“Let’s talk to prevent and combat depression” was the theme of a meeting held by the Health Ministry (MOH), the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the Doan Thi Diem Secondary School in Hanoi on April 7 to mark the World Health Day 2017 (April 7).

Addressing the event, Deputy Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long noted that depression was a serious health problem in Vietnam as also globally.

Care for mental health has received increasing attention in Vietnam over the past years. However, depression prevention and control activities in particular are facing numerous difficulties and challenges, with interventional programmes only deployed on a small scale and most of the people lacking moderate knowledge about this kind of disease, he added.

The MOH considers depression a priority in its mental health care programme, Long said, stressing the need for the health sector to boost the dissemination of depression-related knowledge so that the people could be fully aware of the disease as well as its symptoms for timely treatment, and know how to support and create an equal environment with no discrimination for those with mental disorders.

According to the health official, students and teenagers are the ones at high risk of suffering depressive disorder and schools play a very important role in educating and caring for their health.

The MOH asked the MOET to direct educational institutions to strengthen communication and education about health issues and set out specific regulations and instructions to help students lead a healthy lifestyle, strengthen physical activities and actively participate in collective activities to support one another.

As estimated by the WHO, about 4% of Vietnam’s population suffer from depressive disorders. The MOH encouraged people to talk with others, particularly the reliable ones, hailing this as the simplest measure to prevent and treat depression. People are also advised to actively participate in sport and physical activities and avoid using alcoholic and addictive substances.

2017 Southern Folk Cake Festival opens in Can Tho

The 6th Southern Folk Cake Festival 2017 officially opened on April 6 at the campus of Can Tho Exhibition Fair and Trade - Investment Promotion Centre, Ninh Kieu District, Can Tho City.

The three-day festival aims to celebrate the long tradition of southern folk cakes that dates back thousands of years.

With 250 booths, the festival showcases traditional cakes of the southern region while the remaining will feature a special assortment from other regions and foreign countries.

The highlight of this year’s festival is expression of the cultural values of Southern folk cakes through cake-making culture, cake-selling culture and cake-enjoying culture with activities such as displaying traditional cake-making utensils, cake-making contest, performing cake-making arts and serving folk-cakes.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Huynh Vinh Ai, emphasised that the festival, an annual event in Can Tho city, aims to preserve and promote traditional cultural values of local people, as well as to introduce the traditional cake to more and more domestic and international visitors.

The festival is also a very good opportunity for businesses and makers of traditional food items to promote their brands, he said.

On the opening day, the festival attracts 35,000 visitors.

HCM City leader presents certificates of merit to surgeons

HCMC Deputy chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thu yesterday presented certificates of merit to surgeons who performed successful operation on two neonates with inborn heart problem, the first of its kind in Vietnam and the fifth case in the world.

Surgeons of Children Hospital No.1 March 23 carried out a one hour operation on a premature baby who suffered complicated heart problem and breathing failure. She weighed 850 gram when she was 20 days old.

Ten days after the operation, the baby’s weight increased by 100gram. She no longer has to put on ventilators and take antibiotic.

Before on March 14, surgeons conducted an operation on three month old baby girl who had breathing problem and complicated inborn heart disease. The operation lasted for seven hours.

17 days after the operation, the baby recovered.

In addition to granting certificates of merit to surgeons, Deputy Chairwoman proposed hospital leaders to improve doctors’ skill quality and buy more state-of-the-art equipment to be able to perform such operations.

Moreover, Ms. Thu expected hospital managers to pay attention medical workers’ living condition to encourage them in working. Hospital managers can ask for assistance from city authority if they face difficulties because city administrations always take heeds to improve doctors’ skill.

Fishy process

The story was front-paged by most newspapers when authorities of Thanh Hoa Province on March 30 announced results of an inspection into the fast-tracked promotion of a civil servant. Dubious promotions are not uncommon, with numerous cases discovered by local media lately, but the case in Thanh Hoa can be seen as typical of a troubling process.

The announcement on March 30, however, aroused more questions rather than giving answers as to how a person could have been easily recruited, promoted and then dismissed beyond knowledge of relevant agencies. Mysteries surrounding the case of Tran Vu Quynh Anh remain to be revealed.

As covered by the local media, Tran Vu Quynh Anh graduated from an information technology college in Nghe An Province, and was recruited by Thanh Hoa Province’s Labor Federation between 2008 and 2010. In early 2011, after graduating from Vinh University, she was recruited by the Quality Assurance Center of Thanh Hoa Province’s Department of Construction. In 2012, she was dispatched to the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Division of this department. Between October 2013 and April 2014, she took maternal leave when giving birth to her first child.

