Police revoke 9,800 driving licences in two months

Traffic policemen check a car driver’s documents 

Traffic police across the country revoked some 9,800 driving licences from September 21 to November 20, 2018.

Recent reports from the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security revealed that after two months implementing the Prime Minister’s command to ensure road safety, nearly 142,000 traffic violation cases were handled with 9,800 driving licences withdrawn and 4,500 cars seized.

Among vehicles violating traffic rules, trucks accounted for 55 percent, while coaches and cars took 17 percent and 28 percent, respectively.

The police found 53 fake licences, four fake vehicle registrations and withdrew the number plates of 110 expired cars.

Provincial traffic police units were asked to tighten management over vehicles, especially those that are about to expire, and ensure traffic safety on the threshold of Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) festival.

Social network ethics code necessary for healthy cyberspace

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) organised a conference to discuss the code of conduct for social networks in Ho Chi Minh City on December 14.

Deputy head of the National Institute of Information and Communications Strategy Do Quy Vu (standing) speaks at the conference in HCM City on December 14

With around 55 million accounts, Vietnam is the seventh largest Facebook-using nation worldwide. Vietnamese people spend seven hours on the internet per day on average, with 2.5 hours spent on social networking.

With 436 social networks allowed to operate in the country, the MIC has completed a draft for an associated code of conduct, which is based on international standards and regulations, treating Vietnamese and foreign service suppliers and users alike.

Speaking at the conference, deputy head of the National Institute of Information and Communications Strategy Do Quy Vu said that apart from legal and technical measures, Vietnam needs to design and conduct soft solutions to raising public awareness on internet users’ rights and responsibilities towards cyberspace behaviour.

Vu Hoang Lien, Chairman of the Vietnam Internet Association, considered the code of conduct community-based rules. 

Users should actively follow ethical behaviour and spread the spirit among their community, while service suppliers should come up with measures to facilitate such behaviour, he added.

According to a survey from the Vietnam Program for Internet and Society, hate content on social networks in Vietnam mostly attack and defame a person or group concerning their ethnic origin, gender identity, disability, or religion, among others. The survey said the main cause behind this is users’ conception of social networks as a virtual environment where individuals hold no responsibility for their statements.

A representative from Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam, a firm that recently suffered from a false rumour spread about its product quality, said that users should behave with responsibility and avoid sharing false information on social networks. Website operators, meanwhile, must hold responsibility for the misinformation they spread and should have representatives in Vietnam to handle related petitions. 

Nguyen Thi Hau, former deputy head of the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, recommended that to promote advantages and reduce the downsides of the internet, particularly amongst social networks, synchronous actions should be taken to raise public awareness, building and implementing related regulations, and increasing administrators’ understanding and engagement in global technology trends.

Hai Duong: Historical places officially named special national relic sites

Mao Dien Temple of Literature in Hai Duong. (Photo: camgiang.haiduong.gov.vn)

Mao Dien Temple of Literature and Xua Temple – Giam Pagoda – Bia Temple complex in the northern province of Hai Duong were recognised as special national relic sites in a ceremony held in Cam Giang district on December 16.

At the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue presented the province with certificates honouring its two popular historical destinations as special national relic sites.

Hue also took the occasion to present Cam Giang with the first-class Order of Labour and a certificate recognising it as a new-style rural district.

Mao Dien Temple of Literature, the second largest of its kind in Vietnam after the temple in Hanoi, was built during the early period of the Later Le Dynasty in Vinh Tuy commune, Binh Giang district in the 15th century. It was later moved to Cam Dien commune, Cam Giang during the Tay Son Dynasty (1788 – 1802). 

The temple is a place where worshippers come to pay homage to Confucius as well as some 600 Confucian doctors of the province that have been honoured over more than 500 years. 

Xua Temple is located in Cam Vu commune, Cam Giang where Great Physician and Zen Master Tue Tinh (1330 – 1400) was born. He is viewed as the saint of Vietnamese herbs and the progenitor of Vietnamese traditional medicine.

Giam Pagoda in Cam Son commune is where he lived and dedicated his life to documenting and making medicine, while Bia Temple in Cam Van commune worships the Great Physician and retains a stone stele engraved with his testament.

Cam Giang district has spent nearly 2 trillion VND (86 million USD) over the past eight years improving infrastructure and public facilities and developing local economy as part of efforts to gain the new-style rural district status. 

