Border residents join smuggling foreign currency and goods

An officer at Móng Cai border gate Customs checks the entry/exit history of a local resident. — Photo quangninhcustoms.gov.vn

 Customs officials at Móng Cái Border Gate in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh have seen their efforts to fight to smugglers hamstrung by border residents engaging in the illegal trade.

Head of the province Customs Department Bùi Van Khang told Customs newspaper that smugglers disguised themselves as border residents to carry goods and money between Viet Nam and China.

Under current regulations, border residents, defined as Vietnamese citizens with permanent residence in border areas, are exempt from customs duties on goods valued below VNÐ2 million (US$89) per person per day, and on no more than four days a month.

Kh?ng said border residents were hired to collect and carry goods/money across the border to avoid taxes, which made it hard for customs officials to detect tax dodgers.

He said that about 5,000 people used Móng Cái Border gate daily while there were only four or five customs officers working there on each shift.

In the last six months, border officials there detected 26 smuggling cases with goods worth more than VNÐ 1.8 billion (US$78,000), with three cases ending with criminal charges.

“Most people involving in the smuggling cases are border residents or labourers who regularly cross the border,” Kh?ng said.

For example, on May 16, border gate customs found a Vietnamese woman hiding cash worth VNÐ 594 million ($25,700) on her body when entering Vi?t Nam from China’s Dongxing City, which borders Móng Cái City.

Early this month, two Chinese nationals wanted to exit Vi?t Nam via Móng Cái Bordergate but ignored the customs checkpoint. After being asked to halt, they attempted to flee but were caught. They were then found with the equivalent of VNÐ600 million in Chinese yuan on their bodies.

Under current regulations, goods traded and exchanged by border residents for direct consumption are not subject to medical quarantine, such as animals, plants and aquatic products, unless the relevant State body warns of an epidemic or contagious disease.

Therefore, goods consumed by border residents are not subject to inspection and control in terms of food quality and safety, except for emergencies requiring immediate quarantine.

Kh?ng asked for assistance from higher levels - the Vi?t Nam Customs- in collecting and processing information about imported goods to better control the quality of the imported goods and to curb smuggling. 

HCM City aims for per capita housing area of 19.8 sq.m by 2020

Ho Chi Minh City aims to raise per capita housing area to 19.8 sq.m in 2020 and 22.8 sq.m in 2025, according to the municipal People’s Committee 

Ho Chi Minh City aims to raise per capita housing area to 19.8 sq.m in 2020 and 22.8 sq.m in 2025, according to the municipal People’s Committee.

It is forecast that the city will need more than 39 million sq.m of housing area during 2016-2020, and nearly 46 million sq.m during 2021-2025. 

To realise the targets, the committee has developed and submitted to the municipal People’s Council a new housing development programme, which emphasizes that housing development must go hand in hand with technical and social infrastructure.  

Under the programme, priority with be given to high-rise housing with a view to using land effectively and creating more space for transport, greenery and parking. Apartment blocks will account for 90 percent of new housing projects. 

From now to 2020, bidding will be held to select investors for new high-rise apartment blocks along major transport routes in six urban districts, which are Districts 2, 7, 9, 12, Thu Duc and Binh Tan, to replace old and degraded residential areas. 

The city will also encourage the development of low-cost commercial and social housing through providing preferential credit, in order to reduce unlicensed and illegal housing construction in rural areas.  

In the downtown area (Districts 1 and 3), priority will be given to upgrading or replacing old apartment blocks built before 1975, and no new high rise housing projects will be allowed until 2020. 

For the remaining 11 urban districts (Districts 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, Tan Binh, Tan Phu, Phu Nhuan, Go Vap and Binh Thanh), new high rise housing projects will be limited except for those which can ensure synchronous technical and social infrastructure.  

In the five rural districts (Cu Chi, Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, Nha Be and Can Gio), new housing projects will be encouraged in towns and rural residential to ease population pressure in urban areas. New projects will not be allowed in areas without infrastructure planning.

Summer Camp inspires young expats’ pride of being Vietnamese

The closing ceremony of Vietnam Summer Camp 2017 

The Vietnam Summer Camp has helped inspire the pride of the homeland of young overseas Vietnamese since it was initiated in 2004.

Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Vu Hong Nam made the statement in his interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the Summer Camp’s 2018 edition, which is taking place from July 10-25 in various localities in Vietnam.

Looking back the 15-year journey, Nam expressed his delight that nearly 2,000 young Vietnamese expatriates had returned to the homeland to attend those summer camps.

The greatest success of the programme is that it has kindled the love and pride of the homeland among generations of overseas Vietnamese, he said, adding that after the camps, they have become “Ambassadors of Culture” helping their friends understand and love Vietnam more.

