Vietnam’s Communist Party expels outspoken parliamentarian

The Communist Party of Vietnam has expelled National Assembly delegate Le Thanh Van, a member of parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee known for speaking out on various issues, the party said.

The party’s Central Inspection Commission announced on Tuesday that Van had “degenerated in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, self-evolution and self-transformation.”

Police detained Van on July 10 in Thai Binh province and investigated him for “taking advantage of position and power to influence others for personal gain.”

The Thai Binh Police Investigation Agency said his detention was part of an expanded investigation into former National Assembly delegate Luu Binh Nhuong, who was detained for alleged “extortion of property and taking advantage of position and power to influence others for personal gain.”

Both Van and Nhuong had spoken out strongly about national issues in Vietnam’s parliament.

A Vietnamese lawyer, who requested anonymity for security reasons, said the Central Inspection Commission was within its rights to express the party’s view on members but it must also give them the opportunity to defend themselves.

“The party believes that he has ‘evolved and transformed’ himself, so where and how has he evolved and transformed himself?” the lawyer said, using an expression to describe what authorities regard as the right course of action for those seen as critical.

“It must be clear and cannot be made in a press release.”

The lawyer added that the information about Le Thanh Van’s arrest was vague and one-sided, making it impossible for the public to know exactly what had really happened.

“With such little information, it is difficult for outsiders to assess Van’s role and responsibility in this case,” he said. “However, in Vietnam, it can be seen that it is extremely easy to attribute or accuse someone of any criminal act.”

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The expulsion comes in the midst of an anti-corruption drive known as the “Blazing Furnace” launched by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, in which dozens of officials and business partners of politicians have been caught up.

The high-profile purges have roiled financial markets and foreign investor confidence and critics say the campaign has been used to target factional rivals.

Speaking out

Van is well-known for speaking out against state agencies and organizations. 

In May 2020, he asked the chairman of the National Assembly to consider implementing parliament’s supreme supervision over court operations, through the case of death row prisoner Ho Duy Hai. He said that the Supreme Court’s verdict on Hai’s appeal was unconvincing as there were many unclear issues that concerned the public.

In November 2022, Van said National Assembly delegates needed to discuss and debate more, not just read aloud.  

In November 2023, Van spoke about the Dai Ninh hydroelectric plant project in Lam Dong province. 

A number of government inspectors had been prosecuted for accepting bribes in connection with the project, and he said a government working group had changed its conclusion from saying in 2020 that it was illegal and should be withdrawn, to amending the project and granting an extension to investors. Van called this “completely illegal.”

Van spoke to parliament In June 2023 about officials “not daring to act and being afraid of taking responsibility,” saying civil servants who did nothing were breaking the law because legal behavior includes action and inaction, and not taking action meant not performing the duties and obligations assigned by the state, which must be handled.

Nguyen Tien Trung, a Vietnamese political observer based in Germany, told RFA he did not believe the charges against Van and Nhuong were justified.

“These are two National Assembly representatives who have made many thorny and controversial statements in the National Assembly,” he said.

“Based on the recent situation of suppressing the Vietnamese democracy movement and arresting many people, I see this as part of a general trend, a general tendency of the Ministry of Public Security to suppress all opposing voices, including opposing voices loyal to the Communist Party, such as Communist Party members like Le Thanh Van.”

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.