Pre-Tet visits paid to former State leaders, the poor

A Hanoi delegation led by Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai and Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung visited former Party, State and National Assembly leaders on the threshold of the Lunar New Year (Tet).

The Hanoi leaders extended New Year wishes to former Party General Secretaries Do Muoi, Le Kha Phieu and Nong Duc Manh, former Presidents Le Duc Anh and Tran Duc Luong, and former NA Chairmen Nguyen Van An and Nguyen Sinh Hung.

The delegation also made pre-Tet visits to policy beneficiary families and the poor in the city as well as retired officials.

Meanwhile in Ho Chi Minh City, municipal leaders offered incense and flowers to martyrs at the Ho Chi Minh City Martyrs’ Cemetery as well as the City Cemetery, which was part of activities to show gratefulness to those who sacrificed their lives for national liberation.

The municipal leaders also paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in the city and the Ho Chi Minh Monument, as well as President Ton DucThanh at the Ton Duc Thang Museum.

In the northern province of Phu Tho, the provincial Fatherland Front Committee and sponsors presented over 24,500 gifts worth 7.8 billion VND to the needy. The committee also called for localities and individuals to join a programme to support the poor during Tet, thus raising more funds for them. 

Urban localities of Phu Tho donated 21,000 Tet gifts valued at over 6.6 billion VND to the needy, while other supporting funds of sponsors also offered them with 3,400 presents worth 1.16 billion VND.

At the same time, the central province of Ha Tinh also presented 118,000 gifts to poor households with a total value of over 22 billion VND.

The Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu has spent over 27 billion VND supporting the poor during Tet. Each poor household will receive 400,000 VND, while those living close to the poverty line will get 300,000 VND. Families with retired officials will get 500,000 VND each and those with extreme difficulty will be assisted with 500,000 VND-700,000 VND each.

According to Le Thi Ai Nam, Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said that local officials also visited and presented gifts to policy beneficiary families and ethnic minority groups.

Overseas Vietnamese worldwide celebrate Lunar New Year

Overseas Vietnamese worldwide are celebrating the 2017 Lunar New Year with traditional New Year treats and art performances. 

A celebration hosted by the Embassy of Vietnam in Indonesia on January 23 brought together nearly 300 Vietnamese expatriates and staff members of Vietnamese representative offices. 

Addressing the event, Ambassador Hoang Anh Tuan took the occasion to express his thanks to international friends and partners for their continuous support and cooperation.

He highlighted the achievements Vietnam has made in building and protecting the nation, reiterating the OVs community in Indonesia is an inseparable part of the nation.

On January 22, more than 200 OVs also gathered at a Tet celebration in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Israel Cao Hoang Quoc Hai highlight the growing diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Israel over the past 25 years, saying that Israel is one of Vietnam’s most important economic partners in the Middle East.

In 2016, the two nations’ trade value exceeded 1.3 billion USD. The two are conducting negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement towards the goal of raising the bilateral trade value to three billion USD.

The Embassy of Vietnam in New Zealand also organised a gathering in Wellington for compatriots to welcome the Tet festival.-

HCM City presents Tet offering to nation founders Hung Kings

A commemoration ceremony was held at the Hung Kings Temple in HCM City, offering the traditional Tet dish of Banh Tet to the legendary founders of the nation on the occasion of the Lunar New Year.

The ceremony was attended by a delegation of the municipal Party Committee, People’s Council, People’s Committee and the Vietnam Fatherland Front committee, led by Politburo member and Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Dinh La Thang.

The offerings at the ceremony were chosen among the best and most delicious cakes in the recent Banh Tet-making contest. 

Banh Tet (round glutinous rice cake) is a traditional cake enjoyed by southern Vietnamese people on the occasion of the lunar New Year. It is considered a variant of Banh Chung (square glutinous rice cake), which is more popular in the northern region. 

The cake is cylindrical, made with sticky rice and filled with pork fat and beans seasoned with black pepper and shallots. The cake is wrapped in banana leaves and as a result, the sticky rice takes on a pale green color and a slightly leafy taste. Even though the cake is now available all year round, it is still considered a New Year treat. 

The Banh Tet offering ceremony is one of HCM City’s annual traditional activities on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, reflecting respect for the nation’s founders.

The Hung Kings ruled Vietnam from 2879 BC until 258 BC and are considered as the founders of the nation. To honour the Kings, the tenth day of the third lunar month serves as the national commemorative anniversary for the kings. 

