TIME: Does the Communist Party's history as a revolutionary movement make it difficult to establish an open and transparent economic system?
Manh: During the revolution, we had to keep secrets to ensure the success and victory of the cause, to gain independence and unification. Now the party has won a leading role...I think everything should be governed by law. We don't want to keep secrets anymore.
The Communist Party of Vietnam is the sole party of the country. Do you think that within the next 10 or 20 years, or ever, it will be desirable to have other political parties in Vietnam made legal?
The party's leadership role is recognition of the revolutionary struggle of the party over half a decade. The party is the vanguard for the working class. What is in the Constitution is the burning desire and aspiration of all the people of Vietnam. So for the moment, we don't think about opposition parties.
Vietnam has been accused of violating human rights, and several opponents of the government have been jailed in the past year. What is your view of what constitutes the crime of undermining social unity?
Individual rights always go along with the interests of the society. I want to add that in Vietnam we have no political prisoners. No one is arrested or jailed for his or her speech or point of view. They are put in jail because they violated the law. We are willing to discuss human rights issues with other countries based on mutual understanding and respect for fundamental principles of international law. But we do not accept the imposition of views from outside.
Catholic priest Father Nguyen Van Ly is now in prison for 13 years for "disrupting the national unity" after writing to the U.S. Congress about religious freedom in Vietnam. Is writing a letter such a threat to the security of Vietnam?
He was not put in jail because of writing a letter to the U.S. Congress. We have evidence that he took actions that violated the law. He has been convicted as a citizen of Vietnam, not as a priest.
What law did he violate?
I am not a judge, so I can't tell you all the details. But the trial was conducted in public and in accordance with the law.
The government has set a goal of at least 7% annual growth in GDP over the next several years, but to do this, it has to implement many reforms from restructuring state-owned enterprises to bringing more transparency to its financial systems. These reforms were slowed down for several years and investment has slowed. What is the government now doing to revive these reforms?
Foreign investment is an important component of our economy. It helps move our economic structure toward industrialization and modernization, and accelerates our ongoing renovation [doi moi] process. In the past few years we have made a number of policy adjustments to attract foreign investment. And in the future, we will do more to improve the investment environment for investors. So by combining our internal strength and our external investment, we hope that we will be able to maintain the growth rate of 7% in 2002.
Would you agree that greater transparency is a common theme running through many of the reforms that Vietnam is pursuing? In the past, many investors were frustrated about what they saw as a secretive society?
Since the implementation of doi moi, we have nothing hidden or secret in our economy or society. Since 1998 we have introduced grassroots democracy under the motto/principle: "People knowing, people discussing, people doing and people examining".
What is your opinion of the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan, and how is it different from U.S. military action in Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s?
We shouldn't make such a comparison. What I want to make clear though is that we oppose terrorism in any form. However, any operation against terrorism should be under the framework of the United Nations and follow the fundamental principles of international laws. The war against terrorism should not be used to interfere with an independent, sovereign state. We need to identify concrete terrorist targets and do no harm to civilians.
Some countries, Vietnam in particular, have accused America of giving shelter to groups that launch terrorism against the government of Vietnam. What should the United States do about groups based in California, for instance, who vow to bomb Vietnamese targets?
We do not agree with any policy that nurtures and allows counterrevolutionary forces to carry out activities against Vietnam. We want the U.S. to cooperate with us. As you know we just ratified a trade agreement between the two countries. On the principle of non-interference and respect for national independence and sovereignty, there is no reason for the U.S. to allow or to nurture such groups to carry out activities against Vietnam. We are ready to discuss any of these issues.
Throughout your political career there have been many rumors. In the interest of openness and transparency, will you tell us clearly: Was Ho Chi Minh your biological father?
(Chuckles) I must repeat and confirm that it is not true. I can tell you the name of my parents, but they are dead already. Each March I go back to my home village to tend their graves. My sister and brother still live there. I don't know why the rumor persisted for so long.
Even after the Party Congress, your answer was vague enough to leave room for doubt. So what is the name of your natural father?
My father's name is Nong Van Lai and my mother's is Hoang Thi Nhi. This information is not difficult to confirm. Visit my home village and the people there will tell you the same thing. If people say that I bear resemblance to Ho Chi Minh, well I think there are many people who look alike (laughs).
So you are in no way related to Ho Chi Minh?
All Vietnamese people are the children of Uncle Ho. I think the entire people of Vietnam regard Ho chi Minh as their spiritual father, and I do too.
But not your natural father?
Surely not my natural father.