Peaceful borderlands, prosperous villages.

(Baonghean) - During the 2010-2015 term, the Ky Son District Party Committee focused its leadership on: maintaining border security, developing production based on advantageous conditions, and building and strengthening the grassroots political system... Thanks to these appropriate solutions, the Party Committee and people of the border district of Ky Son achieved remarkable results.

The joy of a bountiful harvest for the people of Bao Thang commune, Ky Son district. Photo: Thu Huong

Peace on the border, stability in the country.

The mountainous border district of Kỳ Sơn has 192 km of border with Laos. Therefore, ensuring border security and maintaining internal stability is a top priority for the entire political system, ethnic communities, and functional forces in the area. Throughout the implementation of these tasks, the core role has been played by the police, military, and border guards. Monthly meetings are held between these forces, and they regularly coordinate closely in disseminating information to the people about the Party and State's policies, contributing to reducing illegal migration and preventing and combating drug trafficking.

The Ky Son District Military Command always strictly implements the combat readiness regime, command duty, combat duty, and patrol and guard duties; at the same time, it builds and trains strong militia forces, mobile militia, local militia, and two permanent militia platoons in Nam Can and Nam Can communes. The permanent militia platoon in Nam Can commune maintains a 24/7 duty regime. Comrade Lau Ba Ly, the platoon leader of the permanent militia platoon in Nam Can commune, said: “Although conditions are still difficult, the members of the unit are always highly determined to complete the assigned tasks, ensure order and security in the area, participate in border patrols, increase production, and help poor households...”.

The District Military Command also plays a key role in mobilizing the masses, assisting people in poverty alleviation and rural development. This enhances the national defense capabilities of the entire population. Comrade Pham Van Tri, Commander of the Ky Son District Military Command, stated: “The District Military Command focuses on building a strong and comprehensive force to effectively meet the demands of the new situation. At the same time, we coordinate with the police and border guard forces to proactively and promptly address issues, preventing any passive or unexpected situations.”

To ensure security and order in the area, Ky Son District Police have implemented a comprehensive range of solutions, both coordinating and proactively launching special operations to crack down on various types of crime. In 2014, the district police arrested 12 cases of economic and environmental crimes, mainly involving the trafficking of counterfeit goods and commercial fraud; and handled 46 criminal cases. In particular, the fight against drug-related crimes has been carried out very decisively, handling 63 cases of drug possession, transportation, and trafficking… In an interview with us, Colonel Nguyen Van De, Head of the Ky Son District Police, said: “The district police force always focuses on building a strong force from the district level to the commune level. Besides professional and technical work, we focus on launching mass movements to protect national security, mainly building models such as: “Commune without drugs, without crime”, “Commune and agency safe in terms of security and order”… while also taking advantage of the role of influential people, village elders, and community leaders. Through this, together with other forces, we ensure social order and safety in the district remain stable.”

Thus, with the proactive, positive, and coordinated efforts of the police, military, and border guard forces in the area, the political security and social order in Ky Son district remain stable, and border sovereignty is firmly ensured. To "secure the border and maintain domestic stability," foreign relations and coordination with the government and people of neighboring Laos have always been emphasized and implemented in various forms by the Party committees, government, and people of Ky Son district. In particular, the movement of twinning villages on both sides of the Vietnam-Laos border has been implemented and achieved high effectiveness. Nam Can commune has 17 km of border with Noong Het district, Xieng Khouang province (Laos). Since March 2014, Tien Tieu village in the commune has established a twinning relationship with Loong Quang village, part of the Noong Het Tay cluster of villages in Noong Het district.

After nearly a year of establishing a fraternal relationship, the two villages hold monthly meetings to exchange information and strengthen solidarity. In particular, because the people in Loọng Quặng village are facing more difficult circumstances, Tiền Tiêu village has provided practical support and assistance to its neighbors, including hybrid corn and upland rice seeds, medical examinations and treatment, medicine, and the provision of loudspeakers and radios for the village's cultural center. Comrade Lầu Chìa Của, Secretary of the Party Branch of Tiền Tiêu village, shared: “The village has 163 households with 954 people, all of whom are Hmong. Since establishing a fraternal relationship with Loọng Quặng village, both villages have agreed to share the responsibility of protecting the border and boundary markers; reporting cross-border crimes, and refraining from encroaching on agricultural land. As a result, security and order are stable, encroachment on agricultural land does not occur, and the lives of the people on both sides are peaceful and they understand each other much better. This contributes to building a friendly, stable, and developing border.” In all 11 border communes of Ky Son district, agreements have been signed with villages on the other side of the border in neighboring Laos.

