Hans (hansvanhanoi@...) commented on the article “Where are Vietnamese goods in the global value chain”. He wrote: “In most of the developed countries were they grow coffee, grain and other food stuffs, the growers have formed large cooperatives, which are owned/controlled by these co-ops. When prices in the world market are low, then the produce will be stored at special storage facilities and sold when prices are up again. This way the farmers control their income and escape dependence on buyers/agents as is the case in Vietnam, where most of the farmers stay poor because the money is made further up the chain. In many cases I think they are being robbed of precious money!  However, you need however clear laws and regulations in order to set up cooperatives, which are private co-ops and not controlled by state agencies that take the money for their own benefit.”

About the story “23 years working as state employee, earning $100/month”, Hans wrote: “How can they survive while so many prices including food are escalating! This story does not present a modern Vietnam but a Vietnam widely divided in state-owned sector and a private sector trying their best to grow”.

T.K Raja (tkraja@...com, perhaps from India, made comments on teaching English in Vietnam. “English teaching in Vietnam is an arduous task. First you have to train school teachers through a well organized training programs of international standard. It is advisable to recruit professors from English speaking countries such as India to train the Vietnamese teachers in English teaching. I have the experience of teaching English medium classes in biotechnology of International University in HCM City. It was really a challenging task.” (English language teaching needs serious improvement).

Reading article “Sitting on mounts of gold, why is Vietnam still poor?”, T.K Raja confirmed that Vietnam is not poor. He wrote: “Vietnam is a country of very intelligent and hard working people. It is unfair to compare Vietnam with the capitalist world where the development is illusory and helps rich people only. Vietnam will become a prosperous country with its socialist market economy. Doi Moi has brought immense economic benefits to people.”

Reader Hoang Le at johnbaby772…@yahoo.com wrote about “The US will be a tough negotiator in TPP?” : “There's a point in the above article which I believe doesn't reflect the truth. New Zealand currently does not have an official FTA with the US. It's been trying to negotiate with the US, but has been unsuccessful in reaching a bilateral agreement. Therefore, New Zealand's intention to join TPP is similar to that of Vietnam. That is, to trade with the US counterpart in a virtual free-trade environment, without having to overcome the difficulty in directly negotiating a bilateral free trade deal.” We have checked and it is correct that New Zealand has not signed an FTA with the US. Thank you Hoang Le for the information.

Toan Nguyen at toanloan1@....com wrote about the buffalo slaughtering festival in the Central Highlands (Seeking profit from traditional rituals is offensive to culture) as follow: “Not all unique cultural events is good.  Some are very bad.  Humans do not want to see something cruel like that in the world today and foreigners will not like to see cruel to kill the animal that way, I would not go to see that even though I am Vietnamese.

For Maggie O'Sullivan (maggie52teh@...com) from Iran, VietNamNet Bridge is her new discovery. “I have just discovered your news service. A Vietnamese girl studying here in Iran introduced it to me. I really liked it. Thank you, Maggie!” she wrote.

Reader Dohuong (dodiuhuong@...com) wrote that she cried seeing pictures about the old cyclo rider in Hue city (98-year-old cyclo rider). “I am sorry! My tears felt down when I saw the pictures. My country is very poor but the youth like me live recklessly. Though we are poor, we still live very lavishly, I'm very sorry. I will live well from now on,” she wrote.

Matthew Low (redriverindochine@....com) asked for the contact of the horse riding service in Hanoi (The strangest services in Vietnam – part 2). The address is Bai Da, Nhat Tan ward, Tay Ho district, Hanoi. The service provider is Mr. Ho Thanh Binh.

Australian reader Brian Cox (candico71@....com) complained about airport tax on DVDs, after reading our article “Australian tourists favor Viet Nam”. He wrote: “Why is the rip off of travellers allowed to continue in that those of us who buy DVDs in HCM City or else where are bailed up by greedy custom officials at the airport as we departed Vietnam. They say we must pay tax on the DVDs. It is a big con job and it should be stopped.”

There is no tax on DVDs. Custom officials are only responsible for checking whether the DVDs are original or copy versions and their contents. If your DVDs are copyright violated, they will be confiscated.

