President Ho often emphasised these virtues which are closely linked to the daily life of each person in various works, from The Revolutionary Path he wrote in 1922 to The Testament he wrote in 1965.

“Can Kiem Liem Chinh, Chi Cong Vo Tu” are moral concepts of the Orient as well as of Vietnam which were developed by President Ho to meet the requirements of the cause of national liberation and national construction. For him, “Can Kiem Liem Chinh, Chi Cong Vo Tu” go along with “Trung voi nuoc, hieu voi dan” (Loyalty to the nation and people). Fulfilling this task requires everyone to strictly rectify themselves because these virtues are extolled in our daily work and life.

According to President Ho, “Can” means working hard to achieve high productivity and efficiency. In other words, every job should be done no matter how difficult it is.

“Kiem” means saving labour, time and money in everything, either big or small in value, since many a little makes a mickle. “Kiem” also means being economical, not to spend too much time or money of the State and people.

Practising thrift aims to accumulate capital for expanding production. But it does not mean being stingy. President Ho stressed that money should not be spent on worthless things; in contrast, it will be spent on work that benefits the country and people, regardless of how much it may cost. He said tactful organisation results in effective thrift, and “Can” always goes along with “Kiem” because they are inter-related.

“Liem” means respecting public and individual property and never making any profit out of it. President Ho taught cadres and Party members not to be covetous of position, money and fame. There is only one thing they can indulge themselves in – that is eagerness to learn, to work and to progress.  

“Chinh” means being honest and straight. According to the late president, in every society there are one thousand and one things people can do and they are divided into the good and the bad in terms of things and people. The good are industrious, economical, honest and straight while the bad are lazy, extravagant and greedy. The good advocate progress and always take criticism and self-criticism.They are sincere and eager to learn from and help others and do not flatter persons of higher rank or look down on people of lower rank.
According to Ho Chi Minh, “Can, Kiem, Liem, Chinh” are moral virtues measuring the quality of everyone and without one of the virtues, they are not really worth their weight in gold.

For President Ho, “Can Kiem Liem Chinh” go along with “Chi cong vo tu”  (Disinterestedness). He told ranking officials that they never think of themselves first when doing anything as they should put the Party, the nation and people above themselves. He said disinterestedness means sweeping away individualism and upholding the revolutionary morality because individualism is an endemic bacteria that can cause hundreds of dangerous diseases such as bureaucracy, fraction, subjectiveness, power abuse, wastefulness and extravagance.

President Ho stressed that sweeping away individualism does not mean trampling upon individual interests, but rather solving the relationship between the common and individual interests in a harmonious way because they are interdependent.

The concept of “Can Kiem Liem Chinh Chi Cong Vo Tu” is considered a firm principle in President Ho’s thoughts on morality. It is the invaluable spiritual asset he has passed down to the Party and people to make the Vietnamese nation become ever stronger to overcome numerous difficulties and challenges and move forward over the past 75 years.

In recent years, more and more bad behaviours have occurred in our society as the negative impacts of the market economy continue to eat into all aspects of life. Among social evils, corruption and bureaucracy is perceived as one of the four serious threats to national industrialisation and modernisation.