The mountainous Kỳ Sơn region holds a crucial geographical position, serving as the western frontier of the nation. Therefore, alongside focusing on poverty reduction and socio-economic development, the district prioritizes the role of the grassroots political system and the military and police forces in ensuring national defense and security, and maintaining border sovereignty. These are parallel objectives that the district places high demands on. This truly forms the foundation for Kỳ Sơn to stabilize its situation, gradually escape poverty, and make a worthy contribution to the overall development of the province.

Many integrated farms in Ky Son yield high economic returns.

Agricultural development based on geographical advantages.

Climbing the steep Noọng Dẻ slope, we arrived at Khánh Thành village, Nậm Cắn commune, to visit the cattle and chicken farm of Mr. Moong Phò Ngọc, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nậm Cắn commune. The farm, built on a hillside with limited space, boasts over 60 cows grazing and hundreds of chickens and ducks raised for breeding and meat. Mr. Moong Phò Ngọc explained: "On the 24 hectares of land I've been contracted to manage, I focus on raising commercial cattle and poultry under the forest canopy. Initially, I only had 5 cows, but thanks to effective veterinary and disease prevention measures, the herd has rapidly increased. Each year, the farm sells two batches of over 10 cows, generating over 200 million VND in income." Not only is he skilled in farm economics, Mr. Ngọc has also pioneered the model of growing hybrid corn and bananas commercially, which he encourages others to follow. He earns nearly 100 million VND annually from these two crops.

According to the summary report, Ky Son currently has 405 effective economic models, including 109 integrated economic models, 295 livestock farming models, and 1 crop farming model... Many models have become exemplary models for local people to learn from and emulate, such as the turtle farming, bamboo shoot cultivation, and fish farming models of Mr. Lo Khac Loi in Na village, Huu Lap commune; the agroforestry model of Mr. Lo Van Dung in Hoa Son village, Ta Ca commune; or the ginger cultivation and cattle fattening models of the Mong people in border communes. During this term, in the field of agriculture and forestry, Ky Son district has broken free from the uncertainty of what crops to grow and what livestock to raise, having established a set of crops and livestock that have proven their economic effectiveness and are characteristic and suitable to the local soil and topography.

In the highland areas, particularly in the Mong ethnic minority regions such as Na Ngoi, Nam Can, Tay Son, and Muong Tip communes, the district has been promoting ginger cultivation, stabilizing the area at 350-400 hectares. This is coupled with the sustainable development of Shan snow tea cultivation and the fattening of cattle in households. In the medium-altitude and low-mountain areas, Ky Son maintains over 3,000 hectares of hybrid corn in communes like Chieu Luu, Huu Lap, Huu Kiem, Ta Ca, Keng Du, and Nam Can. In low-lying areas with favorable irrigation, the district maintains 300 hectares of double-cropping rice and 1,100 hectares of single-cropping rice. Thus, despite the challenging terrain, in implementing the 21st Resolution of the District Party Committee, the government and ethnic minority communities in Ky Son have clearly defined a plan for arranging and allocating specialty crops in a three-tiered, closed system from the highlands to the lowlands. Thanks to positive changes in agriculture and livestock farming, Ky Son district has reduced the poverty rate from 84% at the beginning of the term to just over 52%, and the average per capita income has increased from 4.8 million VND to 13.8 million VND. Comrade Mua No Xu, Vice Chairman of the District People's Committee, said: Based on the proven effectiveness of some crops and livestock, the district is stabilizing the area according to the plan, while simultaneously inviting investors to build processing plants such as ginger processing plants and Shan Tuyet tea processing plants, and planning collection points for corn and rice... to stabilize output and increase the value of products for farmers.

Strengthening the grassroots political system

Throughout its term, the Ky Son District Party Committee has identified that enhancing the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party organization must be linked to the effectiveness of the political system with socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security. Therefore, right from the beginning of the term, the Standing Committee of the District Party Committee decided to issue the Project "Organization and building the Party and consolidating the political system from the district to the grassroots level". The goal of the project is to promote Party development; raise the level of professional skills and political awareness of cadres at all levels; thereby consolidating the cadre ranks to meet the needs and political tasks assigned.

