From a young man from Hưng Yên province going off to battle to a general devoting his youth to the westernmost land, his journey stands as vivid proof of the power of mass mobilization work and the blood-and-flesh relationship between the Party and the People.

From a soldier on fierce battlefields to a general linking his entire life with the Northwestern border region, the journey of Major General Lưu Trọng Lư tells a story of revolutionary ideals continuing into peacetime. Beyond achieving numerous battle exploits during the resistance war, he spent decades staying close to villages and residents, building a solid “people’s heart posture” along the country’s border frontier.

Vision of a military commander

Born in Phù Cừ district, Hưng Yên province, 18-year-old Lưu Trọng Lư enlisted in the military in September 1973. Spending years fighting within the 316th Division and participating in the Central Highlands Campaign and the historic Hồ Chí Minh Campaign, war forged in him the mettle of a revolutionary soldier who consistently places the interests of the Fatherland and the people above all else. After national reunification, he accepted duties at the Lai Châu provincial Military Command (now Điện Biên and Lai Châu), initiating his journey of deep attachment to highland ethnic groups.

Regardless of his working position, he spent substantial time visiting the grassroots level learning the Hmông and Thái languages, studying customs and habits, and living, eating, and working alongside local residents.

Senior Colonel Mùa A Lồng, Vice President of the Điện Biên provincial Veterans’ Association, recalled: “Upon arriving at a village, Lư did not rush into meetings, but asked about harvests, children’s schooling, and individual family lives. Even for remote villages requiring a full day’s walk, he persistently traveled directly to the spot.”

Through years of staying close to the grassroots-level, Major General Lưu Trọng Lư realized early on that maintaining border security could not rely solely on military measures, but required constructing a strong grassroots-level political system, caring for public living standards, promoting the roles of village elders, village heads, and reputable figures, and consolidating ethnic minority faith in the Party.

Facing complex ethnic and religious developments in the Central Highlands in the early 21st century, he identified many similarities with the Northwest, proactively advising on identifying latent risks and proposing early, long-range preventive solutions. He used to affirm that one cannot merely look at isolated incidents, but must perceive latent risks to proactively prepare plans and avoid being passive or surprised if long-term stability is to be maintained. Those years of persistently staying close to the people, building a “people’s heart posture,” and proactively identifying risks from the grassroots-level laid an important foundation for Điện Biên to maintain political stability, while serving as a basis for the province to effectively handle the hotspot in Huổi Khon village (Nậm Kè commune, former Mường Nhé district) in May 2011.

A commander’s mettle at the Huổi Khon “hotspot”

In early May 2011, approximately 7,000 people from various Northwestern provinces and even the Central Highlands were enticed to gather at Huổi Khon. Reactionary elements exploited the credulity of a segment of Hmông ethnic people to disseminate the establishment of a so-called “Hmông State.” If not handled in the right direction, the incident could have escalated beyond a local hotspot, directly impacting political security and national defense across the Northwestern region.

Based on years of experience working in border areas and lessons drawn from a practical research trip to the Central Highlands, Major General Lưu Trọng Lư assessed early that this was not merely a large crowd gathering, but a test of the leadership capacity of party committees, authorities, and the entire political system in safeguarding great national unity.

Facing complex developments at Huổi Khon at that time, Major General Lưu Trọng Lư advised the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee to establish a Situation Handling Steering Committee, unifying coordination mechanisms among the military, police, and border guard forces under the spirit of placing the people’s interests above all else.

Mùa A Sơn, then Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee directly directing the resolution of the incident, recalled: “It was the composure and mettle of Major General Lưu Trọng Lư that reassured the Steering Committee during the most arduous days. Facing immense pressure from the field, he consistently requested accurate assessments of the incident’s true nature to avoid hasty decisions, because the majority of people gathering at Huổi Khon were simple laborers duped by illusory promises, rather than anti-state elements.”

That perspective quickly turned into a guiding principle throughout the entire handling process. Tens of thousands of leaflets in the Hmông language were urgently printed while working teams from the military, police, border guard, Fatherland Front, and local authorities stayed on-site. Officers fluent in the Hmông language and knowledgeable in local customs met directly with villagers to disseminate, explain, and help them understand the plots of reactionary elements, while patiently listening to each family’s thoughts and aspirations to help residents recognize the true nature of the so-called “Hmông King” and “Hmông State.”

Amidst the hot May weather, witnessing many Hmông women holding infants living in temporary plastic shelters in the forest with depleting food supplies and exhausted elderly people and children, Major General Lưu Trọng Lư advised provincial leaders to require forces to supply food, provide medical treatment, and safeguard the lives and health of local residents.

Thào A Dế, Party Committee Secretary of Mường Toong commune who served as Vice Chairman of the Mường Nhé District Fatherland Front Committee at the time, still remembers the Major General’s reminder: “The villagers are not targets. Do not view them with suspicious eyes. They are deceived people who need protection.”

Every decision aimed at non-bloodshed and avoiding confrontation between functional forces and local people. Ultimately, through the unified leadership of the provincial Party Committee and Provincial People’s Committee, alongside synchronous coordination among military, police, border guard forces, and the entire political system, the plots of the ringleaders were unmasked, thousands of residents returned to their villages, political security stabilized, and national border sovereignty was firmly preserved.