According to the official, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs has organised 14 programmes since 2004, with each camp having a specific theme and events designed to bring different experiences and lessons on the Vietnamese culture and history for the participants, who previously had little experience in the country.

The camp this year features a big programme of activities across 11 localities from the North to the South, Nam said, adding that the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs has coordinated closely with the related localities in holding activities.

The opening ceremony will be held at the Temple of Hung Kings in the northern province of Phu Tho, and the closing event in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak. In between, the programme includes visits to historical and cultural relic sites in Hanoi and the provinces of Ninh Binh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Kon Tum and Dak Lak.

Participants will also engage in charitable activities in the central provinces of Nghe An and Quang Nam along with exchanges with domestic youths and overseas young entrepreneurs.

The 2018 Vietnam Summer Camp attracts the participation of 120 young Vietnamese aged between 16 and 24 from 29 countries.

Vietnam hands over film on President Souphanouvong to Laos

President of the Vietnam Cinema Association Dang Xuan Hai (L) presents the documentary to acting head of the Khaysone Phomvihane Museum Singthong Singhapanya 

The Vietnam Cinema Association on July 12 held a ceremony to hand over a documentary on President Souphanouvong’s relations with Vietnam to the Kaysone Phonvihane Museum in Vientiane.

It was part of activities to commemorate the 109th birthday of the Lao President (July 13, 1909 - 2018) and deepen the special relations between Vietnam and Laos.

The 60 minute-long film was shot in April 2017 as the two nations were celebrating the 55th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties and the 40th years of the signing of the Vietnam - Laos Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. 

Two parts of the film tell the life stories of President Souphanouvong when he studied in Vietnam and then worked as chief architect of the civil engineering department of An Nam Trung Ky (central Vietnam) in Nha Trang, along with the historic meeting of Prince Souphanouvong with President Ho Chi Minh in September 1945 and his escape from Phonkheng prison of Vientiane capital city in July 1959.

The documentary illustrates the relations of the Lao President with Vietnam, his contributions to the countries’ revolutions and the Vietnam-Laos friendship.

Speaking at the ceremony, acting head of the Khaysone Phomvihane Museum Singthong Singhapanya said the film will help Lao people, especially the youths, understand more about the special friendship of the nations.

It will be aired by the Lao National Television on the birthday of the Lao President, he added.

Quang Nam Red Cross raises funds for social security

The Red Cross Society (RCS) chapters in the central province of Quang Nam have raised over 101.6 billion VND (4.51 million USD) from the public since early this year to implement humanitarian programmes, contributing to ensuring social security in the locality.

They have called for support from non-governmental organisations, businesses and philanthropists to offer cash and deposit books to tens of thousands of people living in need, wheelchairs to 63 people with disabilities, 85 bicycles to poor students and tens of breeding cows to those living in mountainous areas, and build 12 charity homes. 

In order to improve the capacity of coping with natural disasters and adapting to climate change, the provincial Red Cross Society partnered with the provincial Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, Search and Rescue, and Save the Children organisation in Vietnam to conduct a drill on evacuating people in flood in Duy Xuan district and hold a training course on disaster risk and drowning first aid to thousands of local students. 

Chairman of the provincial Red Cross Society Le Tan Minh said its chapters will effectively step up the campaign “Each unit, individual with a humanitarian address”, a charity movement on the occasion of the Day of Invalids and Martyrs (July 27), and the programme “Cow bank – Joining effort with the poor in mountainous areas in new rural development”. 

The agency is accelerating the construction of 80 new houses for households regularly hit by flooding funded by the United Nations Development Programme. It will also work closely with the American Red Cross to conduct the second stage of a project on enhancing resilience to natural disasters in central Vietnam in several wards of Tam Ky city.

High school graduation rate at over 97 percent nationwide

Students prepare to take the national high school examination 

Up to 97.57 percent of the students sitting for the national high school examination in late June were eligible for graduation, the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) announced on July 12.

The ministry said the graduation rate is 98.36 percent in the high school education system and 88.37 percent in the continuing education system.

The provinces with the rate exceeding 99 percent include Thai Binh, Nam Dinh, Ha Nam and Bac Ninh in the north and Long An and Vinh Long in the south.

Some less privileged localities like northern Cao Bang and central Quang Ngai and Ninh Thuan provinces record a graduation rate of over 92 percent while that for the specially difficult northernmost province of Ha Giang was 89.35 percent.

Meanwhile, this rate is lower in the continuing education system in some provinces with disadvantages such as the Central Highlands provinces of Gia Lai (49.85 percent) and Kon Tum (50.54 percent).