One month later, according to Lao Dong newspaper, she was appointed deputy head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Division, and six months later, she was named head of the department. While working at the Department of Construction, she was also groomed to become deputy director of this department.

Last September, she submitted a letter of resignation and it was approved by the director of the Department of Construction.

The appointment of a person without professional or academic merit to the leadership of a division under the Department of Construction has stoked a controversy at the time, and “in reality, Anh was not qualified to be recruited as a civil servant, let alone her rapid promotions,” says Lao Dong.

In fact, since weeks ago, several newspapers have raised questions over the process of recruiting and promoting her, and over her huge assets, with some rumors having it that she was the mistress of a top leader of the province, which was soon denied.

In explanations to the media on March 30, Ngo Hoang Ky, Office Manager of Thanh Hoa Province, asserted that the process of recruiting Anh was in line with regulations, but it was wrong when the director of the Department of Construction appointed her as deputy head and then head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Division, because at the time, she was not senior enough with regulations requiring that persons appointed to such positions “must have at least three years working in the field… and must have taken a course on State management,” according to Thanh Nien newspaper.

In addition, when Anh submitted a letter to quit her job, the director of the Department of Construction gave approval without consulting the Department of Interior Affairs as regulated. In addition, the department handed over the civil servant files to Anh, and currently has no papers to track her working process at the department.

Regarding the expected probe into her assets, Thanh Hoa authorities said that by the time of inspection, Anh was no longer a civil servant, so it is not feasible to verify her properties. However, the provincial government also admitted that she was not truthful when giving personal details, and failed to properly declare her assets.

As per the results of the inspection, shortcomings and irregularities regarding the appointment of Anh are all directly attributed to the director of the Construction Department as well as the department’s leadership during the 2010-2015 tenure, Vnexpress reports.

Commenting on the case, National Assembly deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong says in Tuoi Tre newspaper that it is full of abnormalities. “Looking at the process from her recruitment to appointments of vice head and then head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Division, and then being groomed to become deputy director of the Department of Construction, it is unimaginable,” Cuong remarks.

The NA deputy notes that within just a short length of time, a young woman with a normal education background had risen faster than many other people.

Cuong also ponders why her working files are not kept at the Construction Department, and raises the question whether there is an effort to erase evidence.

Lao Dong, meanwhile, stresses that officials behind the case must be held accountable. “Who have intentionally opened the pathway for Anh’s rising through the ranks?” asks the newspaper.

The paper says that the then director of the Construction Department was Ngo Van Tuan, who is now vice chairman of the provincial government. It says Tuan skipped numerous regulations on standards and qualifications when signing decisions appointing Anh to senior positions.

Also according to the paper, by the end of 2015, the Construction Department was facing a redundancy of civil servants in senior positions, including six deputy heads of divisions. Therefore, the Construction Department with all consulting staff could not have made such mistakes in the appointments.

The media has run an extensive coverage of abnormal appointments in the State machinery in many agencies and localities across the country, as well as at big State-owned corporations. Most recently, Thanh Nien newspaper on March 30 referred to the case of Nguyen Anh Tuan, who is now serving as director of the Southern Institute for Spatial Planning under the Ministry of Construction.

The newspaper reports that Tuan was a driver, and then an official at the Planning Division of the Vietnam Institute of Architecture, Urban and Rural Planning in 2008. He is said to be an acquaintance of the institute leader’s Nguyen Dinh Toan. In 2009, Toan was named Deputy Minister of Construction, and after that, Tuan rose quickly before being promoted to the post of director of the Southern Institute for Spatial Planning in 2014.

Given the vast number of abnormal appointments and promotions, it is time for the Government to tighten controls on all the relevant processes and procedures in the State machinery. Otherwise, cases deemed as fishy will continue to thrive.

First News to host events in Korea to benefit families of Gac Ma martyrs

Local publishing house Tri Viet - First News will host an auction for the sand painting Gac Ma Immortal Circle and a requiem for Gac Ma martyrs on April 9 in Seoul, Korea to raise funds for families of 64 Vietnam Navy troops who were killed by the Chinese on Gac Ma Island of Vietnam’s Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago on March 14, 1988.

The painting auction and a requiem for Gac Ma martyrs are expected to lure thousands of Vietnamese people and Buddhists of Phap Mon Vietnam Pagoda in Korea and representatives from the Buddhist Sangha of Vietnam and the department of journalism-publishing of Vietnam.

The sand painting Gac Ma Immortal Circle is reproduced by Vietnamese artisan Y Lan on the occasion of launching a book of the same name. The sand painting is reproduced from the original oil-on-canvas Gac Ma Immortal Circle by Bui Le Trang, but the new art work has a reserve side featuring a peaceful village view of Vietnam. 

