Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will pay an official visit to China and attend the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF) from June 25-28.

The trip will be made at the invitation of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and WEF Founder and Executive Chairman Klaus Schwab, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Ministry.

National Press Awards 2022 honour creative journalists

Hundreds of journalists from all over the country on Wednesday evening gathered to attend the National Press Awards awarding ceremony - the highest award for outstanding journalistic works.

The awards council said that out of 157 finalist works, the council discussed, evaluated and chose 123 excellent works, of which eight A Prizes, 24 B Prizes, 46 C Prizes and 45 Consolation Prizes.

Lê Quốc Minh, member of the Party Central Committee, editor-in-chief of the Nhân Dân (The People) newspaper, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Publicity and Education, chairman of the Việt Nam Journalists’ Association, chairman of the National Press Awards Council, said that the participants closely followed major topics from politics, economy, culture, society, national defense, security and other aspects of the country in 2022.

They strongly reflected important events of the country, he said, including efforts for socio-economic development, building independent economy in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against corruption and protecting the Party’s ideology.

Notably, many press agencies this year innovated, approached modern journalism technology, put their works on different communication platforms to increase people’s accessibility, step by step implement digital transformation.

The awards council assessed that many works are written carefully, their content discovered new problems, expressed major policies of the Party and the State, proposed good solutions that are pervasive and influential in society.

Many works have good quality, are presented in a good way that is lively and attractive to readers.

Excited and moved to receive the A Prize, journalist Võ Mạnh Hùng, from the VietnamPlus e-newspaper under the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), said that he spent nearly six years on conducting the series about environmental protection.

He directly set up ideas, outlines and plans to investigate in more than 20 provinces and cities.

To get information, he had to play many different roles and jobs. He acted as a worker at an industrial park, a ore and coal buyer, or a student studying geology to gain the trust of business owners.

In some places, when he first asked, he received warnings that it might be life-threatening if he was detected.

Overcoming all obstacles in the course of his work, in early December last year, Hùng proposed to the newspaper leaders to appoint two more reporters specialising in photos and videos.

They together returned to some hot spots to get the newest and panoramic footages.

Returning from the field trip, he quickly completed the series and published in the last days of December last year.

After the series of articles were published on the VietnamPlus e-newspaper, many localities across the country quickly carried out examination. From that basis, they issued decisions to punish violated enterprises and require them improve the polluted condition.

Many residents' petitions have been handled by the authorities.

Hùng said that much of the information provided in the topic was studied by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and applied in the amended Law on Environmental Protection, which was effective from the beginning of last year.

“Our joy is multiplied when the series is awarded the A Prize. For me, this is happiness and also a great motivation to continue my efforts and dedicate the VNA writers’ bravery,” said Hùng.

Also won the A Prize, the documentary film Bẫy (Trap) spoke about human trafficking to Cambodia.

It was made by the Vietnam Television's Journalists Association and was first broadcast on December 24 last year.

With many professional measures, journalists played different roles, penetrated the criminals’s dens, learned their rules of guarding, and drew up an escape plan.

The film has vivid images about where the victims work and in solitary confinement. 

HCM City sets up working team to exploit land along Ring Road No. 3

HCM City still has many lots of available land that could otherwise serve the city’s development. — VNA/VNS Photo Tiến Lực

HCM City People's Committee chairman Phan Văn Mãi has established a working group to develop the city’s plan to effectively exploit land along both sides of the Ring Road No. 3 project.

Vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee Bùi Xuân Cường is assigned as the team leader, and leaders of departments and districts where Ring Road No. 3 will pass through will be team members.

According to the city’s Department of Transport, there are more than 2,413 hectares of land in the vicinity of the Ring Road No. 3 project in HCM City, of which, about 514ha of agricultural land under State management can be auctioned.

It needs to recover the remaining nearly 1,900ha being used by residents.

The Ring Road 3 project is identified as one of the city’s key traffic projects in the 2021-25 period.

The project’s total investment is estimated at VNĐ75.4 trillion (US$3.2 billion). It is expected that the entire project will be completed in 2026.

The capital source for implementing Ring Road 3 is the State budget. Accordingly, the central budget will allocate 50 per cent, and the localities of HCM City, Đồng Nai, Long An and Bình Dương are responsible for the other half.

It will have a total length of about 76.34km, including 47.51km in HCM City’s Thủ Đức City and the districts of Củ Chi, Hóc Môn and Bình Chánh, 11.26km in Đồng Nai Province’s Nhơn Trạch District, 10.76km in Bình Dương Province’s Dĩ An, Thủ Dầu Một and Thuận An cities, and 6.81km in Long An Province’s Bến Lức District.

