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19/02/2024 11:00 (GMT+07:00)

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES FEBRUARY 19/2024

Vietnamese Intellectual Society in UK vows to contribute to Vietnam’s strategic policies

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long speaks at the Lunar New Year gathering at Westminster College. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnamese Intellectual Society in the UK and Ireland (VIS) will contribute to the building of Vietnam's strategic policies while actively strengthening bilateral relations, and attracting the UK Government-funded projects in the fields of research and science-technology, said its Chairman Prof. Nguyen Xuan Huan.

At the VIS’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) convened at the Judge Business School under the University of Cambridge on February 17, Huan emphasised that with its members being professors, doctors, and scientists working in various fields in the UK and Ireland, VIS stands ready to provide counselling to the Vietnamese Government in formulating policies tailored to the country's context. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of aligning with global technological trends.

Last year, VIS significantly facilitated educational collaboration between Vietnam and the UK through a mentoring programme sponsored by the British Council. Through this initiative, VIS professors directly mentored and advised nearly 100 young lecturers from 50 Vietnamese universities, aiding in their skill development, including publishing studies and international scientific articles, forming research groups, and building internationally accredited laboratories.

A outstanding initiative of VIS in fostering member connection is the Coffee Talk event, an online themed discussion platform where members across the UK share insights and experiences on scientific research activities, professional expertise and soft skills. In 2023, VIS held 13 Coffee Talk sessions featuring speakers from various fields.

Also last year, VIS admitted over 60 new members, increasing the total membership to 154. These members include professors, associate professors, senior lecturers and Vietnamese researchers studying or working at over 60 universities in the UK and Ireland.

VIS's initiatives also extended to the launch of the Mentorship and Talent Development (MTD) programme at the National Economics University in Hanoi in 2022, aimed at supporting talented students. It also collaborated with the British Council to connect researchers from both countries.

The AGM, an annual event, serves as a platform for VIS to review its past activities and chart its course for the future.

Following the meeting, VIS partnered with the Vietnamese Student Association in Cambridge to celebrate the Lunar New Year at Westminster College, University of Cambridge.

President attends pen-brush opening ceremony at Nguyen Trai memorial site

President Vo Van Thuong on February 18 offered incense and attended the Lunar New Year pen-brush opening ceremony at a memorial area dedicated to national hero and world cultural eminent personality Nguyen Trai in Nhi Khe commune in Hanoi’s outlying district of Thuong Tin.

Nguyen Trai, whose pen name was Uc Trai, was born in Chi Ngai commune in Chi Linh district in the northern province of Hai Duong in 1380. He followed Le Loi in the resistance war against the Ming invaders and made great contributions to the nation’s glorious victories.

Beyond his military prowess, Nguyen Trai was a prolific literary figure, producing a vast array of literary works, including 110 poems and the monumental "Binh Ngo Dai Cao" (Great Proclamation upon the Pacification of the Wu), which stood as one of the earliest declarations of independence in the nation's history.

In recognition of his invaluable contributions, UNESCO honoured Nguyen Trai on his 600th birth anniversary in 1980, acknowledging him as a world cultural eminent personality, an eminent military strategist and a talented politician.

Commencing on November 14, 2022, the construction of his memorial site saw significant progress, with nearly all major components nearing completion.

Meanwhile, the pen-brush ceremony embodies a longstanding cultural tradition of Thuong Tin. It encourages all local officials, Party members, and citizens to prioritise education, strive in labour and boost production. The first strokes of writing in the Lunar New Year often carry wishes for goodness, luck and happiness.

In the morning the same day, President Thuong visited workers who are building Ring Road No. 4 in the Hanoi Capital Region.

The road has a total length of 112.8km, passing through Hanoi, and Hung Yen and Bac Ninh provinces, with a total investment of over 85.81 trillion VND (3.57 billion USD).

Muong people welcome Lunar New Year with Poon Poong festival

Poon Poong is an ancient festival celebrated by the Muong ethnic minority people in Thanh Hoa province during the Lunar New Year or Tet.

