Human traffickers arrested at Tan Son Nhat airport

Police in the southern province of Tay Ninh on January 24 arrested five local people for involvement in a human trafficking ring.

Three members of the ring were caught red handed while conducting check-in procedures for five girls, who were to be sold in China, at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City on January 23.

Police have rescued the girls, two of whom are from the southern province of Binh Phuoc and three others from Tay Ninh province.

Initial investigations showed that while seeking Vietnamese girls to sell to Chinese men, the ring leader of the gang, a Vietnamese citizen living in China, first contacted the eight other gang members in 2011. The leader paid them as much as VND120 million (US$5,600) for each girl successfully sold to China.

As many as 10 girls are believed to have been trafficked by the group.

Police confiscate contraband cigarettes

Police, in co-operation with market-watch forces in southern Binh Phuoc Province yesterday confiscated a large number of cigarettes allegedly being smuggled in a truck travelling from Binh Phuoc to HCM City.

About 5,500 packs were found hidden in bags of rice husks. Four thousand were branded as "Jet" and the rest as "Hero".

The driver of the vehicle, Hoang Van Binh, said he was hired to transport the cigarettes "by a man" and was paid VND3.5 million (US$170).

Local authorities are investigating.

Traffic fines soar to $138,000 in 2013

More than 5.5 million traffic violations nationwide resulted in VND2.9 billion (US$138,000) in fines last year, according to the Department of Road and Railway Traffic Police.

The Department credited "the harmonious collaboration of relevant sectors along with timely solutions" for a decline in incidents.

In total, 29,385 road accidents were reported, a drop of 1,610 cases over 2012. The death toll also fell by 55 from 9,424 cases in 2012. Violations such as overloading, drink driving or riding without a helmet made up the biggest slab of convictions.

During 2013, police also claim to have achieved some reforms in transferring vehicle ownership and cancelling invalid registrations.

PM urges avian flu prevention

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung ordered ministries and relevant agencies to work closely together to prevent new strains of avian flu from entering the country.

According to the World Organisation for Animal Health, China recently saw an outbreak of A/H5N2 and A/H5N1 flu in poultry.

Viet Nam recorded the year's first A/H5N1 fatality in the southern province of Binh Phuoc last week.

In the PM's message, the Ministry of Information and Communication was assigned to co-operate with mass media to raise public awareness about the dangers of illegally transporting and trading poultry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also directed localities to help residents prevent transmission of the virus from poultry to humans.

Minister Cao Duc Phat said that the localities had to seriously obey the order during Tet, an occasion when poultry smuggling often increased.

Health minister hears patient complaints about hospital staff

During an inspection visit to the two bighest Hanoi hospitals, Bach Mai and Viet Duc, Health Minister, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, listened to patients' complaints about staff misconduct.

Nguyen Thi Nhung, 70-year old woman from Bac Giang Province, who was waiting for her turn to be examined, said she had a serious headache for two weeks and she went to Bac Giang General Hospital to get it checked out. She was hospitalised, but was not told her diagnosis.

She claimed to have told the doctor about her medical condition, but the doctor did not listen, only asked questions about Nhung's relatives. The doctor said that she would withhold the needed injection because she was scared Nhung might die and had no relatives.

The doctors said that Nhung had no serious condition and until a relative arrived. She had to wait three days before being diagnosed.

Nhung did not have much confidence in the diagnosis, so she decided to go to Bach Mai Hospital for a second opinion.

After hearing the story, the minister asked Nhung why she did not call the hot line for the Ministry of Health to report the case. Nhung said she did not know about the line.

On January 23, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, the Ministry of Health’s Department of Examination and Treatment Department, called Bac Giang Province’s Health Department, requesting that they explain the case and improve the attitude and behaviour of staff toward patients.

According to the Ministry of Health, since the hot line became operational, around 40% of the calls are complaints about doctor behaviour, while around 16% concern fraud and bribes, while the rest are complaints of poor infrastructure and regulation violations.

Many patients expect that the Minister of Health will make more visits to hospitals so that she can understand more about patients’ condition.

WB’s loans to aid sustainable poverty alleviation

Vietnam will prioritise the World Bank (WB)’s low-interest loans for sustainable poverty elimination, economic growth and income improvement from 2015 to 2018, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen The Phuong has promised.

He added that the country has effectively used the WB’s credits and will soon be in a position where it no longer relies on loans with concessional terms from WB’s International Development Association (IDA).

WB Country Director for Vietnam Victoria Kwakwa said the bank has launched a new operation strategy targeting extreme poverty eradication and wealth promotion for its member organisations to support its partners’ sustainable development.