The road will have six lanes designed for speeds of 80-100km per hour for commuting and two lanes for emergency stops.

HCM City and the southern key economic regions have seen transportation bottlenecks. The shortage of land and overcrowding of urban space has hurt the city's development.

Ring Road No. 3 will create a strategic traffic axis, removing bottlenecks and opening up new directions for urban, industrial, commercial, and service development.

The exploitation of land along both sides of the route will create a large source of revenue for the budget, serving reinvestment and development.

After prolonged delays, construction of the project is scheduled to restart on June 18 and be completed within three years. 

Thái Sơn Nam win National Futsal Championship

Thái Sơn Nam won the National Women's Futsal Championship after beating Phong Phú Hà Nam 6-0 in the final on Monday in Hà Nam Province's gymnasium.

It was a rematch between two teams after their 2-2 draw in the group stage.

Thái Sơn Nam showed their higher level by dominating the match from the beginning. Their countless attacks gave Hà Nam's defenders and goalkeeper no time to rest.

After 13 minutes of strong resistance, Hà Nam collapsed after an counter-attack of the defending champions which saw Đinh Thị Ngọc Hân score twice in one minute.

It was Hân again who netted another two goals from set pieces near the end of the first half.

Hà Nam rearranged their line-up in the second half and the hosts created several threatening opportunities through Thuỳ Linh and Nguyễn Thị Quỳnh but they couldn't find the net.

Hân notched her fifth goal 10 minutes in to the half, a tournament record, before her teammate Thanh Ngân tapped in minutes later to wrap up a brilliant win for Thái Sơn Nam. 

Along with the championship trophy, Thái Sơn Nam received VNĐ100 million bonus and Fair-Play award. The team also swept all individual titles.

Captain Trịnh Nguyễn Thanh Hằng was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Ngô Nguyễn Thùy Linh was the best goalkeeper while Hân received top scorer award with nine goals.

Head coach Huỳnh Thị Thanh Khiết was excited with the win. She said she was proud with his players' performance and effort.

Khiết hoped that the women's futsal would receive more support and care from the community to develop better in the future.

Hà Nam were second and pocketed VNĐ80 million.

In the third-place playoff, HCM City beat Hà Nội 2-1 to take bronze medal and VNĐ50 million.

Hoàng Thị Nương and Thanh Như scored for the southern representative squad while Thanh Tâm made an own goal near the end of the first half.

HCM City airport taxi drivers trick customers

Two taxi drivers in HCM City have been found with an installed device that fixed the meter to cheat customers. 

An inspection team from the HCM City Transport Department co-operated with police at Tan Son Nhat Airport to carry out a check at some taxis operating at the airport on June 19.

The inspectors found that a taxi vehicle from Saigon Tourist Company had two auxiliary switches installed under the gear stick. The driver Nguyen Trung Minh was asked to run from the airport’s international terminal to Tran Quoc Hoan Street and back. The two-kilometre trip should have produced a VND54,000 fare, but when the driver activated the fixed meter it resulted in 10-fold increase to VND540,000.

Checking another taxi operated by Saigon Cheap Company, inspectors also discovered the same fraudulent meter. The driver enabled the cheating each time they shifted gear, triggering a VND 3,000 increase.

The driver was also asked to run from the airport’s international terminal to Tran Quoc Hoan Street and back, which produced a VND420,000 fare.

The two drivers were given a fine of VND 11.70 million and were banned from operating as taxis for two months.

Tan Son Nhat Airport is the country's biggest airport serving an average of between 60,000-70,000 arrivals per day. Many passengers have complained about being cheated or overcharged by taxi companies operating at the airport.

32-kilo python handed over to Ha Tinh national park

A python weighing 32 kilos has been handed over to Vu Quang National Park in the central province of Ha Tinh to be released into the wild.

According to Nguyen Xuan Man, head of the forest management board of Loc Ha District, the python was found by a household in Ho Do Commune when it was attempting to eat one of their chickens. The household quickly reported the case to the board. 

After being captured, the python was given to Vu Quang National Park to be released into the wild.

Last month, a 40-kilo python was also found by a family in Ky Anh District, Ha Tinh Province. It was then taken to Vu Quang National Park to be released.

NA approves major road project in Khanh Hoa

The National Assembly has approved a road project worth nearly VND2 trillion in Khanh Hoa Province to improve its connectivity with Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan.

The majority of deputies present at the National Assembly session this morning, June 20, voted in favor of the project.

