Tet tickets & gifts given disadvantaged workers

The Trade Union of the HCMC Export Processing Zones & Industrial Parks held the sentimental ticket program, offering bus tickets to disadvantaged workers and union members to return their hometown in the Tet holiday.

318 tickets and 300 Tet gifts were given workers worth VND 500,000 each.

On the same day, the Union and the support worker fund of the Ho Chi Minh City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) offered 1,200 Tet gifts and tickets to workers who will return their home for a family reunion in the central and Northern provinces for the New Year, totaling over VND 2billion.

In the days near Tet, the Union plans to organize the music programs in the Export Processing Zones and Industrial Parks for workers who have not returned their hometown for Tet for years. 

Photo exhibition on VNese intangible cultural heritages opens in HCMC

A photo exhibition on 11 Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages opened at Nguyen Van Binh Book Street on January 13.

Photographer Nguyen A, the author of pictures also released his latest book on Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages which were recognized by UNESCO on the same day.

11 Vietnamese intangible cultural heritages includes Hue's royal court music, the Space of gong culture in the Central Highlands, Quan ho - Bac Ninh love duets, Ca Tru - Ceremonial singing, Giong Festival at Phu Dong and Soc temples, Xoan Singing, Hung Kings Worship Religion, “Don ca tai tu” southern folk music,  'Keo Co' (Tug of War) folk game, Vi-Dam folk singing.

The event runs until January 15.

Phu My Hung Spring Flower Fair to open in town

Phu My Hung Spring Flower Fair 2017 will take place from January 20 to 26 (the 23rd to 29th of the 12th lunar month) at the Crescent Mall in Phu My Hung Urban Area in HCMC’s District 7, Phu My Hung Development Corp told a press conference on Wednesday.

Following the success in organizing similar events in previous years, the upcoming event, themed “Xuan no am” (Prosperous Spring) is expected to bring tourists a cultural space reminiscent of the Vietnamese countryside.

This year’s theme is aimed at arousing inner feelings and aspiration of local people. After a hard-working year, everyone cherishes their hopes to return home to welcome Tet, spend time with their family, and enjoy the Tet atmosphere as well as wish for a new year awash with prosperity and happiness.

The spring flower fair will depict the particular scenes of the local countryside. Taking advantage of its unique geographical position, the fair will comprise of four main areas.

The highlight of the festival is the Duong Xuan (Spring Street) with three sections, including Ngay moi (Fresh day), “Boi thu” (Harvest), and “No am” (Prosperity). At the end of the Spring Street, visitors can witness some familiar images to ring in the New Year like swallows, a traditional house with cay neu (Tet bamboo pole), flags, and parallel sentences for Tet.

In aition, Vuon Xuan (Spring Garden) will feature different species of flowers and countryside vegetables and fruits such as cucurbit and sunflower.

The Ben Xuan (Spring Wharf) area of the Phu My Hung Flower Fair will feature flower boats and flower garlands, along with don ca tai tu (Southern folk music) performances.

The Spring Street and Spring Garden will be open until February 2nd (the sixth day of the lunar year).

As in previous years, other side activities will include shopping and food area, 500 booths selling ornamental flowers and 200 stalls selling essential products for Tet.

Colours of Japan season 2 officially announced

It has been unveiled that the second season of a documentary series entitled Colours of Japan (Sac Mau Nhat Ban) will air on Viet Nam National Television (VTV) Channel 3 in 2017.

The program is the first joint production of VTV and Tokyo Broadcasting System Television in documentary film making.

The first season nine-episode series introduced the cultural characteristics of the seven prefectures of Japan – Aomori, Yamagata, Niigata and Toyama, besides Nagano, Oita and Kagoshima.

The documentary series has not only featured the natural beauty and traditional culture of Japan, but has highlighted the country’s scientific and technological achievements in local prefectures.

Each 60-minute episode showed amazing experiments such as Yamagata mountain-climbing in Yamagata Prefecture; production of glass used for the Hokuriki Shinkansen Line express in Toyama; and production of geothermal electricity from hot springs in Oita Prefecture.

The eight half-hour episodes of Season 2 of the series is expected to broadcast 4:00pm-4:30pm every Friday, starting February 3, 2017 on VTV3.

Pilot shortage puts Vietnamese airlines on standby

Big bonuses are being offered by airlines to woo more pilots.

Vietnamese airlines are grappling with what they believe to be a serious shortage of professional pilots, so to keep the pilots they currently have on their payrolls and to lure new ones, they are offering hefty bonuses.

“Vietnam’s airline market is growing rapidly, so there’s a huge demand for qualified professional pilots,” Lai Xuan Thanh, the director of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, said at a recent meeting of transport authorities.

He added although salaries in the airline industry have increased significantly in recent years and many airlines have even offered fat bonuses to attract and retain professionals, the supply remains below the demand. According to the aviation administration, that demand is growing at 5% per year.

The CAAV has mainly blamed the shortage on the fast-growing airline market.

Vietnam’s airline industry is growing at the third-fastest pace in the Asia-Pacific region with the number people traveling by air in 2016 jumping by 29% from 2015 to about 52 million.

To meet the demand, local carriers have expanded in recent years, buying more planes, opening new routes and increasing the number of flights.

