Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui

The current secretary-general is staying on in that roll, freezing out potential rise of Nguyen Tan Dung, who also faces term limit as premier

To change or not to change, that is the question for Vietnam’s communist party élites as they congregate later this month January for a momentous meeting to decide the country’s future.

As a graduate from one of Vietnam’s most prestigious schools, 22-year-old Cao would seem to have a bright future ahead of him — if only the past would get out of the way. He’s found his career prospects hemmed in by the lingering legacy of a war that ended nearly two decades before he was born.

In 2015 was Vietnam’s year to consolidate its diplomatic position in the international arena, 2016 will be crucial for bringing domestic political structures in line with the country’s new position in the global economic and security architecture.

Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party is using the Seven Prohibitions to shut down discussion about liberal constitutional reform. In comparison, constitutional deliberations in Vietnam appear open, vibrant and far-reaching — prompting some commentators to speculate on whether Vietnam is a model for post-socialist institutional reform.

As the 12th National Party Congress looms, the question of Vietnam’s future leadership is in the balance.

The recent plenum was revealing as to the future direction the party will take.

Vietnam’s communist leadership faced calls for greater political openness from a group of ruling party members dissatisfied with how the nation handled tensions in recent months with China, its dominant trading partner.

Since the last periodic review in 2009, increasing popular activity in exercising fundamental human rights has met with intensifying government human rights violations. A now on-going process of amendment of Vietnam’s constitution, while including an enhanced rhetorical commitment to human rights, appears likely to fall far short of ensuring promotion and protection of fundamental human rights.

HANOI - Vietnam’s National Assembly on Thursday passed an amendment to the country’s Constitution, but critics said that despite calls for reform little has changed.

Late last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Vietnamese counterpart, Pham Binh Minh. His message was for a full-scale improvement of relations between the two countries. Of course, it would make sense that two of the world's last remaining socialist countries would have strong relations.

Vo Nguyen Giap, the relentless and charismatic North Vietnamese general whose campaigns drove both France and the United States out of Vietnam, died on Friday in Hanoi. He was believed to be 102.

As calls for political reform and democracy mount in Vietnam, questions are being asked over what kind of political system could replace the old.

Follow America and save the country; follow China and save the party. This saying, heard everywhere in Vietnam, distills the geopolitical dilemma facing its ruling Communist Party.