The festival, rich in folk beliefs, is an essential cultural event for the Muong community.

Muong local Bui Hong Nhi said that in the Muong language, ‘Poon’ signifies playing or dancing, while “Poong” refers to flowers. “Poon Poong” translates to dancing around the flower tree.

"This festival is led by ‘Au May’, a respected female villager who is knowledgeable in traditional worship, medicine, dancing, and singing,” he said.

Poon Poong has two main parts: a ritual and a festival. During the ritual, the “Au May”, acting as a shaman, recites the story of the creation of heaven and earth, reports to the Genies about the bountiful harvest, and expresses gratitude to them for favorable weather. The villagers then celebrate with festivities.

Besides the “Au May”, the festival requires at least six other people to perform singing and dancing around the flower tree, the centerpiece of the festival. Locals believe that this hand-crafted tree symbolizes the vast universe, and merges all things that nature has given to humans.

Creating the flower tree means repaying gratitude to the Genies and inviting them to join the festivities with the locals.

This flower tree is adorned with 5 or 7 tiers of colorful flower clusters crafted from dyed cypress wood, featuring animal or tool shapes. The number of tiers, ranging from 5 to 9, reflects the skill and status of the “Au May” ladies, consequently varying the height of the tree.

Bui Van Dong, a Muong local in Ngoc Lac district, Thanh Hoa province, said that the locals decorate the tree with painted wooden animals and flowers, along with colorful fabrics for wrapping.

Crafting the tree requires skilled artisans, and demands plenty of time and meticulous effort. Pham Thi Bao from Ngoc Lac district said the Poon Poong festival typically occurs in the first lunar month, but it now also happens on other special occasions.

"In my hometown, on the 7th day of the lunar year, a flower tree is erected either in the commune center or at the temple gate, where people gather to dance and sing," Bao said, adding that "the ‘Au May’ leads the worship and prayer, while others engage in dancing, singing, and playing gongs."

Throughout history, the Poon Poong Festival has remained largely unchanged, preserving the cultural traditions of the past, according to Bui Van Dong who continued to say that every village and commune hosts the festival, with each village celebrating it on a different day during the first lunar month.

All performances center around the flower tree, mirroring the customs and traditions of the Muong people, while showcasing their cultural and spiritual life. Participants wear traditional attire, with scarves draped over their shoulders to accentuate the gracefulness of their dance.

Their movements simulate various aspects of daily life, including allocating land and water, constructing houses, warding off wild animals, and planting crops. Afterward, they dance around the flower tree, singing love songs and making promises, accompanied by the sound of gongs.

"When there’s a flower tree, we come together to dance, sing, and enjoy liquor. Our dances depict actions like land and water allocation, representing how parents distribute these resources among their children," said Bao.

In addition to the flower tree, there’s a table set with liquor and local specialties including five-color sticky rice, and Loong and Mon soup. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism recognized the Poon Poong Festival as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017.

Pink Spring blood donation festival 2024 kicked off

The Pink Spring blood donation this year was kicked off on Sunday, the ninth day of the Lunar New Year, earlier than in previous years, said the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT).

The eight-day festival will be held at three locations, including the NIHBT (all eight days), the Trâu Quỳ Junior Secondary School (on Thursday and Friday) and AEON Mall Hà Đông (on Saturday).

This is the largest blood donation event in the beginning of spring, organised by the NIHBT and the Hà Nội Association of Youth Blood Donor Recruiters.

With the message "Donate blood in spring – Multiply happiness", the festival hopes that all people with sufficient health conditions will be eager to donate their blood as a gift, as lucky money to patients in need of blood.

Last year, the festival was held for seven days in seven places. It attracted more than 12,000 blood donors and received more than 11,700 units of blood.

In recent days, thanks to the community's joint efforts and widened humanitarian actions, the NIHBT has significantly overcome the shortage of blood reserves for Tết holiday.

At the end of last month, the NIHBT called for blood donations in response to an alarming decrease in blood inventory. It lacked about 10,000 units of blood in reserve for the Lunar New Year festival.

