Initially, the party acted secretly, with networks of cells and members only knowing a few members' identities; when necessary, the party could replace the role of the government. It also included any factors that could help its agents to penetrate the army, national assembly, police, educational system and the media. Fall describes the party as "a state within a state" in its own governmental mechanism, which was what a Communist party would do. In the early years of 1950s, Diệm and Nhu used the party to mobilize support for Diệm's political movements. The cadres of the party were Catholic organizations such as the Union of Catholicism, Catholic Youth and Catholic Society, with Catholic dignitaries and followers, officers in the army. Ngô Đình Nhu was the general secretary of the Central Committee Board including Trần Trung Dung, Nguyễn Tăng Nguyên, Lý Trung Dung, Hà Đức Minh, Trần Quốc Bửu, Võ Như Nguyện and Lê Văn Đông.