After nearly 2 months from the date Vietnam discovered the first case infected with Wuhan influenza, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) cum State President Nguyen Phu Trong has been disappeared. He has any speech nor direction about this pandemic. The public has raised a lot of questions about this “consistent absence” because in theory, the person who plays the role of president of the country needs a timely statement and action to “settle the people” on issues related to foreign affairs as well as the health of the people and other concerns about national sovereignty, natural disasters, epidemics, etc.
The last time Nguyen Phu Trong appeared in the media was on the morning of February 27, when he received ambassadors from Cambodia, Switzerland, Venezuela, Greece, Paraguay and Jordan.
Article 86 of Vietnam’s Constitution states that “The President is the Head of State, on behalf of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in domestic and foreign affairs.”
Nguyen Lan Thang, a socio-political activist in Hanoi, said that not only him, but many people in the country were wondering where the head of the country was at a time when the whole country had to fight diseases like this:
“I have found information that Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong has not been seen in the media for a long time, and this is something I am very concerned about. As both the general secretary of the Communist Party and country’s president, it is supposed that when there are urgent situations of the country such as this disease problem, the leaders of the Party must have a voice and have work. Until now, we only see Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc as well as members of the Government who are struggling to cope with the epidemic. That’s what a lot of people are wondering.”
“Of course, the heads of the Party and the State can get sick, and there may be personal problems. But a country cannot lack leadership and must have a mechanism to replace it.” Mr. Nguyen Lan Thang expressed.
According to Dr. Ha Hoang Hop, the fact that Mr. Trong does not appear does not matter because “anti-epidemic” is the duty of the Executive, of which the Prime Minister is the head:
“The legal documents, the Vietnamese Constitution, the provisions do not stipulate those things. Those things are of the Executive, that is, the PM who heads the Executive, not the president.
The President, who is the head of state, performs at the formal and reception level, rather than the head of the Vietnam National Executive System, so it is not very important.
It is good that he goes out to visit the sick, or to visit disaster-prone places in the Mekong Delta but that is not his duty.
What about the role of the highest General Secretary in the Vietnamese political system, the one-party system, of course, emotionally, the health reasons cannot be fulfilled, and people are also sad. “
According to the Constitution, the President has 6 main duties and powers. In which, the fifth task specifically states ‘… proclaiming and abolishing emergencies in the whole country or in each locality. ‘
This is not the first time Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong “disappeared” while the country was “in trouble.” In 2019, Trong also remained silent for more than three months, ignoring China’s deployment of surveillance ship and military vessels to Vietnam’s Vanguard Bank.
Dr. Ha Hoang Hop assessed that the reason Mr. Trong has been unable to appear in public for so long is due to his weak health:
“He is sick. He was recovering slowly, so he asked for permission to work less. Last time during Vanguard Bank’s crisis, he spoke in the Central Committee’s Plennum only. As for the epidemic now, only the PM has talked about it. The Chairwoman of the National Assembly has not said anything. Maybe they assigned each other.
As for the implementation of the President’s task groups, it is clear that this is not good. Because the current president of the country he has dropped some things.
Now that he has not recovered well, so he has assigned a number of tasks to the Vice President in the internal form, the Vice President has also appointed several first-class ambassadors, then approves the list of new ambassadors.
He completely gave power to the vice president who announced a number of state announcements, laws, ordinances and decisions.”
Nguyen Lan Thang also said that due to Mr. Trong’s health, unable to appear in public, but he still wanted to play a decisive role for the 13th Party Congress which is scheduled to take place in early 2021, so still trying to hold the seats of General Secretary and President.
“My guess is that the condition of Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong is very bad. Because we know the information that he had a stroke, suffered from health problems, was very shaken when he appeared in the media a long time ago.
Yet perhaps Mr. Trong is still trying to hold on to a position of power, as well as having a decisive role in the upcoming Congress, so he sought to avoid the media and avoid public opinion.” Mr. Nguyen Lan Thang said.
Rumor has it that Nguyen Phu Trong suffered a stroke starting April 14, 2019, while visiting Kien Giang province.
Vietnamese spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang later told the press that: “The high intensity of work has affected the health of the General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong will return to normal work soon”
It was only on May 14, 2019 that Mr. Trong reappeared in state media when he was chairing a meeting of the Politburo.
From Berlin, Mr. Bui Thanh Hieu, who is the Merchant Buon Gio, who often cares for Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong and has many comments on the situation of Vietnam’s internal affairs, said: “Mr. Trong is a measure of the Wuhan epidemic. ”
Mr. Bui Thanh Hieu wrote on his Facebook:
“Since the outbreak of Wuhan flu, Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong has since disappeared. In his most powerful position, Trong has enough information about the disease. For example, it affects people over 70 years of age, it contacts people between people.
Maybe so, Mr. Trong disappeared. He must now be in a well-guarded, disinfected place. He received the disinfected, bactericidal treated from state officials. It was as if he could give orders through speakers from his room to the next room.
Party leads the country comprehensively, but while this pandemic occurs, Mr. Trong has dissapeared. The reason he did not know how the epidemic would impact, could not predict its movements. He seats in one place and watch Phuc and Dam take actions to fight the epidemic. As long as the flu is definitely stopped, Mr. Trong will appear in the role of summarizing the victory against the epidemic under his leadership.
That said, it can be understood that until Trong disappears, the Wuhan pandemic is still not controlled. The longer he is absence, the greater the concern about the impact of this outbreak.”
With less than 10 months left to go, the 13th party congress will take place, the 13 is an unlucky number. There are still many things that the Communist Party of Vietnam must do, such as personnel issues, the issue of lines, reviews, and summaries.
The Wind Merchant continued to comment further:
“It is not the statistic of the government or the ministry that people are waiting but the appearance of Mr. Trong. The numbers can be deceptive, virtual to deceive the people not to panic and affect the regime. The image of the General Secretary, the President appearing here and there to visit and direct, reminds is the most realistic evidence for the results of the prevention of Wuhan flu in Vietnam.
Since the 112th plenum of the Central Committee held in the beginning of October 2019, it has been more than 5 months so far, according to the 6-month practice, there will be the next plenum. This year is the last year of the 12th term, in the first quarter of the year there are grassroots party congresses. If we know that the 10th and 11th plenum were only 4 months apart, then until now there is no movement for the 12th plenum, we will see the epidemic in Vietnam is still a huge concern. If it is not dangerous, it is well controlled like the propaganda government, then there is no reason for the 12th plenum’s delay.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, vice chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, member of the drafting committee. A powerful figure for drafting lines and documents for the 13th Congress was infected with Wuhan virus after returning from a foreign trip. Thanks to his infection, people can see his luxury life.”
“Could Mr. Trong take advantage of the epidemic, escape and postpone the 12th plenum as well as the 13th Party Congress?
What people will think when they do not see Mr. Trong and the activities of the Central Committee. People will think simple, the members of the party’s central government are still afraid of dying from the epidemic, not daring to work, so anyone should not believe that the disease outbreak is well controlled,” the Wind Merchant Blogger concluded.
Hoang Trung from Hanoi – Thoibao.de (Translated)
