Government allocates rice to flood victims in Binh Dinh

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on December 24 decided to allocate 2,000 tonnes of rice to the south central province of Binh Dinh, which has suffered heavy losses due to recent floods.

In an urgent official dispatch, the PM requested the Ministry of Finance to allocate 2,000 tonnes of rice from the national reserves to flood-hit residents in the province.

The provincial People’s Committee of Binh Dinh is responsible for promptly distributing the rice to the affected people.-VNA

Seminar seeks feedback on children’s law enforcement

The Vietnam Association for Protection of Children’s Rights held a seminar in Hanoi on December 23 to collect recommendations for the enforcement of the Article 92 of the Children’s Law and the association’s working strategy for 2017-2020. 

Nguyen Thi Lan, member of the association’s standing board, said Article 92 for the first time stipulates responsibilities of social organisations in the building of laws and policies on children and the association’s role in partnering with other social organisations to collect feedback and offer advices to relevant agencies. 

Participants suggested the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs hold meeting with social organisations every six months to collect information and listen to their recommendations involving the enforcement of the rights of children. 

Ministries and agencies from the central to local level should allow social organisations to monitor the enforcement of children’s rights as well as provide public services in this regard. 

On the working strategy, the association will improve its standing in supervising and recommending policies related to children, and become more vocal in promoting children’s rights.

More relief aid for flood victims in central region

Financial assistance has continued to be delivered to residents in the south central region, which has suffered from back-to-back floods.

On December 24, the People’s Committee of Binh Dinh province presented 22 savings books each worth 5 million VND to the families of those who were killed during the natural disasters.

Chairman of the People’s Committee Ho Quoc Dung appreciated the support by people nationwide to Binh Dinh, noting that more than 48 billion VND (2.1 million USD) has been donated to his province so far.

The provincial administration has also decided to build 733 houses for poor and near-poor families whose houses collapsed in floods, according to Director of Binh Dinh’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen My Quang.

Binh Dinh is the worst-hit province in floods which have killed nearly 40 people, injured 10 others and resulted in damage of some 1.9 trillion VND (83.5 million USD).

The same day, a delegation of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) visited and delivered aid to flood victims in An Hiep commune of Tuy An district, Phu Yen province.

The VGCL presented 500 million VND (nearly 22,000 USD) in financial aid to help Phu Yen address flood consequences. It also gave 100 gift packages to residents in An Hiep commune and supported each local trade union member whose house collapsed with 5 million VND (about 220 USD).

Two floods since the beginning of November in Phu Yen killed nine people and inundated thousands of houses, causing losses of almost 500 billion VND (nearly 22 million USD).

People from across Vietnam have assisted the province with over 8.5 billion VND (373,500 USD) and tens of thousands of relief packages.

NGOs honoured for contributions to Vietnam’s poverty reduction

The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) has presented certificates of merit and insignia “For peace and friendship among nations” to 30 foreign non-governmental organistions (NGOs) in honour of their practical contributions to poverty reduction in Vietnam. 

The awarding took place at a conference held in Hanoi on December 23, with the participation of nearly 150 delegates from NGOs, ministries, agencies and localities. 

In his opening speech, permanent Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said the event aims to update foreign NGOs on the latest legal regulations and administrative procedures in Vietnam relating to NGOs’ operation. 

The conference was also hoped to provide a venue for the NGOs to raise their problems and seek explanations from relevant agencies, he said. 

VUFO Vice President Don Tuan Phong, for his part, said the Working Committee for Foreign NGOS and the VUFO will further promote information exchange and connectivity between localities and donors, businesses and foreign NGOs, as well as increase fundraising from NGOs in the future. 

At the event, officials from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs’ Employment Department and the Hanoi municipal taxation department also answered queries raised by NGOs in Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City offers vocational training to ethnic minorities

A 2016-2020 scheme to offer vocational training to ethnic minorities in Ho Chi Minh City, the first of its kind, was launched on December 23, by the municipal Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the municipal Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs. 