The worshipping rituals of the Hung Kings was recognised as UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.

Fire at Dịch Vọng Market

Firefighters from Hà Nội’s Firefighting Police Office have put out a blaze that occurred at Dịch Vọng Market in Cầu Giấy District early this morning.

The blaze is believed to have started at 1:30am at a kiosk and quickly spread to two adjoining kiosks. After the office dispatched firefighters and three fire engines to the scene, the blaze was controlled at about 3am. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

Local police are investigating the cause of the blaze, which at present remains unidentified. 

Flower market opens in HCM City     

The 2017 Binh Dien Spring Flower Market opened on January 23 in HCM City’s District 8.

Organised by the Saigon Trading Group (Satra), the market at the Binh Dien Commercial Centre on Nguyen Van Linh Avenue has the theme Nhung Chu Ga Cat Tieng Gay Chao Binh Minh (Roosters crow to greet dawn).

It has 225 booths selling a wide range of flowers, bonsai and ornamental trees for Tet from flower growers and businesses in Ben Tre Province’s Cho Lach District, Dong Thap’s Sa Dec Flower Village, Da Lat, and HCM City.

HCM City growers offer various kinds of orchids in a range of prices, while Da Lat farmers bring traditional flowers, lilies and moth orchids.

Dinh Van Muoi of Sa Dec said in addition to Taiwan daisy, miniature rose, velvety rose, sunflower and other traditional flowers, he has brought to the market many flowers that were previously grown only in cold weather -- like cymbidium orchids, gerbera (seeds obtained from Da Lat) and petunia (seeds imported from the Netherlands).

Besides stalls selling flowers, the fourth edition of the market also has 20 other stalls put up by members of Satra such as Vissan, Cau Tre, and Cofidec and its retail brands like Satramart Satra and Satrafoods and a food area offering many kinds of street and fast foods.

Tran Van Bac, Satra’s deputy general director, said like in previous years Satra continues to offer flower growers and businesses space in the market for free.

To remain open until noon on January 27 (New Year Eve), the market is expected to attract a large number of visitors and customers.

Many flower markets, including at September 23, Le Van Tam and Gia Dinh Parks, and 110 others opened around HCM City on January 21.

Ha Nam hosts Spring press festival

More than 300 books and 100 newspapers and magazines featuring Vietnam’s socio-economic development and 30 parallel sentences are showcased at the Spring press festival that opened in northern Ha Nam province on January 23.

In addition to the festival running through February 7, the Ha Nam Provincial People’s Committee organized a lunar New Year meeting with revolutionary veterans and pensioners and presented gifts to social beneficiaries, the elderly, orphans and victims of Agent Orange. 

Meanwhile, the Ninh Binh Provincial Journalists’ Association held a similar event introducing the spring edition of 63 newspapers of all cities and provinces and more than 300 publications of central and local press agencies. 

Language exchange festival welcomes APEC Year 2017

The central Danang City has hosted Vietnam’s first language exchange festival to promote foreign language competency among local students and teachers.

The two-day event featured language tests, presentations about APEC countries, art programs, and a performance demonstrating a folk dance of each of the 21 APEC members.

Vietnamese students demonstrated foreign languages and foreign students showed off their Vietnamese skills.

Participants watched a presentation about the endangered red-shanked douc langur, which has been selected as the symbol of the 2017 APEC Year.

Thousand-dollar bronze roosters become Tet gifts for wealthy Vietnamese

Wealthy Vietnamese now have a new gift option during Tet holiday – rooster replicas made entirely of bronze, valued at anywhere up to one thousand dollars.

The bronze rooster sculptures can be found on sale along busy shopping streets in the capital including Hang Ma and Luong Van Can, with buyers prepared to pay handsomely for the sculptures.

Hung, a car salesman in Hanoi, bought the biggest available model for VND25 million (US$1,116) to give to his in-laws as a Tet present.

Tet is the Vietnamese way of referring to the Lunar New Year festival, which lasts for a week starting on January 28.

In previous years, Hung would buy a pair of live roosters, as per custom.

The car salesman said besides the originality and good design, the bronze rooster sculptures make the perfect gift for the upcoming Year of the Rooster.

Besides the VND25 million model, Hung spent nearly VND10 million ($446) on a smaller one for his own family.

