Signs of impersonating journalists harassing in Quy Chau

Question

On October 6, 2020, Chau Binh Commune People's Committee issued Document No. 74/BC-UBND reporting on the suspicion.impersonationJournalist sent to People's Committee of Quy Chau district, District Police, District Department of Culture.

The content of Document No. 74/BC-UBND is as follows: At about 4:30 p.m. on September 23, 2020, at the headquarters of the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune, 3 people (1 male, 2 females), about 30-35 years old, came around the offices at the headquarters of the People's Committee of the commune, then used their personal phones to take photos and videos. A woman in the group met Ms. Ho Thi Le - Civil servant of the Party Committee office and Mr. Tran Phi Hoan - Cultural officer of the People's Committee of the commune to ask for the phone number of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune.

Headquarters of Chau Binh commune, Quy Chau district. Photo: PV

On September 23, a number of civil servants and officials were being mobilized to attend training on the 135 program in Vinh city and went to the grassroots level. Moreover, because the background of the group of subjects was unknown, these officials did not provide the phone number of the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee. These people then left the Chau Binh Commune headquarters. About 30 minutes later, they sent pictures and videos that they had taken with their personal phones in the Chau Binh Commune People's Committee headquarters via the messenger messaging application to the financial accountant of the Commune People's Committee, Ms. Le Thi Lan Huong, and at the same time, sent messages with threatening implications.

Through the above incident, the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune determined that the three subjects impersonated reporters and journalists. The reason was that they entered the headquarters of a state agency but did not register for work; asked many officials and civil servants just to ask for the phone number of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune. It is worth mentioning that when the commune officials asked about their personal information, they claimed to be "a press reporter", but the introduction letter of one of the three subjects contained information that was not in accordance with the regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

Specifically, the Letter of Introduction No. 226/GGT-DTTĐ of the Ethnic and Time Magazine issued to Ms. Nguyen Thi Van (pen name Ha Van) from February 15, 2020 but is valid until December 30, 2020; the introduction section records general, unclear information such as: "Sent to agencies and enterprises", to "Contact about information exploitation for press work". From the above, the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune made a record of the incident, confiscated the letter of introduction of Nguyen Thi Van; then, reported to the District People's Committee, District Police, and District Department of Culture to ask for instructions.

Officials of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district learned about the incident through Chau Binh commune police. Photo: PV

Request for clarification

Checking the messages sent by a subject to Ms. Le Thi Lan Huong (photocopied by the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune), there were images and information implying that the leaders of Chau Binh commune left their positions without reason, while in the office they were still using electrical equipment such as fans, lights, etc. Ms. Huong said: after receiving the images and messages via Zalo, she contacted the man (named Hung). Through the exchange, the subject told Ms. Huong "will work with the District People's Committee, if the district does not handle it, they will work with the Department of Home Affairs...".

Regarding the seizure of the Letter of Introduction No. 226/GGT-DTTĐ of the Ethnic and Time Magazine issued to Ms. Nguyen Thi Van, according to the leader of Chau Binh Commune People's Committee, it was because the group of subjects forgot a set of documents at the tea shop in front of the commune headquarters gate. The tea shop owner then reported to the commune and transferred it to the commune police for temporary detention. In the set of documents, there were a number of papers, documents and a letter of introduction of a person named Nguyen Thi Van. After checking, it was found that the letter of introduction was not in the correct format according to regulations, so the commune leader contacted the Department of Information and Communications to ask and was instructed to make a record of temporary detention; publicize the information on the media continuously for 5 days, if the deadline is exceeded, a council will be established to open the documents; at the same time, it is recommended to urgently report to the District People's Committee and related units and departments for verification and clarification.

According to Senior Lieutenant Ho Trong Dat - Chief of Chau Binh Commune Police, in the document set there was an envelope with a title on the outside showing that it was from the People's Committee of Hanh Dich Commune (Que Phong District). Therefore, Senior Lieutenant Ho Trong Dat contacted Hanh Dich Commune to get more information. Through that, it was known that this group of people had been to Hanh Dich Commune and also performed similar acts as in Chau Binh Commune. Chief of Chau Binh Commune Police, Senior Lieutenant Ho Trong Dat said: "According to the officials of Hanh Dich Commune, after filming and taking pictures of the headquarters and offices, the group also asked why the Secretary and Chairman of the Commune were not present at the office, and then said they would go to work with the District People's Committee...".

