Vietnam cultural festival in RoK bonds two peoples

A Vietnamese cultural festival was held at Sejong University, the Republic of Korea (RoK) on October 29 under the auspices of the Vietnamese Embassy in the RoK, as part of activities to mark the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

The event, the seventh of its kind, was attended by thousands of Vietnamese labourers, students, members of Vietnam-RoK multicultural families and representatives from local authorities.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu lauded the Vietnamese community’s efforts to organise the festival, expressing his hope that it will help bolster bilateral relations in various fields, especially people-to-people exchanges.

The two countries elevated their ties to a strategic partnership in 2009 and have enjoyed fruitful cooperation in people-to-people exchange and culture, he affirmed, adding that the festival will promote understanding between the two peoples. 

Nguyen Ngoc Cam, Honourary Mayor of Seoul and Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Association in the RoK, stressed the significance of the festival in popularising Vietnamese culture to RoK friends and tightening ties between the two countries. 

Meanwhile, Kim Yong-han, an official from the Seoul government, spoke highly of the Vietnamese Association’s development over the years, contributing to strengthening friendship between both sides.                                                  

She committed to doing her utmost to help Vietnamese people integrate into Korean society.                                                    

Members of the association were honoured at the event for their efforts to introduce Vietnamese images and culture to international friends. 

Besides activities including art performances, traditional cuisine and folk games, the festival also featured an exhibition on Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, affirming Vietnam’s sovereignty of the two islands.

Sci-tech development projects in south-eastern region reviewed

About 1,090 projects of scientific research and technological development have been implemented in five provinces and cities in the south-eastern region in the period of 2015-17, according to a seminar themed “Promoting regional linkage” held late last week.

The seminar, jointly organised by the Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee and the Ministry of Science and Technology, heard that each locality used up to between 60-70 percent of the local budget for research projects that deploy and apply science and technology.

Speaking at the seminar, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac, said the south-eastern region has a number of advantages to develop the local service and industry sectors, but it also is facing many problems, especially those related to the inter-provincial connectivity.

He said provinces and cities should enhance co-operation with each other regarding scientific research and technological applications to create an industrial value chain and promote local products with unique values, thus improving competitiveness at international markets.

In addition, sharing scientific research and technological developments among localities is necessary to avoid wasting investment and time, as in the case of duplicated projects.

The localities should establish steering committees to make supporting policies for start-up projects.

It was necessary to build an information infrastructure system that could be easily accessed by localities for management and operations, which would create linkages for the region, Tac said.

Nghe An should make methodical steps to develop: Party leader

The central province of Nghe An should develop by making firm, instead of hasty, steps, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong told local officials on October 29.

Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh reported that Nghe An recorded average gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 7.67 percent in 2016 and 2017 with GRDP pace estimated at 8.13 percent this year. Per capita GRDP is about 1,500 USD, up 12.5 percent from 2015.

Despite difficulties, local industrial production has performed well, rising by 14.17 percent in 2016 and 2017 on average, while retail sales increased some 16.2 percent and exports rose 25.3 percent. The number of tourists to Nghe An also grew by an average of 15 percent over the two years.

He noted the province has enhanced Party building at all levels. It has gained initial success in following late President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle, helping to prevent the degradation of political thought, morality, and self-transformation among Party members.

Asking Nghe An not to pursue “hot” growth, Party General Secretary Trong described the marine pollution caused by steelmaker Formosa, based in the neighbouring province of Ha Tinh, last year as an “expensive lesson”. He told the province to make methodical steps.

He and other central officials expressed hope that Nghe An would develop more strongly so as not to lag behind other provinces. The leader suggested it fully tap its strengths while reforming its mindset and capitalising on ties with central agencies and nearby provinces.

The General Secretary expressed his belief that with its achievements, experience, potential, and determination, Nghe An will become the economic locomotive of the northern central region.

Also on October 29, the Party leader attended a programme marking 49 years of the Truong Bon Victory at the Truong Bon national historical site in Do Luong district, Nghe An province.

