State media reported that on the morning of September 15, 2026, speaking in Hanoi, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized the need to review and reorganize the personnel structure in accordance with the principle of “quality over quantity.”
This statement is believed to signal a shift in personnel strategy from a focus on “connections” to actual competence and effectiveness, with the aim of enhancing the nation’s comprehensive strength in the new context.
According to international observers, in the past, behind the so-called “reorganization of the country”—which aimed to streamline the bureaucracy to optimize resources—there were complex hidden aspects on Vietnam’s political chessboard.
Public concern is not unfounded, as the actual implementation of the policy to merge provinces and cities in recent times has revealed many instances of deliberate, unusual haste.
Consequently, a series of localities with a rich cultural heritage and a long-standing history—renowned both domestically and internationally—were suddenly erased from the administrative map, while practical assessments were overlooked.
As a result, citizens have not seen their lives improve as promised by Mr. To Lam; on the contrary, they are now trapped in a “maze” of administrative procedures involving the complicated, cumbersome, and significantly costly process of updating personal identification documents.
According to analysts, this large-scale upheaval is not merely a technical error or oversight, but a deliberate calculation involving an extremely sophisticated manipulation within the restructuring strategy.
