Right after the 14th Party Congress concluded with the Public Security faction’s absolute consolidation of power, Vietnamese society has been witnessing an unprecedented wave of anger at new economic-development policies.
It began with the shock of Decree 46, which paralyzed export supply chains during the Lunar New Year period. Most recently, according to Tuổi Trẻ, residents in Vĩnh Long have been rushing to obtain certificates verifying the origin of ornamental plants, fearing they could be fined by the traffic police (CSGT) for goods lacking proof of origin.
Observers say that in a political environment where legal documents are issued frequently and take effect “immediately,” as Decree 46 did, a constant sense of instability is inevitable.
As a result, public trust in the transparency of policymaking has hit rock bottom, and people are forced to choose the most extreme defensive option to protect their families’ livelihoods.
The root cause of this fierce resistance lies in a style of governance that is coercive and lacks social consultation—one characteristic of a system deeply marked by police-rule thinking.
New policies introduced after the 14th Party Congress appear to reveal a trend: prioritizing the interests of the Public Security camp and erecting barriers that enable the traffic police to “extract maximum revenue,” rather than serving development.
Forcing farmers to comply in the middle of the Tet business season, or traffic police lying in wait to penalize buyers and sellers with exorbitant fees, has turned a force meant to safeguard order into a source of fear and instability.
A state that is truly “of the people, by the people, and for the people” cannot function by using a police apparatus that lurks to threaten citizens on every square meter of the streets.
The abuse of power and lack of empathy in Mr. Tô Lâm’s new policies are pushing the private sector and small traders into a dead end.
A “new era” cannot succeed if it is built on exhausted trust and the collapse of livelihoods for the vast majority of the population.
Hong Linh – Thoibao.de
