example recovering assets. The fact that corruption often occurs among those with the power and position to do so means “all powers need to be tightly controlled through mechanisms.

“The more power one has, the more responsibility one has. Anyone who abuses power for personal gain must be investigated and dealt with,” Trong said.

Authorities need to build prevention mechanisms for corruption, which is a symptom of the times that can inflict any country or institution. Therefore, wiping it out would not happen in a short time, he said.

Trong called for strengthened monitoring to detect corruption cases early and deal with them strictly, even expanding the anti-corruption movement beyond the scope of state affairs.

According to a report by the Central Committee for Internal Affairs, the standing body of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, inspection and other committees at all levels have in the last 10 years disciplined more than 2,700 Party organizations and nearly 168,000 Party members. Of these, more than 7,390 have had follow-up action taken against them.

More than 170 senior officials in the committee were disciplined, including 33 members and former members of the Party Central Committee.