Nearly 12,000 local ethnic people are expected to benefit from the project. 

Pham Van Cong, deputy head of vocational training office from the municipal department, said the project will help with vocational training for nearly 20 percent of working-age ethnic people and introducing jobs to around 80 percent of them after training, towards improving their income and sustainably reducing poverty. 

Each person qualified for the project will receive a maximum of 3 million VND (130 USD) for training fees while the disabled are eligible for 6 million VND (260 USD) per course. 

All trainees will be provided with meal and travelling subsidies. 

Ho Chi Minh City is home to more than 462,000 persons of 51 ethnic groups, accounting for 6.4 percent of the city’s population. 

Of the ethnic population, more than 280,000 people are in working age, 72 percent of them are unskilled workers.

Government leaders raise funds for flood victims

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and his four deputies on December 23 join in a campaign to raise funds for flood-hit people in the south-central region.

This was the second fund-raising drive organised by the Prime Minister’s Office, with the first event on October 18 collecting nearly 400 million VND (17,600 USD).

Since October, the central and Central Highlands regions have faced five floods triggered by heavy rains. 

The floods left 111 people dead or missing, and 121 others injured. The natural disasters submerged and damaged more than 316,000 houses, 42,800 hectares of paddy and 39,000 hectares of crops.

The total losses are estimated to exceed 8.5 trillion VND (377 million USD), bringing the total figure since the beginning of the year to over 37.6 trillion VND (1.65 billion USD).

Earlier, on December 21, PM Phuc toured the affected areas in the south central province of Binh Dinh, where the natural disaster has taken the hardest toll.

Da Nang hosts fifth urban development forum

Urban issues such as solid waste management, water pollution and urban reconstruction were the main topics at the fifth urban development forum, which was held in the central city of Da Nang on December 23.

As part of a trilateral technical cooperation programme among Da Nang city, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Yokohama city, the event aimed to tackle urban issues in Da Nang through exchanging knowledge, experience and technology with Yokohama city.

Apart from topical discussions, this year’s forum witnessed a signing ceremony of a project on solid waste management to boost waste classification and recycle in Da Nang city between two localities.

Four previous events have built action plans for six strategic projects, said Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, adding that numerous prioritised projects were implemented, such as Lien Chieu port development project and water environment development project, among others.

The technical cooperative programme on sustainable development between Yokohama city and Da Nang city was one of the most successful bilateral cooperation between Da Nang and other countries’ cities.

Police detect frozen tiger in central Vietnam

Police in the central province of Ha Tinh said on December 23 they found a tiger carcass in a house of a local man.

The 120kg dead tiger was stored in an ice box in the house belonging to Nguyen Van Thanh from the mountainous commune of Huong Son.

The police have seized the carcass for further investigations. 

In October, police in another central province of Nghe An also seized a tiger carcass, a tiger skin and a tiger head, which were all frozen and weighed 64 kilograms in total.

The most common use of tigers in Vietnam is to make tiger bone medicine, a form of traditional medicine used for the treatment of bone or joint-related ailments.

The tiger bones are boiled down until they form a glue-like substance, which is then dried in cake-like blocks and sold at around VND20 million ($880) per 0.1 kilogram.

However, no scientific basis in this medicine has been found, according to experts.

Locally-based conservation group Education for Nature-Vietnam estimated that from 2006 to September this year, the organization has investigated 971 cases of trading, transporting, selling and advertising tigers or tiger products. They have helped rescue 14 live tigers and confiscated 69 dead tigers.

Nine-story car park proposed in downtown Saigon

A nine-story parkcade has been proposed for construction behind the Municipal Theater in downtown Ho Chi Minh City to provide more parking spaces for automobiles in the city.

The municipal Department of Transport is seeking approval from the People’s Committee for the construction of the high-rise parking garage on an empty land slot on Lam Son Square Street, situated behind the Municipal Theater in District 1.