The sculptor, Mai, comes from Dai Bai, a famous bronze sculpture craft village in the nearby province of Bac Ninh.

“We transported a truck load of the sculptures from the village to Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi ten days before Tet,” she said.

Mai revealed that her village had been making bronze rooster sculptures for years, but the product has only become sought after in the "Tet of the rooster."

“To embrace the opportunity, artisans at the village have been introducing many new designs,” she added.

As per tradition, the rooster can help prevent ‘bad energy’ and conflict, bringing happiness and luck. “This is why the bronze rooster statues are selling well this year,” Mai said.

She confirmed that the VND25 million model is the biggest and most expensive among her family’s product line.

Smaller models, suitable for work desks, can cost between VND700,000 ($31.25) and VND1 million ($45), while larger ones, appropriate for living rooms, are priced from VND2 million ($89) to VND5 million ($223), according to the vendor.

But the thousand-dollar bronze sculpture is not the most expensive gift affluent Vietnamese might want to consider this year.

Tuan, who runs several bronze gift shops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, revealed that some customers had placed orders for rooster sculptures made from pure gold.

“A golden rooster weighs some 0.5 to 1kg, with prices calculated based on the current gold rate plus production cost,” Tuan said.

Vietnamese gold closed on Sunday at VND36.4 million ($1,625) a tael (37.5 grams), or VND968.2 million ($43,223) a kg.

Tuan made no secret of the fact that he is working on four orders of the golden roosters, each valued at approximately VND1 billion ($44,643).

NA Chairwoman pays Tet visit to hospital K

National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan paid a Tet visit to medial staff and cancer patients at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital (hospital K) in Tan Trieu commune, Hanoi’s outlying district of Thanh Tri on January 23. 

She wished staff of the hospital a happy Tet, expressing her hope that the hospital will continue to be a reliable healthcare establishment of the people.

While praising the hospital’s efforts in improving the quality of examination and treatment, and easing patient overload, Ngan affirmed the Party and State’s polices of mobilising all resources for medial development. 

The health sector needs to care about both prevention and treatment, she stressed. 

Besides, she urged the hospital to pay heed to promoting scientific research, training and international cooperation, towards bettering treatment work and the training quality in the field. 

NA Chairman Ngan and representatives from the Ngay Mai Tuoi Sang” (Bright Future) foundation presented two cancer patients, who meet difficulties in paying for treatment, including Nang Bua Thong, a 57-year-old woman from Laos, and Tran Thi Tuyet, 40, with 10 million VND (443.5 USD) each. 

On the occasion, a total of 100 other cancer patients treated at the hospital also received 1 million VND (44.3 USD) each from the fund.

Better power access hoped to drive development in southern island

The island commune of Hon Nghe in Kien Luong district, the southern province of Kien Giang, has been connected with the national grid, a move that is hoped to spur local economic growth.

The project to connect Hon Nghe with the national grid was carried out at a cost of over 140 billion VND (6.2 million USD) by Kien Giang Power Company, an affiliate of the Electricity of Vietnam Group’s Southern Power Corporation (EVN SPC).

It built 16.37km of overhead sea-crossing 22kV line, 9.94km of three-phase line, eight transformer stations, along with other facilities to supply electricity to the 2,229 islanders.

The overhead sea-crossing line to Hon Nghe is the second longest of its kind in Vietnam after the one which links Lai Son, another island commune in Kien Giang, with the national grid.

Expressing joy at the connection, Nguyen My Ngoc, who owns a seafood restaurant in Bai Nam hamlet of Hon Nghe, said electricity from the national grid will greatly help her business.

Nguyen Huu Quy, a hotel owner in Bai Nam, said when he learnt that his island commune was going to be connected with the national grid, he built four more rooms in the hotel as he believes that better electricity access will attract more tourists.

Many other islanders also expect a stable power supply will help them develop ship building and repairing, fishing tool production, fisheries logistics services, aquaculture and tourism.

In the past, the main source of electricity there was diesel generators which had low capacity, 50kW each, and often broke.

EVN SPC said it will continue working to bring power from the mainland to other island communes of Kien Giang, including Tien Hai and Hon Thom, from now to 2018.

Pham Ngoc Le, Deputy General Director of EVN SPC, said the projects to supply island communes of Ha Tien township and Kien Hai and Kien Luong districts of Kien Giang with electricity aims to support the sea-based economy and turn islands into solid bases for the protection of national sovereignty.

