Phong Tho is a mountainous border district of Lai Chau province with 97.229 km of border shared with Jinping County, Yunnan Province, China. The district comprises 17 communes and towns, including 12 border communes with 170 villages, hamlets, and residential areas; over 17,000 households, nearly 84,000 inhabitants, and 10 ethnic groups living together, with ethnic minorities accounting for approximately 93%. Given these characteristics, in recent years, Lai Chau province in general, and Phong Tho district in particular, have always focused on "establishing sister-community relationships between border communities". Building a peaceful, friendly, cooperative, and sustainably developing Vietnam-China border. The police in Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province, recently arrested two individuals exhibiting aggressive behavior, carrying homemade guns and knives, and threatening to rob people of their property. On the afternoon of December 19th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Government's Steering Committee for summarizing the implementation of Resolution No. 18-NQ/TW "Some issues on continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the political system to be streamlined, effective, and efficient," chaired the 5th meeting of the Steering Committee. With financial support for purchasing livestock, guidance on building pens, and techniques for care and disease prevention, many households of the Co Lao ethnic minority in Tung San commune, Hoang Su Phi district, Ha Giang province, have gained additional livelihoods and are gradually escaping poverty. Recognizing the important role of forest economics, in recent times, the Party Committee and government of Ham Yen district (Tuyen Quang province) have led and directed focused and effective management of forest areas. In hilly and forested areas, the Women's Union of Kbang district, Gia Lai province, has been actively promoting and encouraging people to develop high-quality forests and large timber forests, thereby contributing to creating stable jobs and increasing income for people in the area. After 3 years of implementing Project 8 "Implementing gender equality and addressing urgent issues for women and children" under the National Target Program for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas giai đoạn 2021 - 2030, phase I: from 2021 - 2025, has gradually changed mindsets and methods, removed barriers of gender stereotypes, effectively implemented the goal of gender equality, and helped women and children in ethnic minority areas develop comprehensively and have a better life. The police in Bao Lam district, Cao Bang province, have just arrested two suspects who showed aggressive behavior, carrying homemade guns and knives to threaten and rob people of their property. As the sun just peeked through, the sky seemed to be lifted up by someone. Towering high. Scattered clusters of pristine white clouds resembled tiny islands in the sky. I sat beside old man Thong, who gently said: "Happiness is a harmonious village, where everyone thinks of others, thinks of each other. Happiness is one person for everyone, everyone for one person; houses may be far apart, but thoughts must be close together, for each other..." This is a summary of news from the Ethnic and Development Newspaper. The afternoon news bulletin on December 19th includes the following noteworthy information: Developing the Plei Oi historical site into a unique tourism product. A bountiful harvest of rice and corn. Rural tourism in Da Huoai district. Along with other current news from ethnic minority and mountainous regions: The new preschool education program has many innovative features that require preschool administrators and teachers to adapt to meet the program's requirements. According to a report by the prestigious American magazine US News & World Report, Vietnam has excellently ranked 36th in the list of 40 most beautiful countries in the world in 2024. This ranking is based on the opinions of more than 17,000 tourists and experts from around the world. The People's Committee of Quang Nam province recently held a meeting of the Council for selecting outstanding rural industrial products at the provincial level in 2024. On December 19th, the Son La Provincial Police informed: Based on information provided by the public, the Son La Police learned that a group of suspects (Lao nationals), believed to be relatives, were stockpiling a large quantity of drugs in the border area of Chieng Khuong commune (Song Ma district, Son La province) and hiding them. They exploit the forests and assign guards, then find buyers and smuggle drugs into Son La province. Recently, some alien wild animal species are being openly advertised and traded on the market and social media, posing serious consequences for our country's biodiversity.
Helping each other to grow
In November 2023, Ma Ly Pho village, Ma Li Pho commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province (Vietnam) established a sister village relationship with Bach Thach Nham village, Kim Thuy Ha town, Kim Binh district, Yunnan province (China). This sister village relationship aims to strengthen and cultivate the traditional solidarity and friendship between the two villages, supporting each other in economic development, exchanging experiences, promoting community tourism, and sharing traditional cultural and culinary activities.
Ms. Lu Thi Van, from Ma Li Pho village, Ma Li Pho commune, shared: "My family lives in the border area and often crosses into China to trade goods. When going to China, we must have a travel permit, comply with regulations, and not cross the border illegally to work. When I heard that Ma Li Pho village had established a sister village relationship with Bach Thach Nham village, I was very happy. I hope that the two villages will regularly exchange cultures and help each other develop together."
The Ma Ly Pho village has 60 households, with approximately 280 inhabitants, mainly of the Dao ethnic group. The people of Ma Ly Pho village have absolute faith in the leadership of the Party. Following the policy of twinning villages in border areas, at the end of 2023, Ma Ly Pho village in Vietnam and Bach Thach Nham village signed a long-term cooperation agreement: both sides will share experiences in economic development; actively educate people to prevent illegal entry and exit and combat human trafficking, maintaining peace, stability, and mutual development in the border region.