To achieve the aforementioned goal, the proposed solution focuses on the training and development of cadres. Comrade Nguyen Trong Ky, Head of the District Party Committee's Organization Department, stated: "With the attention and guidance of the Party Committee and the government, in addition to regular training courses on Party and mass organization work, the Organization Department has advised the District Party Committee's Standing Committee to coordinate with relevant agencies and units, in collaboration with the Nghe An Political School; Vinh University; and the Northern College of Agriculture and Rural Development, to open intermediate-level political training courses; and university, college, and intermediate-level courses in Law, Agricultural Economics, and Veterinary Medicine for cadres from the district level to the commune, village, and hamlet levels. These in-service training courses save time and travel/accommodation costs, while also enabling grassroots cadres to combine and apply the knowledge gained from their training with practical work." Regarding political awareness training, 2014 marked the eighth consecutive year that Ky Son district, in coordination with the Nghe An Provincial Political School, organized training courses for civil servants, intellectuals, and rural residents. At the intermediate level, two courses were organized: the 2010-2011 course trained 70 commune and village-level officials in veterinary medicine; and the 2012-2013 course trained 50 commune-level officials in agriculture, with subsequent progress to college-level programs in 2014. At the university level, two courses were opened, one in Law and the other in Agricultural Economics, with a total of 220 students, starting in late 2012.

Comrade Vu Ba Ly, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Huoi Tu Commune, who is preparing to graduate from the part-time Law program in the first half of 2015, excitedly stated: “With the encouragement of the leaders of the Party Committee and the government of the district and commune, I boldly registered to study Law. Besides professional knowledge, the course also brought about changes in office discipline, a more professional work style, a more scientific working method, and faster processing of work, handling a larger volume of tasks.” Huoi Tu Commune is one of the model communes in the district in the work of building the Party organization and political system, and it is also the location chosen by Ky Son district for the model grassroots-level Party congress. The proactive sending of cadres for professional training (12 comrades studying at university and 6 comrades studying at college) not only aims to strengthen the cadre team but also to create a pool of personnel for the upcoming congress.

Another highlight in strengthening the Party organization in Ky Son during the past term was the appointment of border guard officers and soldiers as Deputy Secretaries of the commune Party Committees. This was a policy of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Border Guard Command, with three objectives: monitoring the political security situation; supporting the consolidation of the commune-level political system; and advising on poverty alleviation. Major Tran Huu Phi, from the Nam Can Border Gate Border Guard Station, who was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Nam Can Commune Party Committee in September 2013, said: “Regarding my work at the Commune Party Committee, in addition to advising the Party Committee on the development of specialized resolutions on national defense and security, I also focus on foreign affairs, advising on the development of a twinning resolution between Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, and Loang Quang village, Noong Het Tay commune, Noong Het district, Bolikhamsai province of Laos. This strengthens solidarity and friendship between the two sides, and together we maintain order in the border region.”

Thus, the work of strengthening the fighting capacity of the Party organization and the political system in Ky Son district during the 2010-2015 term had two outstanding highlights. Firstly, it possessed a vision that was up-to-date with the needs of contemporary political tasks: the increasing demand for higher professional qualifications, expertise, and political awareness to meet the pace and requirements of socio-economic development. This was demonstrated through the attention and guidance of the Party committee and government on the training and development of cadres – a policy that was both timely and strategically long-term, preparing a plentiful supply of cadres for further development. Secondly, the work of building and strengthening the Party organization in Ky Son was closely aligned with the local political situation, thereby linking with other units, sectors, and forces to leverage combined strength and promote the synchronized development of national defense and security, foreign relations, and socio-economic affairs.

Comrade Lầu Chông Vừ - Standing Deputy Secretary of the Kỳ Sơn District Party Committee emphasized: The achievements have taught the district practical lessons, namely maintaining peace in the border region, combining the promotion of specialized agricultural and forestry production with the consolidation of the grassroots political system. These are also the issues that the Kỳ Sơn Party Committee has summarized and will continue to include in the political documents for the next term, with the goal of building a border district strong in national defense and security, gradually eradicating poverty, and improving the lives of ethnic minorities.

Reporters' Team