In the two first months of the Lunar New Year, the NIHBT needs at least 80,000 units of blood to supply more than 180 medical facilities in 31 provinces and cities, in which group O needs about 40,000 units.

Although it had prepared to receive blood in advance, the blood reception last month was lower than the demand.

This is due to the impact of harsh weather and severe cold in many places, while the demand for blood for treatment during Tết increased.

After nearly a week of calling, even though the days before Tết were extremely busy, thousands of people came forward to donate blood.

Not only in Hà Nội, many people in neighbouring provinces are ready to take buses or rent cars, braving traffic jams to get to Hà Nội to give their precious blood with the spirit of "not letting patients wait for blood on Tết”.

Then, 500 units of blood was transported immediately to the Cần Thơ Hematology Blood Transfusion Hospital to supply patients in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta.

People can register for blood donation via the website https://sites.google.com/view/lehoixuanhong/.

Hanoi restaurants yet to reopen after Tet

Many restaurants in Hanoi remain closed on February 16 after the Tet Lunar New Year Holiday.

Although the holiday ended on February 15, many restaurants on Nguyen Trai Street in Thanh Xuan District were still closed on February 16.

A local office worker, Nguyen Thuy Ha, said that she returned to work on February 15 but had to bring lunch to the office as few restaurants have reopened.

"Some restaurants that have opened are always crowded and the prices are higher compared to before the holiday," she said.

Vu Minh Trung in Dong Da District also said that he had to pay VND70,000 on February 16 for a lunch that used to cost VND50,000 before Tet.

Pham Thi Lan, owner of a restaurant on Nguyen Ngoc Vu Street said that they have to wait until February 19 to reopen as none of their staff were ready to work at the moment.

"Most of our staff are students who work part-time and they have yet to return to Hanoi," Lan said.

Meanwhile, the manager of a Pho restaurant in Thanh Xuan District said that they have had to raise their prices due to rising ingredient and labour costs.

"We stayed open through Tet holiday but had to pay our three employees double their normal salaries," she said.

Many restaurants on Nguyen Trai Street have put up signs saying that they would reopen from February 18.

Dragon-themed park proposed in Danang

The Danang Department of Construction has proposed opening a dragon-themed park in the city.

According to director of the Danang Department of Construction Phung Phu Phong, the park will be located on part of a 2.8-hectare land plot in Son Tra District. The coastal area is currently empty, so it is suitable for establishing the park as a new place for local people and tourists. To welcome the Lunar New Year 2024, the Year of the Dragon, Danang spent VND20 billion (USD816,326) to build 15 flower decoration spots which include many dragon statues. All of these flower decoration spots will be kept until the end of February 24.

Under the Danang Department of Construction, the dragon s

Statues should be gathered to be moved to the 2.8-hectare land plot in Son Tra District to make a temporary dragon-themed park.

Most of the dragon mascots are made from wood and foam and can be easily fixed. Their lifespan is around 1-2 years.

The dragon mascot which weighs 400 kilometres and is 5.2 metres high in Hai Chau District will be maintained at the site.

Phu Quoc island regains lustre

Vietnam’s pearl island – Phu Quoc off the coast of the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang has recorded a surge in the number of visitors since late last year following a brewing tourism crisis.

Local streets, beaches, restaurants and entertainment zones were packed with tourists, both Vietnamese and foreigners, for Tet (Lunar New Year) festival.

The island hosted nearly 192,000 holiday-makers during Tet, including 51,929 foreigners, up 4.6% year-on-year.

An array of tourism products has been on the offer such as “Kiss the star” show, Kiss Bridge and Fest Bazaar, attracting a huge crowd of visitors.

Truong Xuan Linh, a tour guide from Viet Phu travel company, said that the number of visitors to Phu Quoc increased dramatically in the runup to Tet, especially those from China, the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand and the US who spend their vacation at beach resorts along Khem and Sao beaches, and explore local culture.

The provincial Department of Tourism reported average room occupancy at four- and five-star hotels was 60% during the Tet holiday which ran from February 8 to 14, while the rates event increased to a high of 90% in several lodging facilities.