The road will be nearly 57 kilometers long and pass through Khanh Son and Khanh Vinh districts of Khanh Hoa Province, connecting National Highway 27C and Provincial Road 656.

The road is designed to have a speed limit of 60 kilometers per hour. However, certain sections traversing challenging terrains and steep slopes will feature two traffic lanes with a design speed of 40 kilometers per hour.

The project’s estimated investment is VND1,930 billion and will be financed by the State budget and the local budget. The total land area required for the project is around 128 hectares, including around 75.58 hectares of forest land that will be repurposed with the agreement of the National Assembly.

Construction on the project is expected to commence in 2023 and reach completion by 2027.

Once finished, the road will significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the region and strengthen transportation connectivity with Ninh Thuan and Lam Dong provinces.

Overseas Vietnamese football tournament opens in Russia

A football tournament of the Vietnamese community in Russia was kicked off on June 20 to mark the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's arrival in Peterograd (now St-Peterburg) (June 30, 1923 - June 30, 2023).

The tournament has attracted the biggest number of teams ever with 15 teams registered to compete.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the tournament at Kapotnhia Arena stadium in Moscow, Minister Counselor Le Quang Anh of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia said that it is the largest, well-prepared sporting event among the Vietnamese community in Russia.

He called on players to compete with noble sportsmanship, thereby strengthening the solidarity among overseas Vietnamese in Russia and promoting the Vietnam-Russia traditional friendship.

Chairman of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Russia Do Xuan Hoang said that the tournament, a regular football event of the Vietnamese community, shows the optimism and confidence of overseas Vietnamese in Russia. He hopes it will continue to be held in the following years, creating a healthy playground for Vietnamese living and working in Russia.

Seminar explores Vietnam - UK partnerships in innovation, education

A seminar on the Vietnam - UK partnerships in innovation and education was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK, the Vietnamese Intellectual Society in the UK and Ireland (VIS), and Middlesex University in London on June 19.

The event, part of the Vietnam - UK Friendship Year 2023 in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the two countries’ diplomatic ties, attracted professors, lecturers, and students of UK universities, VIS members, and businesses in the innovation industry from both countries.

VIS Chairman Prof. Nguyen Xuan Huan said the event aimed to look back on achievements in bilateral educational and training cooperation and explore chances for strengthening ties in tertiary education, research, and innovation.

It also hoped to introduce Vietnam as an innovative country in such fields as emerging technologies, climate change response, and sustainable development; assess the role of leadership in promoting innovation cooperation and supporting the exchange of resources among universities, sectors, and businesses; and help strengthen connectivity among government agencies, universities, businesses, and related organisations of the two countries to make differences in tertiary education and innovation, he noted.

In his remarks, Vietnamese Ambassador to the UK Nguyen Hoang Long stressed that among the seven cooperation pillars, education, science technology, research, and innovation are important and hold huge development potential.

He added the UK is the No 1 partner of Vietnam in tertiary education with over 100 cooperation programmes between the countries. Educational cooperation has also been expanded to general education as Vietnam is working to improve the quality of education and training, including the teaching and learning of English.

Vietnam views the UK, a country with leading education and research quality in the world, as an important partner in education, research, and innovation, the diplomat affirmed, noting that the Vietnamese Embassy recently opened a science - technology office to foster ties in this regard.

He perceived that research partnership will be a new step of development in educational cooperation. He also hoped the number of young Vietnamese postgraduates in the UK will increase in the future.

Also expressing his wish to see more Vietnamese students at his school, Vice-Chancellor of Middlesex University Prof. Nic Beech said the university will consider covering part of tuition fees and granting scholarships for them.

At the event, speakers shared experience and discussed opportunities and prospects for innovation cooperation in emerging technologies, climate change response, and energy transition. They also exchanged views on tertiary education towards sustainable development, management of changes and uncertainties, and maintenance of an ecosystem among the government, industries, and universities.

Vietnam presses ahead with commitment to sustainable development

Vietnam's attendance in the upcoming Paris Summit for a New Global Financial Pact reflects the country's continued strong and consistent commitment in responding to climate change and responsibility in joining hands with the international community to address global challenges, Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang said. 

Making the statement in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency on the threshold of the event, which will take place on June 22 and 23, Ambassador Thang said the conference is an initiative actively promoted by France and is expected to serve as a bridge between the Bridgetown Initiative and other important international events this year, such as the G20 Summit in India, UN SDG Summit in New York, and UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 28) in Dubai, UAE.