John nguyen (jnguyen@....com) agreed with the viewpoint in article “Vietnam: From an Asian tiger to a hibernated cat”. He wrote: “I totally agreed that the Vietnamese government should change its government's policies on state-owned enterprises. They should follow the foot steps of U.S and the whole world on how to privatized the whole economy structures before it's too late. And don't let Chinese products flood Vietnam's soil. There should be more tough regulations on Chinese products  at the border and more severe punishments for illegal smugglers of poisonous Chinese products.”

Martel (stopkillingtheanimals@yahoo.com) commented on “Vietnam a hub for trafficking of endangered animals”. He wrote: “Maybe it's time for people to enter the 21st century and stop thinking that wild animals have magical powers that will cure their illnesses. A country can not consider itself civilized if the population is exterminating the wildlife without recourse.” It is totally true.

L.H (saodoingoi737@....com) said that it is a chance for Vietnamese girls to change their lives if they get married foreign men (In a word: Girls – be careful!).

He analyzed: “Why do you have to be sad? As a man I’m very sorry to here about that. I think Vietnamese girls like to marry Korean men because two reasons: They want to look for a chance to help their families; they accept their fate instead of marrying Vietnamese men who have no money but still want to be the most important person in family. If they don’t marry Korean men, they may have to work at massage centers or work as prostitutes because that is the quick way to help their families. I respect Vietnamese women and I hate the unfair things in society. Do not blame on Vietnamese women because that is the matter of men.”

Rajeswar Sulpya (rajsulpya@wlink.com...) expressed his support to hydro-power projects (Hydropower plants do not cause flood: expert opinion).

“Hydro power plants do not create flood, but control flood. I do not agree with the expression made here that small hydro power plants should not be encouraged. Hydro power plants should be developed in well plan and coordinated matter. Large and storage hydro plants should be carefully planned along with the cascade development which will provide optimum solution as well as cheaper development cost. This may even improve environment situation.”

Bill van den Broek (bill_vanden_broek@....com) told his experience as a teacher (A teacher sued for student maltreatment). He wrote: “Regardless of the situation teachers have no right to abuse their pupils. I have been teaching for over forty years and sometimes you find it hard to keep your emotions to yourself but you are the professional who should have the discipline to control your emotions, regardless of the situations. Teachers are challenged all over the world and every day in the classroom but this does not give them the right to abuse their students.”

Jong Kim (jkim90058@....com) contributes some information about Vietnamese coffee (Vietnam lost half a billion dollar because it picked unripe coffee beans). He wrote: “The primary reason Vietnamese coffee is cheaper than Brazilian, Colombian, Indonesian and Indian is because it only farms the cheaper "robusta" type beans, whereas Colombia and Indonesia produce only

"arabica" beans which are more than twice the price of robusta beans. Brazil and India produce both types of beans. Arabica type cultivation is not suitable for Vietnam for various reasons so Vietnamese farmers don't have a choice. Cheaper robusta beans are used up not only as a blending bean to lower the cost of coffee in general, but used mostly in the production of instant coffee where the the manufacturing process significantly destroys the flavor profiles of coffee so using the cheaper bean makes more economic sense. “

Pat Hixon (pathixon48@...com) thanked VietNamNet Bridge for a photo story about Military blockhouses in Hanoi. “Very interesting! This is the kind of stuff I like to see on this site!” he wrote.

Deeppa Ravindran (girtania….com) commented on “Bio-pesticides struggling to get a foothold on market” article. “I’m glad about the move. Consumers have the power to choose. Chemical pesticides in the long run are harmful to the health of the environment and people. The links between pesticides and cancer is getting higher.”

Cames (anysha@....com) wrote: “Hanoi need clean and good street before people buy cars like that. I havent seen in Japan expensive cars like Vietnam”. (What do VIPs use super cars for?)

Mary (mary.g.b@...com) commented on “Rich people spend money like water to control naughty children”. She found that it is terrible. “Such a lack of communication between parents and children! Lack of trust! How will these children feel if they know their parents have been using detectives to spy on them? Will they suddenly start confiding in their parents. No, I'm convinced they will feel even more mistrust. I suggest parents to spend more time with their children. Do things together, talk and discuss things together to share each other's points of views. That is more important than making them take extra classes in one subject after the other. However, they should also be given time to be with their friends.”

VNNB