“At present, the shortage of pilots is endemic throughout the airline industry," Thanh said. "For example, only 30% of national flagship Vietnam Airlines’ pilots are Vietnamese. 

The figures at low-cost carriers Vietjet Air and Jetstar are much lower.” he said, implying that domestic airlines are having difficulties hiring enough pilots to replace retirees and to support expansion.

The aviation administration suggested that airlines could offer more bonuses and even set up partnerships with flight centers.

“The CAAV will not issue executive orders to help ease the shortage. Airlines will have to transform themselves to retain workers,” said Thanh.

Hanoi Opera House “elevates its game”

Since last autumn, the Hanoi Opera House has been staging more world class art performances in accordance with a new policy of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.

The Hanoi Opera House is now one of the most opulent buildings in Hanoi. It is a favored venue social major events, meetings, and performances by domestic and foreign art troupes. 

Since the 71st anniversary of August Revolution and National Independence, on September 2, last year, major programs have been staged there by the Vietnam Symphony Orchestra, the Vietnam Drama Theatre, the Cai Luong (reform opera) Theatre, and the National Musical and Dance Theatre. 

Many shows, that have won gold or silver medals at national festivals, debuted at the Hanoi Opera House. 

Nguyen The Vinh, Director of the Vietnam Drama Theatre, said “This is the first time our play “Black panther task force” has been performed at the Hanoi Opera House. We staged “Hamlet” twice at this theatre. In 2017, we will perform there regularly. I hope that with funding from private businesses, opera houses in Vietnam will get out of financial difficulties.”

It’s an artist dream to perform at the Hanoi Opera House, which was built in 1911 in the heart of Hanoi. 

People’s Artist Thanh Ngoan, Director of the Cheo (traditional operetta) Theater, said “This year we will restage popular plays, such as “Xuy Van”, “Who buys my onions”, and many others. We try to stoke people’s passion for tradition and artistry.”

With the Hanoi Opera House vigorously promoting higher-quality programs, the arts have been revitalized. 

Truong Nhuan, Director of the Youth Theatre, said “The public is becoming more attentive to the performing arts. State support is very important to cultural development.”

According to Nguyen Van Tuan, Head of the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, performances at the Hanoi Opera House, which is frequented by foreign expats, will boost Vietnam’s tourism “The blossoming of the Hanoi Opera House is a breakthrough initiative on the part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.  Past performances were just the start. We need to turn them into tourist products by organizing appropriate and attractive programs on a regular basis.”

The 20 spectacular shows put on at the Hanoi Opera House last year held the promise of a richer cultural life for Vietnamese and foreign tourists.

Multimillion-dollar exhibition center to open near Ha Long Bay

A giant exhibition center overlooking the Gulf of Tokin will be inaugurated in northern Vietnam’s Quang Ninh Province next week, the provincial administration has announced.

The Quang Ninh Exhibition of Planning and Expo Center, built in just 19 months and featuring 21,000 square meters of floor space, cost VND1.15 trillion (US$51.34 million).

Located on Tran Quoc Nghien Street in the province’s Ha Long City, the complex consists of two separate buildings connected by a system of elevators, escalators, and stairs.

The first building is designed to resemble a species of pearl-making shelled mollusk found abundantly in local waters, and will be used to showcase regional planning models and host events, exhibitions, and expos. 

A second, dolphin-shaped building is reserved for the exhibition of public projects and signature architectural and religious structures in the province.

The exhibition complex will be a venue for significant cultural and social activities in the province and highlight its economic achievements, its developers said.

The center will connect to nearby public spaces such as the October 30 Square, a museum, a library, a children’s playground, and Lan Be Park to form a coherent network between the tourist sites.

The inauguration ceremony for the complex will be held on January 18, according to the Quang Ninh administration.

Paramount Channel airs in Vietnam

Paramount Channel, a television channel which broadcasts films by American studio Paramount Pictures, began airing in Vietnam on January 11.

Vietnam is the second country in Southeast Asia, after Thailand, to air the channel on its cable TV network.

Paramount Pictures is an American film studio based in Hollywood, California. It is the fifth oldest running film studio in the world.

The channel was first launched in Spain in 2012 by Viacom International Media Networks, the studio’s owner.  It has since expanded operations to a number of territories across Europe, Latin America, and Asia.

In Vietnam, Paramount Channel will air 24/7, with three time slots – 4:30 pm, 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm –reserved for Hollywood blockbusters produced by the studio.

On Thursdays at 8:30 pm and 10:30 pm, the channel will offer viewers a feast of Hollywood thrillers, while movies aired on other days will be more tailored to Vietnamese audiences.

Mai Duy Long, deputy CEO of IMC media group, the company charged with operating Paramount Channel in Vietnam, said films aired on the channel will follow coherent themes suitable for the Vietnamese market.

“We are also eyeing a golden time slot for Vietnamese films, which will of course follow the international standards of broadcast,” said Long.

Cable car proposed for passengers to reach Tan Son Nhat airport

A cable car developer has proposed building a cable-propelled transit system for passengers to reach Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, instead of struggling in the usually crowded main streets leading to Vietnam’s busiest airdrome.

