Seven Chinese involved in online gambling handed over to China

The Chinese nationals who were involved in the online gambling ring

Competent forces of the northern border province of Lao Cai on October 26 handed over seven Chinese involved in an online gambling ring to police of China’s Yunnan province.

The group rented a house at 611B Le Thanh street, Bac Cuong ward, Lao Cai province, to organise online gambling.

They were arrested on October 10, together with computers, Wifi modems and mobile phones.

The Chinese nationals confessed that transactions worth up to 20 million CNY (2.83 million USD) had been conducted within one month./.

‘Arts in the Forest’ exhibition opens in Vinh Phuc’s resort

The art space is set up under a pine forest at the Flamingo Dai Lai Resort (Photo: Courtesy of organiser)

The 2019 ‘Art in the Forest’ exhibition (AIF 2019) opened in Flamingo Dai Lai Resort in the northern province of Vinh Phuc on October 26.

After over three months of launching a creation campaign with the participation of 17 Vietnamese and international artists, 68 lacquer and sculpture works were introduced in the green space of Dai Lai pine forest.

In addition to familiar artists from the previous exhibitions such as Mukhai Katsumi (Japan), Dam Dang Lai, Le Lang Luong and Vu Hong Nguyen (Vietnam), this year’s programme attracted numerous famous artists from foreign countries, including Ariel Moscovici (France), Daniel Perez (Spain), Floyd Elzinga (Canada), Sha Sha Higby (the US), and Jang Jin-su (the Republic of Korea).

The artists expressed their unique ideas about human and nature with diverse styles, which showed their serious and elaborate art work.

Since it was launched in 2015, the Art in the Forest project, sponsored by Flamingo Group, has created a museum of contemporary art and an outdoor sculpture park in the pine forest of the Famingo Dai Lai Resort.

This year’s exhibition will last until November 15./.

Vietnamese students in RoK gather for 15th festival

An art performance at the festival

The event was co-organised by the Vietnamese Students’ Association in the RoK (VSAK) and Hanshin Co., Ltd, with the sponsor of the Vietnamese Embassy in the country.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the RoK Nguyen Vu Tu said 17,000 Vietnamese students are studying in the host country, up about 6,000 as compared with 2018.

VSAK President Tran Thien Quang said the annual festival aims to create a useful playground for Vietnamese students in the RoK and promote the image of Vietnamese students in the eyes of international friends, contributing to promoting traditional relationship, cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

The festival included cultural and artistic activities, folk games and a ceremony to honour students who have made outstanding academic achievements and contributions to social activities./.

Nearly VND10.7 trillion for construction of Ho Chi Minh City - Moc Bai highway

The Ministry of Transport, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee and the Tay Ninh provincial People’s Committee held a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on October 26 to sign a coordination plan on the construction of the Ho Chi Minh City-Moc Bai highway.

At the signing ceremony (Photo: VGP)

The highway, which is being implemented under a public-private partnership, will connect the city with Moc Bai International Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh.

It will be completed in two phases and cost nearly VND10.7 trillion (US$459.36 million).

The first phase will involve the construction of two separate sections of the highway. The first will be a 33km section from Ho Chi Minh City to Tay Ninh province’s Trang Bang district, which will have four lanes, with a maximum speed of 120km per hour for vehicles.

The second section from Trang Bang to Moc Bai will be 20.5km long and have four lanes with a designed speed of 80km per hour. After the two sections are completed, the second phase of construction will expand the expressway from six to eight lanes.

The Ho Chi Minh City – Moc Bai Highway project will meet the transport demands of the region and fit with the national highway network plan.

In particular, the highway will shorten the time it takes to travel from Ho Chi Minh City to the international border gate, and strengthen the connection between Vietnam’s key southern economic zones and the East-West economic corridor, including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Construction regulations flouted in Nha Trang

Many illegally-constructed tourist villas can be found in Nha Trang Bay despite ban and fines from the authorities.

Ocean View Nha Trang Project

Ocean View Nha Trang Project is invested by Thien Nhan 2 Company. Only 18 out of Ocean View Nha Trang's 69 plots of land have been approved and included in the planning.

During the regular meeting of Khanh Hoa People's Committee, vice chairman Nguyen Da Tai said, "Violations at Ocean View Nha Trang must be dealt with or else they will set bad examples to other cases."

