Prosperity comes from learning from and following the Party's newspaper.
(Baonghean)In 2011, the Hop Thanh Commune Party Committee was honored to be one of the units awarded the "Outstandingly Clean and Strong Party Committee" flag. With just over 200 party members, Hop Thanh has consistently ranked among the top 80 grassroots party organizations in Yen Thanh for many years. What has made Hop Thanh, a heroic commune in the resistance war against the US, a leader in peacetime construction?
In late March, we returned to Hop Thanh to revisit this land rich in patriotic and revolutionary traditions. Walking through the town of Hop Thanh, with its rows of high-rise buildings and numerous commercial and service establishments, we saw the newly expanded Hop Thanh Market – a bustling wholesale and retail market for the people of Yen Thanh and Dien Chau districts, holding 30 sessions a month. There was the fertilizer factory of Viet Phat Company, and further on, the towering bell tower of Bi Pagoda, the kindergarten and primary school – two cultural institutions, achieving national standards in phase 2, and the lush green fields of high-yield rice... We saw a Hop Thanh undergoing a transformation, joining the rest of the country in building a new rural area.
Mr. Nguyen Mao, Secretary of the Party Committee of the commune, told us: "The success of Hop Thanh today is thanks to the attention of relevant departments and agencies, internal unity and cohesion, but more importantly, we have consistently studied and followed the Party's newspaper. For many years, in addition to newspapers like Nhan Dan, Quan Doi, Cong An, etc., Hop Thanh has had 14 issues of Nghe An Newspaper. Besides the 11 issues in rural Party branches and Catholic hamlets, the commune has added 3 issues of Nghe An Newspaper for the Party Committee, the People's Committee, and the Fatherland Front. To closely follow the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State and the province, our commune leaders have determined that we can lack any other newspaper, but we cannot lack Nghe An Newspaper!"
A corner of Hop Thanh commune's market town.
The most outstanding feature of Hop Thanh is its successful economic transformation and high growth rate. From a purely agricultural commune, where income was primarily derived from nearly 300 hectares of rice paddies and agriculture accounted for over 70% of the economy, Hop Thanh is now gradually transforming into a commune where industry, construction, and services account for 83% of the economy, with agriculture only 17%. In 2011 alone, the construction industry generated nearly 30 billion VND, a 20% increase, accounting for 27.5% of the economy, while the trade and service sector generated over 59 billion VND, a 19% increase, accounting for 55.5%. The workforce has also been rationally reorganized, with 1,000 farmers shifting to service industries. The commune regularly has over 300 workers employed abroad, and nearly 500 workers seeking employment in the South and North, with an average per capita income exceeding 15 million VND per year. The commune has completed its new rural development plan and is striving to be one of the top 10 units in the district by 2015, having fulfilled all 19 criteria.
As a rural area rich in a tradition of valuing education, the Party Committee has selected key areas for development in education, culture, information, and sports. In addition to focusing on building two kindergartens and primary schools, maintaining the national standard for the second phase and the status of an outstanding advanced school, the commune's Party Committee has fostered a social movement for education. Almost every family and hamlet has a scholarship fund, and the number of students admitted to universities and colleges is steadily increasing. In 2011 alone, nearly 70 students were admitted to regular universities and colleges.
As a commune with the Vinh Hoa parish and the Xuan Tieu, Dong An, and Hop Thanh sub-parishes, it consistently prioritizes religious affairs, proactively developing work programs and maintaining regular contact between the Party organization, mass organizations, government, and priests, parish councils, and sub-parishes, fostering closeness, understanding, and mutual respect. In particular, when the parishioners of Vinh Hoa rebuilt the bell tower of Chua Bi church, making it grand, spacious, and legally compliant, or renovated the Xuan Tieu parish church, the commune leaders considered these as cultural and spiritual projects and encouraged them with support through public labor.
Mr. Hoang Xuan Ly, Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune, added: "In recent years, Nghe An Newspaper has closely followed the guidelines and policies, stayed close to the grassroots, highlighted many good examples and good deeds for learning, criticized wrongdoings, and expressed clear opinions. Many issues have become valuable resources for Party activities in grassroots Party branches. We read and follow the newspaper thanks to its innovative content and format, which creates interest for Party members and the people to read, understand, and believe, thereby thinking and acting in a positive direction."
Bidding farewell to the commune leaders, amidst the joy of Hop Thanh commune striving to achieve its socio-economic goals for 2012 and celebrating the 60th anniversary of its establishment (May 25, 1953 - May 25, 2013), our hearts were filled with joy, hope, and confidence in this heroic homeland that is transforming day by day.
Duc Chuyen