The cable car system is proposed to be built in the nearby Hoang Van Thu and Go Vap parks, according to Vu Huy Thang, director or Bilco, the developer behind the cable car systems in several tourist areas such as Vinpearl Nha Trang, Ba Na Hill and Yen Tu. 

Thang said he came up with the idea after reading suggestions that a subway system be built to connect the two parks with the airport.

Thang said it would cost around VND500 billion (US$22.32 million) to develop the cable car system, only one tenth of the money needed for the subway.

The Bilco director said construction takes only ten months, and a cable car system is “a quick and effective solution to the congestion problem on the entrance to Tan Son Nhat.”

According to the proposal, the cable car poles will be put on the median strips on Truong Son Street, running from Hoang Van Thu to the airport, so the construction will not occupy the urban space of the area.

At a speed of 25kph, the proposed cable car is capable of carrying 3,000 turns of passengers per hour, and if more advanced technology is deployed, the loading capacity could be up to 4,500 turns, Thang asserted.

Thang added that it would be more convenient to have the cable car put in Hoang Van Thu than in Gia Dinh, as Hong Ha Street, connecting the latter with the airport, does not have median strips.

Both Truong Son and Hong Ha usually suffer congestion during rush hours, so unlucky passengers may miss their flights if they cannot escape from the jam on time.

Several proposals have been made to solve the congestion, including one to develop a US$250 million subway from Gia Dinh and Hoang Van Thu parks to the airport.

Another idea is to build a transit station at the parks, where passengers can check-in and send their luggage, before boarding shuttle buses to the departure terminal.

Students spring-clean houses for charity

Students from 30 HCM City universities are offering house-cleaning services to raise funds for Tết, Lunar New Year festival charity.

The community-based programme is being organised by the honorary South African consul in the city, Đỗ Thị Kim Liên, and is called Nhà Sạch Đón Tết (Cleaning House to Welcome Tết).

The money raised will be used to buy presents and the materials needed to make 1,000 sticky rice cakes to gift homeless people and those living in social welfare centres.

Spring cleaning is a traditional practice in anticipation of Tết, and often in cities these days, since families do not have the time to do the job themselves, hire cleaning services.

Nguyễn Lê Phú Thịnh, a second-year student at the HCM City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT) who also took part in the programme last year, said, “The happy smiles, warm hugs and hand shakes from homeless people who got the traditional sticky rice cakes last year encouraged me to continue this year.”

Cleaning houses is not hard work, he said.

Last year nearly 700 sticky rice cakes were presented to homeless people.

“We went around the city looking for them and handing over the cakes.”

Võ Nguyễn Minh Nhựt, a third-year HUFLIT student who is doing this for the third year, said through the programme he made sticky rice cakes for the first time.

“It was interesting.”

In large cities, unlike in other places where it is a custom, many young people like Nhựt never get to make the cakes before Tết.

Trần Dương Kim Thanh, a second-year student at RMIT University, said last year she cleaned three or four houses.

“I have more friends after attending the programme besides learning many things such as how to bring happiness to others.”

Huỳnh Thị Nguyên of District 3 said she used the students’ service because she had children the same age.

In the past she used to hire companies for the task.

“I want my children to see the work done by these students and learn. The programme can teach them the dignity of labour and they can earn money themselves to do charity rather than ask their parents for money,” she said.

Liên, the South African consul, who is organising the programme for the third year, hailed it as very humanitarian.

The programme would be expanded throughout the country to benefit more and more disadvantaged people, she added.

From January 7 to 25 the city-based Việt Nam Students Association is organising a Spring Volunteer Campaign with charity activities at hospitals, shelters, orphanages, special schools for children with disabilities, social welfare centres, students’ and workers’ dormitories, bus and train stations and other places in the city besides Thổ Chu Island in the Mekong Delta province of Kiên Giang.

Using spring themes, students design and decorate the dormitories occupied by students who do not go back home for Tết.

They will also sing and perform skits at the dormitories and make sticky rice cakes and jam to donate to poor people and students.

The Lunar New Year this year falls on January 28.

Cần Thơ holds spring festival celebrating the countryside

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta city of Cần Thơ yesterday opened the “Spring Colour in the Countryside” festival at the Cần Thơ City Museum to celebrate Tết (Lunar New Year). 

The festival features the activities of traditional craft villages and the culinary culture of the Kinh people as well as the Hoa and Khmer ethnic groups.

Artisans and their traditional handicrafts such as knitting, mat weaving and carving are also part of the festivities.

Visitors can watch cooking demonstrations, including the making of traditional cakes like bánh xèo (rice pancakes folded in half and filled with shrimp, meat and bean sprouts), bánh tét (cylinder-shaped glutinous-rice cakes filled with green bean paste and pork), palm sugar cakes, and radish cakes.

The art of calligraphy, folk games and performances of Đờn Ca Tài Tử music and songs will also take place. The festival ends on January 16.

Body to study flood data needed: official

It is necessary to have a unit responsible for applying a geography information system for flood prevention, Tất Thành Cang, HCM City’s deputy secretary of the Party Committee, has said.

This unit will be responsible for analysing technical issues related to the drainage systems to overcome shortcomings in the management process of these systems, he said at a conference on applying geography information systems to managing the city’s drainage system on Thursday.

