The following of Uncle Ho’s teachings with practical deeds has been seen as an incentive for the Provincial Border Guard of Lang Son to well perform its border defence work, successfully fulfil its political task of firmly protecting the national border sovereignty and security, and build a border of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

To translate the 12^th Politburo’s Directive 05-CT/TW, dated June 15^th, 2016 on “studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle” into each cadre and soldier’s life, the Party Committee and Command of the Provincial Border Guard (PGB) of Lang Son have proposed and included synchronous specific measures in resolutions, action programmes and plans for each year, period, and task in accordance with the characteristics of each group of troops together with practical deeds as follows.

Establishing breakthroughs in studying and following Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle

The PGB’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership on the “two-exemplary and one-highlight” breakthrough. As for the breakthrough in border management and protection, the PBG’s Command has synchronously adopted measures for the border defence work, while frequently conducting patrols along the border, inspecting the key zones, detecting and opportunely settling the incidents in the border area to avoid passivity. The PBG has advised the Provincial People’s Committee (PPC) to effectively execute the Prime Minister’s Directive 01/CT-TTg, dated January 9^th, 2015 on the Movement of “All people taking part in the defence of national border sovereignty and security in the new situation.” At the same time, it has completed the system of warning signs within the border, border belt, and restricted areas (it is one of the first units which have perfected the system of warning signs in the border areas). Regarding the breakthrough in the border gate work, the PBG’s Command has actively, proactively given advice to the PPC on continuing to build and enlarge several border gates, on reviewing and managing open trails, on organising immigration lanes, and on putting immigration in order to create a favourable condition for the movement of goods and people across the border. The PBG has opportunely, effectively issued the Electronic Visa at the International Border Gate of Huu Nghi and proposed the adoption of the immigration management software which had been approved by the Border Guard Force High Command and the PCC at the border gates of Huu Nghi, Chi Ma, Tan Thanh and Coc Nam, thereby facilitating the work of immigration control quickly, accurately, the movement of goods and people across the border, and the province’s socio-economic development and international cooperation. To build a typical model of border defence diplomacy, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have organised many diplomatic activities of practical significance, such as the Programme titled “Post and Station of Friendship, Peaceful Border,” the Programme on exchanging experiences in the political work, and the Twinning Programme between villages along the border, thus making great contributions to strengthening relations and solidarity between the two sides of the border and building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.

To fulfil the targets and tasks set by the Resolution of the 24^th PBG Party Congress for the 2015-2020 tenure, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command have focused their leadership and direction on well performing the annual central missions and realising the models, such as “all-people border defence festive day,” “all people fight against crime,” “public works by border guard posts and communes,” “border guard force’s foster children,” and “safe border guard offices and units.” Doing so has enabled the studying and following of Uncle Ho’s moral example to become a routine task of all cadres and soldiers and helped create a new momentum within units, improve the task performance, and make a considerable positive change in party organisations’ leadership capacity and combativeness so that they could lead their units to successfully fulfil all missions.

Under the motto of “taking the people as the roots,” the PBG’s Party Committee and Command stepped up the work of propagation to encourage the people to follow the Party’s guidelines and the State’s law and policy, while exposing the hostile forces’ wrong arguments and plots to undermine the national great unity block. Cadres, party members and soldiers within the PBG have always “respected the people, understood the people, learnt from the people, and worked responsibly for the people” as well as effectively implemented the ethnicity policy by our Party and State. The movements and programmes, such as “the PBG of Lang Son joins hands in building new-style countryside,” “the whole country joins hands for the poor, no one will be left behind,” “warm clothing in the winter in the border area,” “supporting children’s schooling,” and “giving assistance to border women” have contributed to dealing with pressing issues, basically satisfying the people’s demands, alleviating difficulties in their life, reducing poverty, eradicating hunger, and cementing the national great unity block. The PBG’s Party Committee and Command have collaborated with 5 border district party committees in directing border guard posts to dispatch 97 party members to join party meetings at 81 border villages and hamlets under the Lang Son Provincial Party Committee’s guidelines and assign 206 other party members to help border households, which has been highly appreciated by local party committees and authorities and helped make the border area comprehensively strong in the new situation.

The PBG of Lang Son cooperates with local militia force in the fight against crime in the border area

Overcoming all dangers and difficulties to form a “living shield” in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic

The PBG is tasked with managing over 231.7 kilometres of border, together with 472 border markers, 2 international border gates, 1 main border gate, 9 extra border gates and many trails across the border. Therefore, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, immediately after the outbreak of this epidemic in China, the PBG grasped and strictly implemented directives and guiding documents by the Government, the Ministry of National Defence, the Border Guard Force High Command and the PPC on performing the border defence work in the fight against COVID-19. Under the spirit of “fighting the epidemic like fighting enemies,” the PBG proactively cooperated with competent forces in establishing 156 field checkpoints (125 fixed checkpoints and 31 mobile checkpoints), 12 temporary quarantine zones, 17 positions to control travelling across the border (48 checkpoints had no electricity and 93 checkpoints had no fresh water). The PBG regarded the epidemic prevention and control as a central political task of utmost urgency. Therefore, although checkpoints and positions were scattered along the border and the COVID-19 epidemic was complex and unpredictable, the PBG always maintained the order for 24-hour duty to patrol the border, combat illegal immigration, smuggling, and crimes of various types, and prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from spreading onto the province’s area. In the fight against COVID-19, cadres of the PBG performed their task in the remote, isolated areas under the harsh weather conditions, with a lack of communications, electricity and fresh water. However, many of them put their family business aside to stand shoulder to shoulder with their comrades, overcome all hardships, and stick with the border area to form a “living shield” which protected the people’s peaceful life, prevented the epidemic from spreading across the border, and ensured social order and safety. Those above-mentioned specific deeds by the PBG of Lang Son have made significant contributions to bolstering the image of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the COVID-19 prevention and control.

Due to the complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, while regularly maintaining 24-hour checkpoints along the border, the PBG of Lang Son has continued closely cooperating with local party committees and authorities in enhancing the work of propagation to raise the people’s awareness and responsibility for the epidemic prevention and control, make them keep their mind on their work, and encourage them to join the PBG’s fight against COVID-19.

Those practical, specific deeds by the PBG of Lang Son to realise the Directive 05 have brought about a ripple effect and greatly contributed to maintaining political security and social order and safety, fostering the province’s socio-economic development, and building a border of peace and friendship. In the upcoming time, the PBG’s Party Committee and Command will continue to accelerate the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, ethics and lifestyle via more practical, specific, effective deeds to make contributions to bolstering the image of “border guards - Uncle Ho’s soldiers” in the Northern frontier .

Sr. Col. TRINH HUU TANG, Commissar of the PBG