HCMC to spend VND4 trillion removing households on canals

Ho Chi Minh City plans to spend VND 4 trillion (US$188,421,853) evacuating dilapidated houses which located along the canals to make city more beautiful.

The Department of Construction in Ho Chi Minh City said that it has removed over 10,000 households which located along canals in districts 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, Binh Tan, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Go Vap, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc and Binh Chanh.

As of plan to evacuate 15,000 households living in the areas along canals in districts from now to 2015, the department carried out nearly 70 percent of its target.

From now on, the city will continue removing more than 4,000 households to other places. It is estimated that removal and resettlement of these households will cost nearly VND4 trillion.

Training project proves a failure

After sponsoring vocational training for rural labourers in the north and central regions for four years, the Government has admitted the programme's employment rate and quality of training was ineffective.

The programme set out to help farmers who had their land taken from them and were forced into unemployment.

Luong Van Huan, chairman of Phuc Thanh Commune People's Committee in Hai Duong Province, said after putting it into action, shortcomings came to light.

Most trainees were between 40 and 50 years old and it was hard for them to get jobs, even after completing vocational study.

Also, he said, training was often too short or did not give people the skills needed for their line of work.

Residents eventually stopped attending classes, Huan said, citing a recent survey. Two thirds of garment trainees still remain unemployed, and most weaving trainees had quit their jobs.

The Government programme started in 2010 and cost the State VND4.8 trillion (US$225 million). More than 1.6 million labourers have been given training and 1.2 million found some type of job.

Nguyen Thi Nhat, a middle-aged labourer in Phuc Thanh Commune, said a vocational class on traditional weaving helped her learn the trade, and a local women's union helped her sell her products.

But since the class ended after several months, Nhat hasn't been able to sell a thing.

Nhat and more than 30 women in her commune joined the class free of charge and earned VND15,000 ( US$0.7) for each day of study.

"Farmers who lost cultivated land like us only want a job that brings us a stable income," Nhat said. "Many have switched to other temporary jobs to get money."

Nguyen Chung, another trainee in northern Phu Tho Province's Thanh Ba District, said he joined a class for trainee mechanics and learned a lot of theory, but not enough about putting it into practice.

"I only studied some simple skills, such as mending a puncture," Chung said. "I had to go to Ha Noi for another three months of study in a vocational training centre, and then work for a motorbike repair shop to master basic skills."

Chung said he was the only one who worked as a mechanic in the vocational class.

Nguyen Thi Tham, another trainee in Ha Noi's Ung Hoa District, joined two classes on fruit-tree cultivation and cooking. But she found it hard to use the knowledge to earn money.

She didn't have enough money to start her own orchard, and simple dishes from the cooking class only helped her make family meals, she said.

Speaking at a National Assembly meeting on vocational training on Wednesday, Nguyen Thi Hong Ha, a NA deputy from Ha Noi, said vocational training had not met practical and social demands.

She said rural workers in a mountainous area studied motorbike repair would surely find it difficult to get job because their training only lasted four days.

Nguyen Thi Kha, NA deputy from Tra Vinh Province, said in the northwest and Central Highland regions, only two out of 30 trainees found jobs after joining vocational classes, and most were retrained by their employers.

Dao Trong Do, deputy head of the General Directorate of Vocational Training under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, admitted the shortcomings.

He said the ministry would make changes to assure the programme's effectiveness.

Can Tho launches “Life’s Journey” programme

The National Fund for Vietnamese Children (NFVC), in cooperation with AIA Vietnam and the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, launched the “Life’s Journey” programme on November 6 to raise funds to buy bicycles for the city’s disadvantaged children.

According to Deputy General of the NFVC Le Tuyet Mai, since its establishment in 2004 the fund has raised over VND4 trillion (US$188 million) to support more than 28 million underprivileged children throughout the country.

At the launch, 40 disadvantaged children from the remote and mountainous districts of Phong Dien, Vinh Thanh, Co Do and Thoi Lai were given bicycles (worth VND1.7 million each).

In addition, the NFVC worked with AIA Vietnam to give another 40 bicycles, 40 scholarships and 80 educational kits to poor children in Tien Giang and Long An provinces.

The city also organised a parade to increase the public’s awareness of road safety.

According to statistics published by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, each year more than 200,000 children drop out of school in Vietnam. One of the main reasons is that they live too far from the nearest school, with many children in remote and mountainous areas having to walk 5-10km or more to school.

Can Tho invests in public works

The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has spent VND2 trillion (US$95 million) this year on over 100 rural public works like roads, healthcare facilities, schools, and water supply systems.

A 28km section of National Highway 91 connecting Can Tho with An Giang Province was upgraded, construction of the 500-bed Can Tho General Hospital was wrapped up, and a dyke was built along the Can Tho River to prevent landslides.

