Discussion: What should the names of administrative levels be?

According to current regulations, these two levels are called provinces and centrally-administered cities, while the grassroots level is called wards, communes, or special zones. Of course, this will be very unfamiliar to the reality we have been accustomed to for so many years, but to adapt to the situation and to develop, we must gradually get used to significant, even revolutionary, changes.Reorganizing the administrative apparatus at all levels.Within the overarching idea of ​​reforming and perfecting the political system, it not only relates to the structure, scale, and boundaries of local government but also strongly impacts many other issues beyond personnel and leadership structure, such as: planning, economic, cultural, and social development plans; the implementation of national defense and security tasks; and the relationship between political institutions. Its aim is to achieve efficiency in the administration and direction of the administrative apparatus, while simultaneously ensuring mechanisms for monitoring and controlling social power…

There has been a lot of discussion about this in recent days.the issue of abolishing the district levelAnd regarding the naming of administrative levels as mentioned above, how will issues related to the institutions of "city within a province," "town within a province," "city directly under a city," and "township" (which will cease to exist in the future) be handled? Some even suggest abolishing the "commune" level and considering the "district" level as the basis (for example, in Vinh City, simply abolishing wards and communes and retaining "Vinh City" would suffice)... For example: In socio-economic development plans, every locality has targets for urban development under the names: city, town, and township. Of course, we understand that a ward is also an urban administrative unit, and the urban character of a city or town cannot be more pronounced than a ward because a city or town may contain communes. However, the population and area of ​​a ward cannot equal that of a city, town, or district, which are currently its superior levels. Theoretically, urban development is one of the measures of social development, and here, urban areas are embodied in the institutions of cities and towns. However, implementing the goals of urbanization and city/town development as outlined in current regulations at the ward level will initially face many difficulties. If these goals are not met, they could slow down local development and diminish the role of urban areas as a driving force.

Around the world, there are many models of grassroots government organizations called cities, towns, villages, and even districts… and people are very flexible in defining the functions, powers, and responsibilities of these institutions. For example, in the US, in terms of hierarchy, they are equal because they are all basic administrative levels; however, their tasks and powers are not entirely the same. Differences exist not only between cities and villages, but even between cities with the same name. With the upcoming use of the term "ward," it seems that all will be homogenized.

I believe we should consult and research to design a system that suits our current level of management and social development, in order to find the best solution. Although my understanding is limited, I am quite impressed with a model similar to those in some countries, which has three levels starting from the central government, with a clear differentiation at the final level, and which should, of course, be adapted to Vietnamese context. Specifically, our administrative levels would be as follows:

- Central level;

- Provinces and centrally-administered cities;

- Cities, towns, communes, wards (only in centrally-governed cities) and special zones. These are the basic, lowest levels of the administrative system.

According to this model, the State also classifies cities and towns into different levels (similar to the criteria we currently have for classifying urban areas).

Each type of city or town will have different regulations regarding state management authority, and for cities or towns that are not assigned all state management tasks, this area will be handled by the provincial level.

A name is not simply for distinguishing or identifying the hierarchical order of an entity based on convention; it must also be designed to suit its nature, current development, historical and cultural traditions, and encompass expectations regarding its role and position. Therefore, it needs to be thoroughly researched and highly persuasive.