Where the Red River begins its journey
From the center of Yen Bai ward, Lao Cai province, overcoming more than 200 kilometers of winding mountain passes, we arrived at A Mu Sung commune. This border land is located between overlapping mountain ranges, where Lung Po stream merges into the Red River - the first point flowing into Vietnamese territory.
On the top of the high hill, the red flag with a yellow star flutters on the Lung Po flagpole. Looking down from here, the red water carrying alluvium silently flows down to the plain, carrying layers of sediment of national history and culture.
In the days leading up to the election, the atmosphere at the border becomes more bustling than usual. The dirt road leading to the polling station is bustling with people passing by, red flags and flowers.
Mr. Ly A Pao, a resident of Lung Po village, who is over 60 years old this year, eagerly awaits the festival of the country. He said that election day is an important day for the country. No matter how far the road is, people will go to the polls on time.
In the border area, where every inch of land is associated with the story of preserving sovereignty, the ballot sometimes carries a meaning that goes beyond the framework of an administrative procedure.
That is the expression of the right to master the country, the right to participate in deciding the future of the homeland.
Ms. Giang Thi Sua, 78 years old, leaned on a cane to the village cultural house to read information about candidates. She said that she had participated in many elections, but every time she held the ballot in her hand, she still felt nervous.
Voting is a big job for the people. We choose good people to help the people, help the village," Mr. Sua said.
Chairman of the Election Committee of A Mu Sung commune Tran Quoc Dinh informed: Due to the strongly divided terrain with many deep crevices, abysses, thick fog, high humidity, and difficult travel. Therefore, preparation work started from "going through each alley, knocking on each door".
The commune election council has coordinated with the police force to review the national population database to make accurate voter lists to each person.
At 13 polling stations, the list of 3,915 voters, including 1,949 men and 1,966 women, was solemnly posted at the village cultural houses very early for people to check information.
Because there are many households scattered on the high mountainsides, the commune has prepared mobile auxiliary ballot boxes. Members of the election team were thoroughly trained on the process of bringing ballot boxes to homes for the elderly and disabled, ensuring 100% of citizen rights are exercised in the place where the "Red River flows into Vietnamese land".
Votes – the "milestone" of the people's hearts
Life in Lung Po is still simple like many other highland villages. People mainly grow corn, rice, raise livestock and farm.
But behind that simple life is a deep awareness of preserving the border.
Many people here regularly participate with the border guard force in patrolling the border, protecting border markers. They are likened to "living milestones" of the Fatherland - people who silently but persistently preserve every inch of border land.
Major Nguyen Van Thanh, officer of A Mu Sung Border Guard Station, said - local people always closely coordinate with the border guard force in protecting the border line and markers.
People here are very conscious of protecting the border. Many people are willing to participate in patrols and report promptly when there are unusual signs," Major Thanh expressed.
Ms. Giang Thi Sua told us: "The stone marker marks territory, and the people are the markers of the people's hearts.
And in Lung Po, those "people's heart milestones" are day by day attached to the border land, contributing to the peace of the Fatherland.
At the headwaters of the Fatherland, every citizen understands that the ballot is not just a small piece of paper put into the ballot box on the morning of March 15. It is a measure of faith, the crystallization of changes in the borderland. And deeper, it is another milestone, quietly but sustainably, erected in the hearts of the people.