Flood mitigation requires structural and non-structural measures to be applied simultaneously, he said.

Even though it has been included in the seven breakthrough programmes for the period 2016-20, the flood mitigation programme is progressing too slowly, he said.

His remarks were supported by Nguyễn Quốc Thái, director of the HCM City Urban Drainage Company Ltd, the organisation responsible for researching and reporting the application of geography information systems.

To develop a geography information system, the responsibility of managing the drainage system should be assigned to only one unit, either the city’s Department of Transportation or the Steering Centre of the Urban Flood Control Programme, Thái said.

The use of a geography information system will help evaluate drainage projects, develop flood control maps, collect locations of conflicting currents, manage wastewater treatment plants and develop flood warning maps so that citizens can take alternate routes to avoid getting caught in floods, he added.

Developing databases for the drainage system, including databases for the sewer, canal and headwork systems, will help to evaluate the causes of floods and solutions for flood mitigation, he said.

It will also provide a foundation for future research of drainage system planning, helping to assess the quality of flood mitigation constructions and to detect defects in the sewer system and canal encroachments, he said.

The city’s drainage system should be divided into different drainage basins, and each basin should be operated and managed by one unit, Thái added.

City party secretary Đinh La Thăng said flood prevention measures must be applied during the dry season, not waiting until the rainy season.

He stressed the importance of immediate and simultaneous implementation of the measures for flood mitigation during the peak of the rainy season.

District administration and city departments should collaborate closely to conduct canal dredging and drainage system maintenance during the dry season, he said. 

Local residents get free medical service

A volunteer medical team from Chung Ang University (CAU)’s hospital--in collaboration with Doosan Vina Heavy Industry of Korea--provided free examinations and medicine to 2,500 residents in the central province as part of the 8th annual medical service from January 9-14th.

The team of Korean doctors supplied needed medicines, diagnoses and treatments for residents of Bình Sơn and Trà Bồng districts during the six-day collaboration between Chung Ang University and Korean Heavy industry Doosan Việt Nam Company.

Students and volunteers from Korea will also offer calligraphy, pottery, origami, and other painting skills for local children in Lý Sơn Island and Minh Long districts of the province on January 15-23.

In 2016, 2,500 residents in Bình Sơn and Minh Long districts received a free medical check-up, drugs and equipment from the medical programme.

Korean professors and students from Chung Ang University also joined a Corporate Society Responsibility (CSR) programme for primary school students and children with disabilities in Bình Sơn, Trà Bồng and Nghĩa Hành districts last year.

According to latest report, 27,000 people in the province have received medical exams and been given medicine to help correct their aliments, at a total cost of US$600,000 since the 1st medical CSR between Doosan Vina and Chung Ang University was introduced in 2008.

Since 2008, Doosan Vina donated over $6 million for its Vietnamese CSR programmes.

Four-axle trucks banned on provincial roads

Trucks with four axles or more will be banned from the provincial roads No 391 and No 395 of northern Hải Dương Province from January 15, the director of the provincial Department of Transport Lê Đình Long said on Friday.

This is part of the provincial People’s Committee efforts to reduce the number of traffic accidents in the province this year.

Even though the province has prohibited trucks with four axles or more from entering Provincial Road No 391 from 17:00 to 22:00 every day since October 2016, the risk of traffic accidents on this route is still high since over 30,000 factory workers and students from nearby factories and schools walk on both sides of the road during peak hours, according to the transport department.

Statistics show that some 45,700 trucks with four axles or more used the road in December 2016 (an equivalent of some 1,400 trucks per day), heavily damaging its surface.

The number of traffic accidents on road No 391 and the number of casualties in 2016 both increased by 330 per cent compared with 2015.

Provincial Road No 391 is a route heavy truck drivers use to avoid toll stations since toll fees were increased on National Route 5 and on the Hà Nội-Hải Phòng Expressway in December 2015.

Since many vehicles travel through road No 391 to enter National Route 38B, it is predicted that traffic accidents on National Route 38B will increase.

The stretch that crosses the Hoa Hồng Road of the Provincial Road No 395 is in the same condition. Many vehicles used the stretch as a shortcut to enter road No 391 and damaged its surface.

More than 20 traffic accidents happened on road No 395 in 2016, killing 22 people, increases of 11 traffic accidents and 9 casualties compared to 2015. 

Việt Nam-India Friendship Week marks bilateral milestones

A week of cultural events has been held in HCM City to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Việt Nam and India and the 10th anniversary of their Strategic Partnership.

The Việt Nam-India Friendship Week that wrapped up on Friday at the Youth Culture House also featured a photo exhibition on the co-operation in various spheres between the two countries over the past decades.

The event was organised jointly by the consulate general of India in HCM City, the city’s Department of External Relations and the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations.

The People’s Committee on Tuesday (January 10) held a ceremony at the HCM City Union of Friendship Organisations Hall to mark the milestones in the relationship between the two countries.

Speaking at the ceremony, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee, Huỳnh Cách Mạng, said the Việt Nam – India friendship is rooted in age-old interactions between the two cultures and has lasted thousands of years.

The peoples of the two countries had supported each other during their struggles for independence as well as in the process of their reconstruction and nation-building, he said.