On October 31, 1968, 13 of the 14 youth volunteers of Company 317 were killed by US bombing in this area, a few hours before the US declared a halt to the bombing of the north of Vietnam. Since then, Truong Bon has been a symbol of the bravery of Vietnamese youth volunteers.

From 1964 to 1968, the US dropped 18,936 bombs and tens of thousands of rockets onto Do Luong district, including Truong Bon area. However, tens of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers, youth volunteers and locals persisted in fighting the enemy and securing the route for trucks carrying support to the southern battlefield.

Conference seeks to strengthen women’s role in digital economy

A conference on “Businesswomen in the digital economy” held recently in Hanoi highlighted the need for women-owned businesses to take advantage of opportunities created by the advancement of digital technology, e-commerce, and online marketing amidst the 4th industrial revolution.

The conference intended to offer opportunities for female entrepreneurs to access information and share their experiences in the digital economy. 

Vu Tien Loc, Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), called on female entrepreneurs to improve their knowledge and skills to keep abreast of market changes, as the digital economy demands businesswomen’s creativity and flexibility.

Addressing the difficulties and challenges that female workers must overcome in the digital economy, Dao Hong Lan, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said the ministry was ready to strengthen co-operation with national and international agencies to enhance the participation of women in the digital economy, contributing to ensuring the goal of gender equality in Vietnam.

Clair Deevy, head of Economic Growth Initiatives for Asia-Pacific at Facebook, introduced the programme #SheMeansBusiness, which launched in Vietnam in September. The initiative aims to equip women entrepreneurs with the knowledge, connections, skills and technology required to build and grow their business online through a series of workshops, training sessions and online resources.

Forty percent of pages on Facebook are women-owned, and new data indicated that women-owned pages have grown more than 60 percent year-on-year. In Vietnam, the number of women-owned small business pages increased by a factor of 2.5 over the previous year, Deevy added.

The conference highlighted the growing need to ensure women’s economic empowerment as means of achieving greater growth overall.

“There is international consensus on the fact that the full and equal participation of women in the economy is necessary to achieve economic growth, poverty reduction and the overall sustainable development of nations,” Elisa Fernandez Saenz, head of office, UN Women Vietnam said.

“Women entrepreneurs are an essential talent pool that can bring great value added to Vietnam’s economy.  Reducing barriers for their participation, development of skills especially in STEM fields, and promoting their access to greater markets, especially in the digital economy, including through the use of social media for business and growth, must be promoted.”

The event was organised by VCCI, in accordance with VWEC and Facebook. It drew the participation of 200 women representatives and entrepreneurs from ministries, departments and associations. 

PM hails Saigon Hi-Tech Park achievements, confers Labour Order

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has called on the Saigon Hi-Tech Park to accelerate R&D to expand the number of technological inventions and innovations made by Vietnamese companies.

Speaking at a function held there yesterday to mark its 15th anniversary, he praised the HCM City-based park’s remarkable achievements.

It houses 128 hi-tech manufacturing, services, research and development, training and incubation companies in the SHTP with a total investment of US$ 7 billion.

Phúc underlined the vital role of the park in attracting investment, creating a favourable environment for R&D, training, and incubation of high-tech enterprises and other start-ups.

He advised it to offer incentives to attract quality human resources, including foreign scientists, and strengthen collaboration with universities and enterprises to train scientists and engineers.

The SHTP has gradually become an attractive location for foreign investors, and now boasts the presence of many global corporations and technology companies, who have invested in manufacturing high-tech products here. They include Intel, Samsung, Sanofi, Schneider, Jabil, Microchip, Datalogic, Rockwell Automation, Nidec, Sonion, Nipro, and Microsoft.

The annual output of its tenants has been growing steadily, and has risen from US$ 0.5 billion in 2010 to $7.6 billion last year.

It is expected to top $12 billion this year. By 2020 its annual revenues are projected at around $20 billion, or around 10 per cent of the city’s GRDP.

The main reasons for the rising output are that the key products made in the zone meet global standards and the increasing value of R&D in its products, which is several times higher than for products in other industrial zones.

Since 2010 a total of 38 projects and enterprises have been incubated here, and the park now has many domestic high-tech brands such as FPT, Minh Nguyên, and Nanogen.

