Thousands of Khmer households escape from poverty

The Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang supported 11,200 households to escape from poverty in 2017.

The number of poor households dropped to 38,300, making up 11.85 percent of the total households in the province, down 3.4 percent compared to 2016.

More than 5,000 Khmer families were supported to get out of poverty, reducing the ratio of poor Khmer households to 17.95 percent.

Head of the provincial department for ethnic affairs Ly Binh Cang attributed the outcomes to the Party and State’s support policies in building infrastructure, funding, transferring technology, and providing know-know in cultivation, animal husbandry, and family economic development.

He noted that the local socio-economic development has been recovered after serious losses caused by saltwater intrusion in 2016.

In 2017, the province recorded growth in aquatic outputs, production values, and exports. Local authorities paid much attention to reducing poverty, building new rural areas, and implementing ethnic affairs policies.

The Government’s Programme 135, which was launched in 1999 with the aim of improving living conditions for rural residents with a particular focus on ethnic minority communes, provided nearly 60 billion VND (2.6 million USD) to build infrastructure such as roads, irrigations and community houses in disadvantaged areas.

In addition, the province made effective use of funds worth over 100 billion VND (4.4 million USD) to support tens of thousands of households, mainly from the Khmer ethnic group, with accommodation and cultivation land, job change, electricity, and water. 

LBTQ women participate in workshop to raise awareness

Dozens of lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer women (LBTQ) from 15 cities and provinces across Việt Nam gathered in Hà Nội in the last two days for a workshop.

They talked about the hardships they faced as they were “not normal” according to socially accepted norms.

The gathering was the first national LBTQ community consultation workshop in Việt Nam co-organised by UN Women, Women Make A Difference --- an initiative promoting gender equality and empowering women, and Feminest --- a network of civil societies for women rights in Việt Nam.

Titled “No Longer Silenced,” the workshop saw the participation of government agencies, civil societies and media and aimed to provide a platform to LBTQ women to speak about their experience and the difficulties faced by them and give recommendations so that they could be part of inclusive development activities and programmes.

LBTQ is a vulnerable and disadvantaged group in Việt Nam because of strong public discrimination.

Nguyễn Hải Yến, one of the speakers at the workshop, said the LBTQ movement in Asia had been growing stronger, with the Asian Lesbian Network being established in 1986 and its first international conference taking place in 1990, but LBTQ in Việt Nam had less visibility as a community.

There were few research and data about LBTQ people and even if available, they were mostly inaccessible, Yến said.

“LBTQ people face gender stereotypes and sexism within the larger LGBTIQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer) community, institutions and society. They are not included in programmes on women’s rights, gender equality, sexual health, reproductive healthcare or community empowerment,” she said.

A participant from HCM City said many LBTQ women were afraid of coming out or joining surveys of development projects that benefited them.

They lived “in silence” because they thought they would not be safe if people, including their families, knew about their “true gender”.

After the discussion, participants agreed that in Việt Nam, LBTQ women had many disadvantages.

They were still not confident about themselves before their families, friends and society. They faced mental harassment and discrimination at home, school and work that prevented them from coming out.  

They lacked an understanding of gender, gender equality and women rights.

In Việt Nam, there were few tailored healthcare programmes for LBTQ women, especially those relating to sexual and reproductive health.

With such problems, LBTQ women present at the workshop called for proper action and programmes by relevant agencies to ensure that “no one is left behind” for inclusive development.

The workshop was aimed at providing an opportunity to LBTQ women to stand together and step by step build a stronger LBTQ community in Việt Nam.

Tet ornamental trees hit HCMC streets

Although the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, which falls in mid-February, is still four weeks away, many ornamental trees for Tet decoration have already been put on sale along some streets in HCMC to answer the demand of city inhabitants during the forthcoming biggest national holiday in Vietnam.

Currently, several bonsai shops in the city are entering the busiest time of the year as people come to inspect and ask for prices of ornamental plants this year.

Scores of ornamental trees and fruits, such as kumquat trees, grapefruit, apricot or peach blossoms have also been transported from other provinces to the city to serve the local market.

