Vietnam's village mergers spark debate over cultural preservation vs. efficiency

Vietnam is restructuring its grassroots communities, including thôn, làng, and tổ dân phố. The process aims to merge these units but has raised concerns about preserving their cultural significance. Leaders stress that villages are not just administrative divisions but living cultural spaces. Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm has highlighted the need to protect culture during restructuring. He argues that cultural preservation strengthens society’s spiritual foundation and national unity. The core principle is to avoid breaking collective memory or erasing cultural identity.

Five cultural factors must now be assessed before any merger. These include founding history, heritage, social structures, cultural facilities, and community consent. Cultural criteria should become as mandatory as administrative ones in decision-making.

To ensure long-term success, five key solutions have been proposed. These involve cultural impact assessments, retaining traditional names, creating community consultation mechanisms, linking restructuring to cultural facility upgrades, and digitising village heritages. The goal is to keep local voices central, ensuring genuine dialogue and respect for residents’ consent. The restructuring process will continue, but cultural preservation remains a priority. Streamlining administration must not come at the cost of erasing cultural distinctions. The new measures aim to balance efficiency with the protection of Vietnam’s village identities.