An online auction for the sand painting Gac Ma Immortal Circle is available on social networks for all Vietnamese people in the world, starting from April 3. Individuals and businesses that wish to join the auction are advised to send email to triviet@firstnews.com.vn.

HCMC approves route for Can Gio bridge

The HCMC government has approved a route for the Can Gio bridge which will connect Road 15B in Nha Be District and Rung Sac Road in Can Gio District.

The city has assigned a consortium comprising Can Gio Urban Tourism Joint Stock Company and Trung Nam Construction Investment Corp. to draw up a construction plan.

The bridge would cost around VND5.3 trillion (US$233 million) and have six lanes. Approach roads would have a total length of around 5.8 kilometers.

The city has told the consortium to opt for the public-private partnership (PPP) format, which can be build-operate-transfer (BOT) or build-transfer (BT), and exchange available land in Can Gio District for the bridge.

When in place, the bridge would replace the existing Binh Khanh ferry terminal, thus shortening the distance and traveling time between the city center and Can Gio.

Earlier, the central Government allowed the city to construct Can Gio and Cat Lai bridges to replace Binh Khanh and Cat Lai ferry terminals respectively, and told the Ministry of Transport to add the two projects to the infrastructure development plan until 2020 and with a vision after 2020.

Traffic on downtown streets redirected for metro construction

The HCMC Department of Transport will adjust traffic on some downtown streets as from April 22 to facilitate construction of Ben Thanh Central Station, a key component of the Ben Thanh-Suoi Tien metro line.

The traffic adjustment will affect Quach Thi Trang Roundabout, and Tran Hung Dao, Pham Ngu Lao, Le Lai, Yersin and Ky Con streets.

On a Pham Ngu Lao Street section between Cong Quynh and Nguyen Thi Nghia streets, motorbike users can travel both ways while automobiles will be restricted to one-way traffic. For the section between Calmette and Pho Duc Chinh streets and that between Nguyen Thi Nghia and Yersin streets, one-way traffic will be allowed.

Only vehicles used for Metro Line No. 1 construction purposes and those of local residents in the affected area can travel from Yersin Street to Tran Hung Dao Street.

Yersin Street will be made a one-way road from Pham Ngu Lao Street to Tran Hung Dao Street and a two-way road from Tran Hung Dao Street to Le Thi Hong Gam Street.

Traffic on Tran Hung Dao Street can move in a single direction from Yersin Street to Calmette Street. On Ky Con Street, two-way traffic will be allowed between Tran Hung Dao and Le Thi Hong Gam streets.

In Quach Thi Trang Roundabout area in front of Ben Thanh Market, traffic can only move in one direction from Ham Nghi Boulevard to Le Lai Street.

Le Lai Street will become a one-way road in the direction from Phan Chu Trinh Street to Nguyen Thi Nghia Street and a two-way road for motorbikes only from Nguyen Thi Nghia Street to Nguyen Trai Street.

A section of Ton Duc Thang Street from Ngo Van Nam Street to Nguyen Huu Canh Street will be closed to prevent traffic congestion at Ba Son metro station construction site from April 10 to October 9.

The HCMC Department of Transport has advised road users to follow the traffic signs or guidance of traffic police.

Concerted efforts exerted to bring back calm sea

Nearly one year after a marine environmental incident occurred in central Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue provinces, efforts and actions are being made to bring the calm sea back for the region.

The marine environmental incident in the central region caused by Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. Ltd was the largest of its kind in Vietnam thus far. A vast area of the sea had been found polluted, sparking enormous socio-economic and environmental consequences in both short and long terms.

The incident has triggered direct, severe effects on fishing activities, aquaculture, seafood processing, salt making, fisheries logistics, and tourism as well as social disturbances, and concerns in a proportion of population.

As so, functional agencies, scientists and environmental experts had worked hard and came to a conclusion that the culprit of the incident was Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. Ltd as it discharged untreated waste into the sea. The company’s representative admitted the wrongdoing and committed a compensation of 500 million USD (equivalent to 11 trillion VND) to fix the consequences. The company pledged to take measures to improve its hazardous waste treatment system to prevent similar incidents.

As the case learnt, the Party, the Government, sectors and agencies at all levels set recovering the environment and ensuring people’s benefit as a top goal and have promptly joined hands to enable the affected residents to quickly resume their normal life and business activities.

