The ongoing discourse surrounding the restructuring and streamlining of government apparatus, particularly the merger of provincial and municipal administrative divisions, has become a subject of intense public interest. Consequently, various online platforms are experiencing a surge in related content, including articles and social media posts.
Of particular concern is the proliferation of unverified claims originating from personal accounts, fan pages, and Facebook groups. These sources are disseminating the misleading statement, “Official – this morning the National Assembly, after prolonged consultation, reached a consensus on the merger of provinces and cities: detailed specifics as follows! From 63 provinces to 31 provinces…,” thereby inciting public anxiety and confusion.
The authoritative source of information on this matter is Conclusion 126-KL/TW, issued by the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 14, 2025.
This document outlines the continuation of organizational restructuring and streamlining of the political system in 2025, specifically mentioning the exploration of eliminating intermediate administrative tiers (district level) and the potential merger of certain provincial-level administrative units.
Crucially, the National Assembly has not convened any sessions, nor has it issued any official pronouncements or decisions regarding the specific consolidation of provinces as displayed by these online sources. The disseminated lists of merged provinces and cities are, therefore, demonstrably false and misleading.
The HCMC Division of Cyber Security and Hi-Tech Crime Prevention (PA05) under the municipal Public Security strongly advises the public to exercise caution and verify information pertaining to provincial mergers or administrative boundary changes before sharing it, pending official announcements from relevant authorities. The dissemination of unverified information can generate unwarranted public alarm and negatively impact community well-being.
PA05 emphasizes that the aforementioned misinformation constitutes a legal violation. Individuals who exploit social media to publish false content, employ clickbait tactics, or engage in “view farming” to incite public unrest will be subject to fines ranging from VND10-20 million (US$391-782), as stipulated in Article 101 of Decree 15/2020/ND-CP, dated February 3, 2020 issued by the Government, concerning administrative penalties in the fields of postal services, telecommunications, radio frequency, IT, and electronic transactions.
