HANOI, Vietnam (NV) – While Mr. Dang Quoc Khanh has not yet officially lost his position as Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Hoa, his deputy, has just been assigned to run this ministry.
A week ago, just hours after To Lam took over the two positions of general secretary and president of Vietnam, Mr. Khanh, 48 years old, was one of four high-ranking officials dismissed from their positions as members of the 13th Party Central Committee, along with Mr. Le Minh Khai (deputy prime minister), Mr. Nguyen Xuan Ky (secretary of Quang Ninh) and Mr. Chau Van Lam (secretary of Tuyen Quang).
This is just a form of party discipline, and does not mean that Mr. Khanh has lost his ministerial position.
According to VietNamNet newspaper on August 11, Ms. Hoa was assigned by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to take charge of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment until the competent authority elects a minister.
Since last month, social media has leaked rumors that Mr. Dang Quoc Khanh not only lost his ministerial position but was also arrested.
However, up to now, the public is not clear about what he did wrong, because the announcement of the Party Central Office only stated the general reason that Mr. Khanh and three other officials “violated party regulations in performing assigned duties and tasks, violated regulations on what party members are not allowed to do, the responsibility to set an example, and regulations on preventing and combating corruption and negativity.”
Before suddenly “falling from the horse” after more than a year in the ministerial chair, Dang Quoc Khanh was a highly anticipated “red seed”, and was once recognized as “the youngest provincial chairman in Vietnam.”
Mr. Khanh’s father is Dang Duy Bau, former Secretary of Ha Tinh Provincial Party Committee.
When he was still the secretary of Ha Giang, Mr. Khanh was praised by some local newspapers for being the author of the poem “Welcoming You Home,” which was set to music with the following lines: “Living clinging to rocks to fight the enemy/ Dying, he became immortal/ Comrades brought you back to gather in arms filled with love for Ha Giang/ Deep valleys, deep forests, many people are lying there/ Offering incense to welcome the day of return.”
Poet Le Thieu Nhon commented on his personal page: “…Now, Dang Quoc Khanh has returned to being a ‘decent person’ at the age of 48, there is something heartbreaking and regretful about it. Why did the ‘red seed’ have a black ending? Was it because of ‘unclean support’ or because of poor cultivation in the midst of a pitfall-filled officialdom?
With the “red seed” falling so miserably, I don’t know who to trust anymore…” (NHK) [kn]