The department will work with investors to set up a detailed plan while gathering feedback from relevant agencies before making a report for the local administration.

The project was first mentioned by En-Parking Japan, a company specializing in developing smart car park, which will carry out the construction under the BOO (build, own, operate) contract.

BOO is a model in which an organization builds, owns and operates some facility or structure with some degree of encouragement from the government.

Although the government does not provide direct funding in this model, it may offer other financial incentives such as tax-exempt status.

The parkcade will be 21.8 meters high, equivalent to nine stories, cover an area of 850 square meters, and can accommodate a total of 168 cars.

A robotic technology will be used to automatically arrange the parked automobiles basing on their classification.

With the investment capital of VND161.2 billion (US$7 million), the facility is expected to be completed after 14 months.

Each of the parking spaces has been suggested to cost VND27,000 (US$1.19) per hour, VND468,000 (US$20.5) a day, VND11.9 million (US$523.2) a month, or VND121.6 million (US$5,346) per year.

The plan has been agreed on by the municipal transport department, the People’s Committee in District 1, the Department of Taxation, and the Department of Finance.

Meanwhile, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Architecture asserted that the construction of the parking lot is not suitable, stating the land slot has already been preserved for a green tree park.

A similar parking garage has also been suggested to be built at the bus station in 23/9 Park, also located in District 1.

Vietnam needs US$1.8 billion for rail upgrade to double speed

Trains on the north-south line are moving at a very slow speed of less than 45 kilometers (28 miles) per hour.

The Vietnamese government has planned to give the north-south rail link a much-needed upgrade to almost double the travel speed to 90 kilometers per hour.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung on December 22 said this plan includes modernizing the underlying infrastructure and making state monopoly Vietnam Railways financially efficient.

The company's revenue fell by half last year to VND2.6 trillion ($119 million) due to weakening passenger demand, amid the rise of local airlines and faster buses.

It said the number of passengers who traveled by trains in 2015 was estimated at 11.2 million, compared to the 20.7 million air passengers.

“About $1.8 billion is required to upgrade the railroad infrastructure so that trains can run faster,” said Vu Ta Tung, general director of Vietnam Railways.

The high costs to maintain the old system, ranging from VND1.7-2 trillion ($75-$88 million) a year, are already straining the state budget, which covers about 40 percent of the total.

In October, Dung announced that the Ministry of Transport was also working on a feasibility study for an express line that could allow trains to travel at up to 350 kilometers per hour.

This follows a similar plan that was rejected six years ago by national lawmakers, who said the investment of $56 billion, equivalent to nearly half of Vietnam’s gross domestic product in 2010, was too big. A new cost estimate for the rehashed plan has not been announced.

HCM City to cancel New Year’s Eve fireworks show

Following a recent directive from the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to remove its planned firework show from the list of festive activities on the coming New Year’s Eve.

A recent directive by the Secretariat aims to prevent wastefulness and support the poor by requesting localities across Vietnam refrain from holding pyrotechnic shows during the New Year (January 1) and Tet, or Lunar New Year (January 28) holidays.

Local authorities were also asked to focus on improving living conditions for those less fortunate living in border areas and on islands, as well as assist flood victims in central provinces and those affected by environmental pollution.

During an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Thursday, vice-chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu stated that the city’s fireworks display is typically funded by the private sector, not the local budget, though “the southern city will follow the directive of the Secretariat, specifically during the New Year’s Eve.”

Many people will be upset at the disappearance of the city’s traditional holiday celebration, Thu continued, adding that it has also become local tourist attraction.

Despite the cancelation, other festive activities are still expected to be organized on the Nguyen Hue Walking Street and at the Municipal Theater, according to the vice-chairwoman.

Leaders of the city have also requested that artistic performances be held at 10 locations across the metropolis.

Citizens throughout the country have voiced their support for the plan, stating that the money, whether from the private sector or local coffers, should still be used to support the poor.