Another 80 small and medium-sized works were done in the districts of Phong Dien, Thoi Lai, Co Do, Vinh Thanh, Cai Rang, O Mon, Thot Not, and Binh Thuy.

They make up 81 per cent of the year's target.

"Such works have improved the living standards of local people," Le Hung Dung, chairman of the city People's Committee, said.

As a result, the proportion of people with access to clean water has increased from 92 per cent last year to 93 per cent, the number of hospital beds has risen from 29.6 for every 10,000 people to 31.6, and the proportion of clinics that meet national standards has jumped from 97.6 per cent to 100 per cent.

Many models of collaboration between farmers and businesses and farmers and co-operatives have also been established in Phong Dien, Vinh Thanh, and Thot Not.

Ireland expects to lure more Vietnamese students

Ireland hopes to welcome more Vietnamese students who pursue their education in the country, Director for International Relations at Ireland’s University of Cork Christopher Brown has said.

He made the wish at a recent signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between his university and the Vietnam International Education Development Department.

Under the MoU, the University of Cork will offer scholarships and academic support to Vietnamese students who come to study and research at the school.

At the ceremony, Irish Ambassador to Vietnam Damien Cole applauded bilateral collaboration in this field, expecting an increasing number of Vietnamese students to access high-quality training in Ireland.

In November 2011, Irish Minister of State Department of Environment, Community and Local Government Jan O’Sullivan visited Vietnam, signing a 55 million EUR Irish educational aid package in a view to attracting more Vietnamese learners.

Over 30 Vietnamese are currently enrolled in Ireland’s universities funded by Irish Government scholarships, with an alumni network of over 100.

OVs in Norway raise fund for disadvantaged children

The association of Vietnamese people in Norway raised 40,000 NOK (5,700 USD) during a recent charity night held in Oslo in support of poor and disabled children in Vietnam.

Speaking at the annual event, the association’s Chairman Pham Thanh Pha thanked the overseas Vietnamese (OV) in Norway for their support for disadvantaged children in their homeland.

He expressed hope that they will continue participating in charity activities in the coming time as one of the activities towards their native country.

On behalf of the Vietnamese Embassy in Norway, Minister Counselor Le Thanh Binh praised the active contributions of the OVs and their association to easing difficulties for Vietnamese children with difficulties.

On this occasion, the embassy representative introduced a free Vietnamese learning website created by the Ministry of Education and Training which aims to uphold and develop the Vietnamese language and culture in the community.

Earlier in July 2014, the association raised 6,000 USD for Vietnam’s coast guard forces.

HCM City to host Vietnam Information Security Day 2014

The Vietnam Information Security Day 2014 with the theme of information security and national sovereignty will kick off in Ho Chi Minh City on November 19.

The annual event is jointly organised by the municipal Department of Information Communications and the southern chapter of the Vietnam Information Security Association (VNISA).

This year’s event will take place in the context of complex regional and global information security threats that put the operations of organisations and businesses as well as national sovereignty at risk, Chairman of the VNISA’s southern branch Ngo Vi Dong told the press on November 5.

The day will open with a competition entitled ‘Students and information security’, which is expected to draw the participation of students from 15 universities, academies and colleges throughout the country.

A series of seminars is being organised to bring the State, society and enterprises together to boost information security and share experience in advanced security measures.

They will focus on the information security status quo and strategies, wireless security, infrastructure security and the application of information technology, as well as unique codes.

The event also serves as a bridge for enterprises to introduce their latest security products to customers.

Cyber security has emerged as a key concern for government bodies, organisations and enterprises in Vietnam in recent years. Since the number of people using social networks and mobile devices is increasing, the Government should promote effective management approaches and implement state-of-the-art measures to meet the current demand.

Hanoi moves to control sex ratio at birth

The capital city of Hanoi is striving to better its policies on gender equality, and intensify inspections to stop gender selection in an effort to reduce the current high sex ratio at birth.

According to the municipal Department of Population and Family Planning, the city’s average male-to-female sex ratio at birth remains at a high level, with 114.4 boys per 100 girls.

Eight out of the city’s 29 districts and towns report a ratio of more than 120 boys per 100 girls, which are Soc Son, Son Tay, Dan Phuong, Phuc Tho, Hoai Duc, Chuong My, Phu Xuyen and My Duc.

The rate was 116 boys per 100 girls in 2011 and 2012, and 114.5 boys per 100 girls in 2013.

The city’s Statistics Department said Hanoi is now in the period of “golden population structure”, which provides abundant human resources for local socio-economic activities. However, the structure is changing towards an “aging” tendency, with an increase in the number of the elderly and a decrease in the number of children aged under 16.

For the 2016-2020 period, Hanoi sets targets of improving population quality, maintaining a reasonably low birth rate and controlling the sex ratio at birth.

