NEWS ANALYSIS, DECEMBER 1, 2001.

The most important event in Hanoi last week must have been the Communist National Assembly ratification of the Bilateral Trade Agreement between the Vietnam Communist government and Washington. Both sides claimed the agreement a success. Hanoi state-controlled newspapers praised the agreement as a great victory won by "the Vietnamese people" with "great efforts and struggle" led by the Communist Party. However, in implementation of the agreement, Hanoi is facing many problems that might be emanating from the very nature of the Communist regime. Nature can hardly be reformed.

The first problem from the BTA that Hanoi predicts as the most probable is the interference of the United States government in the "internal affairs of Vietnam." Hanoi officials are bitterly attacking the Bill of Human Right in Vietnam (HR2833) of the American Congress, saying that the erroneous bill could be used by hostile elements as a tool to raise pressure against Hanoi, even to "deflect Vietnam out of the path to Socialism."

The bill caused great concerns to Hanoi leaders because it has been passed by the greatest majority in American House of Representatives with approval vote of 410 for and only one against. The bill is held at the U.S. Senate awaiting final decision. Hanoi officials are worried that it could be finally approved by the Senate, so they are demanding that the bill be abolished for good.

Communist leaders also warned that the American interference would cause problems on the implementation of the BTA. However it is noticeable that the warning was only referred to at the press conference in Hanoi after the National Assembly had ratified the agreement, and in Hanoi state-controlled newspapers in Vietnamese language. The warning was not published in the English version of the Nhan Dan daily on line.

Though the BTA could help the Communist regime in Hanoi a great deal in economic development, the Communist ruling system couldn't be able to take the highest advantage of the agreement.

Hanoi does not have a management skill and administrative capability to deal with the complicate system of laws and regulations of a non-Communist country. For decades under a regime ruling the country by decisions of limited learning leaders at their will, without stable laws or regulations, generations of officials and civil servants have been used to the unwritten rule that "anything done to the interests of the Party is acceptable and advisable."

Serious problems were touched upon in debates at the current session of the National Assembly.

Some interesting arguments were brought up on November 26.

Several representatives quoted Prime Minister Phan Van Khai as saying in his earlier report, that the present dilemma is "the subordinates do not comply with orders of their superiors." Ms. Huynh Thi Huong of Quang Nam and her colleagues showed their concerns on the administrative reform, the reorganization of the government, its personnel and administrative procedures, the main reasons of various problems that "the government has not solved," she argued.

Many deputies strongly protested that the continuing weaknesses in management of state affairs from central to local levels are unacceptable. According to them, as an example of disobedience, the N.A. had enacted a resolution to limit the import of cars and automobile spare parts at certain quantity, but local authorities ignored the order. Import of cars exceeded limit by 82 percent, motorbike spare parts by 133 percent.

Deputy of Vinh Long, Ms. Dang Thi Tuyet Mai, requested that the government act effectively, and do not always "admit mistakes in general terms while such defects are intact."

In a criticism against disobedience, five deputies raised a question of why many laws, resolutions and policies of the central level have never been implemented. The practice is undermining national discipline and social morality. They said many civil servants are just goofing off at their offices, wasting government money, spending work time seeking for more lucrative jobs.

Deputy To Tu Thanh revealed that a large number of decrees by the central government are nearly "neutralized" a short time after publication, such as one requiring that motorbike riders must wear safety helmets. He also denounced that completion of basic constructions usually dragged on, and money loss reached 30 percent. In the year 2000, about ten thousand billion VN-dong from 30- thousand-billion construction budget was lost. The deputies asked whether the budget was spent as kickback for seeking approval and also as bribes that reduced the actual construction expense down to only 50 percent?

The deputies said every year, the government has conferences discussing measures to deal with the floods. But "the more conferences are held, the more disastrous consequences occur." Similarly, they said, it was a paradox that the number of "cultural villages" and "social evils" were both increasing.

In a report on Nhan Dan daily, many deputies blame the slow administrative reform and the low ethic standards of the cadres and civil servants for the current critical situation.

Other deputies criticized the national budget expenditures. They asserted that not only central agencies but also local administrations are frittering away on public funds for trivial ceremonies and celebrations. "In some places, fund to buy flower baskets for ceremonies could be enough to pay for a small irrigation project. One of the luxurious automobile models owned by some ministries, branches, or local governments cost billions of VN-dong, which is the price to build two schools," they were quoted as saying. (Official rate: VND billion = US$70,000.)

Deputy Phuong Huu Viet contended that the private sector must be developed. It has not been given due interest whereas most of entrepreneurs in this sector have been trained in universities, colleges and trade schools. Besides problems created by poor cooperation, personnel preparation, working discipline and international competition, there are other impediments such as bureaucracy, administrative red tape, and importuning businessmen for bribes.

Still other deputies expressed their concerns on social issues that have been neglected by the government. The imbalance between social and economic progresses causes downfall in social moral. The most disastrous result is the average age of juvenile criminals is getting younger and younger.

Arguments related to all matters mentioned above are nothing new to the Vietnamese people. The rather strong criticism that seem to be less restricted in recent years does not show any major changes in the Communist national assembly deputies' right to voice their own opinions. Actually, they still are not allowed to criticize the Politburo and its members including the Party General Secretary and the State President. And criticism against lower officials are about only cases that will be unable to conceal from the public.

Meanwhile, the disobedience of subordinate cadres and officials has its origin from years of war. During the 1955-1975 military conflict, clandestine Communist party organizations in South Vietnam couldn't communicate easily and timely with one another. Therefore, local leaders particularly at district level, were entrusted with huge large power including giving death sentence to "hardcore counter-revolutionaries" without even trial at a kangaroo court. Moreover, they used to cite "regional situation and demand" as reasons to act their own way, not conforming to central directives.

Many of the wartime local leaders are now in high positions in the party and its government. They tend to cling to their excessive power in behalf of sectarian interests, that had been very effective in war but extremely damaging in peace time governance. It contributes a lot to the existence of "feudal lordship," the status quo tacitly recognized by the Communist regime.

In short, it is predictable that with such ineffective administrative and judicial systems, ill-management, inactive law enforcement under the incompetent leadership, economic development in Vietnam would not be very promising as some foreign investors may have expected.

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