Hotel booking volumes are expected to rise after Tet – the time when Phu Quoc has mild climate and calm waters.

Director of the provincial Centre for Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Quan Xuan Lua said that Phu Quoc welcomes more than 2,000 foreigners every day, much higher than the figure recorded in Quarter 3 of 2023.

There is a daily flight from Kazakhstan to Phu Quoc until March, while several airlines of the Republic of Korea are operating or have reopened flights to the pearl island such as Korean Air, Jeju Air and Jin Air, she added.

Travel firms have attributed the bright spot in Phu Quoc tourism to local authority’s resolve to crack down on price gouging and improve tourism services.

According to Chairman of the People’s Committee of Phu Quoc city Huynh Quang Hung, apart from joining hands with enterprises and local residents to roll out heavy tourism promotion programmes to popularise Phu Quoc as a friendly destination among visitors, the city's authority has kept a close watch on the business of restaurants and service providers, and meted out punishment on any violations on price overcharging.

With a view to adding lustre to Phu Quoc island, the local tourism sector will continue working to creating new offerings, carry out tourism stimulus programmes, and ask service providers to fully list their prices, a representative from the Department of Tourism said.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Luu Trung has ordered the tourism sector to work closely with the Phu Quoc city People’s Committee to study the development of new tourism products, and enhance state management in the industry.

Additionally, in a bid for the tourism sector to carve out breakthroughs in 2024, he requested them to complete the project to branch out Phu Quoc city into a high-quality resort tourism centre and a national and international sea tourism destination as approved by the Prime Minister.

Voluntary social insurance participants up 305 folds in 16 years: VSS

The number of voluntary social insurance participants has risen 305 folds to 1.83 million since the policy was put in place in 2008, according to the Vietnam Social Security (VSS).

It said about 18.26 million people have joined voluntary and compulsory social insurance, making up 39.25% of the total workforce.

Unemployment insurance has also grown impressively, with the number of participants increasing to 14.7 million at present from only 6 million in 2009, accounting for nearly 31.6% of the workforce.

Meanwhile, health insurance coverage reaches 93.35% of the total population or 93.3 million people, approaching the target of universal health insurance. Health insurance cardholders make about 127 million visits to medical facilities each year.

The agency said labourers’ rights and interests being ensured has practically contributed to consolidating and expanding the social welfare foundation.

Planting a billion trees on the path to success

Millions of trees are expected to be planted across the country as part of the post-Lunar New Year tree planting festival, contributing significantly to the project of planting one billion trees by 2025.

During the Tet holiday (Lunar New Year) 2024, localities in central Quang Tri province launched a campaign to plant tens of thousands of trees.

In 2024, the province plans to grow 8,000-10,000 hectares of new production forest.

Over the past three years from 2021 to 2023, the province has planted millions of trees along roads, landfills and barren hills in areas with wind power projects in the mountainous district of Huong Hoa.

The prioritisation of tree planting at wind power projects aims to increase coverage and stabilise the ecological environment in areas affected by the construction of wind power projects, contributing to mitigating damage caused by natural disasters.

From 2021 to 2025, the province aims to plant 15 million trees.

Of which, 10.7 million trees will be planted in urban and rural areas, while the remaining 4.3 million trees will be grown in protective forests, special-use forests and production forests to contribute to environmental protection, climate change adaptation and socio-economic development.

Vice chairman of the Quang Tri provincial People's Committee Ha Sy Dong said that in implementing the Government's project of planting one billion trees, the province has rolled out many solutions including enhancing awareness about forest management, protection and development, prioritising suitable tree species, applying advanced techniques in forest planting, and mobilising resources.

In neighbouring Thua Thien – Hue province, the locality strives to plant at least seven million trees, of which, 4.7 million trees will be planted in urban and rural areas, and 2.3 million trees will be planted in protective forests and large-scale timber production forests.

In three years from 2021 to 2023, the province has planted over five million trees.

In 2024, the province plans to grow 1.4 million trees, and in 2025, 1.3 million trees.