On September 4, Khanh Hoa Province People's Committee issued 13 decisions to force the investor to deal with their violations. According to the decision, from September 4 to 19, the investor must remove illegal buildings or else the authorities would apply coercive measures.

But in reality, construction still continued. On October 24, construction materials were brought to the site and workers kept on working.

Nha Trang City People's Committee said even when they cut off power and water supply, the investors used their own generators and brought water tanks to continue the construction.

Meanwhile, over 20 projects have been approved to build on Tien Co Mountain. In late 2018, Khanh Hoa authorities ordered to suspend all projects to let foreign consultant company assess and complete the 1/2000 planning. However, the investor of the Duong De Tam Huong Villa Project ignored the order.

Khanh Hoa Department of Construction has sent an official setter to Tam Huong Company on October 24 to ask them to stop all construction activities. In May, they also fined Tam Huong Company VND35m (USD1,500) because they failed to submit the appraisal report of the construction design.

Nguyen Van Loc, chairman of Khanh Hoa Architect Association, questioned why so many projects on Co Tien Mountain were approved even though this is forestry land.

"Management responsibility must be made clear. Violations can be easily detected if we compare with the original planning," he said.

International tourists to Hanoi up 16% in October

Hanoi welcomed over 600,000 foreign visitors in October, up 16 per cent against October last year, according to the city’s Department of Tourism.

More than 5.3 million international tourists visited the capital in the first ten months of the year, a year-on-year increase of 10.8 per cent. The number of domestic visitors was 18.5 million, up 9.3 per cent, while total revenue from tourism stood at VND 88.1 trillion ($3.8 billion).

The number of visitors to Hanoi has risen by an average of 10.2 per cent in the four years since 2016, with some 2 million more coming each year, contributing over 30 per cent of all visitors to the country, according to the department.

Hanoi spent $1 million on promoting its beauty and tourism on CNN in 2017 and 2018, both of which improved awareness about the capital and attracted more visitors. Fifteen short video clips about Hanoi are being broadcast on CNN this year, presenting its different beauty to the world.

It will continue with programs and activities to promote tourism in the two last months of the year, such as applying more information technology in tourism management, welcoming European tourism delegations to survey products and services in Hanoi, Ninh Binh, and Quang Ninh in November, opening up training courses to improve professionalism and management among tour guides and officials at State-owned travel companies, building an identity logo for Hanoi’s trade villages, intensifying marketing campaigns to promote the capital’s tourism, and securing people’s votes in international awards.

Hanoi targets welcoming 28.95 million visitors this year, a year-on-year increase of 10.1 per cent, including 7 million international visitors, up 17 per cent. It expects to see overnight stays by 21.92 million domestic visitors and 4.93 million by international visitors, an increase of 8 per cent in both compared to 2018. Total revenue is targeted at VND103.807 trillion ($4.46 billion), an increase of 34 per cent against 2018.

Kien Giang’s island commune joins national grid

Residents in the island commune of Tien Hai in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang’s Ha Tien city, now access the national grid thanks to an electricity provision project completed on October 25.

Costing over 182 billion VND (7.8 million USD), the project installed a cross-sea 22kV line stretching over 17.5 km, three-phase medium-voltage and low-voltage lines respectively spanning 6.54 km and 6.15 km, and eight transformer stations.

It is part of the Electricity of Vietnam’s Southern Power Corporation (EVNSPC)’s several projects to connect southern rural areas with the national grid.

Previously, residents of the commune mainly used electricity generated from diesel substations in 12 hours per day, thus resulting in difficulties in local life and economic development.

Phan Van Xuan, Vice Chairman of the Ha Tien People’s Committee, said Tien Hai’s joining the national grid will contribute to developing the local tourism sector and attracting investors./.

Vinh Long’s youths join hands to protect environment

The youths collect trash at the Hoa Phu industrial park

Nearly 350 young people in the Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long’s Long Ho district joined a series of green activities on October 26 to launch a local Saturday voluntary campaign that support environmental protection for a green future.

They took part in collecting plastic waste, clearing bushes, dredging sewage, and planting trees in the local Phuoc Yen market, on overpasses, and routes within the Hoa Phu industrial park.

Participating youths also presented gifts to needy students, and mounted communications activities on the prevention of dengue fever as well as on safe electricity use, among others.

The campaign aimed to promote the voluntary spirit among youths and raise public awareness on curbing the use of plastic products and packages in contribution to building a healthier and cleaner environment.