A night of classic ballets at HBSO this Friday

Leading artists from the HCMC Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) will take the stage at the Opera House in HCMC’s District 1 for a “Suite Ballet Carmen” show at 8 p.m. this Friday, featuring the world-acclaimed ballet “Carmen Suite” and two other neoclassic ballets by Vietnamese and French choreographers.

Following the success of previous seasons, the ballet “Carmen Suite” created in 1967 by Cuban choreographer Alberto Alonso will be revived on stage with the remake of music by Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin.

Based on the original ballet “Carmen” by French composer George Bizet, the “Carmen Suite” ballet show depicts the tragic love story of Carmen, a passionate and free-spirited girl who got caught in a love triangle with Don José, an army soldier garrisoned in Seville, Spain, and bullfighter Escamillo.

A representative of HBSO told the Daily in an email that the ballet show would be the last performance to wrap up all activities of HBSO in preparation for the forthcoming Lunar New Year break (Tet), which falls in mid-February.

Furthermore, the two neoclassic ballets by Vietnamese and international choreographers will be featured on the Friday show in HCMC.

The first ballet titled “Dépaysement” choreographed by French artist Julien Guerin evokes a spiritual journey of a lonely girl who dreams of sharing her feelings to people around her. It will be staged for the first time by local young ballet dancer Tran Hoang Yen, a graduate from the HCMC Dance School.

Julien Guerin began his dance studies at the La Rochelle conservatory in France at the age of nine  and completed his training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris.

Meanwhile, ballet lovers will have a chance to watch a new contemporary ballet called “Falling Angels” by Vietnamese choreographer Nguyen Phuc Hung, inspired from his exploration of the contrast between a female dancer’s innocence and male dancer’s toughness.

Hung, who won top prizes at national dance competitions, studied dancing at the Vietnam National College of Dance and pursued his passion for choreography at the Fontys Dance Academy in the Netherlands.

He has gained popularity with the city audience through many contemporary dances choreographed for HBSO, including Touching the Past, Gone through Love, and Night Lullaby.

The “Falling Angels” dance will be performed by young artists Do Hoang Khang Ninh and Sung A Lung, who bagged the gold medal of the 2016 Young Talent Choreographer competition.

Tickets to the show are priced at VND550,000, VND400,000, VND350,000 and VND200,000 per person, while students will pay only VND80,000.

The show will take place at 8 p.m. on January 19 at the Opera House, 7 Lam Son Square, District 1, HCMC.

Over 1,000 students join Vovinam sporting tournament

More than 1,000 primary, secondary and high school students in HCMC took part in a four-day Vovinam sporting tournament which wrapped up at Phu Tho Stadium in HCMC’s District 11 on Sunday.

The organizing committee awarded a total of 115 medal sets to winners of the competition. 

Organized by the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Department of Education and Training in conjunction with Vietnam’s Vovinam Association, the tournament was aimed to raise awareness of a healthy lifestyle among students and nurture national pride for Vovinam, traditional Vietnamese martial arts developed by a local man namely Nguyen Loc.

This was the first time a Vovinam sporting tournament had been organized for students in the city.

The tournament is part of a series of activities of the “Active Vietnam” program launched by Nestlé’s Milo brand in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Training and Vietnam Sports Administration.

U.S. Consulate hosts conference on educational cooperation

The U.S. Consulate General in HCMC on January 16 joined forces with Student Exchange Vietnam, an educational organization with a mission to promote student exchange programs for Vietnamese and international youths, to host an American Abroad conference at the American Center on level 8 of Diamond Plaza in District 1.

The one-day conference with its theme “Campus Internalization” was meant to pave the way for Vietnam to establish relationships with American higher education institutions and spur educational cooperation between the two nations.

Speaking at the launch of the conference on the morning of January 16, U.S. Consul General Mary Tarnowka said the U.S. Consulate General in HCMC hopes that the conference will help offer opportunities for American students to study in Vietnam, and to improve the growing and fruitful ties between the U.S. and Vietnam through educational cooperation. 

Several leading experts from local prestigious universities took the occasion to deliver presentations on future partnership between American and Vietnamese institutions and where Vietnam is on the international education map while some speakers from American universities   shared information on the trends of going abroad among American students and successful cooperation programs between the two nations.

