From the center of Muong Xen town (Ky Son), go up National Highway 7 to the border commune of Nam Can, feel the peaceful scenery in every house, every village, and hamlet. Visit Pa Ca village located close to the Vietnam - Laos border belt road, previously known as the poorest and most difficult village of the border commune. However, now after the completion of the more than 5km long concrete road connecting National Highway 7A to the center of the village, people travel conveniently, agricultural products are easier to sell, people's lives have improved, security and order are ensured, social evils are pushed back. According to Mr. Ven Van Kham - Head of Pa Ca village: "In the village, there are currently no cases of free migration, no drug addicts; people are conscious of obeying the law, protecting the border, landmarks and have a high sense of vigilance, not listening to, not believing bad people".
The whole Nam Can commune has 6 villages with 984 households, 5,061 people, 4 ethnic groups living together, including: Mong ethnic group accounts for 70.5%, Kho Mu ethnic group accounts for 14.8%, Thai ethnic group accounts for 13.4%, Kinh ethnic group accounts for 1.3%. According to Mr. Lau Ba Chay - Chairman of Nam Can Commune People's Committee: Due to the rugged terrain, harsh climate; the socio-economic situation, especially in remote villages, still has many difficulties. Besides, the limited educational level of the people makes the drug crime situation quite complicated. The subjects often lure and take advantage of people visiting relatives, crossing the border to transport drugs to Vietnam. The whole commune has up to 17 cases of drug addiction. Faced with that reality, the Party Committee and the government proactively coordinated with the Nam Can International Border Guard Station and the regular communal police force to promote the dissemination of laws in many forms (in both common and ethnic languages); effectively integrating projects related to the fight against drugs.
At the same time, direct mass organizations in the political system to actively coordinate with village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people in the clan to do a good job of mobilizing addicts to go to drug rehabilitation... Therefore, from a complicated area, at the end of 2022, Nam Can was recognized as a drug-free border commune and is currently making efforts to implement solutions to "keep clean" the area.
In addition to drug crimes, due to the many trails and openings, smuggling and trade fraud activities have also emerged in Nam Can area. Recently, the working group of the Nam Can International Border Guard Station, co-chaired by the Ky Son District Police, coordinated with the Nam Can International Border Gate Customs Branch to promptly detect and prevent subjects smuggling cattle across the border. Specifically, around the beginning of March 2024, Mr. Nguyen Hung Son, residing in Nghia Hop Commune (Tan Ky), left the country for Laos, went to a livestock farm to buy 17 dairy cows (culled) and contacted and negotiated with a subject to transport them by unofficial route across the border at a cost of 1,000,000 Lao Kip/cow. On March 15, 2024, Mr. Son hired a truck from a Laotian to transport 17 purchased cows to Din Dam village, Noong Het Tay village cluster, Noong Het district, Xieng Khouang province and hired a Laotian to lead them along a trail across the border to Vietnam. When he arrived at Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, he was discovered and arrested by the authorities.
In addition, through the discussion, the Secretary of the Party Committee of Nam Can commune - Mr. Lang Thanh Luong added: Recently, some bad elements have also lured, enticed, and incited local people, students studying at universities, colleges, and workers working far away (in the area there are currently 620 domestic workers, 10 workers abroad, and hundreds of seasonal workers, people visiting relatives with passports, travel permits...) to propagate, distort, sabotage the achievements and revolutionary guidelines, defame and slander, distort the image of leaders and leaders of the Party and State.
Faced with that reality, in addition to coordinating with functional forces to strengthen control and closely inspect trails, openings as well as people and vehicles entering and exiting through the border gate, the political system of Nam Can commune has established a solid communication mechanism with the people in many forms (through meetings, direct meetings; information through the loudspeaker system; Zalo and Facebook groups of each organization, each village, hamlet...). Thereby, promptly grasp and detect early, from afar, phenomena, seeds, risks of complicated and unstable incidents to warn and respond promptly; not to let "hot spots" arise.
Nam Can commune also closely coordinates with the police and border guards... to promote the role of 4 collectives, 30 households self-managing border lines and landmarks and 6 self-managing security and order teams in villages and hamlets to participate in the fight against all kinds of crimes. In addition, effectively implement programs and projects to support production development, build and replicate economic development models suitable to local conditions and climate such as models of raising cows and mountain goats, growing peaches for fruit and branches, growing local taro, purple peanuts, purple corn; promote traditional brocade weaving villages... to realize the goal of "peaceful people, warm villages".
As a locality with 23,099km of border adjacent to Noong Het district (Xieng Khouang province, Laos), the Party Committee and the government of Nam Can commune focus on strengthening foreign affairs activities to strengthen friendship and ensure security and order in the border area. In particular, the Party Committee of Nam Can commune has directed the organization of signing activities between Tien Tieu and Huoi Poc villages (Nam Can commune) with Loong Quang and Tham Poong villages - Noong Het Tay village cluster, Noong Het district; between the Women's Union of Nam Can commune and the Women's Union of Noong Het Tay village cluster. Periodically, the twinned units organize meetings to exchange information, coordinate in effectively fighting and preventing border crossings, violations of territorial sovereignty, violations of resources, and environmental destruction; preventing illegal migration, disputes over slash-and-burn cultivation, and illegal exploitation of forest products between people in villages on both sides of the border.
The two sides also support each other in economic development and consumption of goods. In particular, the Nam Can border market, held every Sunday, has become a place for trade, exchange of goods, and cultural exchanges between people on both sides of the border. Security and order in the market area are always guaranteed. Recently (from January 14, 2024), in order to maintain and ensure political security, social order and safety; manage the activities of people and vehicles crossing the border and border gates during activities at the Nam Can border market and prevent and combat violations of the law related to illegal entry and exit activities, the Nam Can International Border Guard Station (Nghe An Border Guard) has deployed the issuance of entry cards to the border market area.
Some arising problems were also jointly resolved by the parties. For example, in the past year, on average, there have been about 100-200 tractor-trailers and large-tonnage containers transporting ore from Laos to Vietnam passing through Nam Can International Border Gate every day. The number of vehicles waiting to complete import-export procedures and receive goods lined up 3-6km long from the border gate through Tien Tieu, Truong Son, and Khanh Thanh villages of Nam Can commune, often occupying half of the roadway on National Highway 7A. According to local leaders: Due to narrow roads, speeding and reckless driving have caused 5 traffic accidents affecting security and order in the area. Therefore, local authorities have requested competent authorities to have solutions to ensure development requirements, avoid traffic jams and accidents.
Since then, the Inter-sectoral Delegation of Xieng Khouang Province (Laos) and Nghe An Province (Vietnam) have also held a bilateral conference to discuss and agree on a solution to the problem of congestion of import and export vehicles through Nam Can International Border Gate. The two sides agreed to request the competent authorities to soon deploy a survey and supplement a new planning for the border gate area in the direction of maximizing the scope of the border gate area, expanding the border market area but not affecting the border line and landmarks, investing funds to build infrastructure to ensure vehicles and goods are gathered waiting for each side's entry and exit procedures, import and export...
The synchronous and effective solutions of the local government and functional forces in the area have contributed to bringing peace and promoting socio-economic development in the difficult frontier land of Ky Son border district.