Vietnam discharges about 1.8 million tonnes of plastic every year, standing 17th among 109 countries in terms of the plastic waste volume released.

The country aims to reduce the volume of non-biodegradable plastic bags used at supermarkets and shopping malls by 65 percent by 2020 compare to 2010. By 2026, it targets zero non-biodegradable plastic bags.

Association contributes to Vietnam-Laos relations

An art performance at the congress

The Vietnam-Laos Friendship Association in Vietnam’s northern mountainous province of Thai Nguyen on October 26 held its third congress, with the participation of 250 delegates representing more than 13,000 members of the association.

The congress put forth major tasks for the association for the 2019-2024 tenure, focusing on the communication work to popularise guidelines and policies of the Party and State about the Vietnam-Laos special relationship and comprehensive cooperation.

The association will also encourage its members and residents of the two countries to engage in friendship activities, and promote cooperation between Thai Nguyen and some Lao localities.

Since 2010, over 20 businesses from Thai Nguyen have invested in infrastructure, services-tourism and economic development in Laos.

The Vietnamese province also receives more than 300 Lao students each year who come to study and conduct research studies in local universities and colleges.

The congress elected a new 41-member executive board for the 2019-2024 period, headed by Nguyen Doan Kinh./.

Workshop talks opportunities to develop logistics services in Hai Phong

Opportunities to develop logistics services in the northern port city of Hai Phong were discussed at a workshop held in the city on October 25.

Organised by the Deep C Hai Phong Industrial Zones as part of activities during the Vietnam-Belgium cultural and economic exchange festival from October 25 to 27, the event drew the participation of major businesses from Belgium, which boast strengths in green development, urban land use, smart city building, and flood control.

They shared ways to use renewable energy in the logistics system, minimise logistics costs and turn Hai Phong into a logistics hub of Vietnam.

Speaking at the workshop, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Xuan Binh said over the past years, Vietnam and Hai Phong in particular have always attached importance to developing infrastructure, including logistics facilities.

In the future, Vietnam plans to build Hai Phong into a civilised and developed city and a modern logistics centre of the country and the region, he said, stressing that Hai Phong always welcomes investors.

Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen affirmed that the Deep C Industrial Zones of Belgium has created over 10,000 jobs in Hai Phong. With a total investment of 570 million USD, the complex has made great contributions to the city’s socio-economic development, thus tightening the close relations between Vietnam and Belgium.

Stephen Wyatt, a representative of Jones Lang Lasalle Inc., Hai Phong has many advantages in transport infrastructure, including an international airport, a deep water port that is capable of accommodating large ships, and a convenient road network. These are important factors for developing logistics.

Hai Phong has become an ideal destination for domestic and foreign investors, always in the top five Vietnamese cities and provinces in FDI attraction, he said./.

Hai Duong fair features handicrafts, OCOP products

A fair showcasing handicrafts and products under the One Commune Once Product (OCOP) Programme was held in Hai Duong city, the northern province of Hai Duong on October 26.

This year’s event, featuring 120 pavilions of 20 provinces and cities nationwide, aims to introduce the potential and strengths in agricultural and OCOP products of Hai Duong province in particular and localities nationwide in general.

It also offers a chance for businesses in and outside Hai Duong to meet, exchange and seek partnerships.

On display are agro-forestry-fisheries products, handicrafts, food and foodstuffs, fruits and beverages, with clear origin and OCOP certification, plus many unique products from traditional villages.

According to organisers, the fair is organised to promote the OCOP Programme in the 2018-2020 period, creating favourable conditions for rural sectors, traditional handicrafts and craft village tourism to develop in the process of national industrialisation and modernisation and international economic integration.

The event will run until October 31./.

Train tickets for short trips in demand

People in HCM City are complaining about difficulties in buying short-trip train tickets for the Tet Holiday.

Saigon Railway Transport JS Company announced that the firm would sell around 287,000 train tickets for the Lunar New Year holiday. However, few people in HCM City can buy tickets for the routes they want.

Nguyen Thi Lan said she couldn't buy the desired ticket to Tuy Hoa, Phu Yen Province, on January 20. She decided to buy tickets for a longer route from HCM City to Quang Ngai, which would go past Tuy Hoa. However, even tickets for longer routes were also booked.

Nguyen Manh Linh from Binh Dinh Province was also in the same situation. He wanted to buy four tickets to Binh Dinh on January 20 but all of the tickets have been booked.