The city will invest in expanding prenatal and postnatal screening services in order to early detect congenital malformations, as well as productive health care services. Large-scale education campaigns will continue to be held to raise public awareness on family planning, gender equality and the role of females in the society’s sustainable development.

According to the head of the Department of Population and Family Planning, Ta Quang Huy, over the past four years, the capital’s population quality has been improved. Its human development index (HDI) is now higher than the country’s indicator, while the life expectancy for the city’s residents was 75 (72.6 for men and 77.6 for women) in 2013.

An Giang’s farmers profit from growing Japan’s rice varieties

Farmers in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang has enjoyed an increase of at least 30 percent in profit thanks to cultivating Japanese rice varieties.

The varieties, namely Kinu, Akita, Hana and DS1, have been provided by the Angimex–Kitoku Co., Ltd, with the aim of helping local farmers produce clean rice with high output.

According to Chau Van Ly, Vice Chairman the provincial Farmers’ Association, the cooperation in growing Japanese rice varieties between farmers in Long Xuyen city, Thoai Son, Tri Ton and Chau Thanh districts and the company in 2014 has proved effective, generating an output of 14,000 tonnes of rice worth 1 trillion VND (47 million USD).

During the farming process, the company has assisted farmers in preventing diseases and insects and supplied fertilizer to them. It has also bought all rice from contracted farmers to export to Japan .

In 2015, the farming area under the project is expected to range from 2,000-2,500 ha, and all produced rice will be shipped to the Japanese market.

Northwestern provinces make strides in economic development

Northwestern Vietnam has made stable economic progress over the past few years, helping improve local people’s living conditions and ensure security and defence in this mountainous region, an official has said.

Vietnam’s northwestern region groups the provinces of Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Hoa Binh, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Phu Tho, and Tuyen Quang and 21 western districts of the central provinces of Thanh Hoa and Nghe An. Up to 83 percent of the region’s population live in rural and mountainous areas.

Truong Xuan Cu, deputy head in charge of the Steering Committee for Northwestern Region, said the provinces in recent years have focused on agro-forestry and aquaculture, with large-scale areas of cash crops formed in the region.

About 74,000ha of land in the region was zoned for tea cultivation while another 180,000ha and 15,000ha were under fruit and coffee trees, respectively. The localities are also working to expand the rubber planting area to more than 62,000ha.

At the same time, the herds of buffalos and cows have been growing at over 3 percent annually, generating stable incomes for local farmers, he said, adding that Lao Cai, Lai Chau and Yen Bai have succeeded in farming salmons and sturgeons.

Regarding industrial development, the region has prioritized industries that can make use of its advantages and potential, Cu noted, citing as examples several key industrial projects such as the hydro-power plants of Son La and Lai Chau, the Lao Cai steel factory, and the Cam Duong apatite sifting factory, which have contributed greatly to local socio-economic development.

The official also highlighted the emerging industries such as mining and processing.

The region’s trade and service sector region has seen good growth, particularly in cross-border economic exchanges. The tourism sector is also booming, making full use of the region’s spectacular natural landscape and rich cultural and historic heritage.

The region expects to see further development in the coming time with a series of infrastructure projects already completed or underway.

The Hanoi-Lao Cai highway was open for traffic in last September, and nearly 3,700km of national ways and other roads traversing the region have been upgraded. As a result, 95 percent of regional communes are now accessible by automobiles, while the national electricity grid has reached 97 percent of communes.

The Steering Committee for the Northwestern Region has played a key role in leading the region’s development through recommending priority issues and urgent problems as well as possible solutions to the government.

The committee has defined three priorities as prerequisites for the region’s growth, which are infrastructure, human resources and poverty reduction. In this direction, in 2012 the committee coordinated with the Ministry of Transport to develop a plan on transport infrastructure for the northern midland and mountainous region to 2015 with a vision to 2020. In 2013, the committee hosted two major conferences, one to promote investment and support for the northwestern region and another on improving business and investment environment to attract ODA and non-governmental organisations to the region.

This year the committee has made tourism promotion as its key task and has organized an event for this purpose, attracting the participation of 35 foreign diplomatic delegations.

28,000 Chinese visited Vietnam with illegal cow tongue passports

So far this year, 28,253 Chinese travelers arriving at the seaport of central Vietnamese Da Nang city have been found using passports with China’s cow tongue line on them. The line illegally puts about 80 percent of the East Sea under Chinese sovereignty.

This information was reported by the Da Nang Border Guard on Wednesday.

Of these Chinese travelers, 8,279 had entry and exit permits issued under Decision No. 849/2004/QD-BCA by the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

Notably, a ship named Henna, with Maltese nationality, arrived at the Da Nang port carrying 537 Chinese passengers whose passports had the cow’s tongue line printed on them, the local border guard force said.

After examination, the line, also known as the nine-dash line was printed on the 8th, 24th and 46th pages of each the passports.