The MoET said the graduation rate objectively reflects students’ learning performance, the educational quality of localities, and the seriousness of exam invigilation and marking.

More than 879,700 students took this year’s exam to seek high school graduation. They included nearly 810,400 high school students and over 69,300 others in the continuing education system.

The test’s results are also used for university entrance consideration.

There were five tests in total, which were literature, maths, foreign language, the group of natural science subjects and the group of social science subjects. 

Students could choose either the natural science subject group or the social science subject one, but those who registered to take both groups must finish all tests or their results would not be recognised.

Since 2015, high school graduation and university entrance tests have been integrated into one national exam.

Improved rules, policies needed to protect marine resources

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Quy Kien speaks at a conference in Hanoi on July 11 to review the performance of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Island in the first half of 2018. (Photo: baotainguyenmoitruong.vn)

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Quy Kien has stressed the need to continue reviewing, evaluating and improving policies, regulations, strategies and planning schemes involving the management of natural resources and protection of marine environment.

There must be special attention paid to formulating legal documents on this matter, said Kien at a conference in Hanoi on July 11 to review the performance of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Island (VASI) in the first half of 2018.

Speaking at the event, VASI Director General Ta Dinh Thi said from January – June, the VASI directed its member units to promptly build legal documents and planning schemes on use of marine resources; and successfully hosted the Vietnam Sea and Islands Week 2018 to celebrate the World Ocean Day across the country as well as three events on the sidelines of the 6th Global Environment Facility (GEF) Assembly in the central city of Da Nang last month.

The VASI has also kept a close watch on the news and public opinion about marine environment to produce timely responses to the issues. It has urgently proposed solutions to a number of incidents earlier this year such as sea water becoming back with brown foam and a foul smell along the Nguyen Tat Thanh beach in Da Nang, coastal erosion threatening Ham Tien – Mui Ne resort complex in Binh Thuan and rubbish flooding coastal protective forest in Hau Loc, Thanh Hoa, he reported.

In the final months of this year, the VASI plans to collect public feedback to complete sea and islands-related legal documents and submit them to competent authorities for review on schedule while cooperating with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and the Vietnam Coastal Guard in supervising and inspecting the observance of regulations related to marine resources management and marine environment protection, he noted.

It will also focus on making marine space planning and developing a master plan on how to use marine resources sustainably, the director general added.

The potential resources in Vietnam’s seashore, which stretches more than 3,260 km, are believed to be significant, playing an important role in the national development.

About 35 minerals with varying reserves, including fuel, metals, construction materials, precious and semi-precious gemstones, and liquid minerals have been discovered in the country’s coastal areas.

These areas also contain mineral sands and heavy minerals with rare elements like titanium (which has an annual output of 220,000 tonnes), zirconium and cerium (1,500 tonnes a year), and 60,000 hectares of salt fields.

The country’s coastal zones are home to more than 20 ecosystems of which submerged forests, coral reefs and sea-grass beds are most typical.

Among more than 125 beaches of all sizes, 20 beaches are internationally qualified for sea tourism. The tourism industry attracts nearly 15 million visitors to the country every year, including 3 million foreigners, posting an average annual growth rate of 13 percent.

While about 80 percent of Vietnam’s annual fish haul comes from inshore shallow waters, some 90 percent of shrimp output is farmed in the coastal brackish water areas, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The scale of Vietnam’s sea-based and coastal economy between 2000 and 2005 is estimated at 30 percent of GDP. Economic sectors that directly relate to the exploitation of marine resources such as shipbuilding and repair, oil and gas processing, aquatic product processing, and communications have made substantial progress. 

However, strong socio-economic development in coastal areas has been putting pressure on marine ecosystem conservation with development activities out of control of the local communities. Therefore, it is a must to soon have synchronous policies for the management of the country’s coastal areas.

Houses along the dyke in danger of landslides

A house seriously damaged by sinking in Long An. 

Twenty-seven houses along Duong Van Duong dyke in Th?nh Hóa District of the Mekong Delta Province of Long An are in danger of being destroyed by landslides.

The sinking area, reported to stretch over 266m in length, 20cm in width and 80cm in depth, was caused by heavy rain and weak land surface.

The sinking seriously damaged six local houses and six electricity poles need to be relocated. Residents had to dismantle the houses and moved to live at their neighbour’s houses or at temporary tents by the road side.

Vo~ Kim Thuâ`n, head of the provincial Water Resources Department, said that the urgent task now is to move people and their properties to safe areas.

The province will put up warning signs at areas prone to landslides and follow the landslide’s development to report to higher authorities for further solutions.