Nearly 100 residents in Hà Nội’s Hồng Hà Ward defied police orders to disperse during a spontaneous evening assembly, uniting to reject the municipal government’s $28 billion Red River Scenic Boulevard Project.
The Latest: On the evening of Sept. 20, 2026, nearly 100 residents of Hồng Hà ward in Hà Nội held a spontaneous meeting to discuss and offer feedback on the Red River Scenic Boulevard Project, with all attendees opposing the development.
- During the gathering, several police officers arrived and told residents to disperse and move into the community center.
- Residents objected, maintained that gathering to share their views was lawful, and successfully sent the officers away to continue their meeting.
From Luật Khoa: According to Luật Khoa sources at the meeting and alongside social media posts and videos residents shared in Hồng Hà community groups, participants were frustrated.
- When a representative asked who opposed the project, everyone raised their hands and shouted, “We do not agree.” Their central demand: Preserve existing neighborhoods to protect residents’ welfare and keep their lives stable.
Residents’ Objections: Several residents raised objections to different aspects of the project, with every speaker receiving support from those present.
One elderly man gave two reasons for opposing the plan: The developer’s design diverged from the project’s original core criteria, and the existing neighborhood had already been planned and developed after residents were displaced once before.
- He noted that residents had moved there from Hà Nội’s Võ Thị Sáu Ward in 1997.
- “We have already supported the state once, supported making the city more beautiful, but now our neighborhood may face relocation again,” he said.
- He opposed the project because his family already faced difficult living conditions, adding that current compensation would not cover the cost of another home.
- He urged residents to submit feedback calling for the neighborhood to remain.
Another middle-aged man echoed those concerns.
- “People always want the country to become more prosperous and the capital more beautiful,” he said, but he stressed that the plan did not reflect residents’ wishes.
- He noted that the area had already undergone planning in 1997. His family had surrendered two plots in Trần Văn Chân and Võ Thị Sáu Wards to move to what was then vacant land.
- “The roads, electricity and water here are very good now. There is no reason to tear everything down for another project. It would all go to waste, and residents here would lose out. We just want to live here in peace,” he said.
- He also criticized authorities for consulting the wider surrounding population rather than focusing on neighborhoods directly affected.
Another resident said that the banners people had hung outside their homes represented “a demand that will not change.”
- “My household has never agreed. I have had a banner up for months, so how can they say 100% of residents agree?” she asked.
- She urged all residents to also put up banners to make their position clear.
From the State: State media has pushed back against the resistance.
On Sept. 20, Công an Nhân dân (The People’s Police,) the Ministry of Public Security’s official newspaper, published an analysis.
- The article described opponents as “malign forces seeking to distort and make false accusations about the project’s purpose, significance and implementation, spreading false information to create confusion and anxiety and incite residents to confront the authorities.”
Earlier, on June 30, Hà Nội police published a warning about “acts of incitement and recruitment for unlawful mass gatherings related to the capital’s major projects.”
- The article asserted that “most residents agree” with the policies of the Communist Party, the state, and Hà Nội authorities.
- It accused a small number of people of “exploiting difficulties and petitions concerning site clearance” to “distort” information and “incite” residents to hang banners, gather in large groups and take complaints directly to higher authorities, bypassing lower levels.
The Background: Hồng Hà is Hà Nội’s largest inner-city ward by area, covering just over 15.09 square kilometers and home to more than 123,000 people.
- It was formed by merging several former wards along the Red River across five former central districts: Hoàn Kiếm, Ba Đình, Tây Hồ, Hai Bà Trưng, and Long Biên.
- It is a key area directly affected by the project.
Since May 2026, residents in areas covered by the project have taken various steps to oppose its proposed development.
- These include submitting petitions, hanging banners, creating a nonprofit website to inform residents and guide them through the petition process, and walking together in matching shirts.
- Residents state that most of these efforts have faced interference: Civil defense personnel have removed banners, and the guidance website has become inaccessible from Việt Nam.
Since Hà Nội authorities began seeking public feedback on the Red River Scenic Boulevard Project on Sept. 7, residents have shared social media posts and videos showing opposition at government-organized meetings.
- According to Luật Khoa’s sources at consultation sites, most residents surveyed opposed the project and expressed uncertainty and skepticism about how their feedback would be recorded.
- In response to the government-led forums, residents of Hồng Hà and other affected areas have also held their own evening meetings to discuss how to protect their communities and preserve existing neighborhoods.
Why It Matters: The Red River Scenic Boulevard Project is a strategic megaproject intended to reshape Hà Nội’s urban landscape.
- The Hanoi People’s Council approved it on the morning of May 11, 2026.
- The project spans 16 communes and wards, covers approximately 11,418 hectares and carries a preliminary investment estimate of 736.963 trillion dong ($28 billion).
- It is expected to affect about 200,000 residents.
While Hà Nội authorities are publicly displaying planning documents from Sept. 7–27 to collect residents’ feedback, the Hanoi People’s Committee issued Decision No. 127/2026 on Sept. 16.
- This mandate allows authorities to acquire land before residents have been resettled, beginning Sept. 26, 2026—a decision that has angered the local population.
Lê Sáng wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on September 21, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