"If I want to go to Binh Dinh, I'll have to spend an additional VND200,000 (USD8.60) per ticket for a longer route to Danang. It will cost me a total VND6m (USD258) for four tickets, not to mention the return tickets to HCM City after Tet," he said.

Meanwhile, some brokers boasted that they have a lot of tickets for any day. Do Van Quang, director of a Saigon Railway Transport branch, warned customers against buying tickets from third-party sources because of scams. In previous years, some customers were asked to pay a deposit for the tickets then the sellers would disappear immediately.

According to Quang they have tweaked the online system so that customers will have only 48 hours instead of 72 hours to pay for their booked tickets. The police would also co-operate to deal with brokers and more cameras will be installed to monitor the station.

On the other hand, not many passengers in Hanoi start buying train tickets for Tet yet. Hanoi Railway Transport Station said the majority of ticket buyers are from the south and they often buy return tickets. Passengers in Hanoi often start buying tickets when Tet Holiday nears. Short-trip tickets to Thanh Hoa and Vinh are the most popular and special and additional tickets are only open for sale near Tet.

As of 2 pm on October 20, Hanoi Railway Transport JSC had sold a total 11,000 tickets. Tickets are being sold on three websites dsvn.vn, vetauonline.vn and vetau.com.vn.

Indian warship to dock in Da Nang for friendly visit

Destroyer INS Sahyadri will pay a friendly visit to Vietnam’s central coastal city of Da Nang from October 29 to November 1.

The ship will dock at Tien Sa, a deep-water port considered the biggest and most important port in terms of economics in central Vietnam.

The visit, part of the Indian Navy's deployment to the Southeast Asia, will comprise professional exchanges between the two navies, friendly games, meetings between the top Indian and Vietnamese naval officers, a tour of the city for the Indian crew, and a visit to the destroyer by Vietnamese Navy and students.

The two navies will also join a training course in waters off Da Nang’s coast.

Launched in 2005, INS Sahyadri is a Shivalik-class stealth multi-role frigate built for the Indian Navy. This class features improved stealth and land attack capabilities over the preceding Talwar-class frigates.

Vietnamese and Indian navies have cooperated in many different fields including crew training, ship fixing and maintenance and logistics.

On April 2, Indian Coast Guard ship ICGS Vijit docked in Da Nang for four days as part of ongoing moves to strengthen naval ties and enhance regional security.

It was followed by a four-day visit by Indian stealth guided-missile destroyer INS Kolkata and fuel and logistics tanker INS Shakti to Vietnam's military port of Cam Ranh in the central province of Khanh Hoa on April 13.

Vietnam and India established diplomatic relations in 1972 and their relationship has developed strongly over the past years in both economy and trade as well as national defense.

In 2016, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations were upgraded into a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership," a status that Vietnam has with only two other countries, Russia and China, with defense cooperation considered a priority.

India, a staunch ally in Vietnam's fight for independence and reunification, is also one of Vietnam's top trading partners. Two-way trade turnover reaching $10.69 billion last year, double that of 2016, according to the Vietnam Trade Affairs Office in India.

Hanoi authorities urged to develop public transport

Hanoi authorities must boost public transport development and needs 200 bus routes if they want to actually implement a motorbike ban.

Tu Sy Sua from the University of Communications and Transport

On October 25, the Hanoi Department of Transport held a conference to discuss motorbike restrictions and ban based on the infrastructure and service capacity of the public transport system and a congestion charge.

Regarding the proposed motorbike ban by 2030, the Institute of Transportation Strategy and Development said the motorbike ban could only be applied when the public transport system was able to meet 60.5% of travel demand. The city should open eight urban railway sections, 200 bus routes, have 35,000 taxis and 50,000 contract cars.

Nguyen Thi Vinh, former secretary of the Association of Cities of Vietnam, said numerous urban areas had been built in Ha Dong District in the past year. As a result, a huge number of people were commuting from Ha Dong to the city centre, causing severe congestion on Nguyen Trai and To Huu-Nguyen Van Luong routes. He claimed it was reasonable that the authorities pilot a motorbike ban on those routes.

However, to make public transport more attractive, the authorities must set up parking lots and bus stations to make the journey more convenient for the commuters.

"People are used to be able to travel from door to door with their motorbikes so they do not want to walk more than 1 km to get to a station. The authorities should open more routes for minibus and even use three-wheelers like in Tokyo or Kyoto," Vinh said.