As one of the households living in the border area, over the years, the family of Ms. Tan Thi Tet in Son Binh village, Ma Ly Pho commune, has transformed barren, overgrown hillside land into an economic model combining agriculture, forestry, and livestock farming. Thanks to focused investment and care of nearly 2 hectares of rubber trees, 3,000 square meters of rice paddies, raising chickens and pigs, and cultivating valuable fruit trees, her family earns more than 100 million VND per year.
Ms. Tet shared: "My house is near the border area. For many years, acquaintances from Kim Binh district have visited and guided me on how to care for and prevent diseases in crops and livestock. In particular, they've helped me exploit the potential and advantages of the land to grow bananas and cassava commercially. Thanks to this, the economy has developed steadily, and I always abide by the law, maintaining and protecting the national border so that people on both sides can prosper."
Mr. Tran Bao Trung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Phong Tho District, said: Currently, Phong Tho District and Jinping District, Yunnan Province, China, have four pairs of villages that have established friendly sister-village relationships. These sister-village activities aim to further strengthen the solidarity and close ties between the people on both sides of the border.
"In particular, through twinning programs, the people on both sides of the border actively support each other in economic, cultural, and social development; building affection, awareness, and responsibility towards the cause of building, managing, and protecting the common border between the two countries, making an important contribution to building a peaceful, friendly, cooperative, and sustainably developing Vietnam-China border," Mr. Trung said.
To achieve socio-economic development goals, especially border protection and support for people in the affiliated communes, the District People's Committee has also issued a poverty reduction plan, focusing on the following contents: reducing the annual poverty rate, increasing people's income, and reducing the number of particularly disadvantaged communes.
The District People's Committee directs specialized agencies and the People's Committees of communes to advise and effectively implement socio-economic development in the area, especially the effective implementation of the three national target programs. It mobilizes all resources to support investment in infrastructure, housing construction, and production support. Regularly organizes visits for delegations to learn from experience and conducts reviews of the cooperation and twinning programs between villages and localities.
It is known that the forms of support for the people are diverse, including the support provided by the district to 375 households in the communes of Ma Li Pho, Huoi Luong, Muong So, and Khong Lao to develop the production of ginger and taro according to the value chain (from the New Rural Development Program), with a total amount of over 2.1 billion VND; and the support of seedlings (ginger, taro, fruit trees) and mini plows and harrows for 1,902 poor and near-poor households under the Sustainable Poverty Reduction Program, with a total budget of over 24 billion VND.
Mr. Tan Chin Hung, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ma Li Pho commune, said: "With the advantage of having the Ma Lu Thang International Border Gate, which is very favorable for developing service and trade businesses, the commune has focused on effectively implementing the province's resolutions and projects on developing commodity agricultural economy associated with border gate economy in the 2021-2025 period."
At the same time, efforts were made to encourage people to intensify cultivation, increasing from one crop to two crops per year; and to expand agricultural production models and product consumption. The commune also has many businesses providing food and beverage services, guesthouses, grocery stores, and non-fired brick production, contributing to job creation for many local workers.
Building friendly cooperative relationships for mutually beneficial development.
With a border length exceeding 97km, to ensure political security, social order and safety, and firmly protect national sovereignty and border security, the Party committees and authorities at all levels in Phong Tho district always promote the core role of functional forces such as the police, military, and border guards in carrying out national defense and security tasks, building a strong national defense system and people's security posture.
In addition, strengthen efforts to prevent, combat, deter, and suppress all types of crimes and social evils. Propagate and mobilize the people to participate in managing border markers and protecting national security; build friendly and mutually beneficial cooperative relations with Jinping County, Yunnan Province, China.
It is evident that, through the synchronized implementation of various solutions, the border district of Phong Tho has undergone significant transformation, with improvements in all areas. The political system has been firmly consolidated; national border sovereignty has been maintained, security and order in the area have been ensured; and culture and society have continuously improved.
These factors have helped stabilize people's lives; the average per capita income of the district is higher each year than the previous year. While the poverty rate in the district was 43.8% in 2022, it decreased to 37.9% in 2023. In 2024, the poverty rate is estimated to decrease to 32.5%, and the goal is to reduce it to 27% by 2025.
In the coming period, the district will continue to maintain and develop the friendly cooperative relationship between Phong Tho district and Jinping district, Yunnan province, China, creating favorable conditions for economic development, crime prevention, border management, and safeguarding territorial integrity based on adherence to the foreign policy principles of the Party and State. This will contribute to stabilizing the border region, promoting economic development, and improving the lives of the people.
Source: https://baodantoc.vn/xay-dung-vung-bien-phong-tho-phat-trien-hoa-binh-1734494570809.htm
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