It is now the only district of Hai Duong to have all high schools meeting national standards. All of the district’s communal and inter-communal roads and alleys have been concreted, while all communes have at least one station providing telecommunication services and a multi-functional cultural house for community and sport events.

The district’s income per capita is estimated at 42 million VND (1,800 USD) this year, a 2.15-fold increase from that of 2011, and the local poverty rate dropped to 1.47 percent. 

Vinh International Airport to be expanded

Vinh International Airport’s new terminal is expected to be completed by 2020

The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has submitted a proposal on the expansion of Vinh International Airport in the central province of Nghe An to the Ministry of Transport.

With investment of 3 trillion VND (127.9 million USD), the corporation expects to build a new terminal, a new airport apron, upgrade and expand the current apron by 2020.

According to the ACV, the airport is currently overloaded at peak hours and the numbers of passengers, flights and goods transported through the airport are predicted to exceed its designed capacity. By upgrading and expanding the airport, connections between Nghe An province and other localities will be improved.

The new terminal will be able to receive 5 million passengers a year, raising the total annual capacity of the Vinh International Airport to 10 million passengers. Investors are currently working on the terminal’s design and a feasibility study.

To ensure the project stays on schedule, Nghe An authorities have committed to working with the ACV in necessary procedures, including land clearance.

The ACV has asked the Ministry of Transport to approve the project and allow the corporation to be the main investor.

“The Start of Japan” programme to be broadcast on VTV

At the Japanese cultural exchange 2018 in Hanoi

“The Start of Japan” programme will begin broadcasting on Vietnam Television (VTV) channels to introduce Japanese culture and tourism to the public, told VTV to a press conference in Hanoi on December 14. 

Co-produced by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan’s Nara Television, and VTV, the programme is part of activities celebrating the 45th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the project on the overseas development of broadcast content. 

This is the second project that the VTV has partnered with Nara Television. Both projects were conducted in two years by two different production staff. 

Five series, entitled “Yamatokoriyama – the home of goldfish”, “Nara – the start of healthcare welfare”, “Yoshino – the origin of modern forestry”, “Shuttlecock and national construction”, and “Yamato – the origin of Japanese swords”, will be broadcast on VTV1 channel in December 2018 and January 2019, then later on VTV4, VTV3, and other VTV channels. 

Narrated by MC Son Lam, a familiar face on “Moving 24h” and “Wechoice: journey for inspiration”, audiences will see similarities in culture and lifestyle between Vietnam and Japan. 

Director of Nara Television Nagaoka Masami said the programme will enable Vietnamese audiences to gain a closer insight into the culture and lifestyle of people of Japan and Nara in particular. 

VFF leader extends Christmas greetings to Christians nationwide

A Christmas fair at Cua Bac Church in Hanoi

Secretary of the Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Tran Thanh Man has sent his best wishes to all Christians in the country, ahead of the 2018 Christmas season and the 2019 New Year celebrations.

In his letter, the official said that over the past year, Christians nationwide have devoted themselves to serving Christ and the homeland. They have successfully carried out the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and law, while actively taking part in patriotic emulation movements and campaigns launched by the VFF.

In 2018, many communes and districts with large numbers of Catholics and Protestants have become new-style rural areas, while many Catholic families have made efforts to improve their living standards and communities. The material and spiritual lives of Catholics and Protestants have been bettered, he said.

The Vietnam Catholic Church and the Evangelical churches of Vietnam have actively encouraged their dignitaries and followers to engage in a number of practical activities, including protecting the environment, responding to climate change, ensuring food safety, and supporting natural disaster victims.

Man noted that Christians have greatly contributed towards the achievement of socio-economic targets, safeguarding security and defence, and enhancing the great national unity bloc.

He expressed his belief that all Vietnamese Christians will keep upholding the traditional patriotism and unity with people nationwide to continue implementing the VFF’s movements and campaigns for the sake of a prosperous society and a strong, democratic, equitable, and civilised nation.

In the letter, the VFF President wished all Christians a merry Christmas and a New Year full of health, success, and the Christ’s blessings. 

Central city Da Nang to develop waste-to-energy project

A waste processing system is seen at the Khanh Son waste recycled plant. 

The central city of Da Nang plans to build its first waste-to-energy project at Khanh Son dump.