The casualties and damage caused by flooding in the central region is a cause worth serious support during the New Year holiday, said Quang Phu, a citizen in Tan Binh District.

Leaders in Can Tho, a major city in the Mekong Delta, also confirmed that there will be no pyrotechnic show in the metropolis during the upcoming holidays.

Authorities in the central city of Danang, however, are still considering a fireworks celebration on January 1, 2017 to honor the 20th anniversary of the city being named one of Vietnam’s five municipalities, though only private sector money would be used for the show.

Mobilizing cultural resources for sustainable development

Culture is considered one of resources that will help sustainable development. Once integrated into policy, rituals, beliefs, festivals, tourism, and other core cultural features will contribute a great deal to a nation’s sustainable development.

Vietnam has a total of 8 world heritage sites and 11 intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO. Vietnam ratified the UNESCO’s Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1987. 

Susan Vize, Chief of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam, says “Recognizing cultural heritage is a very critical first step to be done to protect and preserve it. Otherwise, people will move forward on the path toward globalization without necessarily knowing what they are really leaving behind. So I think the fact that Vietnam has inscribed so many things in terms of intangible cultural heritage and tangible heritage means that there is now a greater ability and momentum towards protecting and preserving them.”

Prof. Luong Van Hy, Director of the Collaborative Master's Degree Program in Asia-Pacific Studies at Canada’s Toronto University, said “UNESCO advocates respect for all cultures and their contributions to national development through the protection of heritages. On the other hand, when a nation’s culture is treasured, its aspirations, thinking, and origins will have a stronger say.”

Prof. Hy emphasized the role of community in protecting and promoting ethnic culture. He said “UNESCO believes in protecting heritage within a community rather than in a museum. So, the community’s role is absolutely important. It’s not enough just to record some musical pieces and then play them at a museum. Culture only lives in the community.”

Prof. Le Hong Ly, Director of the Institute for Folklore Studies at the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, suggested ways to capitalize on culture.

“We should turn cultural resources into commodities. This issue requires folklorists’ efforts and cooperation between culture and tourism”, said Prof. Ly.

Indian Consulate organises ITEC Day for alumni

More than 100 Vietnamese alumni of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme from southern Việt Nam participated in the ITEC Day 2016 organised in the city on Dec 23.

The event, held by the Consulate General of India in HCM City, aims to “share the Indian development experience and expertise in its own quest for growth as a proud independent nation” with other developing countries, especially Việt Nam.

Smita Pant, Consul General of India, addressed the gathering and highlighted India’s commitment to overall development partnership with Việt Nam.

India’s commitments under the ITEC programme, which is fully funded by the Indian Government, have contributed to the capacity development in a wide range of areas, she said.

“India – Việt Nam developmental cooperation now has a wide focus with an emphasis on hydropower, agriculture and capacity building through ITEC in sectors such as IT, financial management, English proficiency, remote-sensing, agricultural research, quality standardisation, science and technology and green energy.”

“Our bilateral relationship will thus continue to flourish in all times to come,” she said.

She cited the Mekong Delta Rice Research Centre and the Southern Horticultural Research Institute as great examples of cooperation in capacity building in the Mekong Delta.

The event was attended by authorities from HCM City, Cần Thơ, Long An, Bình Phước and An Giang provinces as well as senior officials from the Southern Horticultural Research Institute and the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta Rice Research Institute.  

It was also attended by the president of the University of Social Science and Humanities, vice rectors of University of Training and Education, University of Trà Vinh and HCM City University of Technology and Education.

Initiated in 1964, the ITEC programme covers training courses and study tours in India for candidates from ITEC partner countries.

Currently, 150 ITEC scholarships are available for Việt Nam (50 administered by the Consulate), which cover a diverse spectrum of courses from IT to rural development, parliamentary practices to entrepreneurship, marine to aeronautical engineering, among others.