Tu Sy Sua from the University of Communications and Transport said even though Hanoi authorities were focused on developing public passenger transportation with large capacity, at the current rate Hanoi would only have one bus rapid transit route while two urban railway routes will not be completed.

At the moment, public buses are able to only meet 10% of demand. In order to increase the rate to 15%, the authorities will need 2,400 buses and 3,300 buses if they want the rate increase to 30%. But allowing more vehicles to operate is extremely difficult due to Hanoi's infrastructure.

Sua agreed that they need to be consistent with the policy of developing public passenger transport because this was the solution to congestion. Public buses would still be the main form of public transport until 2030.

Dalat Flower Festival 2019 expected to lure 300,000 visitors

Dalat Flower Festival this year is scheduled to take place in December, hoping to attract up to 300,000 visitors.

According to Ton Thien San, chairman of Dalat City People’s Committee, the event scheduled to be held on December 20-24, is aimed to Dalat-branded flowers in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.

Various activities will be organised during the festival, including the display of flower spaces around Xuan Huong Lake and some major streets; a South Korea Vietnam music exchange programme; an international flower and bonsai tree exhibition; a programme to honour Dalat heritage; Bao Loc silk display among several others.

San added that Dalat is now home to 1,859 guesthouses and hotels with a total number of 23,400 rooms which can accommodate up to 70,000 people per day.

The provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism has worked with the facilities to ensure infrastructure condition for the festival.

Local authorities are trying to call for private sector investment into many of the event’s activities.

The Thai Tourism Association and some South Korean localities will also join the festival.

Vietnam’s tourism promoted in Canada

At the show

Famous tourist sites in Vietnam were introduced at the 31st International Tourism and Travel Show in Montreal, Canada, from October 25-27.

Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong, President of the Vietnamese Cultural Centre in Montreal, said through the event, her centre wants to promote the Vietnamese language, history and culture to Canadian tourists.

Nancy Lavoie, marketing director of Voyages Traditours, said the company has operated tours to Vietnam, and more and more tourists want to explore the culture of the Southeast Asian nation.

She pointed out language barrier and long travel time as difficulties facing the travel company while operating tours to Vietnam.

Given the geographical distance, Voyages Traditours has organised long trips so that holiday-makers have more time to explore the land, people, culture and cuisine of Vietnam, she said.

The show brought together representatives from 100 countries worldwide. Within the framework of the event, there were about 400 workshops with the participation of 100 leading experts in the tourism sector./.

Hai Duong officially becomes first-tier city

A ceremony was held on October 26 to announce the Prime Minister’s decision to recognise Hai Duong city in the province of the same name as a first-tier city.

Attending the event were National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Minister of Public Security General To Lam, and Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung, among others.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy PM Dung praised Hai Duong province and its city for making great achievements over the past few years.

He urged the city and the province to continue making efforts to fulfill all their set socio-economic development targets, especially speeding up economic restructuring, improving urban infrastructure, and boosting administrative reform.

Becoming a first-tier city is an important milestone for Hai Duong city, Dung said, stressing that the city must try its best to become a smart, modern and cultural urban area and a livable city.

Hai Duong city was established in 1998 and recognised as a second-tier city in 2009. Its economy has continuously grown year on year, reaching 13-15 percent on average. The city posted an annual export expansion of 15 percent, higher than the province’s average.

After the ceremony, the traditional Eastern Land Cultural Festival took place, featuring stage and street art performances and parades along several streets in Hai Duong city./.

PM orders investigation into overseas trafficking of Vietnamese citizens

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered a probe into the trafficking of Vietnamese citizens amid public concerns that many of the 39 people found dead in a refrigerated truck in the U.K. are Vietnamese.

Phuc asked the Ministry of Public Security, Foreign Ministry and two central provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh on Saturday to probe the tragedy in the U.K.

"[You] must investigate and find out cases of Vietnamese citizens being brought illegally to foreign countries and strictly handle the violations," the PM said in a Government Office release.

The premier also asked the Foreign Ministry to direct the Vietnamese Embassy in the U.K. to closely monitor the situation and coordinate with the British authorities to verify the victims' identities. The embassy should also take protective measures in case there are Vietnamese citizens involved.

Concerned agencies must report to the PM no later than November 5, the release added.

On October 23, U.K. emergency services discovered the bodies of 38 adults and one teenager, suspected immigrants, after being alerted that there were people in a refrigerated container truck at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex County, east of London.

