However, the media's criticism campaign was met with fierce resistance by an entrenched power structure.
the debates44 In a very outspoken editorial,45 the orthodox VCP daily strongly advocated a broadening of democracy to promote the "renewal process".

The same editorial admitted that "for a long time, in many hierarchies, sections, Party organizations and governmental apparatus, as well as in the relation to the masses, there was a serious Jack of democracy". This was a sensational event because official spokesmen had never dared mention the word "democracy" openly in this way, due to its bourgeois connotations. Despite its deep-seated habits, the communist regime has apparently taken a giant step towards meeting the demands of the people.

However, there were also many flaws in the general picture. Things did not always run smoothly as they were supposed to, especially in Vietnam where the power structure was so deeply entrenched in the social fabric. In fact, fierce and efficient resistance and counter-attack greeted the media's criticism campaign. Cases of revenge or retaliation against muck-rakers were plentiful, while frequent attempts were made to stop legal investigations with gift or money.47 Furthermore, most of these moves were encouraged by powerful cliques at all levels of the system, even at Central Committee level. These protective "umbrellas" provided immunity to their proteges and subordinates who were at fault48 They were also able to thwart the reforms in order to salvage their status and privileges. In the sphere of the press, a few figures could illustrate this grim reality.

According to a high Party official, "there are 253 newspapers in our country and only about 30 of them are providing accurate information about the negative phenomena" 49 And the press was also quite unanimous in its denunciation of "interdicts" and "taboo zones", namely, the Nomenklatura and a number of untouchable Party elite cirdes5° According to one member of the press, it was difficult to liberate the press from the fetters of its control institution, those who dared follow the Party policy of openness to reveal the truth about the "taboo zones" were surely bound for trouble.51 Definitely, Party directives and resolutions alone could not change the regimé s problematic power structure. To win the battle against bureaucracy and corruption, Party reformers had to enlist other sources of support.
PART II: Intelligentsia and Ideologists: A Redefinition of Role
A remarkable event occurred in October 1987 when Nguyen Van Linh attended a well-publicized meeting with the cultural and artistic community to confront both the sorry state of literature and the arts, and to enlist the support of the intelligentsia.52 For the second Lime in thirty years, the establishment of frank dialogue between the leadership and the intellectuals implicitly implied that the most conscious Party leaders had recognized a communication crisis between themselves and the regime's myth-makers.
A. The Downfall of the Myth-makers
It is an acknowledged fact that under communist systems, arts and culture all share Indochina Report 10	Oct-Dec 1990