Full diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and India were established in 1972. The first Vietnamese candidates under the ITEC programme went to India in the 1970s. Over the years, hundreds of ITEC scholarships have been made available to Vietnamese scholars.

Bình Dương creates Vĩnh Lợi Revolutionary Base relic

The People’s Committee of Tân Uyên town in Bình Dương Province inaugurated the Vĩnh Lợi Revolutionary Base Relic on Thursday (December 22, 2016).

The relic, which has been recognised as a provincial historical site, is situated at ĐH 409 Street in Hamlet 3, Vĩnh Tân Commune.

The relic site is aimed at preserving and promoting cultural-historical values, commemorating war heroes and martyrs who laid down their lives for the country’s independence, and educating future generations about the country’s history.

The 5.5ha area cost VNĐ100 billion (US$4.4 million) and took four years to build.

It has a triple gate, a ceremonial pitch, a memorial stele house, a memorial temple and a victory monument.

The names of more than 1,000 war heroes and martyrs are inscribed on the stele.

The Vĩnh Lợi Revolutionary Base housed revolutionary forces and developed logistics, and created links with other revolutionary bases in the country’s wars against the French and Americans.

Joint-programme signed on reproductive health

A co-operative programme on population and reproductive health was signed on Thursday between the General Office on Population and Family Planning under the Ministry of Health, and DKT International.

Under the programme, the two sides will propose joint-plans to target the population and provide family planning education.

The two sides will also offer consultancy and education to improve professional skills for medical workers and knowledge for residents in those areas with high birth rates and abortion rates. They will also offer financial support to carry out events and target programmes to reduce abortions and spread knowledge about family planning.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Professor Nguyễn Viết Tiến, Minister of Health, said that the population sector was targeted with much success, but also faced difficulties.

Shortages of funds and manpower was a challenge for the country, he said.

“I totally encourage the target of the joint-programme. We should find suitable measures, so that population and reproductive health programmes can be more successful,” said Tiến.

According to Michael Evans, DKT International Head Representative in Việt Nam, besides success, Việt Nam still has to overcome obstacles, since education on contraceptive methods among the youth remains weak.

Việt Nam’s abortion rate ranks first in the Southeast Asia and fifth in the world.

“Việt Nam changed from a poor country to a country with average income, but as a result, different foreign countries cut their financial support to Việt Nam and gave that support to poorer countries, so now many localities do not receive support,” he said.

The signing ceremony began a new period, and re-started the programme on family planning in Việt Nam, he added. 

DKT International is a social marketing nonprofit organisation working in Latin America, Africa and Asia to improve access to reproductive health products and services. 

Flood-hit people in Khanh Hoa get support

President of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Bui Van Cuong on December 24 visited and handed over financial aid worth 500 million VND (22,000 USD) to flood-hit people in the central province of Khanh Hoa. 

Two families with four people killed in a mountain landslide on December 20 in Phuoc Loc hamlet, Phuoc Dong commune, Nha Trang city received 20 million VND each while affected households were provided with  5 million VND each. 

As many as 70 flood-affected families in Phuoc Dong commune were presented gift packages each worth 1 million.

The VCGL also gave 350 million VND (15,370 USD), donated by people across Vietnam on December 22, to the provincial Confederation of Labour to support other local people to overcome flood consequences.

Nghe An: 38,000 labourers to be provided with jobs in 2017

The central province of Nghe An has planned to bring jobs to about 38,000 local labourers in 2017, 59 percent of them being skilled ones. 

The locality is facing difficulties in generating jobs to local labourers as it has few enterprises which cannot meet demand of a huge number of graduates.  

Additionally, there is also a large number of untrained workers, especially in mountainous districts. 

The local authorities have built a number of models to provide jobs for rural labourers but they failed to prove effective. 

To overcome the situation, the province has taken synchronous measures to create jobs for workers, focusing on designing specific policies for each group, promoting vocational training, and making it easy for locals to access low-interest loans for production and business. 