The year 2017 saw fruitful educational cooperation between the two countries as Vietnam welcomed 1,012 students from the U.S. during the 2016-2017 academic year, a pickup of 9.8% over the previous school year, according to the annual Open Doors report released by the U.S.-based Institute of International Education.

The data also revealed that Vietnam is becoming a more popular destination for American students, as it holds the second position in the Southeast Asian region in terms of the number of American students coming for further education.

Youth throng to experience virtual reality of Son Doong Cave in Saigon

A great number of enthusiasts flocked to the General Science Library of Ho Chi Minh City on the weekend in order to relish a first-time virtual tour through Son Doong Cave, the world’s largest known underground passage.

More than 1,800 people in Ho Chi Minh City had registered via Facebook for this adventure, which lasted 30-35 minutes.This virtual reality tour, taking place in a 100m² room of the building, was organized on Saturday and Sunday by Save Son Dong, a group formed by young Vietnamese people in an effort to protest against the proposed construction of a cable car system through the cave.

The virtual trip was aimed at raising public awareness of the value of Son Doong and alerting people to a glimpse of the nightmare scenario of tourists overrunning this place, according to Le Nguyen Thien Huong, 31, the group’s founder.

Son Doong, located in Quang Binh Province in north-central Vietnam, was found by a group of explorers from the British Cave Research Association in 2009, according to National Geographic News. They confirmed it as the world’s largest known cavern.  

Before handing tour gadgets to visitors, Huong played a panoramic video of the natural wonder, its ongoing stalagmite formation and fragile, light-sensitive ecology.

The film was shot by the Swedish journalist and photographer Martin Edstrom, who won the first prize in International Photography Award 2015 for the SonDoong360 Project.

After wearing the virtual reality headsets and headphones, the visitors found themselves standing in close proximity to the murmuring stream at Son Doong Cave’s entrance, accompanied by a tour guide introducing the spot.

Arrows within the visual sight of the headset took the participants inside, giving them the awe of a majestic cavernous interior with sparkling stalagmites.

Out of the blue, they realized they were on a colossal stone named “Watch Out for Dinosaurs,” the cave’s symbol, from which they could take a look in multiple directions.

After several scenes, the visitors were entranced by the imposing array of ancient lime rock pieces, a mesmerizing view of the sky from the depths of the cave, and the sound of water splattering on rock; in such a way that they failed to know they were still in the city.

At some time during the trip, engulfed in the inky darkness penetrated by faint light from the entrance, they hastily fetched a flashlight, only to be amazed by a stalagmite wall of breathtaking beauty or somebody’s footprints on the bottom stone.

This tour followed the same event held by Save Son Doong in Da Nang City, which drew more than 1,500 visitors.

Project to develop Nghe An border communes

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has approved a project on building new-style rural areas in 27 border communes of central Nghe An province, aiming to boost local socio-economic development and ensuring security-defence.

The 27 communes cover more than 472,200 hectares and span the six districts of Ky Son, Tuong Duong, Con Cuong, Que Phong, Anh Son and Thanh Chuong.

The project, which will be implemented from now until 2020, is expected to improve the localities’ infrastructure system, economic structure, production model, as well as enhance locals’ literacy, protect the environment and strengthen the political system.

In 2020, on average, each commune is set to complete 11.4 out of 19 criteria of the new-style rural area building programme, with per capita income reaching over 22.9 million VND per year. The ratio of poor households under the multi-dimensional poverty standards is hoped to reduce to 30 percent.

By the end of 2020, 10 communes are expected to fulfil the criteria on locals’ income; all 27 communes complete the employment criteria; and 19 meet the production organisation standard.

Capital for the projects will be partly mobilised from businesses and local residents.

The project gives a number of solutions to reach the goals, including promoting communications to strengthen consensus in the community, encouraging locals to transform their production, and enhancing linkage in production and sale of products.

It specifies a number of support policies for the localities in implementing the project, while encouraging businesses, including those from Laos, to foster connections with farmers in selling products.

Alongside, localities are advised to focus on developing their strong products and building production models applying high technology.

Education New Zealand posts great successes in 2017

Education New Zealand has completed its 2017 journey with some outstanding achievements, celebrating an almost 60 per cent increase in the number of first time Vietnamese student visas compared to the previous year.