The Paris Summit will be attended by nearly 100 leaders of countries and international organisations, as well as a large number of representatives from the private sector and businesses. The Vietnamese delegation to the event is led by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.

Regarding Vietnam's participation in this event, Thang said as a country greatly affected by natural disasters and climate change, the Southeast Asian nation has identified green growth as an important strategy towards sustainable development.

According to the diplomat, in recent years, the Vietnamese Party and the State have consistently shown special attention and allocated financial resources to green growth, with the resolve to respond to climate change and build a green, circular, and environmentally friendly economy. This is evident through its strong commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 made at the COP26 conference and decision to join the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP). These commitments are expected to serve the country’s socio-economic development and contribute to the international community's climate change response efforts.

The attendance at the Paris Summit is a step for Vietnam to mobilise financial resources and technologies to carry out its policy on developing green and circular economy, and realise its commitment to net zero emisssions by 2050 with international support, Thang said.  

The Ambassador affirmed that, like other developing countries, Vietnam believes that the energy transition process should be fair. Each country needs to fully consider the rights of all its people and ensure that no one is left behind. Big emitters of greenhouse gases in the past have the responsibility to fulfill their historical obligations and support developing countries in terms of finance, technology and capacity enhancement in energy transition. At the same time, developing countries need to have appropriate transition roadmaps that take into account their specific conditions and circumstances.

According to him, France highly appreciates Vietnam's commitments and policies in the climate and environmental fields, the country's role as a partner in climate diplomacy, and its support for climate and environmental development. The French Development Agency (AFD) is also at the forefront of implementing France’s climate policies in Vietnam, providing significant funding for related projects.

Lawmakers call for enabling social housing for lease

A National Assembly (NA) deputy has expressed concerns that current social housing policies are more focused on promoting homeownership rather than fulfilling people’s right to accommodation.

During a NA session on June 19, Nguyen Van Hien, a legislator and head of the Institute of Legislative Studies, raised the issue. The NA had convened from May 22 to June 10 and is currently discussing amendments to the Housing Law, with a vote expected in October-November.

Hien emphasized that the current social housing policies prioritize ownership, making it difficult for low-income earners to purchase affordable homes. He highlighted the problem of individuals taking advantage of incentives by misrepresenting their income or using low-income individuals to make purchases on their behalf, further limiting housing opportunities for blue-collar workers in need.

In addition, property developers are prioritizing sales over rentals for social housing, leading to a lack of affordable rental options for those who require them.

According to the Government’s report, 307 social housing projects have been completed, providing 157,000 units for those in need. Another 418 projects with 432,000 units are currently in progress.

The Government has set a target of achieving one million social housing units by 2030, with 428,000 units expected to be completed by 2025. To accomplish this, an estimated VND849 trillion will need to be raised from the private sector.

Natural disasters claim 33 lives

Natural disasters have left 33 people dead and missing and damaged thousands of houses in Vietnam so far this year.

According to the Department of Dyke Management and Flood, Storm Control under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the country faced a tropical depression, 16 heavy rainstorms causing floods, flash floods, and landslides, 120 whirlwinds and hailstorms and two severe cold spells between January and June 19.  

Natural disasters claimed 33 lives and damaged 7,600 houses and 700 hectares of crops. This has resulted in losses of VND210 billion (USD8.93 million).

Torrential rain between June 17-19 killed one person and left another missing in the northern mountainous province of Son La.

The Vietnam Disaster Management Authority reported that a total of 1,057 natural disasters hit Vietnam in 2022, leaving 175 dead and missing.

Mekong Delta promotes advantages in cooperation with Japan

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Việt Nam and Japan , representatives of both sides had a meeting to find out the most effective cooperation direction in the future based on promoting competitive advantages in human resources and land resources in the Mekong Delta.

During the event held in Cần Thơ City on June 18, Nguyễn Thực Hiện, vice chairman of the Cần Thơ City People's Committee, said there remains huge potential for the Mekong Delta region and Japanese businesses to set up and expand cooperation because the advantages of the Mekong Delta region are suitable for the demand of the Japanese side.

Authorities of the Mekong Delta region hope that the event will serve as a bridge calling on Japanese investors to take part in important projects of the city in the future, affirming the locality’s commitment to coordinate with Japanese investors so that the two sides can achieve harmonised interests.

Việt Nam and Japan have closely cooperated at multilateral forums and mechanisms at both regional and global levels; actively coordinate in regional and international issues of mutual concern, promote economic linkages, and liberalize trade through the signing and implementation of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Hiện said.