For those with such passports, the Border Gate Station at the Da Nang Port did not stick a visa label in their passports, but provided them with loose-leaf visa to enable them to travel in Da Nang, the station said.

The nine-dash line was first introduced in China in 1947. Beijing presented the plan to the United Nations in 2009 to illegally claim sovereignty over nearly the entire East Sea, Vietnam’s Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly rejected the illegal nine-dash line and affirmed that Vietnam has full historical and legal evidence to prove its indisputable sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, in delivering an important speech at the Center for Study of International Strategies in the U.S. on July 26, 2013, as part of his visit to the country, also reiterated that Vietnam consistently opposes China’s cow tongue line since the line is not based on any legal or scientific ground.

Wreaths laid to mark Russian October Revolution

A delegation of the Party Committee, the People’s Council, the People’s Committee and the Fatherland Front’s Committee of Hanoi on November 7 laid wreaths at the statue of Vladimir Ilych Lenin in Lenin Park to mark the 97th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (November 7, 1917).

The delegation was led by Ngo Thi Doan Thanh, member of the Party Central Committee and Chairwoman of the Hanoi People’s Council.

Lenin was one of the leading political figures and revolutionary thinkers of the 20th century, who masterminded the Bolshevik take-over of power in Russia in 1917. He was the architect and first leader of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

He was also a great teacher of workers worldwide

Vietnamese land, people introduced in Argentina

Argentina’s Viditerra 1915 travel agency is planning a cross-Vietnam tour that could bring Argentinean holiday seekers to must-see sites, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Long Bay, Sa Pa town, and Hue ancient capital, starting in 2015.

Viditerra 1915 Director Viviana Castro revealed the plan when talking to the Vietnam News Agency’s correspondents in Buenos Aires on the fringes of a seminar to introduce Southeast Asia’s tourism in the Argentinean capital city on November 5.

She affirmed that Vietnam is an attractive destination for cultural tourism.

Many of Viditerra 1915’s customers were impressed with Vietnam’s current socio-economic development achievements, she said, adding that her agency wishes to introduce modern Vietnam to more people.

Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination to Argentinean tourists, welcoming around 10,000 arrivals from the Latin American country each year, heard the seminar, which was co-organised by the Vietnam Embassy in Argentina, Viditerra 1915, and the Argentine Chamber of Commerce for Asia and the Pacific.

A video clip featuring Vietnamese land and people, history and culture and tourism potential as well as tourist attractions was screened at the event.

Vietnam-Russia education cooperation in spotlight

A roundtable on Vietnamese-Russian cooperation in the field of education, with the support of social organisations, took place in Hanoi on November 7 on the occasion of the 97th anniversary of the Russian October Revolution (November 7, 1917).

According to the Vice President of the Vietnam-Russia Friendship Association Ho Anh Dung, Russia has helped train tens of thousands of Vietnamese officials and experts in a number of fields and has supported the country in human resources development since the 1950s.

There are currently 6,000-7,000 Vietnamese students enrolled at Russian universities, with numbers increasing by 500-700 students each year and expected to grow by 1,000 from 2015 onwards.

The roundtable provided an opportunity for educational managers and teachers to gain an overview of the main issues in education and training cooperation between the two countries.

The opinions heard during the event will help strengthen the collaboration, especially in the face of the changing regional and international context, Dung added.

Participants shared their views on the achievements made so far, as well as the shortcomings that need to be addressed during the cooperation process, as well as the role of social organisations and alumni in fostering bilateral ties in this field.

In the evening, an art performance is scheduled to take place at the Centre for Russian Science and Culture in Hanoi, showcasing both Vietnamese and Russian music.

Urban planning is essential for Vietnam

Around 400 scientists and specialists from Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and the host country, Vietnam gathered in Hanoi on November 7 for an urban planning conference.

At the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said Vietnam’s urbanisation growth rate (34%) is lower than that of the world (over 50%). However, a number of economic hubs have been shaped in the country such as Hanoi, HCM City, Haiphong, Danang and Can Tho, which are attractive to foreign investors.

Linh affirmed that rapid urbanisation is not only a motive for socio-economic development but also creates opportunities and challenges including waste of land, exhaustion of natural resources, environmental pollution, people migration, unemployment and social insecurity.

The seminar provided a good chance for Vietnam to gather invaluable ideas from domestic and foreign experts for the planning of Hanoi and HCM City, Linh stressed.

President of the Republic of Korea’s Planners Association Mack Joong Choi said Asia is undergoing an important transition period, especially in economy. It is facing a number of challenges, such as lack of housing and poor infrastructure in big cities. So, it is important for Asian countries to coordinate in proposing and building a common model for urban development.

Participants also discussed other important issues, including socio-economic planning and development, transport and technical infrastructure, environment and sustainable development, human resources, regional planning training, and regional development management.

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