It also helps protect the environment, attract investment and drives economic growth, he added.

The EVN SPC marked the official inauguration of the electricity supply projects to the communes at a ceremony on January 20. 

 According to the EVN SPC, the three projects had a combined investment of 652 billion VND (28.68 million USD), sourced from the Government’s Programme 2081 on power supply for rural, mountainous areas and islands from 2013-2020.

Poor people in Quang Binh, Soc Trang receive rice for Tet

The Prime Minister has instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate nearly 1,700 tonnes of rice for the central province of Quang Binh and the Mekong Delta province of Soc Trang to support their poor residents during the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday. 

Of which, more than 1,669 tonnes of rice from the national reserve will be provided for Quang Binh while Soc Trang province will get 29.6 tonnes of rice.

The People’s Committees of the two provinces will be responsible for receiving and distributing the rice for those in need.

Previously, the PM approved a grant of over 12,415 tonnes of rice from the national reserve to localities including Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Ha Nam, Tuyen Quang, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Lao Cai, Ninh Thuan, Dak Nong, Kon Tum, Quang Ngai, Gia Lai and Dak Lak.

Health ministry improves administrative reforms to increase public satisfaction

The Ministry of Health said it will step up administrative reform and improve public services to increase the satisfaction of people and businesses in 2017.

It will also promote the application of information technology and communications in its agencies and units. 

In 2016, the ministry simplified 221 out of 225 administrative procedures, making up 98.22 percent.

All public administrative procedures were provided at level 2, digital signatures were applied to reveal results online for businesses and 100 percent units of the ministry met the ISO 9001:2008 criteria.

The ministry also created e-document linkage with the Government Office to make sure that all legal documents are published on its website. 

Since June 2016, the ministry has applied a National Single Custom Window mechanism, which saved significant amount of time for business as well management agencies. The average times for paper document normal and thorough checking were cut to 5.5 days and 6.5 days from 9.3 and 11.9 days, respectively. 

The public administrative reform (PAR) index for 2015 of the ministry increased to 86.58 from 73.55, making it rank eighth out of 19 ministries, up 9 levels compared to the result released in the previous year, according to government’s data on PAR Index 2015.

Vietnam recognises Indian organisation’s contributions

A delegation from the Vietnam-India Friendship Association (VIFA) led by Vice Chairman Ha Minh Hue recently attended the national conference of the All-India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO) in Kerala State, India.

On behalf of the VIFA, Hue presented the association’s certificate of merit to the AIPSO in recognition of its contributions to enhancing the relations between the two countries and their people.  

The VIFA also offered the “For peace and friendship among nations” insignia to four representatives from the AIPSO for their efforts and contributions to strengthening the Vietnam-India friendship and cooperation. 

The January 19 conference, attended by over 300 representatives from the AIPSO member organisations across India, issued a statement affirming the organisation’s determination to foster struggles for peace, social development and equality.

The Trivandrum statement stressed the need to enhance solidarity among people from countries in the context of complicated situations in West Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific, especially tensions in the East Sea, which pose great challenges to forces struggling for peace and justice worldwide. 

In the next five-year tenure, the AIPSO will work closely with Indian people from all walks of life and progressive forces across the globe to promote struggles for peace, progress and development, and enhance solidarity with countries and movements for independence, democracy and social equality. 

The conference also issued a Resolution on climate change adaptation, affirming that along with activities for peace and war prevention, the fight against climate change is a new goal of the AIPSO. 

Participants heard that the AIPSO made great achievements over the last five years. It successfully organised eight India-Vietnam friendship festivals in the two countries, and mass activities to call for support for the struggles of Palestinian, Cuban and Syrian people as well as those for the right of Indian labourers. 

Set up more than 60 years ago, the AIPSO gathers almost all political parties and mass organisations in India. It is an anti-imperialist, democratic and multi-tendency people’s forum committed to the cause of peace and international cooperation across the globe. It has been the vanguard in activities supporting Vietnam in the past as well as the country’s current national construction and defence.

Dak Lak: Household electricity access highest in Central Highlands

Nearly 1,000 families of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak gained access to electricity of the national grid on January 23, just a few days ahead of the traditional Lunar New Year.

They reside in the districts of Ea Kar, M’Drak, Ea Sup, Krong Bong and Krong Nang.

