General Secretary To Lam of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) continuously appoints his confidants to high-ranking leadership positions but did not let the press report on it.
Similar to his son To Long’s case, the promotion of Mai Hoang as the police chief in Ho Chi Minh City was also suppressed by To Lam in the state-controlled press. Any newspapers that had reported the news had to delete it.
The appointment of Mai Hoang to manage the police in the largest city in Vietnam was judged by public opinion to be part of To Lam’s strategy of Hung Yenizing the police force. To reduce the rumors, the former police chief had no choice but to silence the press.
Not only did Mai Hoang represent the Hung Yen faction in HCM City, but Lieutenant General Nguyen Thanh Tung – newly appointed Director of Hanoi Police Department was also from Hung Yen. So it can be considered that the two centers in the north and south were both in the hands of To Lam’s Hung Yen force. In the Ministry of Public Security, Minister Luong Tam Quang, Deputy Minister Pham The Tung, Lieutenant General Hoang Duc Lung (Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel), Colonel Pham Hoang Diep (Director of the Aviation Security Center) are also from Hung Yen.
Not to mention a series of high-ranking officials in the Communist Party of Vietnam are also fellow Hung Yeners with To Lam, such as Nguyen Duy Ngoc, former Deputy Minister of Public Security and incumbent member of the Politburo and Chairman of the Central Committee’s Inspection Commission; Nguyen Hai Ninh (Minister of Justice); Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien (Deputy Defense Minister); Lieutenant General Nguyen Hong Thai (Deputy Defense Minister); Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi, etc.
In the near future, there will certainly be more Hung Yeners of the General Secretary appointed to consolidate the power of his faction. It can be seen that To Lam has Hung Yenized the political system, just like the proverb “when one person becomes an official, the whole family benefits,” but only To Lam’s close associates benefit, while the whole country becomes the victim. That’s why he kept it a secret, not daring to report it to the press to avoid being cursed by the people.
Hanh Nhan – Thoibao.de