Not only doing do, the Party, the Government and localities showed their seriousness in steering work and admitted their responsibility before the people while taking measures to punish individuals and organizations involved in the incident. The Commission for Inspection of the Party Central Committee met and concluded that the Party Delegation to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment working during the period leading to the incident made severe mistakes and deserved disciplines. Meanwhile, many managerial officials of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the General Environment Department, Ha Tinh province, and the Vung Ang Economic Zone Management Board relating to the incident have been disciplined.

Under the close supervision of Vietnamese authorities and local residents, Formosa has fulfilled up to 96 percent of its work committed to the Vietnamese Government and people, assessed Vietnamese relevant agencies and scientists.

Meanwhile, the four affected localities received 3.7 trillion VND out of the 4.7 trillion VND advanced for compensation and are likely to get the rest of the compensation by the end of June, 2017.

In late 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment officially announced that the sea in the central region was safe. The level of pollutants from the incident in the sea environment has reduced significantly. 

In particular, fishermen said they have recently caught many sardines and blue fish in the area, seeing it as a good omen for their offshore fishing in the waters and their livelihoods as well.

Local statistics tell that 70-80 percent of under 90 CV boats and 85-90 percent of above 90 CV vessels have launched fishing trips, bringing ashore over 4,500 tonnes of seafood so far this year, which were consumed stably. In addition to that, 2,777 hectares of brackish water have been used for farming fish since late 2016, fulfilling the yearly plan. In the meantime, local residents are preparing facilities for this year’s breeding season.

While efforts are being made to recover the affected marine environment and help affected people to stabilize their life and production, it is regrettable that several extremists have in recent days made corrupt the Party and State policies on belief and religious freedom and colluded with overseas hostile forces to incite religious followers to public disturbances. They even attacked on-duty officers, causing social and traffic chaos and badly affecting political security and social safety and order in the central region.      

Those extremists intentionally used the Formosa incident as a pretext to damage the relations between the local administration and religious followers in particular and local residents in general in Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces and undermine the people’s unity in the areas. They have, through several religious figures, provoked gullible people and religious followers into taking actions and wrongful viewpoints against the administration.

It can be said that through such bad activities, these individuals intentionally turned an environmental issue into a political issue. They, in the name of the protector of the marine environment, resorted to sabotage the Party and State, undermine the national unity bloc and the unity between religious followers and non-religious people, and shatter the peaceful environment in the central region.

The marine environmental incident in the central region is a big lesson for the country during its socio-economic development and also an expensive experience in dealing with environmental “hotspots”. It features a long-time contradiction between growing the economy fast and protecting the environment.

A new mindset in development for the long term has therefore been adopted by the Party and State and has been repeated many times by the Prime Minister. “Don’t trade our environment for economic growth and people’s peaceful life.”  

People should be vigilant and lucid for the community and the homeland. More than ever, residents in the central region, regardless of religious followers and non-religious people, should be determined to work together and with the administration to strengthen their unity and the sense of community and neighborliness.

In particular, they should be resolute to fight against provocative acts, damage revolutionary attainments gained by our elders, and undermine the stability of the political system and the people’s peaceful life.

Fishing boat caught using electric generator in Quảng Ninh

Officers from the Trà Cổ border guard station in the northern province of Quảng Ninh seized a fishing boat on Thursday. The boat was allegedly using an electric generator to catch fish; a method which has been banned due to its harmful side effects. 

The owner of the vessel, Nguyễn Văn Trần, 50, from Móng Cái City’s Vạn Ninh Commune, said he had purchased the electric generator at a shop in the town of Quảng Yên for the purpose of catching seafood, despite knowing it was illegal.    

The border guard officials seized all equipment and fined Trần.

In accordance with the Decree 103/2013/NĐ-CP dated September 2013, using electric generator to catch fish and other marine species is banned and violators face a fine from VNĐ1 million (US$44) to VNĐ30 million ($1,300) depending on specific offences.

During the two-month crackdown on illegal seafood exploitation, the Trà Cổ border guard station has uncovered 17 cases, of which 14 are related to the use of electric generators for fishing.

On March 31, Quảng Ninh Province’s Border Guard Command destroyed 105 electric generators, 700kg of wire, four machines, and ten home-made electric guns, as well as 27 sets of batteries and other fishing equipment.

Fire destroys warehouse in industrial area of Hanoi

A 10-alarm fire destroyed a warehouse filled with air conditioners and other manufacturing supplies located in an industrial area of Hanoi, said fire officials on April 7.

Fire engines and water tankers rushed to the scene of the blaze after the fire was reported around mid-day. Medical ambulances were also deployed in the area as a precautionary measure.

The fire was brought under control more than two hours after it started.  It did not spread to neighbouring compounds because of quick response by fire-fighting teams.

No one sustained any injuries.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.