Regarding local relations, Cần Thơ City has established cooperative relations with three Japanese localities, namely Hyogo province, Okayama City and Nasushiobara City in Tochigi Province. Currently, Cần Thơ City has six direct investors from Japan, with a total registered investment capital of about US$1.35 billion.

In 2022, Cần Thơ's import-export turnover with Japan is US$233 million and in the first four months of 2023, this figure reached US$50 million.

However, these figures are still quite modest compared to the advantages of the close friendship and cooperation between the two countries, as well as the available potential between the localities, Hiện said.

As one of three localities that signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation with Cần Thơ, Watanabe Michitaro, Mayor of Nasushiobara city, said that Japanese investors highly appreciate Vietnam's young and abundant human resources. In addition, there is the hard work and willingness to learn of the workers.

Watanabe Michitaro said that, in order to further increase the competitive advantage in human resources, Vietnamese workers need to build an industrial style and a sense of discipline at work.

The Mayor said he hopes it can pave the way for concrete cooperation between the two cities in the future, adding that they can develop their collaboration in other fields as well.

Cần Thơ and Nasushiobara began cooperating in January 2020. Up to now, the relationship between the two localities has continuously strengthened with many friendship activities. The senior leaders of the two localities have paid working visits to each side to develop the great potential for cooperation, especially in the fields of agriculture and tourism.

The signing of the MoU is essential so that the two sides can promote cooperation and complement each other in line with development needs.

Toshiyuki Ishii, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hậu Giang Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, said that Japanese businesses very much want Vietnamese workers working in Japanese companies to build their working style such as being on time and meeting production standard.

In addition, Toshiyuki Ishii wants workers in the Mekong Delta to focus on developing working skills. This is a key factor to be able to meet job requirements in the new era, and to master automation and high-tech equipment.

To strengthen cooperation between the Mekong Delta region and Japan in the coming time, experts suggested continuing to create favourable conditions for businesses of the two sides to exchange and explore the demand, advantages, and actual capacity of each side, thereby promoting effective collaboration in the fields of agriculture and tourism, creating a premise for trade and investment cooperation. 

Hydropower plants report higher water levels

Water levels at all hydropower reservoirs in Vietnam have risen above critically low levels, according to Vietnam Electricity (EVN).
As of June 20, the reservoirs at Lai Chau, Son La, Ban Chat, and Tuyen Quang hydropower plants recorded levels ranging from 4 to 438 meters above the dead water levels.

Similarly, Thac Ba, Huoi Quang, Ban Ve, and Tri An hydropower plants have seen their reservoirs rise by 0.5 to 3 meters from extremely low levels.

The increase in water levels is attributed to heavy rainfall, which has resulted in higher water flows into the reservoirs. For example, Lai Chau reservoir received a water flow of nearly 950 cubic meters per second, while Son La and Ban Chat reservoirs experienced double or triple the water flows compared to the previous week.

This is positive news as it comes after a period of power cuts and rolling blackouts in Hanoi and several other northern provinces due to the high power demands, reduced power generation from reservoirs with low water levels, and technical issues at some thermal power generators.

The National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting predicts that the scorching weather will continue; however, the Northwest, Northeast, North Central regions, and the Red River Delta are forecast to experience rainfall higher than the annual averages by 10% to 20% by the end of this month.

Valedictorian of 10th-grade entrance exam in HCMC gets total score of 29.25

With a total score of 29.25, Vu Ngoc Bich became the valedictorian of the 10th-grade entrance exam for public high schools in HCMC.

According to an announcement on the results of the 10th-grade entrance exam of the HCMC Department of Education and Training on the morning of June 20, Bich scored 9.25 points in Literature and 10 points in both Mathematics and English. She is one of the candidates who achieved the highest score in the literature exam.

Pham Quoc Binh scored the highest total marks of 46,75/50 in the 10th-grade entrance exam for high school for the Gifted, including 8 in Literature, 9 in English, 10 in Math, and 9.5 in a specialized subject that has a coefficient of 2, followed by Nguyen Bao Han and Huynh Quang Phu with 46/50 points.

According to statistics, around 2,147 English tests got a mark of 10, accounting for 2.22 percent, and 32 percent of the exam papers achieved good marks from 8 points and above. English is the subject having the highest number of exam papers scoring 8 and above in this year's entrance exam.

In Literature, 27 candidates scored 9.25 points, 272 others got 9 points and seven students received zero mark.

Around 121 students got a mark of 10 in Math and 121 candidates received zero mark. Nearly 55 percent of the exam papers get above-average scores that mostly range from 5-7 points.

Students can submit re-examination applications at their secondary schools from June 21- 24. The HCMC Department of Education and Training will announce the results of the re-examination on June 30.