Chau Binh Commune Party Secretary, Mr. Tran Viet Duc, used to be the Head of the Culture Department, so he was very concerned about the "strange" behavior of this group of people. Mr. Tran Viet Duc said: "Based on the provisions of the Press Law and the guidance of the Ministry of Information and Communications, the behavior of this group of people is not normal. They did not comply with the regulations in the working process of journalists and reporters. Therefore, after the incident, I directly contacted the Chief Inspector of the Department of Information and Communications to report and consult on how to handle it, and directed the Commune People's Committee to report to the District People's Committee. I hope that this incident will be clarified by the relevant authorities. In case of impersonation, there needs to be a form of handling according to regulations, thereby helping press activities in Quy Chau district in particular and Nghe An province in general to be healthy, ensuring the right principles and purposes...".

There are signs of forged government documents.

Talking to an officer in charge of press management of the Department of Information and Communications to inform about the incident that happened in Chau Binh commune. This officer said: "Receiving information via social networks related to the letter of introduction of the Ethnic and Times Magazine issued to a person named Nguyen Thi Van. The Department of Information and Communications has sent a document requesting the Ethnic and Times Magazine to check and clarify. After that, the Ethnic and Times Magazine responded to the Department of Information and Communications in Official Dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTD, affirming that their agency does not have any reporter or collaborator named Nguyen Thi Van. Therefore, the Department of Information and Communications has also issued a document to agencies and units in the province to know, so that when an incident occurs, they can promptly report to the Department of Information and Communications via the hotline...".

Official dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTĐ is "regarding the explanation of reporters working at agencies and enterprises in the western region of Nghe An" of the Ethnic and Times Magazine sent to the Department of Information and Communications and the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department, issued on September 25, 2020. Here, the Ethnic and Times Magazine informed: "Recently, on the social network Facebook, information appeared that reporter Nguyen Thi Van (pen name Ha Van) of the Ethnic and Times Magazine worked at agencies and enterprises to exploit information for journalistic work in the mountainous districts of western Nghe An from February 15, 2020 to December 30, 2020, causing negative public opinion, affecting the reputation of the magazine.

The group's introduction letter and Official Dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTĐ of the Ethnic and Times Magazine.

Regarding this issue, the Ethnic and Times Magazine directed the Central Highlands Office to clarify and explain the incident to the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department and the Nghe An Department of Information and Communications. Through verifying the list of reporters and collaborators of the magazine who have worked in the Central Highlands from the past to the present, the Ethnic and Times Magazine does not have reporter Nguyen Thi Van (pen name Ha Van).

Pursuant to Official Dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTĐ, dated October 9, 2020, the Department of Information and Communications issued Document No. 1387/STTTT-TTBCXB on information related to the Ethnic and Times Magazine sent to provincial departments, branches, sectors and People's Committees of districts, cities and towns of Nghe An province. Here, the Department of Information and Communications informed that the Ethnic and Times Magazine affirmed that "Ms. Nguyen Thi Van is not a reporter of the magazine". At the same time, it recommended: "The Department of Information and Communications notifies provincial departments, branches, sectors, organizations and People's Committees of districts, cities and towns. For any related information, please report to the Department of Information and Communications Hotline at: 0915.665.848".

Talking with the representative of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district, we were informed that after receiving Document No. 74/BC-UBND of the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune, the district leaders assigned the Department of Culture to collect relevant information to advise on how to handle the matter. The representative of the People's Committee of Quy Chau district said: "Based on the report of the People's Committee of Chau Binh commune and the Department of Culture, the district is drafting a document to send to the Provincial Party Committee's Propaganda Department and the Department of Information and Communications to report on the incident and ask for instructions. Also regarding this incident, the district has requested the District Police to investigate and clarify...".

Comparing Official Dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTĐ of the Ethnic and Modern Magazine with the Letter of Introduction No. 226/GGT-DTTĐ bearing the name of Nguyen Thi Van, it was found that the signature of the head of this agency was inconsistent. In addition, in Letter of Introduction No. 226/GGT-DTTĐ, the head's name was stamped with the academic title and degree as "Associate Professor, Doctor Le Ngoc Thang"; meanwhile, in Official Dispatch No. 31/BC-DTTĐ, the head's name was stamped as "Le Ngoc Thang". With this detail, along with the above information, the suspicion that a group of subjects forged documents of the Ethnic and Modern Magazine and impersonated journalists is completely well-founded.

In the past, in the province, there have been cases of press activities that are not in accordance with the principles and purposes, causing public outrage, affecting the legal activities of agencies, organizations and businesses; at the same time affecting the reputation and image of press agencies, journalists and reporters operating in accordance with the law. Therefore, we request that the authorities promptly intervene to clarify the recommendations from Chau Binh commune!