Concerns about naming villages and communes after the merger

Highlighting historical and cultural factors

According to Article 129 of the 2015 Law on Organization of Local Government: the establishment, dissolution, merger, division, and adjustment of administrative units; naming and renaming of administrative units at the provincial, district, and communal levels are all under the decision-making authority of the National Assembly Standing Committee. However, before submitting to the National Assembly Standing Committee for consideration, the decision must be carried out according to procedures and order through many levels and must seek public opinion.

In Thanh Chuong district, according to the Head of the District Party Committee's Organization Board Nguyen Trong Anh: The plan for naming new administrative units after the merger was proposed by the District's Steering Committee for the arrangement of commune-level administrative units based on research and prioritizing historical and cultural factors. Based on the plan of the District Steering Committee, it continued to collect opinions from the units subject to merger through an expanded steering committee meeting; assigned the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee, who is a member of the steering committee, to meet with the executive committees of the merged communes to discuss, reach an agreement and send a document to the district to finalize the plan before submitting it to voters for comments next May.

Because of historical factors as the basis for naming new administrative units, the names of the merged units in Thanh Chuong district basically returned to their previous names. For example, Thanh Hoa and Thanh Nho communes were separated from Minh Son commune in 1954, and after merging, they returned to their old name Minh Son. Similarly, Thanh Khe and Thanh Chi communes were previously separated from Thanh Qua commune, and after merging, they returned to their old name Thanh Qua. Or Thanh Luong, Thanh Yen, Thanh Khai communes were previously separated from Minh Tien commune, and after merging, they returned to their old name Minh Tien...

Choosing the name of the new administrative unit after the merger based on historical factors, in Dien Chau district, Dien Chau town merged into Dien Thanh commune, taking the new name after the merger as Dien Thanh town. Explaining the name of Dien Thanh town, Mr. Le Duc Phat - Secretary of the Party Committee of Dien Thanh commune said: Previously, Dien Chau town and Dien Thanh commune were one administrative unit, and were separated in 1977. On the other hand, in the development orientation, Dien Chau district will develop into Dien Chau town and at that time the town will be a ward in the town; so to ensure the stability of the name, the Party Executive Committee of the two units agreed to propose naming the town Dien Thanh.

Similarly, in Yen Thanh district, the two communes Cong Thanh and Khanh Thanh were separated from Van Tu commune in 1953, now merged, taking the old name Van Tu; the two communes Dai Thanh and Minh Thanh were separated from Minh Thanh commune (old) in 1999, now merged back to the old name Minh Thanh; the two communes Phu Thanh and Hong Thanh were separated from Phu Thanh commune in 1994, now merged and took the name Phu Thanh; the two communes Hau Thanh and Hung Thanh were separated from Hau Thanh commune in 2007, now merged and took the name Hau Thanh...

Wondering about village and commune names

It is expected that the new names for administrative units after the merger will create consensus among cadres, party members and people based on research and traditional, historical and cultural factors, but there are still some new names of administrative units after the merger that are raising many concerns and worries among public opinion.

Specifically, currently, in some localities, naming new administrative units after mergers simply combines the names of the two units before the merger. For example, in Thanh Chuong district, Thanh Giang and Thanh Mai communes will merge. The District Steering Committee proposed the name Tan Dan commune but did not receive the consent of the cadres and party members of the two communes, so the new commune is expected to be named Mai Giang; Xuan Tuong commune merges with Thanh Duong commune, the new commune is expected to be named Xuan Duong.

Or Dien Chau district, Dien Xuan commune merges with Dien Thap commune, expected to take the name Xuan Thap; Dien Ngoc commune merges with Dien Bich commune, expected to take the name Ngoc Bich commune; Dien Hung commune merges with Dien Hai commune, expected to have the new name Hung Hai commune; Dien Hanh commune merges with Dien Quang commune, expected to have the new name Hanh Quang commune.

Or Hung Nguyen district, merging 2 communes Hung Thinh and Hung My, expected to take the new name Thinh My commune; Hung Thong commune merging with Hung Tan, expected to name the new commune Thong Tan; Hung Phuc commune merging with Hung Loi commune, expected to name the new commune Phuc Loi.

In Quynh Luu district, Quynh Doi commune will merge with Quynh Hau commune, the new commune name is expected to be Doi Hau; Quynh My and Quynh Hoa communes will merge, the new commune name is expected to be Hoa My; Quynh Luong and Quynh Minh communes will merge, the new commune name is expected to be Minh Luong; Son Hai and Quynh Tho communes will merge, the new commune name is expected to be Hai Tho; Quynh Long and Quynh Thuan communes will merge, the new commune name is expected to be Thuan Long...

Talking to us about the proposed naming of administrative units after the merger according to the plan of combining the names of 2 communes, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Dinh - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district said: Regarding the merger of the names of 2 merged communes into a new commune name according to the current plan, the district is also having concerns and worries. According to the viewpoint and the initial plan of naming, the district chose to keep the name of 1 of the 2 merged communes with the aim of reducing pressure on people in changing information on documents after the merger. For example, Quynh Long commune merged with Quynh Thuan commune, taking the new commune name Quynh Thuan; or Son Hai commune merged with Quynh Tho commune, taking the name Son Hai; Quynh Hau commune merged with Quynh Doi, taking the name Quynh Doi...

However, when consulting the Party Executive Committees of the merged localities (some units consulted the Party cells), some cadres and Party members of the localities did not agree with the plan proposed by the district and proposed another plan. Although the Steering Committee for the arrangement of administrative units at the commune level of the district reviewed and, at the same time, established working groups to work with each unit and work together with the merged units; some units, in addition to meeting the Party Executive Committee of the commune, also held meetings with the People's Council delegates of the commune, Party cell secretaries, hamlet chiefs, and heads of mass organizations to propagate and mobilize, but still could not create unity according to the original plan.

Up to this point, due to the requirement to finalize the content to carry out the next procedures in the arrangement roadmap, the district has a document proposing to the province to adjust the names of 5 administrative units after the merger according to the proposals of the units, because according to regulations, the naming of communes must respect the opinions of local officials and people.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quynh Luu district also informed: The determination of the names of administrative units after the merger continues to collect wide opinions from voters and people, scheduled to be held on May 15; if there are still opposing opinions, the process will be reviewed and redone. After the opinions of voters, the Commune People's Council will hold a meeting, then the District People's Council and the Provincial People's Council will meet to approve the project of arranging administrative units, at which time the new name will be officially "finalized" to submit to the Central Government for consideration and decision.

Naming the new administrative unit after the merger, through understanding in some localities, the local mentality and ideology of some cadres, party members and people do not want to "lose" the name of their commune. This requires the Party Committee, the government and the entire political system to get involved in propaganda and explanation for cadres, party members and people to understand clearly: the name of the commune is not simply a name, but importantly, the name must be associated with a long history and culture, with the character of the people of a countryside that has been deeply ingrained in the subconscious, becoming a source of pride, a sense of preservation and a motivation to strive to build and develop the homeland in each person.

According to the Project on rearranging district and commune-level administrative units in the province in the period of 2023 - 2025, Nghe An has 1 district-level administrative unit and 67 commune-level administrative units subject to rearrangement, including 27 adjacent commune-level units.