Three people, including the truck driver, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and manslaughter, the British police said Friday, in the first indication from officials that the deaths were linked to human smuggling.

Police initially said they believed the dead were Chinese but Beijing said Saturday the nationalities had not yet been confirmed.

Chinese and Vietnamese officials are now both working closely with the British police, their respective embassies said.

13 Vietnamese families in central Vietnam have reported that their children have been missing in the U.K. since Wednesday, October 23.

Pham Van Thin, a resident of Nghen Town, Can Loc District, Ha Tinh Province, had sent a letter to the local authorities Friday, saying his daughter Pham Thi Tra My was likely one of the 39 people found dead in the container truck in the U.K.

In Pham Thi Tra My's last text message to her mother, which was released by her family, My wrote that she was struggling to breathe and apologised.

"I'm sorry Dad and Mom. The way I went overseas was not successful," the 26-year-old wrote. "Mom, I love Dad and you so much. I'm dying because I can't breathe."

A screenshot shows that the message, translated into English by a family acquaintance, was received at 4.28 a.m. on October 23 in Vietnam. This would have been 10.28 p.m. UK time, about four hours before the ambulance was called and the bodies were discovered.

The Vietnamese ambassador to the U.K. on Friday had a call with the British Interior Minister about the case. The embassy’s representative in London also had a meeting with the U.K.'s National Crime Agency and Essex County Police about the 39 deaths, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said in a press release Saturday.

On Saturday morning, the Vietnamese ambassador and some embassy officials also came to the tragic scene to work with local authorities.

In 2000, 58 Chinese migrants were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Dover, Britain’s busiest port. The authorities said they had asphyxiated in the container, in which cooling and ventilation were switched off.

“Mountain Star Charity” brings art to disadvantaged children

Painters of the "Mountain Star Charity" teach the children painting.

Mountain Star Charity is a project that teaches children in mountainous, disadvantaged areas to paint.

It was initiated in 2014 by Taiwanese researcher Kuo Yen Wei, Vietnamese artist Nguyen Truong Linh and a group of Vietnamese contemporary artists after a visit to Ha Giang province.
Over the past six years, the Mountain Star Charity fine art project has brought joy to disadvantaged children across Vietnam’s mountainous and remote areas, connected them, and inspired new dreams across the country.

The Mountain Star Charity project was initiated and funded by Taiwanese researcher Kuo Yen Wei during his time studying and practicing fine art application in Vietnam. His group has organised field trips together to teach drawing to local children. After each trip, about half of the money earned from selling paintings is added to the fund to continue to replicate such projects in other regions and to provide poor children with books, school supplies, clothes and cakes.

At first, only 15 painters, mainly lecturers and students from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Hanoi College of Arts, participated in the project. Now the project has 30 official members and more than 50 unofficial members.

Painter Nguyen Truong Linh, who has been with the project since the beginning, said all the regions they have visited have a lot of difficulties. The first destinations of the project were primary schools in Ha Giang province.
They organised games and talks to help the children feel the beauty of their homeland, then guided them to create an art work using materials available nearly, such as pigments from the leaves charcoal, linen, brocade, wood chips, and coconut shells.

Painter Tran Tuan Long, a project member, said “When the children are on their summer holiday, we go to remote mountains and islands to teach them fine arts. We give them painting materials, books, and pencils. They draw on locally woven linen using natural pigments.”

The children in Hanoi, who were once timid, have now shown their confidence by their brush strokes. Many have become excellent students. The project has been extended to other remote regions such as the Central Highlands, CoTo Island and Vung Tau.

Than Thanh Huong, a student from the Hanoi College of Arts, visited the "Six Perfection" exhibition, commemorating six years since the project began in Hanoi: “I’m impressed by the children’s paintings which are both innocent and expressive. I think that they can sense what the painters wanted to teach them.”

The 6th exhibition displayed more than 50 works by more than 20 young contemporary Vietnamese painters and disadvantaged children in Ba Ria - Vung Tau and Ha Giang province. In addition to paintings, the exhibition also showcased art installations . Over recent years, together with teaching drawing, the project has organised many exhibitions in Vietnam and abroad.

Painter Nguyen Xuan Luc said “Mountain children are special. They live in deserted areas and they have a strong instinct for survival. It inspires me and enriches my life, providing material for my own work.”

The artists plan to organise an international exhibition in Kien Giang Province in 2021 with the participation of artists from the Republic of Korea, Japan, China and Thailand, along with a competition on painting.