As of the end of last year India had 49 projects with a total investment of US$55 million in the city.

Last year trade between the city and India increased by 10 per cent.

Addressing the event, Indian consul general Smita Pant expressed great satisfaction over the growing bilateral ties.

She said Việt Nam-India relations are multi-faceted and built on a firm foundation of close cultural, historical and civilisational links.

This year, as the two countries commemorate anniversaries of the milestones in their relations, the Indian consulate plans to work closely with the city authorities, friendship organisations and universities to organise numerous events including friendship walks, exhibitions highlighting the historical aspects of the relations, cultural shows, cuisine festivals and tourism conferences.

Violations committed on Hà Nội-Bắc Giang Highway

Hà Nội-Bắc Giang Highway, which opened one year ago, is expected to witness a reduction in traffic congestion and accidents between Hà Nội, northern Bắc Ninh and Bắc Giang provinces. However, several shortcomings reported on the highway have caused annoyance to residents and drivers.

According to a report by the Pháp Luật Việt Nam (Việt Nam Law) newspaper, although lamp posts are installed on the highway, most of them are not switched in the evenings, forcing drivers to travel in the dark.

This may be one of the reasons for the many accidents occurring on the highway, the newspaper reported. Cars which travel a high speed of 80 to 100km per hour are more likely to have accidents when travelling on a dimly-lit road.

A taxi driver said “I never dare to drive at a speed of 80km per hour on the highway when it gets dark. Without high tension lamp poles, we cannot see anything when a vehicle from the opposite direction flashes its headlights.”

A vendor on the roadside said “Accidents usually happen at night, mostly because speeding cars cannot see when it is dark”.

Nguyễn Xuân Hưng, deputy head of the Highway Management Department under the Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam, told the media since the highway was put into operation in January last year, there have been 95 accidents, leaving 12 dead and injuring 12.

Despite warning signs, many coaches reportedly stopped to pick and drop passengers on the highway section through Phù Đổng bridge in Gia Lâm District of Hà Nội or under flyovers at the crossroads of Hà Nội-Bắc Giang highway and highways No 37 and 38.

An incomplete system of frontage roads, underbridges and broken guardrails, along with limited awareness of residents and drivers are also to blame, Hưng said.

Đào Nguyên Quý, chief of the secretariat of the traffic safety committee of Bắc Giang Province, said authorised agencies must impose strict penalties on coaches parked illegally on the highway. The highway management unit should soon finish frontage roads to facilitate residents’ travel.

The 46km Hà Nội-Bắc Giang Expressway was built under a build-operate-transfer model for a total investment of VNĐ4.2 trillion (US$197.4 million). The  highway has a speed limit of 100kph.

HCM City controls banned substances in breeding

HCM City has managed to control abuse of antibiotics and banned substances in animal breeding by imposing tough penalties and destroying meats found with such substances, according to the city Animal Health Agency.

One such substance is salbutamol, a bronchodilator used for treating breathing difficulties related to asthma, which is used illegally to stimulate growth in animals.

At a meeting held with inspectors from central agencies on Thursday, Huỳnh Tấn Phát, the agency’s deputy head, said more than 1,500 samples of pork from slaughterhouses had been tested since May 2015 and no banned substances were found.

Inspections of breeding facilities failed to turn up such substances either, he said.

“The city has controlled abuse of banned substances in breeding.”

Before the last Tết (Lunar New Year) in early 2016 the city found dozens of truckloads of pigs with banned substances being transported from other provinces.

The animals were destroyed with the city enterprises that had bought them paying for it, Phát said.

The agency requested authorities in the provinces where the pork had originated to strengthen oversight, he said.

According to the city Aquaculture Agency, the rate of seafood samples testing positive for banned chemicals and antibiotics had also reduced from 32.5 per cent in the first quarter last year to 3.7 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Phát said an electronic system for consumers to check the origins of pork was introduced in modern retail outlets in December 2015, and nearly 1,200-1,400 pigs are checked in this manner daily.

On January 16 the system would be expanded to six traditional markets, and with many foreign-owned breeding companies set to take part in the system, the number of pigs checked for origins daily would rise to 5,000, accounting for 30 per cent of the pork sold in the city during Tết, he said.

Huỳnh Thị Kim Cúc, deputy head of the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said her department plans to use a similar method to check the origin of vegetables.

“It is difficult to set up the system, but we are trying to pilot it at several vegetable co-operatives, including Phước An and Phú Lộc.”

Because 70 per cent of vegetables come from elsewhere, the city has worked with many provinces to create safe food chains.

As of now 98 farms and production establishments in Đồng Nai, Bình Dương, Bình Phước and other provinces have been licensed to take part in the chains.

The department organises the Vietnamese good agricultural practices (GAP) and GlobalGap agricultural product fairs every Saturday in District 10.

Vietnam-China 67-year ties marked in HCM City ceremony

The Vietnam-China Friendship Association (VCFA) in Ho Chi Minh City held a ceremony on January 13 to mark the 67th anniversary of the Vietnam-China diplomatic ties (January 18, 1950-2017).

Addressing the event, Duong Quan Ha, Chairman of the VCFA stressed that Vietnam and China are neighbouring countries sharing a long-standing friendship and growing comprehensive cooperation.