The admission scores for the 10th-grade entrance exam for high school for the Gifted and integrated programs along with the results of direct admission to high schools will be revealed on June 24.

Candidates who have met all admission requirements for the 10th-grade entrance exam for high school for the Gifted, integrated programs, and direct admission students will submit their applications for admission in schools from June 25-29.

The admission scores for the 10th-grade entrance exam for public high schools in HCMC will be announced on July 10.

Problems in trying out e-ID account for airport procedures to be solved

The CAAV announced it has implemented solutions for solving problems in using electronic identification accounts associated with passenger biometric authentication that has been piloted in airports nationwide from June 1 to August 1.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV), these problems are mainly related to errors while submitting the account forms to verify the identity, network failure, or passengers who are not familiar with operating the application.

Additionally, the pilot plan for using an electronic identification account (e-ID account) at level 2 associated with passenger biometric authentication at airports also sees issues related to legality, access management tools, and solutions to authenticate users. Therefore, the CAAV and the Ministry of Public Security along with relevant units will continuously coordinate to seek problem-solving measures.

Electronic identification account (e-ID account) at level 2 associated with passenger biometric authentication has been piloted in airports nationwide from June 1 to August 1. The trial program will be applied to voluntary passengers on domestic flights. People can use their e-ID account via the app VNeID to replace their chip-based citizen ID card in boarding procedures.

530 cases, 1,858 accused nationwide prosecuted for crime of corruption

A conference to review the works and operation of the provincial-level steering committees on anti-corruption over the past year took place in the morning of June 19.

The Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption hosted the conference both in-person and online, with the participation of more than 300 delegates at the headquarters of the Party Central Committee and 2,200 delegates attending online from all over the country.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Head of the Central Steering Committee on Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena chaired the event.

The conference aimed at sharing experiences, giving instructions to solve difficulties and obstacles as well as finding solutions to improve the operational efficiency of the provincial-level steering committees for the fight against corruption at localities and grassroots levels.

Speaking at the conference, Permanent Deputy Chief of the Central Commission for Internal Affairs Vo Van Dung reported that after the establishment, the provincial-level steering committees on anti-corruption have detected many violations through inspection and supervision and gave proposals for handling many Party organizations and Party members that have violated regulations.

Of these, the anti-corruption steering committees of Lam Dong, Nghe An, Lang Son provinces and Can Tho, Hai Phong cities have conducted many inspections and supervisions, persistently fighted against corruption and negative sign.

It was reported that 1,132 accused are officials and Party members, 15 Party organizations and nearly 80 officers and civil servants of state agencies in charge of anti-corruption works prosecuted for the crime of corruption.

Many localities detected, prosecuted, investigated and strictly handled large-scale corruption cases with those who are officers under the Standing Committee of the provincial-level Party Committees and the municipal-level Party Committee, including former Party Secretaries, former Chairmen, and Vice Chairmen of provincial People's Committees, standing members of provincial Party Committees, directors of departments, Secretaries and Chairmen of People's Committee of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Thanh Hoa, Lao Cai, Hoa Binh, Quang Ninh, Ha Nam, Da Nang, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Dong Nai, An Giang and so on without any exception.

The provincial-level steering committees have concentrated on directing and strengthening the inspection, supervision and settlement of complaints and denunciations; thereby promptly correcting deviations and strictly handling Party organizations, officials and Party members who violated.

The committees are progressing with prosecution for new 530 cases with 1,858 accused for the crime of corruption, increasing 1.5 times in the number of cases and more than 800 arrested compared to 2021.

Public Security Ministry receives over 37 million registrations for e-ID account

The Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order yesterday informed that until now, 37.1 million applications for an e-ID account have been submitted. Of them, 16.5 million have been successfully activated.

Up to now, the Ministry of Public Security has issued more than 80.5 million chip-based citizen ID cards to those in need. 30 provinces and cities have completed this task, and the rest will finish this June.

The Police Department for Administrative Management of Social Order stated that it will accelerate the issuance of chip-based citizen ID cards for contestants of the upcoming national high school graduation exam after delivering the ID cards for those taking part in the tenth-grade entrance exam. Nearly 6 million students have already received their chip-based citizen ID cards.

This Department also cooperates with relevant state agencies to effectively exploit residency information to serve the zone priority verification task for 1.2 million contestants of the national high school graduation exam and university entrance application this year.

Upgraded traffic system effectively boosts economic growth in Southern Vietnam

Thanks to the introduction of several expressways lately, the local economies, especially the tourism sector, of many Southern provinces are welcoming promising boosts.

