The sound of hope from a lonely life
The story is told from the concerns of Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Lien (born in 1962, Quyet Tien residential group), who lived alone to raise her grandchild, the only daughter who had been struggling to make a living in a foreign land for 6 years. Ms. Lien is in a difficult situation, but was forced to pay 1.8 million VND in 2023 and 1.9 million VND in 2024 for infrastructure contributions in residential groups. The painful thing is that her name is on the list of exemptions that the residential group itself has prepared and reported to the superiors.
When discovering the truth at the town People's Committee, Ms. Lien could not help but be shocked. Although the list clearly states that she is exempted from the deduction, she still has to struggle to pay the full amount of the fee, while life is already too difficult. She brought her confession and sent Lao Dong Newspaper a belief and hope.
After receiving the petition, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters immediately set out to verify. But the journey was not easy. Ms. Lien, a weak and shy woman, was under heavy pressure from those around her. The searching eyes, the gossiping words, the mocking questions... all were as much as underground waves, surrounding a person who only wanted to live in peace.
"Ms. Lien is slandered by many people" - this detail is not just a simple sentence, but a true image of loneliness, of the mental damage that a vulnerable person has to endure when daring to stand up against evil.
But then, the presence of reporters became a fulcrum. They are not only information collectors, but also trusted companions, those who give more courage so that she is not alone. The writer understands, encourages, respects humanity and persists with her until the end.
Thanks to the close connection between the people and the press, the mysteries are revealed one by one. On November 26, Mr. Phan Dinh Hung - Head of Quyet Tien Residential Group - admitted to collecting money from Ms. Lien. Explaining that "if there are still people working in the household, they still have to collect", Mr. Hung tried to avoid personal responsibility and the inadequacy of the mechanism for determining collection - exemption.
At this time, Chairman of the People's Committee of Nong Truong Viet Trung town, Mr. Phan Van Trung, could not stand aside. He was forced to confirm the violation and commit to clarify. The incident spread, raising suspicions about an unknown revenue and expenditure system.
From an individual incident, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters discovered many more households that were exempted from discounts, but were still charged money. There are elderly people who live alone but are still classified as "capable of contributing".
Justice is lit up
Under the pressure of public opinion and the strong participation of Lao Dong Newspaper, the first results have begun to appear clearly. On January 8, 2025, the head of the Quyet Tien residential group returned 3 million VND to Ms. S - an elderly woman in difficult circumstances, who had been wrongly accused for 2 consecutive years 2022 and 2023.
Ms. S is one of the cases reported by Lao Dong Newspaper in a series of articles following the incident from the beginning, along with Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong Lien. The refund was made public, directly implemented by Mr. Phan Duy Tan - cluster leader 2 - and confirmed to Lao Dong Newspaper reporter. This is not only an act to correct violations, but also an official recognition of the correctness and objectivity of information that the press has persistently pursued.
Not stopping at one individual, on March 6, the People's Committee of Nong Truong Viet Trung town announced the results of a comprehensive inspection at Quyet Tien residential group after press reports. The figures have surprised the public: In 3 consecutive years 2022-2024, up to 91 households have been accused of incorrect infrastructure construction contributions, with a total difference of nearly 84 million VND. Of which, 3 households that are completely exempt are still collected like normal households.
Worse, the excess amount of money was not paid to the town but the residential group arbitrarily used it for internal expenses. On March 10, Mr. Hoang Minh Trung - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Nong Truong Viet Trung Town - officially announced the decision to remove Mr. Phan Dinh Hung from the position of Head of Quyet Tien Residential Group. The reason given is that Mr. Hung has seriously violated leadership, management, and operation, negatively affecting the reputation of the grassroots government. Along with that, the Party Committee of Nong Truong Viet Trung town also disciplined Mr. Phan Dinh Hung - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Quyet Tien Department with a reprimand.
The Party Committee determined that Mr. Hung was seriously irresponsible in directing and managing the collection and expenditure of the residential group, did not comply with local policies and regulations; planned to mobilize contributions that were not true to reality, collected to the wrong subjects; and arbitrarily used the money exceeding the spending plan for general activities of the residential group.
Not only Mr. Hung, Mr. Tran Quoc Van - Secretary of the Party Committee of Quyet Tien Party Department - was also disciplined by the Party Committee of Nong Truong Viet Trung Town with a reprimand. In his role as Secretary of the Party Committee, Mr. Van is considered irresponsible in leading, directing, urging, inspecting, and supervising the implementation of the task of leading and operating the residential group in mobilizing and contributing voluntarily to the people. The case is still being received and handled by the People's Committee of Nam Trach commune on the basis of inheriting the records and management responsibilities from Nong Truong Viet Trung town before the merger.
The incident in Quyet Tien once again proved that the press is not only reporting news, but is also a force that creates change. Thanks to the reporter's persistent monitoring, a single reflection has become a campaign to expose violations for many years, returning the rights of the people and forcing the local government system to intervene, admit mistakes, and correct mistakes.