Millions of trees have also been planted in many other provinces and cities: 61 million trees in Lao Cai, 52 million trees in Phu Tho, 45 million trees in Long An, 37 million trees in Gia Lai, and 34 million trees in Nghe An.

Ministries, agencies, businesses and individuals have also actively participated in the tree planting movement.

According to the Forestry Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, nearly 770 million trees have been planted nationwide in 2021-23 period, reaching 121% of the plan.

The total funding for implementing the project over the past three years reaches nearly 9.5 trillion VND (387.5 million USD). Of which, State budget funds account for 23.8%, and the remainder comes from other sources.

About 492 million trees will be planted in 2024-25 to reach the goal of planting one billion trees by 2025.

However, implementing the project also faces some difficulties due to the increasingly limited land fund for afforestation, which is often transferred to other uses for socio-economic development, as reported by the Forestry Department.

Conditions for afforestation, especially for planting protective and special-use forests, are becoming more challenging, particularly in areas with high and steep terrain prone to erosion.

Land allocation for coastal forest development has also become increasingly difficult.

Management, maintenance and development of urban green spaces have not been adequately addressed. The current urban green space area only accounts for about 1.2%, much lower than urban planning standards.

The development of greenery in some localities still lacks specific planning.

According to the Forestry Department, there is still no specific guidance on the use of budgetary resources to support decentralised afforestation, implementation procedures, or the required documentation for support requests.

The main source of seedlings is individual suppliers, or they are bought on the market, making it difficult to control their origin and quality.

Dr. Ngo Van Hong from the Vietnam Afforestation and Reforestation Society Co Ltd said there needs to be close coordination among local authorities, forest rangers and forest owners to address the difficulties related to land issues, forest planting plan, tree species selection, acceptance, and forest management after planting.

This is a highly complex and costly process, and mistakes at any stage can affect the quality of the planted forest, even violating land and forestry laws.

In addition, policies should encourage people to plant and restore forests with native species to ensure long-term income for local residents while enhancing the forest's resilience.

Transforming short-term planted forests into forests planted with native species for restoration purposes should be eligible for payment for forest environmental services.

Hong said that the carbon emission reduction programme and carbon credit exchange need to be concretised through specific indices or data, as well as the exchange and trading process of carbon credits, to form a more specific and transparent system.

The establishment of regulations under which business entities are required to accumulate carbon credits and the possibility of exchanging carbon credits must be done, not necessarily through state agencies, but could be carried out through non-state organisations.

At the recent workshop on the three-year review of the project on planting one billion trees in 2021-25 held in Quang Tri province, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri proposed a comprehensive assessment of the project's implementation results.

Tree planting should continue according to the approved plan; communication efforts should be made to ensure public understanding of the benefits and encourage participation in tree planting activities; and flexibility and proactivity are required in the implementation of tree planting activities.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also urged the Forestry Department and other relevant units to promptly apply the recommendations of local authorities.

The tree planting festival in the Lunar New Year of 2023 saw the nation prepare 170 million seedlings for planting thousands of hectares of forests and millions of scattered trees.

Kien Giang fishermen urged to keep IUU fishing fight

A working group from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Rach Gia City Fisheries Association in the southern province of Kien Giang on February 18 visited local fishermen before their first voyage in the Lunar New Year 2024.

The group gave the fishermen life jackets and buoys, wished them a good fishing trip, and conveyed a message from the chairman of the provincial People’s Committee calling for fighting illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

At the new-year meeting with fishermen and vessel owners, the agriculture department called on them to be determined to improve the productivity and quality of seafoods and protect the sovereignty of the sea and islands of the country.

Director of the department Le Huu Toan highlighted that as a key fishing ground of the country, Kien Giang has been developing its fisheries strongly for a long time, creating jobs for nearly 70,000 workers.

Truong Van Ngu, Chairman of the Rach Gia City Fisheries Association, called on fishermen to continue working hard to contribute to the socio-economic development of the province and their families.

The association will continue to coordinate with the province's agencies to implement the fishery guidelines and policies and support them to exploit seafood lawfully.