According to President Hồ Chí Minh, during the period of resistance war, inspection, examination, and supervision work played an important role in creating close links between upper and lower levels, between leadership and the masses, thereby ensuring the nature of a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people.” Along with this role, inspection work also helped prevent recurring negative practices such as bureaucracy, wastefulness, and corruption. President Hồ Chí Minh clearly stated: “If we want to combat bureaucracy and paperwork formalism, if we want to know whether resolutions are being implemented and whether they are implemented correctly, if we want to know who works diligently and who works perfunctorily, there is only one way—effective inspection.”
It can be seen that from the very first days of building the revolutionary government, President Hồ Chí Minh put forward important viewpoints regarding the requirements, objectives, and tasks of inspection work. At the same time, he clearly expressed his views on the standards for inspection cadres. According to President Hồ Chí Minh, “Those who carry out inspections must be highly reputable individuals.” These were the earliest ideas of President Hồ Chí Minh on inspection work. Such thinking guided all activities of the Special Inspection Board and laid the foundation for the development of the ideological framework, organizational structure, and operations of the Inspection sector in later periods.
On August 4, 1947, President Hồ Chí Minh signed a decree appointing Mr. Tôn Đức Thắng, former Minister of the Interior, as National Special Inspector. In addition to the Special Inspection Board, the Party and the Government established Special Committees and Government Special Envoys, whose activities were essentially similar to those of a Government Inspection body. The tasks assigned to the Government’s Special Envoys and Special Committees were extensive and demanding. In practice, Special Committees were entrusted by the Government with very broad powers, including the authority to resolve urgent issues on the spot on behalf of the Government and to dismiss officials from the provincial chairperson level downward. Their scope of activity covered all aspects of the resistance and nation-building efforts of military, civil, administrative, Party, and mass organizations.
Under conditions in which the activities of the Special Inspection Board had to be temporarily suspended, the operations of the Government’s Special Committees, Special Envoys, and the Central Party Inspection Board clearly assumed the nature of state inspection, or more precisely, performed functions similar to those of a Government Inspection body. Thus, with the establishment of these organizations and the definition of their functions, tasks, and activities, inspection work during the early years of the nationwide resistance not only continued but was further strengthened, albeit with adjustments to suit the circumstances and requirements of the war.
From late 1946 to early 1947, the Party Central Committee and the Government dispatched a number of Government Special Envoys to localities to directly direct resistance activities. In early 1947, the system of political special envoys was established within the armed forces. Subsequently, the General Headquarters decided to establish a Personnel Section under the Political Department, tasked with “overseeing, supervising, and thoroughly understanding cadres.” On July 3, 1947, the Inspection Department of the General Headquarters was established to replace the Personnel Section of the Political Department. Its responsibilities included inspecting military discipline, overseeing the implementation of military and political orders, assessing the morale and capabilities of military and political cadres at all levels, and, together with the Chief of the General Staff and the Director of the Political Department, reviewing and proposing commendations, transfers, and promotions for cadres.
During this period, the activities of envoys from the Political Department, the Personnel Section, and the Inspection Department focused mainly on addressing violations committed by unit cadres. In early 1947, Comrade Trần Tử Bình conducted an inspection of the Capital Regiment in Phú Minh; following the inspection, the delegation proposed strict disciplinary measures for the unit’s violations.
On July 18, 1947, the Government issued a decree appointing Comrade Lê Thiết Hùng to be in charge of the inspection of the National Army of Vietnam. On January 25, 1948, President Hồ Chí Minh signed Decree No. 119-SL establishing the General Inspectorate of the Army, whose main tasks were to inspect compliance with military and political orders, enforce military discipline, propose rewards and penalties, and arrange the transfer of cadres. Immediately after its establishment, the General Inspectorate of the Army dispatched numerous inspection missions to various localities, especially in Zone IV, Zone V, and the Bình–Trị–Thiên Front.
In October 1947, the Party Central Committee decided to establish a delegation of cadres to inspect and direct preparations for resistance in several provinces in the Việt Bắc region. Comrade Lê Đức Thọ was appointed as head of the delegation. This was the first working delegation entrusted with responsibilities similar to those of a Government Special Committee. The delegation worked in the provinces of Thái Nguyên, Bắc Kạn, and Tuyên Quang.
Alongside these Special Committees, from late 1947 onward, the Party Central Committee and the Government conducted inspections and provided direction for resistance and nation-building efforts in localities nationwide. Particularly noteworthy was the Special Committee led by Comrade Trần Đăng Ninh, which visited many localities in the Việt Bắc Inter-Zone, Inter-Zone X, and Inter-Zone III. The delegation’s tasks included reviewing situations and resolving complex and difficult issues, especially matters related to national unity, religious solidarity, consolidation of the united national front, and ensuring a solid foundation for a victorious resistance. In essence, these missions constituted state inspection activities conducted in special forms under wartime conditions. It can be said that the missions of the Special Committees helped President Hồ Chí Minh, the Party Central Committee, and the Government grasp essential realities, strengthen national unity, and resolve many complex and difficult local issues.
Alongside inspection or inspection-like activities conducted by Government Special Envoys, Special Committees, the Central Party Inspection Board, and the General Inspectorate of the Army, during the years 1948–1949, regional Inspection Boards also carried out active work, most notably the Inspection Board under the South Central Resistance–Administrative Committee, headed by Mr. Trần Đình Trí.
From January 21 to October 13, 1949, the inspection delegation of the South Central Regional Inspection Board conducted inspections of all aspects of activities in Quảng Ngãi Province and several districts and communes within the province.
From November 10 to December 9, 1949, the inspection delegation of the South Central Regional Inspection Board inspected conditions in Quảng Nam–Đà Nẵng and several districts and communes in the province.
It can be seen that the results of inspection work during this period demonstrated that even under wartime conditions, the need for inspection and supervision was extremely significant. Above all, it made an important contribution to strengthening ties between the Party and the people, between leadership and the masses; stabilizing political and ideological conditions among the population; and mobilizing the strength of the great national unity bloc to achieve the common goal—victory in the resistance war.