The 2.3 trillion VND (101.7 million USD) project, which will be developed from the already invested first phase of a rubbish recycled plant from 2015, will help process 1,000 tonnes of garbage each day to supply fuel for power generation from 2022.

Director of the Vietnam Environment Joint-Stock Company, Nguyen Van Tuan, the investor of the Khanh Son waste recycled plant, said the plant, which was built on 20ha from 2015, will process 200 tonnes of garbage including plastic waste into fuel oil, bricks and compost with an investment of 400 billion VND (19 million USD) initially.

He said the plant will build a waste incineration in the second stage to combust waste into electricity from 2022 as the city looks to become a more environmentally friendly city.

Tuan said the project is currently completing environmental impact assessments before construction begins.

Once operational, 100 tonnes of solid garbage could be used to produce from 1.5MW (megawatt) to 2MW of power.

According to the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, incineration technology could cut 80 percent of solid waste as it uses thermal energy from the garbage furnace to generate power.

Da Nang produces 870 tonnes of garbage each day, of which 95 percent is collected, and only 10 percent recycled, while an incineration system only processes 200kg of medical solid waste in one hour.

In 2017, Da Nang and the Asia Development Bank signed an agreement to develop a new landfill and waste treatment facility, using a public-private-partnership scheme in which the private sector will design, build, finance, operate and maintain the waste disposal and treatment facilities.

Tourism market busies as Tet draws near

With four days off for New Year Holiday and a nine-day Lunar New Year or Tet break, the tourism market has been extremely busy to meet increasing demand of holiday-makers. 

Travel agencies say the number of families going on vacation during New Year and Tet Holidays has increased significantly. Therefore, they have prepared for tours during this occasion.

With long break holidays, travel agencies expect travel demand during this occasion to increase to about 30 percent compared to last year.

Comics hoped to raise children’s awareness of UXO accidents

The meeting to review the performance of the Vietnam Bomb and Mine Action Support Association and debut the comic books in Hanoi on December 14 

A set of comic books aiming to raise children’s awareness of unexploded ordnance (UXO) accidents in Vietnam made debut in Hanoi on December 14.

The comics, compiled by the Vietnam Bomb and Mine Action Support Association, consist of three collections, namely “Peter va mua he tren dat Viet” (Peter and the summer in Vietnam) with five volumes, “Bi mat lang da tang” (The secret of the stone village) with three volumes, and “Nhat ky Sau heo” (The diary of Sau heo) with three volumes.

Lt. Gen. Pham Ngoc Hoa, Vice Chairman of the association, said about 3,000 copies of the comics have been printed, and they will be distributed to some primary schools in the 19 most UXO-contaminated provinces and cities.

He noted that there are many measures to eliminate UXO-related accidents, and education to raise public awareness has proved highly effective. He expressed his hope that the comics will help improve local children’s awareness of this type of accidents.

According to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, Vietnam is one of the world’s most UXO-contaminated countries. 

It is estimated that about 800,000 tonnes of UXOs were left across the country after the war ended, mostly in the central region. Some 6.13 million hectares of land are polluted with or suspected of being polluted with UXOs, accounting for 18.82 percent of the country’s total area.

Since 1975, UXO incidents have killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others, most of whom were breadwinners of their families or children.

Remains of 30 voluntary soldiers reburied in Dien Bien

A repatriation and reburial ceremony for the remains of 30 voluntary Vietnamese soldiers who laid down their lives in Laos took place in the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien on December 14. 

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Le Van Quy lauded the voluntary Vietnamese soldiers for dedicating their lives to the liberation cause of two countries and contributing to their bilateral special friendship. 

He thanked the Lao Party, State, and people for standing side-by-side with voluntary Vietnamese soldiers during the war to overcome difficulties and achieve victory. He also expressed thanks to the Military Zone 2’s special working group for seeking, gathering, and repatriating martyrs’ remains to the homeland. 

Earlier on January 12 and June 15, the provincial People’s Committee also held a similar ceremony for the remains of 34 voluntary Vietnamese soldiers who had sacrificed their lives in Laos. 

Established in 1994, the Military Zone 2’s special working group was tasked with seeking and collecting martyrs’ remains in the six northern Lao provinces. It has so far verified nearly 3,520 pieces of information on martyrs’ tombs and brought home the remains of some 1,700 Vietnamese nationals. 

