Every sabotage plot by hostile forces ultimately aims to erode public trust in the Party and the State. When trust shakes, distorted arguments find opportunities to creep in; conversely, when citizens understand and trust the Party, they become an unbreakable shield to maintain grassroots stability.

The guiding “lamps”

In high-altitude villages, reputable individuals are likened to silent lamps keeping the fire of trust alive in the community. They serve not only as a vital bridge between the Party, the government, and the people but also patiently educate and help those who once went astray or were enticed by false doctrines and wrong rhetoric to find a peaceful life and become the “extended arms” of the Party.

Thào A Da from Huổi Khon 2 village, Nậm Kè commune, serves as clear proof. In 2011, he was enticed by bad elements to join the so-called “Mông Kingdom.” Vague promises of a “better life” once cost him the stability of both himself and his family. However, during that seemingly dead-end period, the appearance of cadres and reputable individuals caused him to awaken. He decided to abandon those illusions to rebuild his life. From someone who made mistakes, he became an exemplary model in labor and production within the village and commune. His dynamism and enthusiasm earned the trust of the villagers, who elected him village head and recognized him as a reputable individual.

“Due to a lack of understanding in the past, I was manipulated by bad actors and believed in things that were not real. After cadres and reputable individuals in the village patiently explained things to him, he realized that only hard work and trust in the Party and State could bring a stable life. Now, he wishes to use his own story to mobilize villagers against false rhetoric and jointly maintain peace in the village,” Thào A Da said.

Also reflecting a poignant journey of return, the story of Vàng A Khá from Đoàn Kết village, Mường Toong commune, gives many people pause. He used to participate in activities to establish the “Mông Kingdom.” Thanks to the dissemination and mobilization of cadres and reputable individuals, he abandoned the false doctrine in 2016 to focus on economic development and rebuild trust with the villagers. In 2017, he was admitted to the Party and later became the Party Cell Secretary of Đoàn Kết village. He now acts as a core nucleus of solidarity at the grassroots, actively mobilizing the people against false arguments and working together to build a prosperous village.

These stories in Nậm Kè and Mường Toong demonstrate the immense influence of reputable individuals at the grassroots level. In remote and isolated areas where life faces many hardships and public intellectual standards are uneven, the voice of a reputable person carries more weight than any promotional slogan.

Currently, the entire province has 1,307 reputable individuals, with the largest groups belonging to the Mông ethnic minority with 559 people and the Thái ethnic minority with 546 people. They are village elders, village heads, party cell secretaries, lineage heads, or simply exemplary individuals who are respected and trusted by the community. Demonstrating the vital role of these individuals, on May 14, 2026, Điện Biên had five reputable individuals attend a meeting in Thái Nguyên for outstanding village elders, village heads, reputable individuals, and religious dignitaries from ethnic minority areas in the Northern region, organized by the General Department of Political Affairs of the Vietnam People’s Army. This serves as a significant recognition for exemplary individuals who contribute to preserving the great solidarity bloc and building the “people’s heart posture” along the nation’s borders.

According to Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religion Deputy Director Thái Đình Hưng, the majority of reputable individuals among ethnic minorities have successfully promoted their roles, contributing actively to socio-economic development and security maintenance at the grassroots. With a high sense of responsibility, they also promptly detect and report information to party committees and authorities, helping to prevent many legal violations, maintain border security, and effectively execute village conventions.

Over the past years, the province has consistently paid close attention to fully implementing regimes and policies for reputable individuals. In 2025, the province distributed 29,967 copies of newspapers to reputable individuals, provided material and spiritual encouragement to 100% of them on the occasion of Tet, and opened 7 training classes to foster knowledge for 752 reputable individuals. From these “lamps,” trust in high-altitude villages is not only firmly maintained but also brightly spread, contributing to making the Điện Biên borderlands increasingly peaceful and strong.

Preserving the “roots” through practical deeds

“Taking the people as the root” is a consistent ideology throughout all revolutionary stages of the Party. From the years of fighting for independence to today’s renewal process, the Party’s strength always stems from the consensus and trust of the people. In Điện Biên, that ideology is clearly reflected in every socio-economic development program and every mass mobilization model at the grassroots.

The ideology of “taking the people as the root” does not stop at guidelines or resolutions but is concretized by every newly opened road, every built house, and every project providing clean water, schools, and electricity to light up the villages. A prominent example is Resolution No.17-NQ/TU dated October 12, 2021, of the Provincial Party Executive Committee on ethnic minority and mountainous socio-economic development associated with poverty reduction and social security guarantees for the 2021 - 2025 period.

From that resolution, thousands of ethnic minority households have been given opportunities to transform their lives. Across the province, 2,423 households received support for career transition, over 22,000 households were supported with domestic water, and over 2,100 households received housing support. Nearly 900 livelihood diversification and poverty reduction projects were implemented, while nearly 400,000 turn-overs of households accessed preferential loans for production development. Furthermore, over 1,200 essential works were invested in right down to the village and hamlet level. Thanks to these efforts, approximately 66,000 turn-overs of households overcame the poverty threshold, reducing the poverty rate to 23,32% and the near-poverty rate to nearly 17%. These figures do not merely reflect socio-economic efficiency but show the concrete, close presence of the Party in the daily lives of the people.

The transformation is measured not only by poverty reduction statistics but also felt through the trust being gradually nurtured in the villages. In Na Son, one of the exceptionally difficult communes in the province, the change is clearly visible on every road, in every home, and in the eyes of the residents. Vice Chairman of the Na Son commune People’s Committee Nguyễn Thanh Lâm stated that thanks to state support programs, the people’s standard of living has been improved step-by-step, with synchronous investments in traffic roads, electricity, domestic water, and schools. When life stabilizes, the residents place greater trust in the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies, actively participating in maintaining security and order and building solidarity at the grassroots.

Caring for the people does not only mean helping them secure food and clothing but also providing ethnic minorities with knowledge to protect themselves against toxic information and distorted rhetoric. In places where public intellectual standards are still limited and access to official information is scarce, fake news can easily creep into daily life. Therefore, raising public intellectual standards, disseminating laws, and eradicating illiteracy for highland people are the exact ways to defend the “people’s heart battleground” from its very roots.

During the 2021 - 2025 period, the province organized 175 literacy classes for over 4,000 learners, achieving a 100% completion rate for the program. According to Department of Education and Training Director Hoàng Tuyết Ban, these literacy classes in highland areas help residents learn to read and write, opening up opportunities to access knowledge and correctly understand the Party’s guidelines and the State’s legal policies. When ethnic minorities become literate, their knowledge expands, and their awareness gradually changes, enabling them to filter information and avoid easily believing in provocative or deceptive words.

Reality demonstrates that wherever the people’s lives are well cared for, trust in the Party is nurtured, and wherever the people understand, believe, and reach a consensus, the Party’s ideological foundation is firmly defended from the roots. Therefore, along with economic development, raising public intellectual standards, disseminating laws, and eradicating illiteracy for highland ethnic minorities carry particularly crucial significance in a context where toxic information increasingly creeps into remote and isolated areas.

Protecting the Party’s ideological foundation in the highlands of Điện Biên is thus not merely a task of dissemination or fighting to refute wrong viewpoints, but first and foremost a duty to care for the people through specific, practical actions every day. When the people’s heart are at peace, their lives are stable, and they trust, understand, and accompany the party committees and authorities, all divisive and provocative plots will no longer have a place to survive on the westernmost frontier of the Fatherland.