Nearly 482,000 or 98 percent of the total households in all communes of Dak Lak have been connected to the grid so far – the highest numbers of beneficiary families and communes compared to the four other Central Highlands provinces.

Nguyen Van Than, Director of the Dak Lak Power Company, said many power supply projects worth hundreds of billions of VND are being carried out in the province. It has invested nearly 800 billion VND (35.48 million USD) in building, repairing and upgrading the electricity network since 2011, meeting local production and daily demand.

The firm is also expanding the network so that all families across the province will be linked with the national grid by 2020, he added.

The Dak Lak Power Company is operating more than 4,000km of medium voltage lines, 4,624km of low voltage lines and 4,135 distribution transformers.

The Central Highlands region consists of five provinces – Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, and Lam Dong.

Buddhism spring festival to open in Son Tay town early February

The Khai Nguyen Pagoda in Hanoi’s suburban town of Son Tay will host a Buddhism spring festival from February 4-7 (the 8th-11th of the first lunar month).

Most Venerable Thich Dao Thinh, head monk of Khai Nguyen Pagoda, said at a press briefing on January 23 that the festival aims to promote the country’s traditional cultural values, pray for a New Year of happiness, health and peace and encourage understanding, love, and community connection. 

Highlights at the event include a flower exhibition, a fair of vegan food and sport and folk games like tugs of war, walking on stilts and boat racing.

Around 60 vegetarian restaurants across the country are expected to attend the event, introducing vegetarian dishes and products at 60 booths. The Khai Nguyen Pagoda and participating restaurants hope to set a Guinness record with 1,000 hot pots of vegetarian food at the festival.

The festival is co-organised by Khai Nguyen Pagoda, the An Lac business group, the Hanoi martial art association and the Vietnam Laughter Yoga club.

Vietnamese communities in RoK, Belgium celebrate Tet

Vietnam’s Embassy in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on January 23 held a traditional New Year celebration for Vietnamese people in the RoK.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Pham Huu Chi highlighted the development of Vietnam-RoK relations in the past year and lauded the Vietnamese community’s contributions.

According to Ambassador Chi, Vietnamese associations in the RoK organised many positive activities to help people back home.

On the run-up to the New Year, Ambassador Chi wished Vietnamese people in the RoK a New Year full of health and success and urged them to help develop Vietnam and the RoK.

Representatives from the Ly Hoa Son and Ly Tinh Thien families, descendants of Prince Ly Long Tuong who immigrated to the RoK from Vietnam in the 13th century, also attended the event, saying they will educate younger generations about their origins.

On January 22, Vietnam’s Embassy in Belgium and Luxembourg organised a community Tet event for Vietnamese there.

Vietnam’s Ambassador to Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Vuong Thua Phong said that 2016 witnessed many important events in Vietnam and marked 30 years since the country embarked on the Doi Moi (Renewal) process.

He affirmed 2017 is a landmark in Vietnam-European Union relations in general and Belgium in particular, marking the 40th anniversary of economic cooperation between Vietnam and Belgium.-

Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture keen on beefing up ties with HCM City

Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture hopes to foster connectivity and partnership with Ho Chi Minh City in areas of the prefecture’s strength, including agriculture, aquaculture and education, said a representative of the locality.

Kazuyoshi Hatakeyama, Chairman of the Japan-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Alliance in Miyagi Prefecture, made the statement at a meeting with Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Thanh Liem in the city on January 23.

He thanked international friends, including Vietnam, for supporting the locality to overcome consequences of the earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

He affirmed that Japan and Miyagi always attach much importance to cooperating with Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City, especially in investment, economy, trade, education and tourism.

He also pledged to work with parliamentarians in the prefecture to further foster affiliation with Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh in particular.

For his part, Liem expressed his delight at the growing ties between Ho Chi Minh City and Japanese localities with many fruitful cooperation programmes in economy, culture, education and investment.

Lauding the role of Japanese investors to the socio-economic development of the city, he vowed that Ho Chi Minh City will always offer preferences to foreign investors, including those from Japan, to invest in prioritised sectors of the city.

He also suggested that Miyachi prefecture will increase exchange activities between people of the two localities in culture, education, science and technology, thus contributing to enhancing economic partnership between the localities for the common benefit of both sides.