During the 2018-2019 dry season, the group has examined 145 pieces of information on martyrs’ tombs and exhumed 30 remains.

Japanese-funded anti-human trafficking hotline enters second phase

The event to launch the second phase of the hotline project in Hanoi on December 14 

The Ministry of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MoLISA) joined the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to launch the second phase (2019-2021) of a JICA-funded hotline project on curbing human trafficking in Vietnam on December 14.

Since 2012, with financial and technical support from JICA, the MoLISA developed hotline 1800 1567, which previously supplied child protection consultation services. 

To date, the hotline has been changed to 111, and two regional operation centres have been established in the central city of Da Nang and the Mekong Delta province of An Giang. Information and service exchanges have been maintained between the north and northern central region, the south central and Central Highlands region, and the southeast and Mekong Delta region. 

The second phase of the project aims at setting up a national hotline and pushing for trans-border cooperation with neighbouring countries in combating human trafficking.

Between October 2013 and June 2018, the hotline received close to 13,000 calls, of which over 9,000 gave information and 3,500 sought consultation.

According to Dinh Van Trinh, deputy head of the anti-human trafficking office under the Ministry of Public Security, Vietnam has seen an average of 400 human trafficking cases each year, involving around 1,000 victims and 600 traffickers. Ninety percent of the victims are women and girls, aged between 15 and 30.

Electronics-communications-IT conference focuses on Industry 4.0

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) is the focus topic of the 21st National Conference on Electronics, Communications, and Information Technology (REV-ECIT) which was held in Hanoi on December 14-15.

The event was held by the Radio and Electronics Association of Vietnam (REV) every two years.

The 21st REV-ECIT provides a platform for businesses, universities, and institutions to share practices to develop the country’s electronics, communications, and information technology industries, said Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Pham Hong Hai at the opening ceremony.

He expected that later editions of the event will grab attention from more enterprises to create a sharing community that helps strengthen connectivity, foster innovation, and bridge the gap between policy and practice.

Some 56 reports are scheduled to be delivered during this year’s conference, focusing on a variety of pressing issues, including the Internet of Things (IoT) as a foundational platform of the Industry 4.0, the role of Artificial Intelligence in the era of Industry 4.0, 5G as the future of Industry 4.0, the application of Industry 4.0 in information security solutions, training high-quality human resources for electronics and telecommunications industries in the digital era, solutions and recommendations towards developing Vietnam’s electronics industry, and more.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution brings huge opportunities for Vietnam to achieve its development goals. To seize these opportunities, Vietnam needs to push for policy reform, as well as increase and effectively allocate investment in developing advanced technologies, particularly in terms of telecommunications and information technology infrastructures and in developing a skilled workforce for these industries. 

Local businesses must also play a more active role in approaching new technologies and keeping up with the latest regional and global trends so as not be left behind in the Industry 4.0 era, said participants.

A range of new products on electronics, communications, and information technology developed by domestic firms are also on display at the conference. 

Authorities, businesses increase dialogues on social network

At the workshop 

State agencies have provided more online administrative procedures and used social networks to interact with businesses and citizens, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) Vo Tan Thanh said at a recent seminar in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Thanh, the use of information technology has received attention from the Party and State, proven by the promulgation of various directives and resolutions in recent years.

Additionally, the Government portal set up two Facebook accounts to provide information for people on new legal documents, political-social-economic affairs and activities of Party and State leaders, he said.

Deputy director of the HCM City Department of Information and Communications Le Quoc Cuong said the city is opening more channels to receive information from businesses and people.

For State-run agencies, experts said making more use of social networks will help improve transparency and accountability as well as change their working attitude and organisation.

Localities suggested Facebook support authorities with the application of artificial intelligence software and online interaction with businesses and people.

According to the Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam has 64 million internet users, making up 67 percent of the population, higher than the world’s average rate of 46.6 percent. 

The country now ranks seventh in the number of Facebook users in the world with 60 million users. By 2020, the figure is expected to stand at 76.6 million, accounting for 80 percent of the population.

District official dismissed for land appropriation

Forest land in Đắk Nông Province. — Photo laodong.vn

The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands Province of Đắk Nông has decided to dismiss the Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Tuy Đức District for appropriating public land.

