"A war without gunfire"

(BLC) - Located in a strategically important position in the Northwest region of the country, Lai Chau, with over 85% of its population being ethnic minorities, has become a target for hostile forces to exploit, spreading malicious and harmful information and distorted narratives aimed at dividing national unity and undermining the Party and the State. Recognizing this as a "war without gunfire," the Steering Committee 35 (BCĐ 35) of the Provincial Police directs its subordinate units to promptly identify the schemes and tactics of hostile forces, frankly combat and refute their erroneous views, and contribute to firmly protecting the Party's ideological foundation.

Lesson 1: Early Identification of Plots and Schemes

The incident on April 23, 2023, at the People's Committee of Son Binh commune (Tam Duong district) has resulted in Hang A Tinh (born in 1985, residing in Chu Va 12 village) paying a heavy price for his actions of disrupting public order, seriously affecting national unity, and attempting to undermine the Party and the State. The provincial police have initiated criminal proceedings and issued an arrest warrant for Hang A Tinh for investigation into his disruptive behavior. Currently, Hang A Tinh is serving a suspended sentence (24 months).

According to the details of the case, Tinh is the uncle of Chang A P., the victim who died in a traffic accident at km 64+690 on National Highway 4D in Tan Hop village (Son Binh commune). Instead of properly burying the child's body according to local customs, Tinh, being easily manipulated and instigated by malicious individuals, drove a truck with license plate 24H-006.42 carrying the coffin containing P.'s body, along with more than 60 people on motorcycles, to the Son Binh commune People's Committee office to pressure the local Party committee and government to resolve the traffic accident. Specifically, they demanded that the commune leaders call the person responsible for the accident that caused P.'s death to come to the People's Committee office to resolve the matter.

The incident caused negative public opinion, hindered the regular work of commune leaders and officials, seriously affected security and order, and caused public outrage over the arrogant and lawless attitude of Hang A Tinh and those involved. The aim of the perpetrators was to incite and instigate the people, divide national unity, and erode trust in the provincial traffic police force and the leadership of the Party and local government.

Initially, the group shouted, live-streamed on their phones, and made statements insulting the Party committee, the government, and the police. Despite attempts by authorities to persuade and reason with them, the group refused to cooperate. Faced with this situation, using professional methods and a swift response to crime, the police quickly identified the schemes and tactics of hostile forces, promptly calming public opinion, encouraging, explaining, and persuading the people to end their extremist actions. However, it took many hours of explanation and persuasion, until around 10:15 PM that same day, before the victim's family finally agreed to take the coffin containing P.'s body for burial.

Thanks to the explanations from the police force from the provincial to the grassroots level, Tinh quickly recognized the tricks of evildoers, thereby placing absolute trust in the leadership of the Party and the State. In addition, through various forms of propaganda, the officers helped people identify the schemes and tactics of hostile forces early on, so they would not believe or follow the incitements of evildoers.

We met Mr. Chang A Tua (father of the victim Chang A P.) in Chu Va 12 village (Son Binh commune). When asked about the incident, his eyes lowered and his voice was filled with sadness: “Because of a moment of recklessness, I gathered with the villagers and made inappropriate remarks to the commune officials, Party members, civil servants, and police force. After being informed and explained, I now understand my wrongdoing. I promise never to listen to evil people again, to always be vigilant against hostile forces; to strive to correctly implement the policies and guidelines of the Party and the State, and to live and work in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”

Recently, the Provincial Police discovered that a Facebook account named "Đỗ Quân nd" had posted false information: "Child abductions are occurring in Lai Châu City; everyone should be vigilant and not let their children go out without an adult accompanying them." Within minutes of posting, the account attracted dozens of comments from other accounts expressing panic, and the post was shared 42 times by Facebook users.

Even more dangerously, when people commented, the account holder responded with fabricated stories about a young couple in a white car luring and kidnapping children in the Quyet Thang ward area, aiming to create public panic, affect the psychology and insecurity of the community, and erode people's trust in the Party committee, the government, and the local people.

To stabilize the situation, the provincial and city police forces quickly investigated and identified the account holder "Do Quan nd" as Do Van Q., residing in Group 9 (Quyet Thang Ward). Q admitted to posting fabricated information on Facebook. After being informed and explained the situation by the police, the account holder realized the harm caused by posting false information that creates insecurity in the community and affects officials, Party members, and the police force. He voluntarily deleted the post, published a correction, and pledged not to repeat the offense. The provincial and city police completed the administrative penalty file against Do Van Q. The provincial police advised citizens not to speak, spread, or post fabricated or false information that affects the leadership of the Party, government, and people.

Phong Tho is a border district with 98.95km of border shared with Jinping County, Yunnan Province, China. This poses a potential risk of incitement and manipulation by hostile forces to illegally cross the border, trafficking of women and children, theft of property, and illegal possession and transportation of narcotics. The district police proactively monitor the thoughts of officials, Party members, and the people; raising public awareness of the increasingly sophisticated schemes and tactics of hostile forces, particularly those related to daily life, ethnicity, and religion. As a result, the unit helps the people identify these schemes and tactics early, and frankly combats and refutes erroneous viewpoints to firmly protect the Party's ideological foundation.

Since the beginning of the year, the District Police have received, verified, and processed over 500 pieces of information related to public opinion among officials, Party members, and the people. Simultaneously, they have advised local Party committees and authorities on early identification, frank combating, and refutation of harmful and malicious information; effectively ensured internal security in agencies and units within the district; and gathered information from residential areas, associations, groups, and individuals showing signs of complexity, inciting people to participate in illegal activities, and slandering Party and State leaders. The District Police promptly blocked and neutralized 8 social media accounts sharing false information; and compiled dossiers and handled administratively one case of violation involving the provision of false information, defamation, and insult to the reputation of agencies, organizations, and the honor and dignity of individuals.

These complex cases demonstrate that many people in the province have not yet recognized the danger posed by harmful and toxic information they disseminate, post, share, and comment on, aiming to gain likes and views, incite public opinion, and damage the reputation of officials, Party members, and the people. Therefore, the Party Committee and the Steering Committee 35 of the Provincial Police have implemented numerous measures to identify targets early, accurately, and effectively, frankly combating and promptly refuting such information, contributing to the firm protection of the Party's ideological foundation.

(To be continued)

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/ch%C3%ADnh-tr%E1%BB%8B/cu%E1%BB%99c-chi%E1%BA%BFn-kh%C3%B4ng-ti%E1%BA%BFng-s%C3%BAng