Women footballers set for play friendly ties ahead of SEA Games 30

The Vietnam women’s national football team have scheduled a number of friendly matches as a warm up ahead of their participation in the women’s football tournament at the SEA Games 30.

As planned the Vietnamese squad will start with a friendly fixture against a team representing the US Embassy with the Young Football Players Training Center in Hanoi set to host the game on October 26.

This will then be followed by matches against India during their training camp in Hanoi on both November 3 and November 6.

Following these warm-up games, the squad will fly to Japan for a 10-day training camp where they will compete in three more friendly matches.

During the SEA Games 30, the Vietnamese women’s football team will play games in Group B, along with Thailand and Indonesia. The teams in Group A contain the Philippines, Myanmar, and Malaysia.

Chien and Nai suffer elimination from Carom Billiard 3-Cushion World Cup

Talented Vietnamese cueists Quyet Chien and Dinh Nai have bowed out of the final qualifying round of the ongoing Carom Billiard 3-Cushion World Cup in the Netherlands on October 25.

Placed in Group G of the competition, Quyet Chien faced matches against Jeremy Bury of France, Antonio Montes of Spain, and Roland Forthomme of Belgium.

The Vietnamese player suffered a 28/40 defeat to Montes before enjoying two victories against Forthomme and Bury. Despite the victories, Chien finished in third position in the group rankings due to his average being lower than that of Montes and Bury.

Elsewhere, Dinh Nai also suffered elimination from the tournament after failing to make second place in the Group F due to his low average.

The other Vietnamese players taking part in the event, Nguyen Duc Anh Chien and Nguyen Quoc Nguyen, earned a place in the knock-out rounds of the competition after successfully beating strong opponents in their respective groups.

Anh Chien will face Semih Sayginer of Turkey, whilst Duc Nguyen will take on Dick Jaspers of the Netherlands.

Minh out whilst Trang into semi-finals of Indonesia International Challenger

Vietnam’s leading female badminton player Vu Thi Trang (Photo: Doc Lap/Thanh Nien)

Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnam’s leading badminton player, has suffered elimination from the Caffino Indonesia International Challenger, while his wife, Vu Thi Trang, has made it into the semi-finals of the tournament.

During the quarter-final stage of the men’s singles event on October 25, Minh, world No.58, enjoyed a strong start by ending the first set with a score of 21/9. Despite the positive start, his rival Rumbay, world No.101, representing host nation Indonesia, came back to beat Minh 21/15 and 21/19. With three sets played the match concluded with a final score of 2-1 in favour of Rumbay.

Elsewhere, in the women’s singles event, Vu Thi Trang, world No.57, enjoyed a comfortable 2-0 win over Kim Na Yeong of the Republic of Korea, world No.373, to progress to the competition’s semi-finals.

Trang is scheduled to take on Takahashi Asuka of Japan, world No.100, in her next match.

British Ambassador Gareth Ward to participate in Charity Fun Run

The UK Ambassador to Vietnam Gareth Ward is set to take part in the fifth version of the annual Charity Fun Run, scheduled to take place at the BUV Campus Ecopark in Hung Yen province on November 3.

At the press conference (Photo: L.V/Thoi Bao Tai Chinh Viet Nam)

Information about Ambassador Ward’s participation was released during a press conference held by the British Business Group Vietnam (BBGV) on October 25.

The annual event aims to encourage a spirit of fair play in sports, strengthen bonds between participants, in addition to raising funds for charity projects throughout Vietnam. Some of the charitable causes that runners sponsor cover many areas, including education, health care, and disaster relief.

Participants can either walk or run the five km race, whilst having the chance to enjoy a number of activities, such as music performances, flash-mobs, a cuisine market, and a picnic in scenic Ecopark.

Entrants will be able to attend a Lucky Draw that features an array of attractive prizes, such as a Yamaha Janus Premium, two Vietnam Airlines plane tickets to any destination in the world, vouchers with a value of VND20 million from ECCO, and a three days and two nights stay at any Vinpearl Resort combined with tickets from Vietnam Airlines for two people.

The BBGV Charity Fun Run is an annual event that has been held in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City over the last 19 years. During its history, the fun run has attracted over 100,000 participants and raised over VND10 billion or US$427,200, for charitable activities nationwide.

Last year’s event saw over 6,000 people turn out and raised approximately VND650 million through donations.