The park management has closely worked with the HCM City National University and several research institutes and universities to establish the Science City Study Technology North East City.

The companies based in the SHTP employ more than 36,700 workers, including more than 400 foreigners.

The number of highly skilled workers has increased gradually, and now accounts for 30 per cent of the workforce.

The park contributes 30 per cent of the city’s total exports.

City authorities have approved Saigon Hi-Tech Park No.2 on an area of 200 hectares in District 9.

The PM awarded the park the Labour Order, first class, for its contributions to the country’s hi-tech development.

Earlier, on Saturday, Phúc visited South Korean footwear company Tea Kwang Vina in Biên Hòa Industrial Park 2 in Đồng Nai Province.

He met with officials from the Việt Nam General Federation of Labour and local authorities to discuss the condition of workers in the park and their career development.

HCM City lead vovinam championships medal tally

HCM City topped the National Vovinam Championships, which concluded in Bình Dương Province yesterday.

The city’s athletes pocketed 15 gold, one silver and two bronze medals.

Cần Thơ came second with seven golds, and Thanh Hóa were third with five titles.

The tournament saw several surprises when defending champion in the men’s 57kg category Trần Anh Tuấn of Thanh Hóa was defeated in the quarter-finals. Young martial artist Nguyễn Hữu Lực of HCM City took his first national gold.

Lê Văn Nam, also from Thanh Hóa, overcame many senior rivals to win the men’s 54kg class. 

According to Nguyễn Văn Chiếu, vice president cum general secretary of the Việt Nam Vovinam Federation, teams showed great progress in the championship. It meant that vovinam had strongly developed in the localities, he said. It is a good sign for the Vietnamese martial art, which is expected to become popular in the world in the future, he added.

The national championship was held from October 25 to October 29 with the participation of 380 artists. They competed for 48 sets of medals in 26 categories of combat and 22 disciplines for both men and women.

FV Hospital to provide free corneal transplant surgeries

FV Hospital announced on October 28 that it will partner with Dr. Donald Tan to provide free corneal transplants to three Vietnamese patients. This is the first time FV Hospital has established a charitable surgical program to share in social responsibility and help sight-impaired people.

Patients will not only receive a transplant from Dr. Tan, the world’s leading ophthalmic professor, but also receive special care at FV Hospital, accredited by Joint Commission International (JCI), the leading healthcare accreditation with rigorous international standards in quality and patient safety.

Dr. Nguyen Thi Mai, FV’s Head of Ophthalmology, and FV Hospital’s nursing team have previously gone to Vinh Chau in the Mekong Delta’s Soc Trang province to conduct examinations on corneas. After establishing the facts and comparing many sources, the team eventually confirmed that there are special circumstances in need of support.

Dr. Tan will soon perform three transplants on the same day. Two patients will receive free corneas and surgical and hospital fees. One will receive a free cornea and receive a 30 per cent discount on the surgical and hospital fees. A fourth will also receive free treatment, but not until January.

The total cost of these corneal transplants is about $44,000, while Dr. Tan’s services would normally run to $17,600. FV Hospital will cover hospital expenses and meals, as well as the travel and accommodation costs of the patients, which total about $17,600. The program also received funding from Asia Cornea Foundation in Singapore and eye drops from the Santen Pharmaceutical Company in Japan and Kamala in Ho Chi Minh City.

The collaboration between FV Hospital and Dr. Tan has contributed to the reduction of corneal blindness among underprivileged patients in Vietnam.

FV was selected by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to support it in developing all-round healthcare standards for Vietnam. The ministry has allowed the hospital to import corneas as well as granted a practice license to Dr. Tan’s corneal transplantations at the hospital. Corneal sources for patients are imported from major corneal banks in the US and Singapore, which have the world’s best treatment and preservation of donated corneas.

Dr. Tan is the President of the World Corneal Society and Senior Partner of Eye & Retinal Surgeons (ERS), a private ophthalmic group in Singapore. He also formed the Asia Cornea Society (ACS) and the Association of Eye Banks of Asia (AEBA), dedicated to developing new treatment methods to mitigate corneal blindness. He ranks among the leading international doctors in the field of advanced corneal transplantation and refractive surgeries.

