Together with the entire Party, people, and Army, Dong Thap Provincial Border Guard is promoting learning and following Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, ethics, and style according to Conclusion No.01-KL/TW of the Politburo (the 13^th Tenure) on continuing to implement Directive No.05-CT/TW through practical and concrete actions to create strong changes in consciousness, sense of responsibility, ethical qualities, and working methods and style of cadres and soldiers and contribute to fulfiling assigned political tasks.

Over the past time, learning and following Uncle Ho according to the Politburo’s Conclusion No.01-KL/TW has been implemented with special affection by cadres, Party members, and the masses of the Provincial Border Guard, and it is considered a regular job, specific and practical responsibility of everyone. It is worth mentioning that the implementation has always been closely associated with the Resolution of the 4^th Central Party Committee (the 12^th and 13^th tenures) on strengthening the building and rectification of the Party and political system. Annually, based on the plans of Border Guard Party Committee and Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial Border Guard’s agencies and units have developed plans for communicating and organising the implementation in association with the movement entitled “Implementing Uncle Ho's teachings to the Border Guard”, emulation movements, and drives especially the Drive on promoting tradition, dedicating talents, and being worthy of the title of “Uncle Ho's Soldier” in the new period, to create great spiritual motivation and far-reaching influence and contribute to cultivating and promoting the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho's Soldiers - Border Guard Soldiers” in the new period. During the implementation process, agencies and units have focused on promoting “following” Uncle Ho to always uphold the spirit of self-criticism and criticism and resolutely overcome, correct, and limit shortcomings. Thereby, the awareness, sense of responsibility, quality, capacity, ethics, lifestyle, and working style of cadres and Party members, especially the Party commissioners and presiding cadres, have changed with internal solidarity and unity. There is no manifestation of deterioration in political thoughts, ethics, and lifestyle, “self-evolution”, and “self-transformation” internally. The leadership capacity and combat power of the Party organisations have been enhanced to contribute to building a comprehensively strong Provincial Border Guard with high combat power to fulfil the task of firmly protecting the national border sovereignty and security.

Due to the specific nature of tasks and characteristics of areas, the Provincial Border Guard cadres and soldiers must often operate in scattered locations that are far from the commanders. Therefore, it requires a high level of independence and decisiveness at work and perseverance, steadfastness, courage, and creativity in handling situations. Accordingly, the Provincial Party Committee and Command have attached special importance to raising the sense of responsibility, spirit of overcoming difficulties, self-reliance, pioneering, exemplariness, and modeling responsibility of cadres and Party members according to Conclusion No.01-KL/TW and always considered it the key to success in performing tasks. The Party Committee has required each cadre and Party member to develop a plan and supplement the criteria to strive for the serious and specific implementation of Conclusion No.01-KL/TW, and such plan must be approved by the Party committee. The main content has been targeted to renovating working methods and style and being close to the masses and subordinates; taking the lead in cultivating and training ethics and lifestyle; pioneering, being exemplary in performing tasks, thoroughly practicing thrift, and fighting against wastefulness and bureaucracy; and applying scientific and effective working methods. Periodically, Party commissioners and committees at all levels have inspected and supervised the Party members' observance of the registered contents and taken the learning and following results as one of the criteria for emulation review, commendation, evaluation, comment, classification of collectives and individuals, and promotion and appointment of cadres annually to create the new motivation in striving for cultivating, training, and performing tasks of cadres and Party members.