Nguyễn Hữu Huân was found to have appropriated over 75,000sq.m of public forest land managed by Quảng Trực Afforestation Farm in Quảng Trực Commune.

The land was taken over by Huân in 2000 for cultivation purposes when he held the positions of deputy head of the planning office and deputy director of the afforestation yard.

He asked a resident to register the land for him and then granted the resident a land use right certificate, and then transferred the land use rights to his wife.

Demark nourishes love for nature among Vietnam children

The Danish Embassy in Hanoi has helped cultivate the love for nature among Vietnamese kids through a painting contest that earned the participation of thousands of pupils in 28 cities and provinces across Vietnam. 

 

Danish Ambassador Kim Højlund Christensen at the award ceremony. 

“Denmark in Your Eyes Contest 2018: Green Dreams” has received more than 4,100 entries of art works from nearly 100 schools and art clubs nationwide, showing great interest in the event and the environment. 

“I am very much impressed by the creativeness of the children participating in this year’s competition. Their artworks radiate great imagination and inspiration, conveying strong messages of environmental conservation,” the ambassador said. 

“I am very happy that the competition gave a platform for young children to express their own concerns and feelings towards global environmental issues. In addition it brought our two countries much closer to each other in the fight to protect the environment,” he added. 

The contest, the third of its kind held by the embassy in Vietnam, is part of activities to celebrate the 47th anniversary of Vietnam-Denmark diplomatic relations. 

The event is part of the embassy’s efforts to promote cultural exchange and people-to-people links between the two countries.   

On December 7, 2018, the embassy held an award ceremony and painting exhibition with the attendance of the Ambassador, Vietnam's Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Tran Hong Ha, and representatives of Kim Dong Publishing House and Nhi Dong Newspaper. 

A special prize, two first prizes, three second prizes, six third prizes, 50 consolation prizes, and two group prizes have been selected by a number of acclaimed painters.  

VN to build made-in-Vietnam digital ecosystem

Vietnam has set the goal of a digital ecosystem with digital products and services developed and owned by the Vietnamese people.

In his remarks at a recent workshop in Hanoi, Nguyen Thanh Hung, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, said Vietnam’s Internet at the age of 21 has set a new target of building a digital ecosystem with made-in-Vietnam products and services.

Vietnam ranks the 16th in the world in the number of Internet users. Vietnamese businesses are capable of mastering the technology, the domestic market, and even introducing services to the regional market, Hung said.

Participants said Vietnamese businesses need to play a key role in realizing the development of a domestic digital ecosystem.

Made-in-Vietnam digital products and services should first of all meet the local practical demands, benefit the society’s common interests, and receive positive responses from domestic consumers.

Grassroots-level healthcare improved

Doctors at the Medical Station Ward 13 in HCM City have an online meeting with doctors at a higher-level hospital. 

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has improved the quality of healthcare and treatment at medical stations in 26 wards and communes in certain localities across the country over the past year.

The work aimed at helping reduce overcrowding at higher-level hospitals, especially central ones, and fulfilling the health sector’s target for this year. Its target, set at the beginning of this year, was to develop grassroots level healthcare and enhance the work of medical stations.

The MoH gave guidance to medical stations to conduct different professional tasks, including taking care of mothers and children, providing examinations and treatment for chronic diseases, providing early diagnoses for high-risk patients, good first aid and education on disease prevention. The medical stations also applied information technology in their work and improved waste treatment.

Associate professor Lương Ngọc Khuê, director of the Vietnam Medical Services Administration under the MoH, said that the MoH had conducted different methods to fulfill the task.

The ministry supervised and gave technical support on chronic disease management for several provinces and cities, and professional guidance for nearly 30 communal medical stations.

More equipment was also handed out to communal medical stations.

The ministry called for co-operation from concerned organisations such as the World Health Organisation and the World Bank.

To improve the quality of health examination and treatment, co-operation is needed from people’s committees at different levels, provincial and municipal departments of health, districts and central hospitals, Khuê said.

The Ministry’s project 5168, which assigned doctors from central hospitals and hospitals in Hà Nội and HCM City to take turns giving professional training and help for communal medical stations in 2018-20, was one important measure to ease overcrowding at main hospitals.

“The project also helps create equality in healthcare in different areas across the country, and train professional workers to meet patients’ demands,” said Khuê.