This is the result of continuous innovations in its education system, recognised by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which ranked New Zealand first in the world in its 2017 Educating for the Future Index.

The educational collaborations between Vietnam and New Zealand have also been boosted with various institutional and governmental joint programmes. Notably, today, Education New Zealand also recognised the latest 30 recipients of the New Zealand-ASEAN Scholarship (NZAS) Awards.   

According to John Laxon, Education New Zealand’s regional director of South, South East Asia and the Middle East, New Zealand’s innovative teaching approach and internationally-recognised qualifications are key reasons behind the growth of international student numbers in New Zealand.

“The 2018 QS World University Rankings revealed that all eight New Zealand universities rank in the top 450 worldwide. More recently, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2017 Educating for the Future Index, ranked New Zealand as the best education system overall, outstripping more well-known competitors such as the US, Australia, and the UK.”

“Our education system earned full marks across a range of indices such as curriculum framework for future skills, collaboration between education providers and the industry, as well as cultural diversity and tolerance. What this means is that through an education in New Zealand, students can acquire the theoretical and practical skills, as well as the global perspectives needed to succeed in today’s interconnected workplace,” shared Laxon.

Such focused efforts have also resulted in several New Zealand universities being included in the QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2017 list, which ranks 300 leading global institutions based on five key aspects of graduate employability.

“Vietnamese students and their families are increasingly choosing New Zealand universities and secondary schools for a world-class education that prepares students for a successful global career. We have seen a 67 per cent increase in the numbers of Vietnamese students choosing New Zealand universities in 2017, and our secondary schools received 75 per cent more first-time Vietnamese students. We look forward to welcoming more Vietnamese students in 2018, and will be launching several exciting promotional initiatives in the coming months,” he added.

The impressive achievements in education quality, together with numerous partnerships between education institutes as well as bilateral governments, have contributed greatly to the significant growth of Vietnamese students to New Zealand.

In the public sector, the annual NZAS scholarships are provided by the New Zealand government and will see 30 Vietnamese scholars begin their postgraduate studies in New Zealand next month. The recipients will receive full academic scholarships, financial assistance with research and thesis costs, as well as living allowances.

Since its inception in 1994, the NZAS scholarship programme has seen over 250 Vietnamese students pursue their postgraduate education in the South Pacific nation. However, it is only one of the numerous tie-ups between education institutes in the two countries.

“The ASEAN scholarship is an example of how education partnerships give Vietnamese students the opportunity to leverage New Zealand’s expertise in niche areas to develop skills that can help them contribute to their communities,” said Laxon.

“The educational experience in New Zealand has not only given me skills to progress my career but also provided broader perspective on global issues. It has shaped my mindset positively to get ready for the local challenges back home,” said Doan Thanh Hai, one of the NZAS’ alumni, currently a project manager of Centre for Social Initiatives Promotion (CSIP), a Vietnam-based NGO supporting social enterprises and social innovation, and business development officer of IBE, a social enterprise founded by CSIP. 

The other highlight in the intergovernmental partnership is the English Language Training for Officials to offer a 22-week English training course for Vietnamese state officials in New Zealand. This year, the programme welcomes 10 officials.

Furthermore, 2017 also sees a number of new partnerships between New Zealand institutions and their Vietnamese counterparts, which help enrich the existing educational partnerships that many New Zealand and Vietnamese institutions have been establishing for many years.

These include the Memorandum of Understanding between University of Waikato and People’s Security Academy of Vietnam, which resulted in undergraduate and postgraduate training programmes in areas such as cyber security, law, computer science, and environmental security.

Meanwhile, other institutes such as Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology and Victoria University of Wellington have signed MOUs on joint programmes and accreditations with Hong Bang University and Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Science.

2017 also marked the 10-year anniversary of the joint programme between Auckland University of Technology (AUT) and Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Science for their joint Bachelor of Computer Science programme.

Laxon noted that these collaborations reiterate New Zealand universities’ commitment to providing Vietnamese students with access to high-quality tertiary qualifications within a holistic learning environment.

Australia, VN launch 45th anniversary celebration

Visitors to the Temple of Literature now understand more about the vestiges of Vietnamese history thanks to a system of introductory panels in Vietnamese, French and English languages.

Each introductory panel is a concise brief on a section of the temple. Together, they tell the whole story about the invaluable historical site and will help tourists make the most of their visit to one of Hà Nội’s top attractions.

The panels are a gift from Australia to mark the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The celebration started on Wednesday with the launch of a 45th anniversary commemorative logo and presentation of nine introductory panels to the Temple of Literature vestige.

The winning logo was selected from a competition organised by the Australian Embassy and the Hà Nội University of Industrial Fine Arts, in collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November last year. The competition received over 150 entries from designers across the country.

The logo features Australia’s iconic Sydney Opera House and the star of the Vietnamese flag. The logo’s designer, Nguyễn Việt Hưng, 24, said that creation of the logo was inspired by his first memories of Australia and the participation of the Vietnamese sporting team at the Sydney Olympic Games 2000. Hưng graduated from the University of Technology and Economics in Budapest in Computer Engineering and now he is a Hungarian language teacher and interpreter for a language centre in Hà Nội. This is the first time he has participated in a major graphic design contest.

When he read the announcement on the Australian Embassy’s Facebook page, he immediately decided to join with aim to challenge himself, increase his knowledge and to learn from others.

“I was seven back then, and I keep remembering the fireworks display over the Sydney Opera House at the opening ceremony,” said Hưng of his Olympic memories. “And it was great that at the Sydney Olympics, Việt Nam won its first Olympics medal. The image of martial artist Trần Hiếu Ngân wrapped in the Vietnamese flag and running in joy and happiness marked an amazing milestone in Vietnamese sports’ history right there in Australia. The image impressed me until now whenever I think of Australia.”

“From the above-mentioned memory, I decided to draw the Sydney Opera House with some slim strokes using the navy blue colour found on the Australian flag. I believe that the Sydney Opera house is the easiest feature for Vietnamese people to recognise from Australia.”

“The most important symbol for Việt Nam is a star which I rendered with the red colour taken from the national flag. It represents Việt Nam being a star in the region and how step by step Việt Nam has overcome many obstacles; just like what Ngân did for Vietnamese sports in Australia.”

Australia will celebrate the 45th anniversary of bilateral ties throughout 2018 with a programme including cultural, trade and economic events. The highlights include the opening of the Cao Lãnh Bridge and the Australian Government’s third Taste of Australia event.

“Việt Nam is one of Australia’s most important partners in the Indo-Pacific. Over the past 45 years our two countries have built a strong partnership which now encompasses political exchange, economic development, security cooperation and innovation collaboration,” said Australian Ambassador Craig Chittick.

"Based on a strong foundation and building on concrete activities (particularly those in this anniversary year), Việt Nam-Australia’s Enhanced Comprehensive Partnership will be further advanced in the coming time, both bilaterally and at the regional and international level, towards a Strategic Partnership; meeting the desire and the interests of our peoples and for peace, co-operation and prosperity in Asia-Pacific and the world," said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Đặng Đình Quý.

Festival of cherry blossoms to be held in Đà lạt

The pink cherry blossoms, mostly Japanese sakura, across the central highland city of Đà Lạt has become a major draw for tourists this week.

A flower festival themed on cherry blossoms will be organised in the city between January 26 and January 28.

The Lâm Đồng Province’s People’s Committee has assigned the management board of Tuyền Lâm Lake Tourism Site and concerned agencies to host the event. All the expenses for the event will be borne by volunteer individuals and enterprises.

The flower park at the lake was planted in 2009 on 100ha, of which the State invested in 25ha of the flower area with trees that were five to six years old. Some 30ha at the site were developed by local tourist enterprises. The Tuyền Lâm Lake now hosts more than 35,700 trees in total.

Around the city, there are more than 3,000 trees, most of which were planted around Xuân Hương Lake; Dalat Maple Tourism Site; and downtown streets of Đống Đa, Ba Tháng Tư, Hồ Tùng Mậu, Lê Đại Hành, Trần Hưng Đạo Street, Phó Đức Chính and Tương Phố.

“During the event, the lake will host water music concerts, nights of gong performances and a photo exhibition by noted local photographer MPK,” Nguyễn Xuân Thành, head of the festival organising board, said. “Tourists can take a cruise around the lake to admire the flowers.”

“This is the first time such a festival is being organised as a dedication to the beautiful flowers this year,” he said. “Though cherry trees on the streets are in full bloom, only 20 per cent of the trees at Tuyền Lâm Lake are in full blossom.”

The flowers are in their full bloom between January and March in spring.

Mai Anh Đào (Prunus Cerasoides) is also in full bloom this time of the year. It has the trunk of Prunus genus, but its flowers have a single layer of five petals, similar to the flowers of Ceranus genus.

According to researcher Nguyễn Hữu Tranh, a former expert from Lâm Đồng Science and Technology Department, Mai Anh Đào is popular in Southeast Asia, at an altitude of more than 1,000m. The trees are often seen on the Himalayan ranges in north India, south China, Myanmar and north of Thailand.

Bình Dương to settle collective labour disputes, strikes

The vice chairman of Bình Dương Province People’s Committee has urged agencies to raise awareness about labour laws among employers and labourers in a bid to settle collective labour disputes and strikes in the province, home to many industrial and export processing zones.

Đặng Minh Hưng, who is also head of the steering committee for collective labour disputes and strikes, said the move would protect the interests of both enterprises and labourers.

Speaking at a conference held yesterday in the province, Hưng urged agencies to deal with the issue at the grassroots level.

“A task force should be set up to monitor developments at enterprises,” he said.

More dialogues between enterprises and labourers should be held to settle disputes when they arise and to prevent them from happening again, he added.

Hưng said that enterprises and workers had contributed greatly to the province’s socio-economic development.

“The province has put settlement of collective labour disputes and strikes at the province’s top agenda this year,” he said.

In 2017, although settlement of collective labour disputes and strikes in Bình Dương Province achieved positive results, more serious measures are needed.

Last year, the province had 63 collective labour disputes and strikes in 57 enterprises involving 26,592 workers, according to the committee.

The major cause of the problems originated from the fact that the rights and interests of employees were not ensured by enterprises.

Most enterprises did not comply with labour laws about salary and social insurance, and allowances for employees, and offered poor working conditions, which resulted in labour conflicts.

Speakers said that timely and appropriate measures should be taken to deal with the problems. 

South Afrian consul launches Tết charity programme

The honorary South African Consul in HCM City on Wednesday launched a community-based programme called Nhà Sạch Đón Tết (Cleaning House to Welcome Tết) to raise funds for Lunar New Year charity activities.

Consul Đỗ Thị Kim Liên said that more than 2,000 university students would provide housecleaning services, a traditional activity before Tết, to families in the city, until February 7.

The money raised from the service will be used to buy presents and materials that students need to make 1,500 sticky rice cakes for the homeless and those living in social welfare centres in the city.

Nguyễn Ngọc Kim Chi, a junior at HCM City University of Foreign Languages-Information Technology, said she had participated in the programme once before.

At the launch ceremony, 700 students and others donated 338 units of blood for the holiday period when blood shortages often occur. The Blood Transfusion Hematology Hospital in HCM City has asked for blood donations from the public. 

Fake MSG production ring busted in Hà Tĩnh

Police in central Hà Tĩnh Province busted a ring producing fake monosodium glutamate (MSG), seizing more than 1.4 tonnes of the powder packaged in bags printed with trademarks.

Võ Thị Lý and Phạm Thị Thủy, residents of the province’s Thạch Trung Commune, admitted to the police that they have been producing fake MSG for almost four years.

Police on Tuesday found 1.45 tonnes of material, two packaging machines and a lot of bags printed with popular trademarks at the women’s houses. The material packages found at the site are of Chinese origin.

Police also discovered 40 bags of fake MSG ready to be consumed at a shop owned by the women at Hà Tĩnh Market.

Lý and Thủy said they bought the material from the neighbouring Nghệ An Province.

Experts said the side effects of MSG are still questionable, but fake MSG is evidently harmful to human health. Adding MSG is a habit the Vietnamese gained from the post-war period, when people relied on it to improve the taste of food.

In related news, local police stopped a passenger bus and found 200kg of stale meat on board.

Thân Vĩnh Đạo, the bus driver, failed to show documents proving the origin of the meat, which included chicken, pork and goat.

He admitted to the police that he was hired to transport the meat from Hà Tĩnh to be consumed in central Đà Nẵng City.

Police are expanding their investigation into the case.

Winners of traffic safety slogan contest announced

Winners of a contest on the official slogan of the “Doraemon with traffic safety in Vietnam” 2017-2018 programme was announced on January 18.

A slogan penned by Tran Thanh Van, a fourth grader of Doan Thi Diem primary school in Hanoi, was selected to appear on posters to raise public awareness of traffic safety nationwide in 2017-2018.

She will receive a prize worth 2.2 million VND (200 USD) and a round-trip air ticket from Vietnam to Tokyo presented by Japan Airlines.

Initiated by Mainichi Newspaper Co. Ltd, the contest on the official slogan of the traffic safety programme has been held in Japan over the past 52 years, raising people and students’ awareness of traffic regulations and safety.

In Vietnam, it was co-organised by the Mainichi Newspaper, the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Education and Training.

In the second time, the contest received 104,966 entries, four times higher than that of the previous year. Of the number, there were 96,871 slogans submitted by children aged 6-10 and the remainder by those aged 11 upwards. The organisers selected the most 20 outstanding slogans for awards.

Lauding the winners of the contest, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Kunio Umeda hoped that the “Doraemon with traffic safety in Vietnam” programme will continue to enhance traffic safety for Vietnamese people and promote the Vietnam-Japan friendship.

Doraemon, a robot cat, is a famous Japanese animation character among children in Asia, including Vietnam, and has served as a symbol of traffic safety for decades in Japan.

Japan first launched a traffic safety programme featuring Doraemon 30 years ago, when about 15,000 Japanese people were killed by traffic accidents every year. Japan is now one of the countries with the safest traffic network in the world, while its people have very good road sense. The number of traffic-linked deaths has shrunk to around 4,000 a year.

Vietnam, China Red Cross Societies intensify cooperation

The Vietnam Red Cross Society (VRCS) and the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC) have agreed to further their mutual support when there are natural disasters or catastrophes through humanitarian aid. 

The consensus was reached during a meeting between VRCS President Nguyen Thi Xuan Thu and RCSC President Chen Zhu in Hanoi on January 18.

The two sides encouraged their chapters in cities and provinces sharing the border line to set up cooperative ties and increase the exchange of experience in carrying out activities for youths and volunteers. 

Chen Zhu, who is also Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee of China and Vice President of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, expressed his hope that the two sides will continue to join hands in developing projects and mobilising more resources, contributing to easing difficulties facing vulnerable groups in Asia. 

The RCSC will try to provide more financial aid to its Vietnamese counterpart and continue to help the society implement humanitarian and training projects, as well as community activities in Vietnam through concrete cooperation agreements, he said. 

In the time to come, the RCSC will step up cooperation with the five Mekong River countries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Thailand and establish a cooperation mechanism to deal with humanitarian challenges in the region, especially to increase public resilience to climate change. 

For her part, Thu reviewed the RCSC’s assistance to her society in coping with natural disasters in 2016-2017, noting its relief aid worth about 7 billion VND (308,000 USD). 

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President Xi Jinping witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the two societies for 2017-2020 during the Vietnamese Party leader’s visit to China in January 2016.

Poor people in Soc Trang get free medical checkups

More than 300 poor people and policy beneficiaries in Ba Trinh commune in Ke Sach district of the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang received free medical checkups and medicines on January 18.

At the event held by the provincial military-civil hospital and the district’s Fatherland Front, local residents were also provided with counselling on the ways to prevent and treat various diseases such as rheumatism, cardiovascular and eyes diseases.

On this occasion, over 300 gift packages worth more than 60 million VND (about 2,640 USD) were presented to policy beneficiaries and poor families.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Doctor Huynh Huu Tri, director of the Soc Trang-based military-civil hospital, said that since the beginning of 2017, the hospital has provided free checkups and medicines for more than 2,000 poor people and policy beneficiaries with a total budget of over 300 million VND (13,200 USD), aiming to improve public health and raise people’s living standards.

PM visits Damrey-hit residents, Ca Pass tunnel in Phu Yen

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc visited and presented gifts to residents in An Phu commune, Tuy Hoa city, the central province of Phu Yen, which was hard hit by storm Damrey, during his working visit to the province on January 18.