The operation of Phan Thiet – Dau Giay Expressway has greatly reduced traveling time from HCMC to Phan Thiet City. It now only takes two hours and a half for the route between the two cities, equal to the time from HCMC to Vung Tau City. This gives more choices for HCMC dwellers on their one-day trips to the seaside. The advantage should become a precious opportunities for the local authorities in Binh Thuan Province to invest more in developing its tourism sector, and in turn boosting the provincial economy.

Obviously, Ba Ria – Vung Tau has to upgrade its competitiveness to attract more tourists to Vung Tau City. It can be done via the quick completion of Bien Hoa – Phu My – Vung Tau Expressway to shorten the travelling time to this coastal city. Meanwhile, a richer variety of tourism products and services should be offered.

In HCMC, Ring Road No.3 construction project is still on the first stage, and affected residents in Thu Duc City, the districts of Hoc Mon, Binh Chanh, and Cu Chi have happily received their land compensation. The situation is the same in the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, and Long An. With this compensation amount, citizens can then repair their houses or buy new ones, or simply purchase other valuable assets. This is considered an indirect way of selling their land lots with reasonable prices in a time when the real estate market in Vietnam is considered to be temporarily frozen.

HCMC this year receives a public investment volume of over VND70 trillion (US$2.98 billion), a double of last year’s amount. This huge sum demands more feasible allocation measures as well as strong determination of state employees in distributing it precisely.

To fulfill this critical capital delivery task, related administrative procedures have been upgraded to be more time-saving and effective. At the same time, the city has formed three specific task forces for public investment. The first is to check and handle issues in land compensation and resettlement. The second is to accelerate budget disbursement for major projects. The third is to review difficulties related to projects using official development assistance capital and concessional loans from foreign sponsors.

All state departments in HCMC reduce their time to process investment procedures, whereas localities focus on land clearance tasks for projects to carry out on time. “Problems must be handled immediately without waiting for the issuance of relevant procedures”, stressed Chairwoman of HCMC People’s Council Nguyen Thi Le in her visit to construction sites of public investment projects.

With such a fierce determination, public investment projects in HCMC will certainly be effectively launched, helping the city to recover its economy, upgrade its infrastructure for an even more robust and sustainable growth in the near future.

Private medical facilities help reduce burden on public ones

Over the years, the development of private healthcare facilities in Ho Chi Minh City has provided patients in HCMC and neighboring localities with more choices of healthcare services, helping to reduce the burden placed on public hospitals.

Private infirmaries also created a healthy competitive environment between public and private health systems in improving the quality of medical examination and treatment services for patients’ sake. However, it is still necessary to have policies and support mechanisms for private healthcare to develop more in the future.

The Xuyen A General Hospital in the gateway to the Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City has been one of the reliable addresses for medical examination and treatment for patients in Cu Chi, Hoc Mon outlying districts and the Southern Province of Tay Ninh over the years. On average, the hospital daily receives 2,000-2,500 outpatients and 1,000-1,500 inpatients.

Located in the western gateway, the Gia An 115 Hospital and the International City Hospital also admit local patients and those from the southwestern provinces. In particular, the Gia An 115 Hospital known for performing specialized techniques such as cardiology, Neurology - stroke, endocrinology, and orthopedic trauma was set up in the form of the public-private partnership (PPP) model between Hoa Lam Group and 115 People's Hospital. The hospital’s locally and abroad-trained medical workers and leading experts from the People's Hospital 115 have contributed to greatly reducing the load on big hospitals in the inner city.

Particularly, during the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic in Ho Chi Minh City a few years ago, privately-owned hospitals such as Hoan My Thu Duc General Hospital, Saigon South, Xuyen A, Gia An 115 have converted into a hospital to receive Covid-19 patients. Thankfully, thousands of patients received timely treatment, making a great contribution to reducing the burden on public health facilities. Medical workers of non-public infirmaries have also administered Covid-19 vaccines to thousands of people.

During the intense development of the epidemic, the number of severe Covid-19 patients were constantly increasing, private institution owners have not hesitated to invest in machinery and equipment such as ventilators, negative pressure isolation rooms, ECMO system as well as establish Covid-19 resuscitation centers to promptly treat patients.

In addition to contribution to the city’s fight against the Covid-19 epidemic and reduction of patient overload for large facilities, private hospitals are also attracting foreign patients and developing medical tourism. For example, the City International Hospital yearly admits more and more foreigners mainly foreigners living and working in Ho Chi Minh City and foreigners from Cambodia and Laos.