The strategy aims to cut the percentage of people living on less than 1.25 USD per day to 3 percent by 2030, and promote the income increase for 40 percent of lowest-income people around the globe, she added.

The director went on by saying that under this strategy, the WB will select most viable projects for Vietnam and combine them with the country’s development targets.

The institution will sustainably foster comprehensive growth in underdeveloped communities in Vietnam, Kwakwa pledged.

A Japanese diplomat and a leading representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have been honoured for their contributions to protecting natural resources and the environment in Viet Nam.

Counselor Daito Michio of the Japanese Embassy and Mutsuya Mori, chief representative of the JICA Office in Viet Nam, received insignias during a ceremony that took place in Ha Noi yesterday.

Addressing the event, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Minh Quang noted that over the past few years his ministry has received great support from the Japanese Embassy and JICA.

Both Michio and Mori have made active contributions, acting as links between the governments of Viet Nam and Japan in the areas of natural resources and the environment, he said.

Both recipients said they were honoured to receive such recognition and pledged to work to expand the strategic partnership between Viet Nam and Japan, especially on environmental issues.

Overseas Vietnamese celebrate Lunar New Year

Vietnamese diplomatic corps in many countries have organised an array of activities for the overseas Vietnamese community to celebrate the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos hosted a banquet on January 24 in the presence of Lao Vice President Bounnhang Volachith and National Assembly Chairman Pani Zathotou.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Nguyen Manh Hung said the embassy and relevant agencies successfully fulfilled their assigned tasks in 2013, contributing to cooperation in all areas between Vietnam and Laos.

Noting the two-way trade that exceeded 1 billion USD last year, the diplomat attributed such outcomes to the regular guidance of the two countries’ Party and State leaders as well as the close coordination between their ministries, agencies and localities.

He thanked leaders of the Lao Party, State, Government, National Assembly, ministries, agencies and localities for their support and cooperation with the embassy last year, voicing his hope for more assistance from the Lao side.

In reply, Bounnhang Volachith congratulated Vietnam on its achievements recorded in 2013 and expressed his belief that the Vietnamese people, under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, will reap greater fruits in the time ahead.

Within the framework of the event, there was an art performance featuring the friendship between the two countries.

The same day, the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau (China) held a festival ahead of the traditional Tet holiday.

Consul General Nguyen Thi Nha reviewed the consulate general’s activities in the year with special attention paid to citizen protection.

Nha noted her wish that overseas Vietnamese in Hong Kong and Macau will bring into full play the solidarity to make more contributions to the homeland.

Meanwhile, about 600 overseas Vietnamese in Singapore on January 24 cheered up at a New Year get-together organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in the country.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Tran Hai Hau described 2013 as a special year for the Vietnam-Singapore relationship with numerous important activities.

He reflected on the establishment of a strategic partnership between the two countries, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung’s visit to Singapore and attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue and Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s visit to Vietnam on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the bilateral diplomatic ties.

Singapore’s total newly-registered and additional capital in Vietnam hit 4.37 billion USD last year, accounting for 20 percent of the total foreign direct investment in the country, he said.

Two-way trade between the two countries reached 17.4 billion SGD (13.6 billion USD), of which Vietnam’s exports to Singapore stood at 3.8 billion SGD, representing a year-on-year rise of over 36 percent.

On this occasion, a liaison committee for overseas Vietnamese in Singapore make debut.

According to Vu Minh Khuong, head of the committee, about 12,000 Vietnamese are living and working in the country, including more than 8,000 students, over 1,000 experts, around 1,000 businesspeople and 1,000 bride and bridegrooms.

On the Lunar New Year occasion, Vietnamese Ambassador to Czech Republic Truong Manh Son has held a get-together with representatives of Vietnamese-language print and online newspapers run by overseas Vietnamese in the European country.-

Localities host New Year meetings for OVs

As many as 200 overseas Vietnamese people (OVs) returning home to enjoy the Tet holiday gathered in central Da Nang city on January 24 to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The meeting was a conjunction between the Vietnam Fatherland Front’s Standing Board, the Overseas Vietnamese Liaison Association and the Da Nang Department of External Affairs.

Speaking at the event, Van Huu Chien, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, introduced Da Nang’s achievements attained in 2013, pledging that the city will create more favourable conditions for the OVs to keep in touch with the homeland.

Da Nang has nearly 18,000 OVs, who have made remarkable contributions to the city’s construction, especially in investment, health care, education, science, technology and humanitarian activities, he said.

According to the official, between 2000 and now, the city received more than 125 million USD of remittances with over 80 million USD recorded last year.