Along with expanding economic-trade cooperation, Vietnam and China are enjoying fruitful results of their education-training and tourism partnership, he noted, adding that the collaboration between Ho Chi Minh City and Chinese localities is also flourishing. 

Ha said in the coming time, the Ho Chi Minh City’s VCFA will continue to work closely with the Chinese Consulate General and the Association of Chinese Business in the city to conduct diverse activities to foster the friendship, solidarity and cooperation between the two peoples.

Chinese Consul General in HCM City Chen Dehai stressed that the relationship between the two countries has grown both on scale and in depth, while people-to-people contact has been promoted, contributing to mutual understanding.

He expressed hope that the bilateral ties will continue to thrive in the future.

Workshop highlights women empowerment in economic restructuring

Promoting women empowerment is a focus in making policies and action plans in the evaluation progress of Vietnam’s economic restructuring, said Nguyen Dinh Cung, head of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM) at a workshop in Hanoi on January 13.

He emphasised the need to give priority to the gender aspect, saying that this draws the attention from the Vietnamese and Australian Government as well as international organisations and policy makers.

Women’s economic empowerment is an equal access to resources and economic opportunities as well as the elimination of structural gender inequality in the labour market, including a better sharing of unpaid care work, said Raymond Mallon, senior advisor of the Restructuring for a more competitive Vietnam project.

He also noted that women’s occupational choices are limited by discrimination in the labour market, stressing that comprehensive market institutions will allow women to gain an equal access to resources and reduce inequality. 

It is necessary to better supervise and understand impacts of economic reform on women, he said. 

Mai Thi Dieu Huyen from the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Industry (VCCI) called for solutions to help women achieve career promotion, adding that supporting them will eradicate poverty, contributing to sustainable development of society.

The workshop was co-organised by the CIEM and the Australian Embassy in Vietnam.

President presents Tet gifts to the needy in Lao Cai

President Tran Dai Quang on January 13 visited and presented Lunar New Year (Tet) gifts to state policy beneficiaries, poor households in Gia Phu commune, Bao Thang district, and Ban Khoang commune, Sa Pa district, in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.

Gia Phu and Ban Khoang are poor localities of which residents are from ethnic minority groups. As many as 65.4 percent of families in Ban Khoang are poor, while other 19.6 percent are living close to poverty line.

Apart from asking for support in caring for locals during the most important festival of the year, local authorities have also planned to organise a number of traditional festivals of ethnic minority groups during Tet as well as other cultural events as part of efforts to give local a happy Tet. 

President Tran Dai Quang asked local government in Bao Thang and Sa Pa districts as well as Lao Cai province to pay more attention to building new-style rural areas and boosting the province’s growth in all fields.

He stressed that building a stable life for all people as well as sustainable development is important part of targets in the cause of constructing and developing a socialist country with wealth, justice, democracy, and civilisation.

The State leader requested Lao Cai to promote the internal strength, while strengthening the application of advanced technology, seeking new production models to suit its specific conditions. 

He suggested that Lao Cai expand the model of fish farming, and cultivating plant varieties with high productivity to increase output and quality of farm produce.

Vietnam Fatherland Front supports flood victims in Phu Yen

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee visited and presented gifts to people in the flood-hit south central province of Phu Yen on January 13.

The delegation, led by Vice President and General Secretary Tran Thanh Man, presented each affected household 52 million VND (2,304 USD) to restore their houses and prepare for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Man proposed local authorities continue mobilising resources to help local flood victims while monitoring the distribution of aid to ensure it reaches those in need.      

On the occasion, the VFF also transferred 30 billion VND (1.32 million USD) to flood-hit central provinces, in which Phu Yen received 3.5 billion VND (155,085 USD).

Torrential rains and floods in the last two months of 2016 in Phu Yen province claimed 12 lives and caused damage worth over 600 billion VND (26.5 million USD).

Supermarkets extend opening hours for Tet

Supermarkets in HCMC have announced that they will increase their opening hours by 2-4 hours a day to meet shopping demand and prevent congestion at counters ahead of the Tet. 

Co.opMart and Co.opXtra supermarket chain will open from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. from January 17-23, 6 a.m. - midnight on January 24-26 and 6 a.m. – noon on January 27 or the 30th day of the lunar year. 

They will be off on the first day of the lunar New Year and re-open on the following day. In other provinces and cities, the chain will adjust its opening hours suitable with practical conditions. 

Big C will extend its hours by 1-1.5 hours a day in the week before the Tet. Only three supermarkets of the chain will resume their operation on the second day of the New Year while the remaining ones will restart on the third day. 

Lotte Mart will open from 7 a.m. - 11 p.m. on January 24-26 and 7 a.m. – noon on the following day--the last day of the lunar year. 

The supermarkets said that the number of staff had been increased by 30 percent.  Counters and shopping carts had also supplemented to meet surging demand. 

In traditional markets, traders have said that they will extend their selling time until 6-7 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. as normal. 

The management boards of some markets have approved traders to sell until 9 p.m. after January 20. According to regulations, they all have to shut down before 12:30 p.m. on January 27 to tidy up markets to celebrate the Tet holidays. 

