Thai Binh, a coastal province, possesses 54 km of coastline and various potentials for developing a maritime economy. Its border area consists of 14 communes and towns under in the two districts of Thai Thuy and Tien Hai with a population of over 90,000 people, including 6,000 religious ones.

Over the past years, thanks to the attention of the Party, State and the local party committees and authorities, the living standard of coastal people has been unceasingly improved; political security and social order have always been stabilised; legal awareness of people of all strata has witnessed positive changes, and crime rates in coastal communes and towns have decreased considerably. However, some problems remain complicated in the area, such as illegal immigration, some certain kinds of crime, social evils, disputes over fishing grounds, etc. Notably, petitions and illegal religious practices still occur and have yet to be dealt with; legal awareness of a number of people remains at low level, etc. These have had a bad effect on the province’s socio-economic development and political security maintenance as well as the task performance of its Border Guard. Against this backdrop, the Provincial Border Guard’s Party Committee and Command have led and directed its affiliates to actively give advice to local party committees and authorities; closely work with sectors and unions to promote legal propagation, dissemination and education, making a significant improvement in people’s legal awareness and conformity, and contributing to the maintenance of political security, social safety and order, socio-economic development, and the consolidation of all people’s defence posture and the people’s security posture in the locality. These achievements are attributed to a number of causes, first and foremost the Provincial Border Guard Command’s active proposals to the Provincial Party Committee and People’s Committee on the thorough implementation of upper levels’ resolutions, directives and regulations regarding legal propagation, dissemination and education for people, particularly the Project of “Strengthening legal dissemination and education for cadres and people in border and island areas in the 2013-2016 period”. As the core and specialised force in managing and protecting the sovereignty and security of maritime border, the Provincial Border Guard Command (PBGC) has recommended Thai Binh People’s Committee to direct the two districts of Tien Hai and Thai Thuy to build plans for legal dissemination and education for their people with Nam Thinh commune of Tien Hai district and Thuy Truong commune of Thai Thuy district being the two exemplars. During the implementation process, the PBGC worked with local sectors and industries to ensure the appropriate contents and programs, and strengthened inspection and supervision of the implementation of the work in units and localities, with a focus on the two exemplars. For the past years, this model has been flexibly applied with new, creative and effective ways of doing, improving the awareness and responsibility of cadres and people towards legal issues and making contributions to the mission accomplishment of the localities and the maintenance of political security, social order and the firm protection of sovereignty and security of maritime border. Grounded in  review and lessons drawn from the commune exemplars, the PBGC has disseminated and multiplied this model to the remaining ones.

Border Guard cadres of Thai Binh province carrying out the work of law propagation, dissemination and education (photo: thaibinh.gov.vn)

One of the important solutions to the positive changes in the legal dissemination and education is to enhance the quality of legal disseminators. The PBGC has always actively proposed to the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee and worked with other sectors and departments of the province to hold training courses to improve standard and knowledge for these staffs as they are the key force in disseminating and educating legal knowledge for border residents. Besides, Border Guard units in the province have also set up legal bookshelves in all units and communes of the localities so that coastal people’s needs for legal study have been met, and their legal knowledge has been improved.

To make legal dissemination and education relevant to each kind of objects, the Provincial Border Guard has collaborated with local sectors and departments in actively revising the contents and programs, and diversifying the models and methods of implementation. Due to the uneven standard and awareness among different forces in the province’s coastal border areas, the PBGC has directed its affiliated units to focus their dissemination on three main groups, namely: cadres, party members, public employees; coastal residents; students. The content is focused on new legal documents aiming to serve for the province’s socio-economic, cultural, defense and security development, particularly those relating to the national border and sovereignty over seas and islands. In addition, it has also worked with localities and functional organs to hold free legal consultancies and conferences on countering human trafficking for cadres and civilians; printed and issued the book entitled “Understanding the law on prevention and control of women and children trafficking” and leaflets introducing basic contents of the Law on human trafficking prevention and control; the Law on domestic violence prevention and control; sanctions against women and children trafficking. Moreover, it has also promulgated documents regarding Vietnam’s sovereignty over seas and islands and the protection of sovereignty and security in coastal border; designed legal seminars for veterans, the elderly, key cadres, party member of towns and communes; held defense and security courses for religious dignitaries and followers, students, union cadres and civilians. For coastal residents, propagation has been held on the management and protection of dyke system, aquatic and maritime resources; fishing management and licensing for fishermen; regulations on flood and storm prevention and control and the struggle for coastal sovereignty and against legal violations on seas. For students, the Provincial Border Guards has promulgated a document titled “Legal dissemination and education on Vietnam’s sovereignty over maritime border and islands in educational institutions of Thai Binh province” and the accompanied guidebook throughout the whole educational system of the province. Since 2013, 2,000 versions of the document and 1,000 versions of the guidebook have been issued in the educational institutions in the two districts of Tien Hai and Thai Thuy.

New and diversified forms of propagation and education have been applied. Specialised categories on national border sovereignty, border guard, seas and islands have been opened on the provincial electronic portal and aired on the radios and televisions at all levels. Besides, galleries, art performances, contests have also been held on the theme. Thereby, propagation about national border and sovereignty over seas and islands has been conducted in a systematic and interesting manner, attracting a large number of people of all strata, contributing to building people’s awareness of legal conformity and sovereignty protection, and consolidating people’s patriotism and solidarity. Notably, the Provincial Border Guard has also set up a task force for legal dissemination and education in churches, pagodas, religious communities, etc to raise legal awareness of religious followers before their practices of religion.

Today, the situation in the maritime and island areas still evolves complicatedly, setting out increasingly high demands for Thai Binh Border Guard, particularly regarding the management and protection of sovereignty over sea border. For this reason, the Party Committee and Commandants of Thai Binh Border Guard will further their leadership and direction over the legal dissemination and education, and consider this a focal task of border guard work, contributing to raise people’s legal awareness, creating a widespread mass movement for maintaining political stability and social order and firmly protecting the sacred sovereignty over seas, islands and continental shelf of the country.

Senior Colonel Tran Viet Doanh, Commissar of Thai Binh Provincial Border Guard