Get ready for the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck to hit Hanoi

It won’t be long before Hanoians will be able to say "hello" to Hello Kitty – or at least to food made in her likeness – in Hanoi later this year.

get ready for the hello kitty cafe truck to hit hanoi hinh 0 It is all part of the Hello Kitty theme park that is starting to take shape in the Tay Ho District of Hanoi. Although the park isn’t scheduled to open until late 2018, expect a lot of fascinating things to take place in the run-up. 

When it happens, it will be the truck’s first stop in Hanoi, after appearances at festivals and events around the globe since its debut at Hello Kitty Con in 2014.

Offerings from the truck are sure to include a Hello Kitty cookie set, a rainbow macaron box set with a Sanrio character design, a pack of mini cakes, and bow-shaped bottles of water.

Hanoians can also start looking for merchandise including Hello Kitty Cafe mugs, T-shirts and headbands to start showing up on retail shelves in larger numbers as the grand opening gets closer.

In the latest news, it has been unveiled that the licensee of the new park, BRG Group, has signed on the dotted line with Hong Kong-based Sanrio Company to construct the theme park and are looking to break ground soon.

Health clinics seeing more patients

Hospitals and health centres in HCM City’s districts and wards last year attracted more patients, reducing overcrowding at central and city-level hospitals, according to the city’s Department of Health.

The number of outpatients at district-level hospitals in the city last year increased by nearly 21 per cent compared to 2015, thanks to the department’s programmes to improve quality.

The department’s report, released last Saturday, showed that the number of inpatients had increased by more than 10 per cent compared to 2015.

Of these, Thủ Đức District Hospital had the largest number of patients with more than 4,000 a day, followed by Tân Phú District Hospital with more than 3,000 patients a day, and hospitals in districts 2, Bình Thạnh and Bình Tân with  more than 2,000 patients a day.

Over the last several years, the department has sent doctors from city-level hospitals to offer training to doctors at district-level hospitals, Asso Prof Dr Tăng Chí Thượng, the department’s deputy head, said at a meeting last week.

The city has also allocated a portion of its budget to develop facilities and equipment for district-level hospitals, he said.

In addition, establishing family doctor clinics at district-level hospitals has helped attract more patients, he added.

Leaders of district-level hospitals such as Thủ Đức, Tân Phú, Củ Chi, Nhà Bè, Bình Chánh, 2, and 12 have set up satellite clinics at health centres located in wards in their areas.

The first satellite general clinic set up in Bình Chiểu Ward by Thủ Đức District Hospital saw an increase of patients from 168 in January to 3,621 in December.

Thượng said the department continued to develop a system of general clinics in more district wards, with human resources and equipment given top priority.

Nguyễn Thị Thu, deputy chairwoman of the city People’s Committee, said that satellite clinics should be set up at wards with a high number of workers and in outlying rural areas.

The city is encouraging investment from the private sector in health centres at the grassroots level to ensure implementation of national healthcare programmes, Thu said.

HCM City gives Tết bus tickets to disadvantaged workers

The HCM City Labour Federation and labour unions have offered free bus tickets to 43,000 disadvantaged workers to travel home for Tết (Lunar New Year) holidays from January 26 to February 1.

Of these, more than 4,800 bus tickets were for workers from central and northern provinces that had been seriously affected by flooding and storms. The rest were for poor workers and others who had not returned home for Tết for several years.

Hoàng Văn Trường and Trần Thị Nga from Nghệ An Province, who work at Freetrend Company Ltd in the Linh Trung Industrial Park No 1 in Thủ Đức District, were happy to receive free bus tickets and New Year’s greetings from the city leaders. Their two children also received free tickets.

“My family has not returned home for Tết over the past eight years, so we have been waiting for this day for a long time,” Nga said. “Today, my family goes back to my hometown to celebrate Tết with our grandparents and nothing is happier. I hope there will be more and more bus trips like this every year for workers to return home.”

Labour unions at industrial parks and export processing zones in the city have presented around 50 airline tickets and 1,200 train tickets to disadvantaged workers this year.

This is the ninth year of the annual charity programme called Sentimental Tickets, which has spent a total VNĐ24 billion (US$1.06 million).

Nguyễn Thị Quyết Tâm, chairwoman of the city’s People’s Council, has sent New Year’s greetings to workers and their families and wished them a happy Tết.

Tâm said that she hoped the workers would return to the city after Tết and continue to work and contribute to the city’s development, she said.

Under the programme, the first 52 buses transported about 2,200 disadvantaged workers at high–tech parks in District 9 last Sunday.

The city’s Labour Federation also organised a pre-Tết celebration for 600 families of workers on January 21.

Speaking at the celebration, Trần Kim Yến, chairwoman of the federation, said the workers had difficult circumstances such as job losses caused by companies that had dissolved, reduced business production, job-related accidents, and pregnancy or caretaking for infants.

The celebration aims to bring joy and warmth to the workers and their families on the threshold of a New Year, she said.

More than 1,800 family members of the 600 workers participated in a celebration called Get Together on Tết 2017 at the Labour Cultural Palace in District 1.

The families enjoyed a music programme to welcome Tết and took part in a lucky draw for valuable gifts.

Trần Thanh Hải, who is from Tây Ninh Province and is paraplegic, which was caused by a serious fever when he was three, works at Hiro International Export Co., Ltd. 

Hải said he only returns home to Tây Ninh on Tết if he is allowed off from work before the 25th of Lunar December.

“This year, I borrowed a wheelchair from my friend to go near the stage of the programme to enjoy music and receive greetings and lucky money from the city leaders,” he said. “My wife has been pregnant for six months. My life will be become more difficult, but a baby is my dream. To my family, that is enough for Tết.”

Bùi Văn Cường, chairman of the Việt Nam Confederation of Labour and other city leaders, also sent New Year’s greetings and gifts to all families.

In Thủ Đức District, the district’s Federation of Labour, Youth Union, Labour Union and labour unions of companies organised a contest to make bánh tét (cylinder-shaped glutinous-rice cakes filled with green bean paste and pork) for local workers on Sunday.

The workers are living in groups at self-managed boarding houses and working at local industrial parks and export-processing zones.

The contest attracted 14 teams of a total of 70 workers. Each team was required to finish five bánh tét and five bánh chưng (square-shaped glutinous-rice cakes filled with green bean paste and pork) within 90 minutes to become the winner.

Making ochna and peach flowers and playing folk games were other activities.

On this occasion, more than 300 local workers also received gifts with a cost of VNĐ500,000 ($22) each.

On the same day, the Labour Federation of District 1 presented 131gifts, each costing  VNĐ650,000 - VNĐ1.2 million ($28 - 53) to disadvantaged workers with difficult circumstances and or serious diseases.

Gò Vấp District’s Labour Federation and Labour Union and Woman’s Union held a pre-Tết celebration for 150 local workers on Sunday (January 22).

The local workers are members of groups at self-managed boarding houses who do not return home on Tết.

The celebration organised a year-end party, a music programme and presentation of gifts  valued at VNĐ500,000 ($22) each.

Vietnamese across the world celebrate Tết

Vietnamese overseas in the US and Canada enjoyed activities to celebrate Tết, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year in their host country.

Việt Nam’s Embassy in the US celebrated Tết for Vietnamese people living in Washington DC and neighbouring areas last Saturday.

Some 300 Vietnamese attended the event, which featured traditional music and Tết food.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the US, Phạm Quang Vinh and Vietnamese people here burnt incense to pray for a year of peace, prosperity and happiness for the country and Vietnamese overseas.

Speaking at the event, the Ambassador briefed the audience on the development in Việt Nam and praised the contribution of Vietnamese living in the US to home country’s development and Việt Nam-US ties.

Also on this occasion the Ambassador recounted the important phases of the two countries’ relationship as well as diplomatic achievements of the country over the year.

Earlier this month, Vietnamese overseas in Toronto and Montreal, Canada also celebrated the tradtional new year in the freezing -20 degrees Celsius weather.

This was the first time Canada-Việt Nam Society, a representative organisation of Vietnamese people in Canada, worked with Việt Nam Embassy in Canada to hold such an event for Vietnamese people to celebrate Tết together.

With youth theater troupe artists and other beloved Vietnamese artists including Chí Trung and Ngọc Huyền, participants enjoyed familiar music of the three regions of Việt Nam as well as comedy drama.

Also on this occasion, the Vietnamese overseas in Canada held a fund raising event to support poor people in the central Việt Nam.

Canadian senators and friends including Senator Michael Levitt also attended the event and lauded the contributions of the Vietnamese community to the political, economic, social and multicultural environment of Canada as well as the development of the Việt Nam-Canada relationship.

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