Besides increasing selling time in supermarkets and markets, businesses under the city’s market stabilization program will organize mobile sales trips to suburban districts, industrial parks and export processing zones to serve local citizens and workers. 

Ministry publicizes hospital rating for patients to select

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that the Ministry of Health must publicize hospital rating on which patients can select the hospital of their choice.

PM Phuc made the statement when attending the Ministry’s conference to set out its tasks for 2017 in Hanoi on January 12.

Speaking at the conference, he lauded the sector’s outcomes last year, helping improve the country’s socioeconomic development. The PM also reminded Uncle Ho’s teaching for health workers and duty in taking care of people’s health.

On the occasion, the PM praised the sector’s positive changes including improving the medical service’s quality and let no outbreak of diseases take place. Moreover, the health sector has made progress in health financing mechanism, adopting measures to support the poor and disadvantaged people in remote districts to access to high-quality medical services. Especially, the sector has encouraged more people to buy health insurance. 

Mr. Phuc also pointed out the sector’s shortcomings, including overloaded hospitals, two or three patients in a bed, complicated paperwork procedures causing trouble for patients, and medical accidents due to negligence and poor competence of medical workers.  Worse, it is nontransparent in drug bidding and weak management.

Accordingly, the PM ordered the sector to resolve its shortcomings. In the upcoming time, the sector must improve more to provide high-quality medical services; simplify paperwork procedures and raise examination and treatment quality.

Additionally, hospitals should accept test results to reduce trouble, money and time for patients. Furthermore, the Ministry should promote building district medical facilities and training medical staffs.

Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien said that in 2016, the Ministry implemented successfully programs and projects and completed two goals which the National Assembly and the government assigned comprising of the bed number of 25 beds among 10,000 people and the rate of insurance card holders reaching 81.7 percent.

The Health Minister said that the sector will continue measures to reduce cramped hospitals and improve quality as well as increase the bed number to insurance participants.

Ministry warns of seasonal diseases

The Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health has warned public of streptococcus, acute diarrhea, poisoning and upward trend of diseases such as flu, measles, mumps, dengue and hand-foot-mouth during the winter-spring season of the year.

Head of the Department Dr. Tran Dac Phu said that during the winter-spring season falls on the Lunar New Year,  people consume a large quantity of cattle and poultry. Yet, the control of sales, transport and slaughter of cattle and poultry is loose.

Worse, the habit of eating swine blood budding makes the number of people infection with streptococcus skyrocket after and before Tet holiday.

Though the number of patients infected with streptococcus is not high as much as other diseases, most of them face risk of death. Medical experts said that swine streptococcus will disability and death if they do not get the treatment in time. The mortality rate is up to 7 percent.

Dangerously, patients just have high fever at the first stage, doctors easily mistake with other disease when diagnosis.

Streptococcus can occur in a person who used to have it; accordingly, people should not eat swine blood pudding or slaughter sick or dead animal.

In 2016, the country recorded the circulation of flu A (H3), A/H1N1 and flu B with the rate of 46.1 percent, 18.2 percent and 35.8 percent of total infection cases respectively. At present the country has not had flu A/H7N9 and A/H5N6 yet the ministry warned of high possibility in the winter-spring season.

Medical experts advised that the best way to prevent seasonal flu, and bird flu, streptococcus, people should not eat sick or dead cattle and waterfowl or animal with unclear origin. People should have boiled water and food.

The Department said that in 2017, the diseases will develop complicatedly due to many causes including traveling between countries, urbanization, climate change and tradition; the sector hence will tighten monitor in border crossings nationwide.

English Champion 2017 opened for primary, junior high school graders

The Vietnam Central Study Encouragement Association, EQuest Academy in collaboration with the Vietnamese American English Center (VATC) has just launched the English Champion 2017 for students from fourth to eighth  graders beginning now till April.

The contest themed “English can change your world” aims to inspire and cultivate creativeness as well as confidence about English competence to small students.

It hopes to attract 30,000 students nationwide with the awards totally worth VND40 billion ($1,772,342).

This year, candidates will finish the first and second rounds via internet. To ensure the fairness, all candidates can register one account only to do the tests as per the organizer’s schedule.

Additionally, the system will have a method against cheating in the contest to ensure assessing candidates’ competence.

In the third round, candidates will sit for contests of Math, science and society. Ten excellent candidates will be selected for the fourth round held in Ho Chi Minh City and they will partake in activities including making friends and soft skills which take 20 percent of the whole scores. The last round is delivering speeches accounting for 80 percent of the whole score.

To have more information of the contest, candidates can visit the contest official website http://www.englishchampion.edu.vn/

Thousands of Vietnamese from Laos, Thailand returns home for Tet

Thousands of Vietnamese people working in Laos and Thailand have been returned home to celebrate the Tet festival, averaging 2,000-3,000 a day, said senior lieutenant colonel Tran Duc Phuc on January 12.

The number was triple and quadruple over normal, said he who is head of the border post in Cau Treo International Border Gate in the north central province of Ha Tinh.

 

According to negotiations between Vietnam and Laos, Cau Treo International Border Gate does entrance and exit procedures for citizens from 7 a.m. – 7:30 p.m. everyday.

