Throughout the 90 years of Vietnamese revolution, the Communist Party of Vietnam has persisted in the goal of national independence and socialism on based on Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought.  The goal was mentioned in the first Platform of the Party in 1930 and has been realized in each and every period of the Vietnamese revolution and developed theoretically and practically in other Party Platforms. Associate Professor Doctor Nguyen Trong Phuc, former Director of the Party History Institute of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said the Vietnamese Party, State and people know the strategic importance of national independence and socialism: “Our goal is to gain national independence. In an agricultural country with many farmers we need land for cultivation farms and ensure social welfare and democracy to build a beautiful society of socialism. That correct goal has become a motto to rally revolutionary forces since the Party’s founding. It is the Party of the working class and the leader of the national patriotic movement.”

One of the most successful lessons that the Party has learned and President Ho Chi Minh always mentioned was depending on the people. The Party has always paid attention to gaining power, strengthening the administration and promoting a State of the people, by the people, and for the people. Following the success of the August Revolution in 1945, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh focused on building and defending the new revolutionary government and the State. During the national renewal, the Party has fine-tuned the socialist law-governed State of the people, by the people and for the people. Nguyen Tuc, member of the Presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Central Committee, said the strength of the Party comes from its close bond with the people. Bureaucracy, corruption, and standing apart from the people will lead to unpredictable consequences for the country’s destiny, the socialist regime, and the Party: “When we adopt misguided national policies, we face difficulties. This is a lesson for all communists and patriots. The lesson became clear again when we  carried out national renewal. At the 6^th National Party Congress, the first lesson we learned was depending on the people. The lesson has been useful throughout our history: We have everything when we have the people. We lose everything when we lose the people.”

The lesson of promoting national unity has been applied throughout the struggle for national independence, socialism building, and national defense. The Party has gathered and united the whole nation to achieve the goal of national independence and socialism. President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Tran Thanh Man said: “The Front will honor its responsibility to the Party and the people to uphold national unity. We need to mobilize and encourage the people to pioneer socio-economic development, national defense and security, and building the country’s political system. We will strengthen oversight and social arguments and contribute opinions to Party building.”

In the current context, the lesson of Party building and rectification to strengthen the Party’s leadership is of great importance. The Party operates on the principles of democratic centralism, strict discipline, criticism and self-criticism. Before the 13^th National Party Congress, the Party has repeatedly stressed the importance of preventing those who lack political stance, dignity, capacity, prestige, and unity or show signs of degraded morality or lifestyle, self-evolution and self-transformation, corruption, or special interests from being elected to the new Party Central Committee.

Lessons learned over the past 90 years show that Party building and rectification is the primary task for the Party to fulfill its responsibility before history and the nation. Correct leadership of the Party is vital to the victory of the Vietnamese revolution.