Surrounded by police, iron fences, and no-filming signs, the Ba Vì People’s Committee held a dialogue with residents affected by the controversial safari project.
The Latest: On the morning of Nov. 11, the People’s Committee of Ba Vì commune in Hà Nội held a dialogue with residents regarding the Sun Group’s Safari Park project.
- Videos recorded by residents show large numbers of police and other security personnel arriving in Hương Canh village before dawn to set up iron fences and “No filming, photography, or livestreaming in this area” signs.
Footage from the Dialogue: One video, shot while it was still dark, shows a convoy entering the village road led by a small white pickup truck.
- Several tarp-covered trucks followed, along with a long line of uniformed people on foot, many of whom were police officers carrying batons.
Additional footage shows a crane truck transporting mobile iron fences parked on the village road.
- Police unloaded the fences and set them up across the road while dozens of residents—mostly women—surrounded the truck and filmed on their phones.
In front of the village cultural house, hundreds of people packed the yard.
- Police, militia members in pith helmets, and individuals wearing red armbands moved through the crowd.
- Footage reveals pushing and shoving, knocked-down iron fences, and sandals left scattered on the road.
- Additional clips show police holding people tightly and dragging them out of the crowd.
Another video shows the dialogue itself, featuring a projector and hundreds of attendees.
Notably, a resident who spoke at the dialogue (00:39 to 01:49) stated that someone had been detained while filming on the road leading into the project area.
- According to the resident, that person “was not filming in a security zone” and “did nothing wrong, just filmed a video.”
- Additionally, they asked police and security representatives present at the dialogue to respond to this incident, arguing that the case concerned citizens’ rights.
- In response, an official said that the matter fell under the authority of the police.
It remains unclear on what basis authorities banned residents from filming and livestreaming on village roads or who made that decision.
By the commune’s own account, the meeting was a public dialogue with the very residents whose land was being taken, yet residents had to pass through iron fences and a police cordon.
The Background: On Sept. 28, Sun Group proposed a 580-hectare safari project without a bidding process, prompting residents of Giáp Thượng and Sơn Lý villages to stay up all night to guard their villages.
On Sept. 29, residents requested the commune to hold more in-person meetings in the village.
- The commune government subsequently met with “representatives of households” and warned that it would “deal with” false information.
- A day later on Sept. 30, residents hung banners opposing the project.
- On Oct. 9, Hà Nội approved the investment policy and broke ground on the project on the same day.
- The approved project covers 299.51 hectares, with a total investment of 6.506 trillion đồng.
- On Nov. 1, when the project’s boundaries were announced, Hà Nօi directed Ba Vì commune to “hold public dialogues with households that have land” affected by the project.
Why It Matters: Under Decision 5648, issued Oct. 9 by the Hà Nội People’s Committee, compensation and site clearance must be finished within 60 days, or by Dec. 8.
This deadline is less than four weeks from today.
Despite this tight deadline, the government has still not stated how many households will lose land.
Bloomberg cited a preliminary estimate by authorities that nearly 4,000 people could be affected.
Attempt to Contact: On Nov. 11, Luật Khoa Magazine contacted the Ba Vì Commune People’s Committee to ask how many people, if any, were taken away; why iron fences and forces were deployed; why no-filming signs were put up; and what came of the dialogue.
- We will provide an update as soon as the commune replies.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Nov. 11, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
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