Regarding the political tasks, the implementation of Conclusion No.01-KL/TW has been integrated and promoted by the Provincial Border Guard Command in implementing the border guard work. Particularly, it has actively advised and proposed to the Border Guard Party Committee, Dong Thap Provincial Party Committee, and People's Committee effective undertakings and solutions in managing and protecting the national border sovereignty and security. Simultaneously, it has synchronously deployed measures for firmly managing and protecting the territorial sovereignty and effectively fighting against crimes, smuggling activities, and commercial frauds to maintain political security and social order and safety in the border area of the province. Being imbued with Uncle Ho's thoughts on foreign affairs, the Provincial Border Guard has closely coordinated with departments, agencies, branches, and mass organisations in well performing the tasks of people's diplomacy, national defence diplomacy, and border defence diplomacy and organising exchange activities, bilateral patrols, “Border posts of friendship for a peaceful border” twinning program, etc. to contribute to building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. The Provincial Border Guard’s working groups and squads have proactively advised and assisted the Party Committees and authorities of border communes and townships in building strong political bases and promoting economic, cultural, and social development and poverty reduction in association with consolidating national defence and security, etc. Cadres and soldiers have overcome difficulties and hardships to implement “Three-association” with the people in mass mobilisation; bring cultural activities and health care to the border; and help the local people overcome the consequences of natural disasters and reduce poverty sustainably, etc. Learning and following Uncle Ho's thoughts of “taking the people as the root”, cadres, Party members, and soldiers of the Provincial Border Guard have built for themselves the style of “respecting the people, being close to the people, understanding the people, learning the people, and taking responsibility before the people” and well implemented ethnic policies under the Party and State’s undertakings. The promotion of effective implementation of the movements such as “Dong Thap Province Border Guard join hands to build new rural areas” and “The whole country joins hands for the poor, leaving no one behind” or the programs like “Support children’s schooling”, “Accompany border women”, etc. has contributed to solving urgent problems, basically satisfying thoughts and aspirations, and reducing difficulties in the spiritual life of the people to create motivations to realise the goals of poverty reduction and consolidation of the great national unity bloc. Following Uncle Ho has also been demonstrated by the Provincial Border Guard through the effective implementation of the movement entitled “All people unite to build the cultural life in residential areas” and the COVID-19 prevention and control with specific, practical, and effective models and programs.

Dong Thap Border Guard’s specific actions in implementing Conclusion No.01-KL/TW have created a strong and effective spillover effect to make an important contribution to maintaining political security and social order and security, creating favourable conditions for promoting the Province’s socio-economic development, and building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development. To learn and follow Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, ethics, and style more practically and effectively in the coming time, the Provincial Border Guard Party Committee and Command are paying attention to leading and directing the implementation of the basics as follows:

Firstly, to continue promoting propagation and education on Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, ethics, and style for all cadres, soldiers, and local people. Implement well the motto of “Comprehensiveness, focus, and key points; associating “learning” with “following”, in which “following” is taken as the core”. Focus on training ethics, lifestyle, renewing methods and working styles of cadres and party members; take care of building the unity within the Party Committees and cells and that of cadres with soldiers and the Army with the people; and build clean and strong party organisations and comprehensively strong units, focusing on overcoming the limitations and weaknesses, to strive to fulfil all assigned tasks.

Secondly, to actively explore and create new contents, measures, and models; resolutely fight against the formality-driven practice in leading and directing; strengthen the inspection and supervision of the Party Committees at all levels, particularly the inspection of ethics and working style of cadres and party members; and closely combine the inspection and supervision of party organisations and the inspection and examination of commanders with the supervision of mass organisations.

Thirdly, to focus on the exemplary role of the Party commissioners, presiding cadres, and Party members in learning and following Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, ethics, and style; and regularly associate the implementation of criteria on qualities, ethics, and lifestyle to the targets of the Determination-to-Win Emulation Movement, emulation movements of sectors, and drives.

Finally, to closely direct the preliminary review, summary, and experience drawing in implementing Conclusion No.01-KL/TW with attention paid to the cultivation of ethical qualities and lifestyle and the level of task completion based on the individual and collective responsibility to evaluate the results of learning and following Ho Chi Minh's thoughts, ethics, and style; and timely detect and replicate new models and advanced examples and praise and commend individuals and collectives for good performance to build trust and motivation for cadres, Party members, and the masses and contribute to highlight the noble qualities of “Uncle Ho's Soldiers - Border Guard Soldiers” in the new period.

Senior Colonel NGUYEN VAN MINH, Commissar of the Provincial Border Guard Command