The same day, the northern province of Thai Nguyen held a get-together for Vietnamese people living abroad shortly before the Tet festival.

At the event, the OVs were briefed on the locality’s socio-economic development, poverty reduction and national defence and security as well as its relationship with domestic and foreign cities and provinces, and international organisations.

While discussing Thai Nguyen’s incentives to lure more investment and the operation of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the locality, the participants shared experience in lecturing at several universities and colleges in the province.

Thai Nguyen has become one of the localities nationwide which took the lead in FDI attraction in 2013 with a total of 44 FDI businesses at present.-

HCM City makes holiday preparations

The chairman of HCM City People's Committee, Le Hoang Quan, on Thursday asked all local departments and agencies to carry out special Tet programmes in a timely manner, particularly for the poor, the elderly, families in resettlement projects and those covered by the State's policies.

At a meeting on the city's economic, cultural and social situation in January, Quan added that the deadline for presenting gifts would be January 30.

The city has teams of individuals and the state offices that will present gifts, he said.

The programmes have been allocated VND523 billion (US$24.9 million), an increase of 52 per cent compared to the same period last year, he added.

Quan also told them to strengthen market management before, during and after Tet to discover price or food safety violations.

Bus stations will also be monitored to ensure that prices are not hiked for passengers or cargo transport.

Between December 15 and January 15, 1,433 inspections have been carried out, and 987 violations occurred.

The Department of Planning and Investment reports that the total retail sales and service revenue in January reached VND59.5 trillion ($2.8 billion), an increase of 18.2 per cent against the same period last year.

The Consumer Price Index is also lower than the same period in the previous year.

Quan asked authorities to remind residents to obey fire prevention regulations during Tet holidays.

Medical facilities ready for coming Tet holiday

Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien inspected two large hospitals in Ha Noi to ensure they were adequately prepared for the Tet holiday.

They were Bach Mai, a multi-field medical facility and Viet Duc (Viet Nam – Germany), the largest surgical center in the country.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, director of Bach Mai Hospital, reported that the facility was equipped with enough medicine, materials and ambulances for the holiday.

"The hotline service of the hospital runs well, which satisfies patients and their relatives," he told Gia Dinh va Xa hoi (Family and Society) newspaper.

Viet Duc hospital has assigned 250 staff to work during Tet, according to hospital director Nguyen Tien Quyet. The hospital has stored enough medicine and materials for Tet as well as the next month, he said.

The health minister encouraged patients to call the Ministry of Health hotline if they had any complaints about health staff.

She also presented Tet gifts to children being treated at the hospital for a long time.

Tien extended New Year wishes to all staff at the two hospitals and praised them for their dedication and effort.

Previously, the Ministry of Health instructed all health establishments nationwide to ensure patients received adequate treatment during the Tet holiday.

Health establishments were asked to assign staff to work during the holiday, make sure patients were warm and guard against fire, explosions and accidents.

They were also requested to prepare to cope with disease outbreaks, store medicine and materials and ready emergency aid.

Craft production thrives in central province

As Tet approaches, traditional craft villages near the former imperial city of Hue are busy with production. Not only are they preserving Tet rituals, they're also bringing jobs to thousands of seasonal workers.

In Thanh Tien paper flower village, old artisan Pham Loan still makes paper flowers according to traditional style, sticking seven to nine flowers that resemble wild blossoms on a thin bamboo stick. He produced more than 2,000 flower sticks this year, triple the amount that he made last year.

The paper flowers decorate the altars of Hue residents, both kitchen altars and those used for Mau (Mother) rituals. New flowers replace the old ones every year.

A long time ago, people could not afford fresh flowers, so they used paper ones instead. In 2007, village resident Than Van Huy revived the traditional technique. He and about 10 families in the village produce around 5,000 flower sticks, giving the village a busy atmosphere.

According to researcher Ho Tan Phan, rural life was tough year-round and Tet was the only time for a holiday. "So everybody wants new items for the holiday as well as for the hope of a better life," he said.

Phan adds that Tet is important for the dead as well as the living. People believe that their dead loved ones return home during Tet, so the altars need new items and special food.

This drives the production of ritual items in the Sinh paper painting and Phuong Duc bronze casting villages. In Sinh village, about 50 families create wood-block prints in many colours.

Inside Ky Huu Phuoc's workshop, his wife and son are printing rusty paper sheets with plain glyphs printed by wooden blocks, meeting demand for 5,000 ritual paintings in various types from Hue locals and provinces in the central and south.

These new paintings will be stuck on altars of the chicken god and female god in almost every family to replace the old ones. Several papers will be burned as tradition requires. Seasonal demand is also on the rise for paintings designed for fishermen and hunters.