Set up later, the Tam Anh General Hospital has been emerging as a good facility in Ho Chi Minh City when it has invested in both service quality and intensive development. The hospital not only purchased much modern medical equipment but also attracted many leading experts in various fields and established specialized centers.

According to Associate Professor Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, the city currently has 66 private hospitals and more than 7,800 private polyclinics. The private healthcare sector has made many contributions to the overall development of the city; most importantly, they have been helping to reduce the burden on the public health system’s patient overload.

Recently, the private healthcare system has undergone transformations in terms of quality, focusing on developing specialized healthcare, said Associate Professor Tang Chi Thuong. In the past, private hospitals transferred most serious patients to public hospitals for treatment, now private hospitals are confident to keep patients for treatment. This will pave the way for private hospitals’ competitiveness with public hospitals.

However, the proportion of private hospitals is presently still very small, accounting for only 10 percent of the total number of hospital beds in the city. In developed countries such as Japan, Korea, and Singapore, the private healthcare system accounts for more than 50 percent of the total number of hospital beds, which shows that the role of private healthcare is very important.

Therefore, Vietnam needs to have policies to increase the total number of hospital beds to about 20 percent-30 percent such as preferential loans, and preferential land leases. Without the mobilization of the participation of private hospitals, it is difficult to develop specialized medical care due to a large amount of investment, said Associate Professor Thuong.

Furthermore, according to Dr. Thuong, to attract private investment in health, long-term support policies are needed because if the policies are only in the short term, no one will invest intensively.

Of this fact, the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City proposed the municipal People's Committee to have a pilot mechanism and policy to create a driving force for the city’s health sector. According to the Department of Health in the southern metropolis, while the city's state budget is still limited, it is necessary to mobilize the private sector to participate in the form of public-private partnership; plus, private institutions should be allowed to build new facilities in different locations as the second facility and medical staff of public hospitals will assist privately-owned infirmaries.

The project ‘Forming a high-tech center for early screening and diagnosis’ should call for social contribution to soon meet city dwellers’ health care needs. In addition, according to the needs of social development, Ho Chi Minh City needs to build more nursing complexes to care for and treat the elderly, and high-tech rehabilitation centers with the participation of the private sector.

HCMC gifts poor Chinese - Vietnamese students

Ho Chi Minh City gave gifts and money to poor Chinese- Vietnamese students to support them in pursuit of learning.
 
At the People's Committee of District 6, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee in HCMC in collaboration with Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper yesterday held a ceremony to award money as support for Chinese-Vietnamese students with difficult circumstances across the city.

At the ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in HCMC Phan Kieu Thanh Huong hoped that small gifts would be a motivation for the children in the pursuit of learning. At the same time, gifts manifested the city government’s practical care for students who have a studious spirit.

At the ceremony, student Tran Hieu Du in District 6 on behalf of the students thanked leaders and benefactors for their support and gifts promising to study well to fulfill their dreams in the future.

On this occasion, leaders of organizations awarded 300 scholarships each worth VND1 million to support these special students.

Online math school kicked off in Hanoi

A math school was opened in Hanoi on June 18, using a curriculum from AoPS - a 900,000-member math community in the US - at a low cost for Vietnamese.

Minh Viet School of Math (MVSM) was founded in the US by Pham Tuan Anh, who was famous for his role as interpreter for US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden during essential meetings with Vietnamese leaders in 2015-2016.

The school works with an AoPS math community in the US, with more than 900,000 members, to create its curriculum. It has signed a cooperation agreement with AoPS to provide complete learning materials and training activities. MVSM participants will have access to the math forum and quizzes on the website.

In the first school year 2023-2024, the school opens advanced math classes in English for primary students from grades 1 to 5 and supplementary English classes (4 levels). It plans to open more secondary and high school classes in the future.

All the teachers are American graduates from prestigious universities such as Berkeley, Columbia, and Harvard (with Vietnamese teaching assistants). Students will either study online via Zoom with American teachers or watch the video.

Chau appreciates MVSM's efforts in partnering with AoPS to bring America's most successful advanced math curriculum to Vietnam. "After participating in international mathematics training, I realized that the program designed by AoPS is very standardized and systematic," he added.

By directly using the AoPS curriculum - America's No. 1 advanced math program - designed like a comic book with many interesting puzzles arranged in increasingly difficult levels, the course stimulates curiosity while training critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Participants study one lesson/week by paying VND5 million (US$212) per year.

Source: VNA/SGT/VNS/VOV/Dtinews/SGGP/VGP/Hanoitimes