Overseas Vietnamese raise fund for building bridges in disadvantaged districts

Overseas Vietnamese in France organized a program to raise fund for the construction of bridges in rural districts in Vietnam on October 28. 

The event was held in Ho Chi Minh City with the participation of French Consul in HCM City Vincent Floreani; vice chairman of the National Committee for Overseas Vietnamese in HCMC Tran Hoa Phuong and around 100 Overseas Vietnamese living in France, the US and Australia. 

Engineer Nguyen Van Cong in France, representing for overseas Vietnamese to build bridge in countryside districts said that for 13 years, overseas Vietnamese residing in many nations acorss over the world have contributed to construct 236 cement bridges in disadvantaged and remote areas nationwide.

The average length of bridges is 6, 000 meter with total investment of VND32 billion ($1,408,738).

At present, the organizers have received as many as 350 appeals for help of building bridges in remote areas.

Speaking at the event, Consul Vincent Floreani showed his deep respect to overseas Vietnamese people’s contribution for the country. Construction of bridges in countryside areas has helped locals in these areas to travel safely, adding that  this actvitiy has strengthened France-Vietnam relationship. At the event, VND 105 million and $2,000 were collected for the works.

Overseas Vietnamese engineers have directly designed and built the bridges, pledging their life span would be 40 years.

Many people have no car purchase intention because of traffic jam: survey

About 49 percent of residents in Hanoi consider abandoning cars because of travel problems such as traffic jam and parking places while 52 percent have no intention of buying cars in the upcoming time.

According to a survey conducted by Audience Project and Uber Vietnam Company, the ratios are 48 percent and 47 percent in HCMC.

Residents in Hanoi and HCMC take an average of 58 minutes and 51 minutes a day to overcome traffic jams.

About 65 percent of respondents in the survey said that traffic jam was the biggest trouble while participating in traffic and 63 percent believed that the second biggest trouble was looking for parking places. In HCMC, the rates are 62 and 75 percent respectively.     

“Int’l Walk to School Month” launched

Some schools will take part in the campaign “Walk to School Month” in response to the "International walk to school month" campaign launched by the Department of Education and Training in Ho Chi Minh City and the Traffic Safety Steering Board Committee. 

In its document, the Department requested its sub-divisions to participate in the campaign starting from now till November. Some selected schools in HCMC located in convenient traffic areas will call for participation of students and parents by walking to school.

In the ceremony to salute the flag on Mondays, school managers will explain the meaning of the campaign and how students can take part in the campaign.

Outside schools, there will be poster of the campaign to raise students and parents’ awareness of the campaign.

Each student is encouraged to write a poster of their own about the benefit of walking to school through  their awareness of safe traffic for pedestrians and how to walk safely in roads through extra-activities in schools.     

2,414 students receive scholarships from SPA

The Ho Chi Minh City's Studying Promotion Association (SPA) yesterday held a ceremony to mark its program  and offer scholarships to needy but good students. 

Since 2000, the association has given scholarships to 2,414 good students from low-income families worth VND21 billion ($924,415).

The scholarship-giving program was sponsored by 592 individuals and groups of beneficiaries.

In the academic year 2017-2018, the program continued offering scholarships to 123 freshmen who received the scholarships for the first time and 458 sophomore, third-year , fourth-year and fifth-year students totaling VND1.8 billion.

On the occasion, the association also congratulated 166 graduates who had received scholarships in previous years.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Chairwoman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Thi Thu praised the association and its program's contribution in the city’s studying promotion movement.

In addition, Ms. Thu proposed the association to provide consultation of improving quality of learning promotion program for the local authority to prevent dropout because of financial problem.      

Vietnam’s provincial department head stripped of post over ‘dishonest asset declaration’

The director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the northern province of Yen Bai has been reprimanded and transferred to another position, as punishments over his failure to fully declare his asset holdings.

Quy received the warning decision and will no longer work as the environment department head, Yen Bai chairman Do Duc Duy confirmed late Friday.