In Phuong Duc village, 10 kilns are baking the final batches of bronze items of this lunar year. The village casters produce mainly altar items, such as candle holders, incense holders, bronze disks for fruits and vases.

The ancestor altar is the most important section in every Vietnamese home and people all want it to look great during Tet. But according to Nguyen Van Son, a caster, demand has not increased much due to the impact of the economic downturn, which means consumers cannot afford to spend a lot on these products.

Many kinds of Tet candy and cakes that were once made by hand are now produced en masse. However, ginger jam is still made the old-fashioned way, giving jobs to hundreds of people in Kim Long village.

Served with tea, the sweet treat is a favourite Tet food for residents in central localities and several northern provinces, as it suits the cold weather during Tet.

According to the owner of Anh Nguyet, a ginger jam-making facility in the village, demand from other provinces is increasing year by year. She is making two tonnes of jam, double the quantity she made last year.

Another facility in the village, Ngoc Thao ginger jam, is producing five tonnes to meet increasing demand from northern provinces, triple last year's production.

Seasonal producers of banh chung (square sticky rice cakes) and banh tet (cylindral sticky rice cakes) are also busy meeting demand from local residents as well as Hue natives far from home.

Power finally lights up westernmost region

With Tet just around the corner, ethnic groups in Vietnam ’s westernmost region – the mountainous province of Điện Biên – have received some very timely good news. They have finally gained access to electricity after years of expectation.

On January 21, Na Bung commune in the province’s Nam Bo district was officially connected to the national power grid. People there no longer have to use oil lamps and firewood for light.

Local children will no longer have to do their homework in darkness and, for the first time, they will have the opportunity to access information and entertainment services through television and radio.

Together with Na Bung, other communes which border Laos and China in the provine, including Na Khoa, Sin Thau and Sen Thuong, were also connected to the national power grid.

Electricity is a Tet gift for ethnic groups in remote and disadvantaged areas. This year, they will surely have a happier Tet than ever.-

Sapa wild peach comes to lowland

In recent years, wild peach, with its natural and unique beauty, has drawn much attention. Many people have spared no effort to go to northwestern provinces such as Lao Cai and Son La to buy a peach branch for the traditional Lunar New Year or Tet.

Wild peach blossom often has a lighter pink than those grown in Hanoi ’s Nhat Tan village. From the 16 th or 17 th day of the last lunar month, Mong ethnic minority people bring peach branches to towns to sell. On these days, downtown Sapa is filled with such branches. The price here is quite cheap, between 200,000 and 300,000 dong per branch.

Thao A Denh, a Mong man in Nam Cang commune, Sapa district in Lao Cai province, said this year’s prolonged cold killed many kinds of flowers and growers have to sell peach branches to make money for Tet.

Wild peach branches are now displayed along National Road 4D from Sapa to Lao Cai city. People from many places have travelled a long distance looking for beautiful branches.

Tran Vi Luong, a resident from the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau , said as the Lunar New Year is approaching, he organises a tour of the wild peach market and buys a branch for his family. Wild peach has a natural beauty so bringing the nature home is very interesting, he added.

Wild peach branches are also present at the Quang Ba flower market in Hanoi to serve the demand of the capital’s residents. Although each branch costs several million dong, it is still the choice of many customers.

Enjoying wild peach during the Lunar New Year is an elegant custom. Together with other kinds of flowers, it has helped make the spring more colourful and fragrant.-

Publishing houses urged to launch e-books

Minister of Information and Communications, Nguyen Bac Son, said that e-books have become a trend and called on publishing houses to launch more content in this format.

At a meeting with the staff of Kim Dong Publishing House, Minister Son said many other sectors have progressed by applying IT advancements. Online newspapers have come to dominate, largely replacing print, and this trend is expected in the publishing sector as well. He added that this development is inevitable and will have the added benefit of savig publishers the cost of printing.

According to the minister, publishing houses should gradually moved to e-books. He added that Youth Publishing House has already started to make profits from e-books.

"Kim Dong Publishing House, as well as other firms should move quickly to switch to e-books, particularly as the younger generations are addicted to online games. We need to have more books to attract them,” Minister Son noted.

Despite facing low demand and fierce competition from illegally-printed books, many publishing houses still ensure the quality of their books, he said.

The minister also urged publishing houses to improve production equipment and raise the skills of their employees in order to meet the changing demands of customers.

He said that many publishing houses do not make profits, but only try to survive; he current market is difficult for the publishing sector. He added that there will be more difficulties ahead if publishing houses do not raise quality and cut costs.