Laws of Vietnam

On December 29, 1998 the Political Bureau’s Standing Board issued Notice No. 188/TB-TW on the external information work in the new situation.

External information constitutes a very crucial component of the external work of our Party and State, aiming to help foreign countries and peoples (including foreigners currently residing and working in Vietnam) and Vietnamese residing and working abroad to understand the Vietnamese people and land, our renewal line, policies and achievements, thereby winning the support of the world people as well as the contributions of the overseas Vietnamese community for the cause of national construction and defense.

In general, over the past years the external information work has been carried out along the right orientation, focusing on the key tasks. The State has allocated an initial but adequate budget for external information activities and services, renovating and continuously modernizing the telecommunication system and logging onto the global Internet, thus creating conditions for transmitting update information about Vietnam to every corner of the world. The contingent of external information workers has been reinforced. The technical and material bases have been further equipped. The awareness of all branches, levels and localities of the external information work has been elevated to a new level.

Nevertheless, in the process of national renewal, the external information work has not yet met the requirements of the new situation and has shown many shortcomings as clearly pointed out in Notice No. 188/TB-TW of December 29, 1998 of the Standing Board of the Political Bureau: "The quality, efficacy, persuasiveness, attractiveness and combativeness are not high. The contingent of cadres working in this field is insufficient while their capabilities and qualifications are not equal; they are not fully and deeply aware of the importance of the external information in our Party’s and State’s external relation work as a whole. Due to the unclear determination of responsibility of each branch and level in the direction and organization of the external information work in many aspects, there are confusions in the management and coordination of various forces in the country and the overseas implementation as well. Investment has been scattered, unplanned and ineffective."

The cause of national renewal and accelerated industrialization and modernization for the objective of a rich people, a strong country and a civilized and equitable society is a prolonged cause, requiring the entire Party, the entire people and entire army to bring into full play their creativeness and their spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement, to effectively combine internal resources and potentials, which should be regarded as the principal resources, with external resources brought about by the international cooperation and integration process.

With its functions, the external information work must take the most active and effective part in bringing into full play advantages, seizing opportunities, limiting adverse effects, overcoming weaknesses and making practical contributions to the successful achievement of the objectives of national development.

Therefore, the external information work has become more urgent than ever, it should be implemented in a synchronous, practical and efficient manner under the unified direction of the Party Central Committee and with the active participation of the ministries, branches and localities.

I. GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTING THE EXTERNAL INFORMATION WORK

1. All ministries, branches, localities and levels have the responsibility to direct and organize the good implementation of the external information work in their respective management scopes.

2. The external information work should be implemented in a comprehensive and extensive manner but with prioritized areas and focal points, first of all neighboring and regional countries, overseas Vietnamese communities; priority should be given to supplying well-oriented information to foreigners residing, working, studying in or visiting Vietnam as well as Vietnamologists in the world.

3. To organize, coordinate and bring into play the integrated strength of various forces involved in the external information work: Of the specialized key forces and our overseas representative missions, delegations going abroad, Vietnamese residing and working abroad as well as foreign friends; of external information and internal information; of external information activities and external political, economic and cultural activities; between State diplomacy and Party’s and people’s external work; of central agencies and localities; of State agencies and enterprises.

II. DIVISION OF THE STATE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY FOR AND ORGANIZATION OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION

1. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies in discharging the function of State management over the external information work.

2. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall have the major responsibility in monitoring the situation and implementation of external information activities abroad.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall arrange annual funding from the State budget for external information activities.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall elaborate a plan on investment in the technical and material bases for external information activities.

5. The ministries, branches, localities and enterprises shall have the duties:

a/ To direct the specialized agencies to perform the external information tasks;

b/ To organize the implementation of external information activities targeted at relevant subjects inside and outside the country.

III. ORIENTATIONS FOR STEPPING UP THE EXTERNAL INFORMATION WORK

1. To continue raising the awareness of all levels and branches, especially the State management agencies and agencies specialized in the external information work of the importance of this work in the immediate as well as long-term future

2. To ensure close coordination among the branches and localities in the organization, direction of implementation and management of external information activities in order to bring into the fullest play all capabilities for generating an integrated strength to step up and broaden the external information work.

3. To increase investment in building the technical and material bases with prioritized areas and focal points in service of the external information work; pay attention to investment for the mass media agencies, including electronic press, publishing agencies; agencies engaged in cultural cooperation and exchange with foreign countries.

IV. PRINCIPAL CONTENTS OF EXTERNAL INFORMATION

1. The external information work is tasked to widely publicize the line and policies of our Party and State as well as important decisions in all political, economic, cultural, social, security, defense... aspects; reject wrong and distorted information about Vietnam.

2. Vietnam’s external line and policies, including external economic policies; its consistent policy of "being willing to befriend all countries in the international community, striving for peace, independence and development"; its demand and potential in the relationship of cooperation with foreign countries on the principles of mutual benefits, respect of each other’s independence, sovereignty and self-determination right.

3. Introduction of Vietnam’s people and land, history and long-standing, rich and diversified culture bearing the national traits.

V. TASKS TO BE DONE IMMEDIATELY

In order to put the external information work into order, all levels and branches should work out short-term and long-term plans as well as appropriate management regulations as basis for active implementation. Specifically:

1. The Ministry of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the relevant ministries and branches in:

a/ Elaborating the regulations on the organization and State management of external information activities by the ministries, branches, localities and enterprises;

b/ Elaborating the regulations on the coordination among the agencies: The Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Commission on Ideology and Culture and the Commission on External Relations of the Party Central Committee in preparing the contents as well as the plans on the implementation of external information activities;

c/ Working out the plan on external information activities in the country for two years, 2000 and 2001;

d/ Working out, together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, a plan on appointing cultural attachés at the diplomatic missions in a number of important territories and a plan on setting up overseas bureaus of a number of Vietnamese press agencies.

2. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Culture and Information and the relevant ministries and branches in:

a/ Elaborating the regulations on the organization and management of external information activities abroad;

b/ Working out a plan on the external information activities abroad for two years, 2000 and 2001.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the relevant ministries and branches in:

a/ Allocating and guiding the ministries, branches, localities and specialized agencies to use rationally and effectively the funding for external information activities;

b/ Formulating policies on price subsidy for the printing and distribution of materials (including books) used for external information.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the relevant ministries and branches in elaborating:

The plan on investment in building and improving the quality of the network of material-technical bases of external information, first of all, the agencies specialized in external information work, for the 2000-2001 two-year period.

5. The General Department of Post and Telecommunications, the National Administration of Tourism, the Vietnam Civil Aviation Department shall elaborate:

The plans (of their own) on their participation in the external information work for the 2000-2001 two-year period.

6. The information-press, publishing agencies specialized in external information, the mass media organizations: Vietnam News Agency, Vietnam Television Station, the Radio Voice of Vietnam, major newspapers and journals, and other information-press agencies shall work out annual plans on their own external information work.

7. The ministries and branches assigned to elaborate schemes and plans should complete and submit them to the Prime Minister in the second quarter of 2000.

VI. The Minister of Culture and Information shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Planning and Investment, the heads of the relevant ministries and branches in guiding and inspecting the implementation of the Directive on enhancing the management of and stepping up the external information work.

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of the agencies attached to the Government, the presidents of the People’s Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall have to implement this Directive.

For the Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister
NGUYEN MANH CAM