Previously, people paid attention to the fight between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s faction and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s faction. Because, everyone thinks, the top legislator’s biggest opponent is the incumbent government leader. Furthermore, at the end of the previous term, Hue was full of hope of holding the government head, because he spent 4 years as Deputy Prime Minister, before becoming Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee. Yet, Hue lost to Chinh at the decisive moment.
Unexpectedly, Minister of Public Security To Lam created a counterattack against the General Secretary’s faction. Deposing State President Vo Van Thuong is only the first step, the next step is to block Hue’s path to the General Secretary position. For a long time, incumbent party chief Nguyen Phu Trong viewed Lam as the sword of the furnace faction. The police chief was used, both to protect Trong and to threaten other factions. However, now Lam has “turned the flag”, making the General Secretary’s most powerful weapon no longer available.
Some people assess that, currently, General Secretary Trong is in danger. This danger does not come from the enemy, but from his former subordinates.
Lam is considered a dangerous person, once he makes a move, he is very brutal, not sparing anyone. We cannot rule out the possibility that Lam will take down General Secretary Trong before the 13th National Congress, so that he will no longer have the opportunity to recommend Hue.
Hue’s trip to Beijing is considered a very long trip, from April 7 to April 12, up to 6 days. Some people joked that perhaps General Secretary Trong sent Hue to ask Xi Jinping for help. On this long trip, is it possible that Trong sent Hue to Beijing to try to persuade Xi to continue supporting him?
Although it’s just a humorous, satirical comment, it’s clearly a notable assessment, because of two factors. Firstly, Trong’s position is weakening, being limited by Lam, and secondly, no National Assembly head has ever visited another country for such a long time. Most visits only last about 2 days. With a 6-day trip, we usually go to many countries, but rarely visit just one country for that long.
Currently, the political fates of Hue and Trong seem to be tied together. If Lam can depose Trong before the 14th National Congress, it means that the opportunity for Hue has ended. Whether he likes it or not, Hue must wholeheartedly serve to save his own political career.
If the Ministry of Public Security falls into the hands of the Hung Yen group of the incumbent minister, then it seems that Trong’s fate will be in the hands of Lam. Once Lam shows up to rebel, he will most likely trample on the Party’s regulations and use them to control the party chief. Preventing Trong from introducing Hue to the position of General Secretary has been Lam’s vital goal in the past 20 months.
On April 6, VietnamNet newspaper published an article, “China looks forward to and values the visit of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue.” This is exactly how the Central Committee’s Commission for Propaganda and Education covered up the expectations of both the General Secretary and Hue for this trip. Both expect that Xi will continue to support Trong, and possibly support Hue. Propaganda’s cover-up is like “promise me in this bush.” On the other hand, it is easy to discover that the group’s wishes were betrayed by Lam.
What is worth mentioning is that Lam is also a person who appears to be tame to China. It was Lam – the person who directed security work during the US President’s visit in mid-September 2023 – quickly went to China to “report” to Beijing to show loyalty. Some people even said that To Lam carefully studied Xi’s thirst and “brought a beverage” to Xi to drink immediately.
Both the rebels and the rebels sought help from Xi. It is still unclear whom Xi will choose. Let’s wait for the next developments.
Hoang Phuc – Thoibao.de