The official came to the public’s attention in June after local media outlets revealed that a 1.3 hectare villa complex in Yen Bai City was owned by his family

Quy claimed that he had borrowed about VND20 billion (US$887,000) in bank loans, another sum from friends, and saved since he was young in order to build the property.

He has been transferred to work as the deputy head of the office of the province’s decision-making People’s Council.

The punishment came after the Government Inspectorate found that Quy has made multiple violations, including the dishonest declaration of his villa complex.

According to findings of the four-month investigation, publicized by the government inspectors on October 23, Quy had not declared several portions of his assets since 2014, in violation of Directive No.33 of the Politburo.

In Vietnam, officials are required to write down a list of assets they own in their profiles.

In 2014, the official failed to declare 1,200 square meters of land and over 59,000 square meters of agricultural land, along with a bank loan worth VND3.8 billion (US$166,884).

In 2015, over 13,000 square meters of residential land, 41,000 square meters of agricultural land, a VND6 billion (US$263,502) bank loan, and some VND1.9 billion (US$83,442) gifted by his parents were also not declared.

In 2016, after Quy was appointed director of the provincial environment department, he failed to make known of over 7,900 square meters of residential land, 27,336 square meters of agricultural land, a 600 square meter house in Minh Tan Ward, Yen Bai City, more than VND9 billion (US$395,253) worth of bank loans, and 60 taels of gold borrowed from his friends.

Official documents state that the land is owned by his wife, Hoang Thi Hue.

The Government Inspectorate considers Quy’s dishonest asset declarations a serious violation and has ordered a suitable penalty.

Vietnam to install automatic ticket gates at major train stations

Starting from November, train stations in Hanoi, the central city of Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City will feature automatic ticket gates in a bid to increase service quality of the Vietnam Railways.

The upgrade is meant to provide customers with better and friendlier service, as well as to ensure security at these stations, according to the state-run Vietnam Railways, which manages the country’s north-to-south train route.

At the Hanoi station, there will be six lanes with ten automatic ticket gates to serve passengers, whereas the terminal in Da Nang will have two lanes and three gates, and Ho Chi Minh City, three lanes and five gates.

Passengers can scan their printed or electronic tickets at these automatic ticket gates to enter platforms for boarding their trains.

As the technology is quite new to some Vietnamese passengers, attendants will be on duty that those three stations to provide help, especially to the elderly, the disabled or pregnant women.

At many railway stations, namely Lao Cai, Hai Phong, Nam Dinh, Thanh Hoa, Vinh, Dong Hoi, Hue, Nha Trang, and Dieu Tri, passengers now have to present their tickets before entering the check-in gates, instead of showing the tickets to the attendants before boarding.

There will be waiting areas in front of check-in gates for relatives, friends, or people coming to the stations to pick up or say goodbye to the passengers.

The new rule spares train attendants from checking passenger tickets again before they enter the train cars.

Upon boarding, any on-board passengers suspected of not having proper tickets or having no tickets will be checked by the train attendants.

French film Ciel Rouge officially screens in Vietnam

“Ciel Rouge” (Red Sky), a film shot entirely in Vietnam in the early years of the Indochina War, was officially screened on October 27 in Vietnam.

The film is the work of renowned French filmmaker, Olivier Lorelle, who has won several prestigious awards.

Over 20 years after French films set during the war in Vietnam such as “L’Amant,” “Dien Bien Phu,” and “Indochine,” French film makers returned to Vietnam to produce a sentimental drama titled “Red Sky,” a war time romance.

Filming got underway in 2015, and all scenes were filmed entirely within Vietnam, featuring an interesting and unique perspective about the Indochina war in 1946.

The film tells a love story about French solider, Philippe, and a Viet Minh girl named Thi. During his mission in Vietnam, Philippe was forced to torture the young Vietnamese girl. He was touched by the girl’s resilience and escaped with her to the deserted forest.

Aside from its romantic love story, “Red Sky” captivates audiences with shots of the stunning landscapes of Bac Kan and Ha Giang in Vietnam, with one particularly scenic view of Ba Be lake, where love blossoms between the young couple.

VNA/VNS/Tuoitre/VOV/SGGP/SGT