Attention has been paid to upgrading vocational training establishments, and calling for investment in projects to generate jobs.

According to the provincial People’s Committee, between now and 2020, about 167,160 local people will need jobs and those who need vocational training will number 74,300.

Da Nang: Ba Na Hills welcomes two-millionth tourist in 2016

The Ba Na Hills Mountain Resort, one of the most popular destinations in the central city of Da Nang, on December 24 welcomed its two millionth visitor in 2016. 

The lucky woman is Nguyen Hoang Bich Dung from Ho Chi Minh City, who has visited Ba Na Hills for the fourth time. Special gifts to her include a voucher worth 10 million VND (458 USD) which can be applied to all services in the resort and a one-year unlimited cable car use pass.

The 1,999,999th and 2,000,001st visitors, Liu So Hee from the Republic of Korea and Nguyen Thi Diep from HCM City, each received a voucher worth 5 million VND (225 USD) and a one-year unlimited cable car use pass.

Thousands of gifts were also presented to tourists at the event.

The event marked a significant growth in the number of tourists to Da Nang city and Ba Na Hills, said Do Thi Tuyet Hanh, Deputy General Director of Sun Group and Director of Ba Na Hills Cable Service JSC.  

In 2014, the company welcomed the one millionth tourist of the year in November and two years later, it received the two millionth one, she said, adding that the event marked a milestone of Ba Na Hills Mountain Resort.

She pledged that her company will invest more in developing infrastructure and improving service quality to better serve tourists.

Ba Na Hills Mountain Resort has become a tourist highlight of the city over the past years.

In 2016, Da Nang city was honoured as “Asia’s Leading Festival and Event Destination” by the World Travel Awards.

Vietnam pledges to achieve 2030 Agenda’s goals

The Ministry of Planning and Investment has hosted a workshop to assess how far Vietnam has gone in achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was approved at a UN Summit in late December last year in New York. This is a new global framework built on the basis of the Millennium Development Goals and Agenda 21. 

The 2030 Agenda embraces the three dimensions of sustainability – economic, social, and environmental. Its goals are to end poverty, promote human potential and dignity, enhance equality, protect our planet from degradation, boost consumption and sustainable production, manage natural resources, mitigate climate change effects, and ensure that all people enjoy a prosperous life marked by economic, social, and technological progress.

 Other goals include building a peaceful and fair society, where each individual respects others, a society without fear and violence. The Agenda calls for mobilizing essential resources, strengthening global partnership, promoting solidarity, and encouraging the participation of all countries and people.

The 2030 Agenda is the result of a widespread consultation process between UN members, including Vietnam.

Vietnam has been one of the countries that have proactively implemented Agenda 21 by adopting the national strategy for sustainable development from 2011 to 2020. But social, economic, and environmental challenges will require Vietnam to work harder to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Vietnam will have to mobilize financial resources, enhance support between relevant agencies, and, particularly, to integrate development goals into national policies, strategies, and plans.

National Assembly resolutions and government documents have taken into consideration Vietnam’s commitments to the international community under the 2030 Agenda.

Hanoi’s etiquette code for civil servants bans tattoos, ‘improper’ fragrances

The code, scheduled to take effect soon, also requires public servants to dress and talk nicely.

The capital city of Hanoi has completed a draft of new etiquette rules for civil servants, ranging from office dress codes to the use of fragrances.

Also among the highlights is a ban on tattoos.

To Van Dong, who heads Hanoi’s culture department, said the rules are expected to be approved and take effect on January 1.

It is not immediately clear how these rules will be policed.

There are no details regarding the definition of so-called “improper” perfumes or colognes that should be avoided, or if only visible tattoos are prohibited.

The etiquette code also requires public servants to dress well and be polite when communicating with the public, which might appear as basic requirements but somehow still need to be written into rules.

Dong reaffirmed that this should be viewed more as a guide than a legal document and that the guidelines for expected behavior will help improve the image of the public service sector.

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