 

In the days near the Lunar New Year, authorized agencies in Vietnamese Cau Treo and Lao Nam Phao International Border Gate will extend the service until 10 p.m. and after that time for unexpected reasons.

Farmers hit by natural disasters to receive support from Gov't

The government has issued a decree on supporting farmers in areas which ravaged by natural disasters to restore agricultural production.

As per the decree, government plans to compensate VND30 million per hectare for the loss of agricultural production, VND20 million for forestry production in one hectare and VND60 million per hectare for seafood production.

Additionally, the government will pay compensation to farmers who must kill cattle or poultry because of disease. Farmers will receive VND38,000 as compensation for a kilogram of pigs; VND45,000 a kilogram for cattle and VND35,000 a waterfowl.

The government will pay salt farmers who have been suffered 70 percent of loss compensation of VND1.5 million in a hectare and VND1 million year hectare for those who suffered losses below 70 percent.

The decree clearly says that the government will give cash or seeds to farmers.

Hanoi considers ditching war-time loudspeakers

In the age of the internet, Hanoi's mayor said the old system has become obsolete and urged local officials to review their effectiveness.

Outdated speakers that have been blaring out across Hanoi since the wartime in the 1960s have become obsolete and completed their purpose, Mayor Nguyen Duc Chung said at a conference on January 9.

“They were very effective in their time but in this digital age with a lot of other means of serving the people, like providing daily pollution information on the internet, are the speakers still necessary?”

They might only be helpful in the suburbs now, Chung said.

He encouraged local officials to review how effective the speakers are in their areas and to decide whether to remove them.

Hanoi's loudspeakers date back to the 1960s and 1970s when they delivered air raid warnings during the war with the US-backed South Vietnamese government.

Today they are used to deliver daily neighborhood announcements about local meetings, health updates, sanitation and other public issues. The same system is used in many parts across rural Vietnam.

But many Hanoians believe the iconic method of mass communication is no longer necessary and too noisy. The speakers belong in museums now, some suggest.

Vietnam Fatherland Front supports flood victims in Phu Yen

A delegation of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee visited and presented gifts to people in the flood-hit south central province of Phu Yen on January 13.

The delegation, led by Vice President and General Secretary Tran Thanh Man, presented each affected household 52 million VND (2,304 USD) to restore their houses and prepare for the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Man proposed local authorities continue mobilising resources to help local flood victims while monitoring the distribution of aid to ensure it reaches those in need.      

On the occasion, the VFF also transferred 30 billion VND (1.32 million USD) to flood-hit central provinces, in which Phu Yen received 3.5 billion VND (155,085 USD).

Torrential rains and floods in the last two months of 2016 in Phu Yen province claimed 12 lives and caused damage worth over 600 billion VND (26.5 million USD).

Lai Chau becomes 53th destination of Hoang Sa, Truong Sa exhibition

An exhibition featuring maps and documents affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes opened in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau on January 13.

Lai Chau is the 53rd locality in the country to host the exhibition, themed “Vietnam’s Hoang Sa and Truong Sa – Historical and Legal Evidence”, said Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tong Thanh Hai, who is also head of the exhibition organising committee. 

On display are documents, objects, publications and nearly 100 maps which were collected by local and international researchers and scholars.       

The exhibited materials are in Han (classical Chinese), Nom (Vietnamese ideographic script), Vietnamese and French languages issued by Vietnamese feudal states, the French government in Indochina (on behalf of the then Vietnamese state), and other foreign states. 

Notably, there are 65 maps testifying Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagos announced by Vietnam and Western countries from the 17th century to present.    

All these exhibits affirmed the process Vietnam continuously exercised and defended its sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa islands.       

In addition, four atlases and 30 maps published by Chinese states over periods also showed that China did not manage the two archipelagoes.  

    

The event helps raise public awareness of firmly safeguarding the country’s sacred sea and island sovereignty as well as rejecting China’s groundless sovereignty claims over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, said Hai.

After the exhibition concluded on January 17, all the maps and documents will be presented to the province for further display.

Vietnam, Czech Republic review educational cooperation

Educational cooperation between Vietnam and the Czech Republic was the focus of a seminar held in Prague on January 12. 

Vietnamese Ambassador to the Czech Republic Truong Manh Son said the Czech Republic has trained more than 10,000 Vietnamese bachelors, engineers and doctors. Many of them have been holding high-ranking positions in the political, education-training and scientific research systems in Vietnam.

Educational cooperation between the two countries has diminished in the past 20 years. However, the Czech Republic still provides between 7-10 undergraduate and graduate scholarships for Vietnamese students each year, he added.

Over the past five years, the Prague University of Agriculture sends from 20 to 30 students to the Vietnam University of Agriculture to study each summer.

Leaders of Czech universities pointed out barriers in educational cooperation, including languages and complicated visa procedures which make it hard for Vietnamese students to study in the Czech Republic.

Ambassador Truong Manh Son recommended the Czech side simplify visa procedures for Vietnamese students.

Czech Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lukas Kaucky said he would discuss the problems raised at the seminar with the Czech Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Education.

The Czech Republic is considering the opening of a consulate in Ho Chi Minh City in the near future to reduce overloading at the Czech Embassy in Hanoi.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE