Binh Thuan exhibition highlights Vietnam’s sovereignty over archipelagos

Visitors of the exhibition (Photo: nhandan.com.vn)

More than 100 maps and Atlas proving Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos are on display at an exhibition that opened in the south central province of Binh Thuan on October 19.

The exhibition also showcases many documents in Han Nom (Vietnamese old script based on Chinese characters), Vietnamese and French, which were published by the Vietnamese feudal government and the French administration in Indochina from the 17th century to early 20th century. They testified to the process of establishing, continuous enforcing and protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa and Truong Sa.

Alongside, royal documents issued by the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), the Republic of Vietnam in the south of Vietnam in the 1954-1975 period, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from 1975 to now also highlight Vietnam’s sovereignty over the two archipelagoes.

At the same time, the exhibition also introduce publications and research works by Vietnamese and foreign scholars regarding Vietnam’s sovereignty over seas and islands. 

The maps and documents show that Vietnamese people have exercised sovereignty over the two archipelagoes for a long time in history, rejecting China’s arguments distorting history as well as its ungrounded claims over the two archipelagoes in the East Sea.

According to Duong Tu, Vice Director of the Department of Information and Communications of Binh Thuan, over the past years, the East Sea has seen complicated developments, especially some foreign countries’ illegal encroachment and construction in Hoang Sa and Truong Sa of Vietnam, seriously violating the sovereignty of Vietnam over the two archipelagoes and threatening peace, stability in the region as well as navigation and overflight security, safety and freedom in the East Sea.

He said the exhibition helps highlight the Party and State’s stance on safeguarding sovereignty in the East Sea and settling disputes through peaceful measures.

The exhibition will last until October 22.

Binh Dinh province joins national efforts to reduce IUU fishing

The south central province of Binh Dinh has taken urgent actions to fight illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing towards meeting requirements for the removal of the European Commission (EC)’s “yellow card”.

In a recent meeting with a working group from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, vice director of the provincial agricultural department Tran Van Phuc said that the province has intensified communication campaigns to raise public awareness of the IUU fishing and the Law on Fisheries. Inspection groups have been set up to control local fishing vessels at three main fishing ports: Quy Nhon, Tam Quan and De Gi. 

However, the number of illegal fishing vessels captured overseas has not shown sign of decrease yet, he said, adding that 21 fishing boats with 170 fishermen on board were detained in the first nine months of 2018.

Strict punishment have been meted out to the illegal boats, including permanent revocation of fishing license, he underlined.

According to Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Chau, as the fishing ground has been narrowed down and seafood resources depleted, local fishermen take risks to fish in foreign waters. Most of the fishing boats operate outside the province’s waters and they have not come back home for years, making it hard for local authority to manage them.

Chau ordered competent sectors to give more severe penalty to any boat encroaching and fishing illegally in foreign waters. Along with administrative fine, the province will consider criminal liability of boat owners.

The border guard force is required to supervise fishing boats, and ban unqualified vessels from going to sea.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries Nguyen Quang Hung urged the locality to take more drastic measures to lift EC’s “yellow-card” warning.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries will pay a working visit to the province on October 30-31 to examine the local efforts.

11th Vietnam-Cambodia friendship monument inaugurated in Cambodia

The area where the Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument (in the back) is located in Kep province, Cambodia 

A Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Monument was inaugurated in Kep, the capital city of Cambodia’s Kep province on October 20, which is the 11th of its kind built under the direction of Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Assembly - Senate Relations and Inspection Men Sam An, who is also head of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association. On the Vietnamese side there were Ambassador Vu Quang Minh; Vietnamese Consul General in Kep Nguyen The Cuong, and Vietnamese Military Attaché Colonel Nguyen Anh Dung.

Despite the heavy rain, many officials of the province, locals, and students came to the event in droves.

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy PM Men Sam An said that the construction and inauguration of the monument is to commemorate and show gratitude to Vietnamese volunteer soldiers and Cambodian soldiers who shed blood for the liberation and salvation of Cambodian people from the genocidal disaster.

Men Sam An stressed that the monument is a symbol for the friendship between the military and people of the two countries as well as their solidarity in liberating and reviving Cambodia.

For his part, Colonel Nguyen Anh Dung said that Vietnamese and Cambodian leaders’ consensus in repairing, restoring and building Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship monuments in various localities in Cambodia demonstrates the sound traditional friendship between the military and people of both nations.

Initiative launched to close Wikipedia gender gap

Youths take part in adding information about women to Wikipedia. 

More than 100 youths joined an event in Hanoi on October 19 in which they added content to Wikipedia by writing new articles and editing existing ones about women experts, role models and heroes in different fields. 

This event is a part of the global #WikiGap campaign, originally launched by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Wikimedia Sweden. Similar events have already been held together with local actors and partners in more than 50 countries worldwide to improve women’s representation on the Internet and help create a more gender-equal world.

The event in Hanoi was co-organised by the Swedish Embassy, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and civil society organisations. They joined hands with Wikimedia to highlight achievements of women from Vietnam on the occasion of the National Women’s Day (October 20). 

With the initiative, the organisers want to increase the number of women being represented on Wikipedia and help to make the Internet and the society as a whole more gender-equal.

Wikipedia is the world’s largest online and user-generated encyclopedia. Its content influences and colours users’ knowledge about the world. But there is a great imbalance on the website, as in society at large.

Ninety percent of the content is created by men, and there are four times more articles about men than there are about women. The figures vary regionally, but the picture is the same all over the world: the information about women is not only less extensive than that about men. In the Vietnamese version of Wikipedia the numbers are even lower with less than 18 percent of the biographies are about women.

Speaking at the event, Swedish Ambassador Pereric Högberg said, "Wikipedia is a modern form of history writing. By raising the representation of women biographies we will access more information which could help us all to learn, grow and develop."

Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP Country Director in Vietnam, said, “People often think of poverty in terms of access to income, safe drinking water, good education and healthcare – which are all essential. However, we must take care in this time of transition to industrial revolution 4.0, that we do not create new forms of poverty that leave women behind in a deepening digital divide.” 

Key to an equal future was empowering women and girls today to be digitally literate so that they could take full and equal advantage of technologies, she said.

RoK firms present scholarships to poor students in Binh Duong

Disadvantaged students in Binh Duong are presented with scholarships by KOCHAM on October 19 (Source: baobinhduong.vn)

The Republic of Korea Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (KOCHAM) presented 241 scholarships totaling about 600 million VND (25,800 USD) to poor students in the southern province of Binh Duong on October 19.

Addressing the awarding ceremony, Dang Minh Dung, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Duong said that over the past years, KOCHAM and RoK-invested enterprises have demonstrated strong social responsibilities, contributing to ensuring social security in the province.

He said he hopes that the recipients of the scholarships will exert more efforts in studying, and expressed his wish that RoK businesses will continue assisting the needy in the locality.

So far, KOCHAM have provided over 5 billion VND to social activities in Binh Duong, including gifts to locals on the occasion of the traditional New Year and building houses for the poor.

Especially, in the past three years, the RoK businesses in Binh Duong have also presented nearly 1,000 scholarships worth 2.3 billion VND to local poor students with excellent academic performance, making this an annual activity in the province.

European traditional flea market first held at Ana Mandara

The traditional flea market in Europe, “Marché D’automne”, will be replicated at Ana Mandara Villas Dalat on October 28

Inspired from the traditional flea market in Europe, “Marché D’automne”, Ana Mandara Villas Dalat in the Central Highlands city of Dalat will for the first time hold a flea market with many interesting activities from 5 p.m. till late night on October 28.

The event “Marché D’automne” recreates the unique atmosphere of the original Europe flea market, completed with an expansive buffet of savory European cuisine such as fish creamy soup, Paella Spain, Coq au vine, assorted BBQ sausage, and much more.

In addition, guests can partake in delightful activities such as magic show, street music, exciting games, prizes, and many other surprises from Ana Mandara Villas Dalat.

Tickets are priced at VND400,000 net per guest. Special Early Bird ticket at VND350,000 per guest is available until October 18.

100th founding anniversary of Czechoslovakia marked in Hanoi

The Vietnam-Czech Friendship Association and the Vietnam-Slovakia Friendship Association jointly organised a get-together in Hanoi on October 20 to celebrate the 100th founding anniversary of Czechoslovakia (1918-2018).

Speaking at the event, President of the Vietnam-Slovakia Friendship Association Doan Duy Khuong said after a century, Czechoslovakia now becomes the Czech Republic and Slovakia, two important members of the European community, with strong economic development.

Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia have fine relations with Vietnam, he noted, adding that bilateral ties between Vietnam and the two countries have developed not only in economy but also in other fields such as socio-culture and people-to-people exchange.

The Vietnamese communities in the Czech Republic and Slovakia consider the countries their second homeland and serve as important factors for sustainable and comprehensive relations between Vietnam and the two European nations, Khuong said.

Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Vietnam Vitezslav Grepl stressed that the friendship between Vietnam and Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia) has been based on mutual trust and support thanks to Vietnamese people who have ever lived and studied in the two countries. They act as bridges to foster the solidarity and friendship among the three nations.

The diplomat expressed his belief that the relationship between Vietnam and the Czech Republic will further develop in all fields.

Meanwhile, Charge’ d’Affaires of the Embassy of Slovakia in Vietnam Ivana Baclakova, highlighted the Vietnamese people’s warm sentiments toward Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia) despite a century has elapsed. She said she believes that young Vietnamese generations will join their Czech and Slovakian peers to continue the tradition of solidarity and further develop the friendship between Vietnam and the two European countries.

At the get-together, participants recalled their memories of Czechoslovakia and updated information on the Czech Republic and Slovakia today. They also had a chance to enjoy traditional folk songs and special dishes of Czechoslovakia.

Breast Cancer Network to host Pink Hat Day for patients

People attend BCNV’s Pink Party on May 20, 2018, which aims at raising funds for needy breast cancer patients. BCNV will hold another event for breast cancer patients called The Pink Hat Day late this month

Breast Cancer Network Vietnam (BCNV) will host The Pink Hat Day to support breast cancer patients at Crescent Mall in District 7 of HCMC on October 28.

The event aims to maintain the strong connection among the breast cancer patients and help people share and understand about breast cancer.

With the theme "Yoga warrior - Be a warrior, not a worrier", the event promotes yoga as one of the most useful methods in cancer treatment, which helps patients become more optimistic and happier.

Researchers at the King’s College Hospital London explored the differences between optimistic patients and hopeless ones. In a group of 54 breast cancer patients, any seven in 10 optimistic patients who had “the spirit of struggle” could live in happiness in 10 years later. In contrast, any four in five hopeless patients who “gave up and surrendered” were gone in a short time after being diagnosed.

As the struggle with breast cancer is a long way, the warriors not only need to take care of the physical health but also their feelings. Strengthening spirit is strengthening the optimistic energy within the body.

The Pink Hat Day will feature a series of community activities, including outdoor yoga, hair donation and hair-styling for fundraising, zumba dance party, yoga and breast cancer exhibition, giant pink ribbon, free examination and counseling about breast cancer, and beauty booth for fundraising.

Breast Cancer Network Vietnam is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control, which works to increase the early detection of breast cancer and to improve the quality of life for women in the community.

In addition to direct support for breast cancer patients, BCNV also carries out community awareness campaigns to promote early breast cancer screening and caring about the health of breasts.

European traditional flea market first held at Ana Mandara

The traditional flea market in Europe, “Marché D’automne”, will be replicated at Ana Mandara Villas Dalat on October 28

Inspired from the traditional flea market in Europe, “Marché D’automne”, Ana Mandara Villas Dalat in the Central Highlands city of Dalat will for the first time hold a flea market with many interesting activities from 5 p.m. till late night on October 28.

The event “Marché D’automne” recreates the unique atmosphere of the original Europe flea market, completed with an expansive buffet of savory European cuisine such as fish creamy soup, Paella Spain, Coq au vine, assorted BBQ sausage, and much more.

In addition, guests can partake in delightful activities such as magic show, street music, exciting games, prizes, and many other surprises from Ana Mandara Villas Dalat.

Tickets are priced at VND400,000 net per guest. Special Early Bird ticket at VND350,000 per guest is available until October 18.

Consular Club of HCMC to host 25th International Charity Bazaar

The Consular Club of HCMC, whose members are from a number of diplomatic missions in Ho Chi Minh City, will be holding the 25th International Charity Bazaar at the Adora Center Convention Center in Tan Binh District on November 3.

The event will begin at 9:30 a.m. and run until 3 p.m.  Entry tickets cost VND100,000 for adults, while children under six accompanied by an adult can enter free of charge. There will be a free play area for children and plenty of activities to keep them happily occupied.

In addition to the chance to buy a wide range of international goods and food, visitors can also purchase tickets in the popular Raffle Draw. Raffle tickets are available for VND50,000 each, and prizes include premium necklaces from Swarovski, airline tickets, vouchers for stays at deluxe resorts and hotels in many famous locations throughout Vietnam, spa packages, lunch or dinner vouchers in luxury restaurants in the city and much more.  Every prize in the raffle is worth at least US$100. 

This year’s bazaar is a special occasion for the Consular Club as they are celebrating 25 years of friendship between Vietnam and the Consular Missions in HCMC as well as the continued financial support to charity organizations which strive to provide humanitarian aid to disadvantaged people in the country.

The Consular Club focuses especially on aid for orphans, the disabled, the elderly and minority groups. All Consular Club members volunteer their time to work towards improving the quality of life of the disadvantaged people in Vietnam.

Last year’s bazaar raised more than US$70,000 and with this money, the club was able to support 12 projects including education scholarships for children and young adults, treatment for blindness in infants, infrastructure to deliver fresh water and the creation of an aquaponic system to create a sustainable food sources for an orphanage.

To buy advance entry and raffle tickets, send a message through Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/consularclub.hcmc/ or contact Molly Headley-Benkaci at 0938127760 (charitybazaarhcmc@gmail.com).

Dam Sen Cultural Park offers promotions

Women in ao dai (Vietnam’s traditional dress) are seen at Dam Sen Cultural Park 

To celebrate the 27th International Day of Older Persons (October 1, 1991-October 1, 2018), Dam Sen Cultural Park in District 11 of HCMC is offering numerous promotions.

Particularly, the park offers free entrance tickets to those who are 60 years old or above. The promotion is valid every day since October 1.

Dam Sen Cultural Park has also launched the “Happy Day” program since October 5. Visitors to the park on Friday will be entitled to a 50% discount on package ticket prices.

For ordinary package ticket, the discounted price is VND120,000 per adult and VND80,000 per child. Using the package ticket, guests can enjoy more than 35 games in the park.

For silver package ticket, the discounted price is VND180,000 per adult and VND100,000 per child. Guests can take part in more than 40 games.

On the occasion of the 88th birthday of the Vietnam Women’s Union (October 20), Dam Sen offers special promotions to women.

Women wearing ao ba ba (a shirt used by southern people) will be entitled to a 50% discount on package tickets or free entrance ticket on October 14.

On October 20 and 21, women visiting the park will receive a 50% discount on package tickets and free entrance ticket.

There are more than 50 games available at Dam Sen Cultural Park. Besides, the park often hosts fireworks displays, concerts, magic performances, and many other exciting activities.

Dam Sen Cultural Park is located at 03 Hoa Binh Street, District 11, HCMC.