Vietnam's ruling Communist Party emphasised the successes of the 20-year-old doi moi (renewal) policy at the opening of a five-yearly congress, virtually ignoring the corruption scandal in the Transport Ministry.
Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh told delegates in his opening address 'the path leading to socialism is becoming clearer', and credited Vietnam's economic growth to the party's socio-economic reforms.
'The achievements prove that the doi moi policy of our party is correct, creative and appropriate for Vietnam,' Mr Manh said.
But for all the expected action on corruption after the Transport Ministry's Project Management Unit 18 misused tens of millions of dollars in state funds, Mr Manh did not directly mention the scandal that drew repeated questions from the state-controlled media at a pre-congress press conference last week.
Of the 52 pages in the congress' accompanying report, just a few paragraphs mention corruption. Instead, he included Vietnam's corruption woes among the 'self-criticisms'.
'The degradation in terms of political ideology, moral quality, lifestyle, opportunism, individualism and bureaucracy, corruption and wastefulness by cadres and civil servants is serious,' Mr Manh said.