He said he hoped the residents help one another in surmounting the storm consequences to quickly resume production and stabilize their lives.

He instructed the local authorities to take measures to ensure all residents in the locality enjoy a cosy Tet with sufficient essentials and food as it is a policy of the Party, State and the Vietnam Fatherland Front.

The PM visited and presented gifts to Heroic Mother Ngo Thi Muoi, 97, who has three sons -- all war martyrs, in An Phu.

Earlier, he visited engineers, technicians, and workers working at the Ca Pass tunnel, which connects Phu Yen with Khanh Hoa province.

The Ca Pass tunnel, the largest of its kind along the National Highway 1A, opened to traffic on August 21, 2017.

It stretches 13.19 kilometres from Phu Yen province’s Hao Son commune to Khanh Hoa province’s Co Ma commune and has two bi-tube tunnels: Deo Ca (Ca Pass) tunnel (4.1 kilometres in length) and Co Ma tunnel (500 metres).

The maximum speed for vehicles traveling along the tunnels is 80 kilometres per hour.

The tunnel system can shorten the distance between the two central provinces by 8 kilometres, cut travelling time by half and ensure convenient traffic between central and southern regions.

It is also expected to connect Nam Phu Yen economic zone and Van Phong economic zone of Khanh Hoa province and contribute to the development of industry, trade and tourism in the central and Central Highlands regions.

PM Phuc stressed that the tunnel has a special meaning as it is the first of its kind built by Vietnamese.

“The project is a pride of our country,” he said, asking the engineers, technicians and workers of the Ca Pass company to perform their duties of managing, maintaining and operating the project soundly, contributing to spurring socio-economic development of localities in the region.

Literature, art works highlight Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia solidarity

Hundreds of literature and art works featuring the solidarity between Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were honoured at a ceremony in Hanoi on January 18.

In early 2017, the General Political Department of the Vietnam People’s Army launched a campaign composing literature and art works on Vietnam-Laos-Cambodia fighting solidarity.

The event was in response to the Vietnam-Laos Friendship and Solidarity Year 2017 and Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Year 2017 as well as the 40th anniversary of signing Vietnam-Laos Treaty on Amity and Cooperation and 50th anniversary of Vietnam-Cambodia diplomatic ties.

Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of the General Department of Politics, said the activity helped increase art and culture exchanges between the three countries’ armies.

The organising board received 1,707 entries, including 626 from the Vietnam People’s Army, 602 from the Royal Cambodian Army, and 479 from Lao People’s Armed Forces.

The best 133 works were selected with 14 A prizes, 27 B prizes, 40 C prizes, and 50 consolation prizes.

Vietnam earned five A prizes, 10 B prizes, 15 C prizes and 20 consolation prizes.

The awarding ceremony will be held in respective countries in this month.

Calling female entrepreneurs

A Google initiative, the Womenwill conference was held in Hanoi on January 17 and focused on Vietnamese women’s role in the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0), highlighting the need for female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and seeking ways to help them expand startup activities and participate more deeply in the economy.

The conference also provided a chance for experts and female entrepreneurs to share information and experience to make women more active and confident in dealing with the challenges posed by the digital era.

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem, Deputy Director of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development at the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), told the gathering that women often face more difficulties and barriers in work than men due to social preconceptions and responsibilities towards their family. “The proportion of women gaining access to technology is also lower than that of men,” he added. “MoST is implementing the National Project to Support an Innovative Start-up Ecosystem in Vietnam by 2025 and hopes to receive coordination from other agencies and organizations to encourage more startups by women.”

Womenwill aims to create economic opportunity for women everywhere, so that they can grow and succeed. Helping women make the most of technology to build skills, get inspired, and connect with each other through training, events and advocacy, it aims to drive conversations promoting gender equality to benefit everyone.

Women account for half of the working-age population in the world but only 37 per cent of GDP. By better utilizing the internet, female entrepreneurs can have a greater impact and create wealth for themselves and their communities.

Only 36 women hold leadership positions as legislators, senior officials, and administrators worldwide for every 100 men. Womenwill is helping to change this ratio by training women in the early stages of their careers.