Vietnamnet global

30/09/2023 16:15 (GMT+07:00)

VIETNAM NEWS HEADLINES SEPTEMBER 30/2023

HCM City increasingly appealing to foreign visitors

International tourists are becoming increasingly drawn to Ho Chi Minh City where they can discover its vibrant blend of cultures through standout tours.

Of the total 25 million tourist arrivals that the city hosted during January – August, there are nearly 3 million foreigners, up 105.2% year-on-year.

Local tourist sites such as Ben Thanh Market, Sai Gon Central Post Office, and the War Remnants Museum have been favoured among the visitors.

Zuzanna Henel and Klaudia Witkowska from Poland said they are impressed by the “Biet dong Sai Gon” (Sai Gon Special Task Force) tour developed by Vietluxtour, during which they got a better understanding of Vietnam’s war time as well as stories about Sai Gon heroes.

Visiting HCM City for the fourth time in ten years, Allan Andersen from Demark said he wants to enjoy walks along the streets as well as local foods such as coffee, pho (noodle soup) and bun bo (noodle with beef).

Everything in the city is reasonable priced, he said, adding locals are friendly and able to communicate in English.

Boasting an array of entertainment activities, sightseeing destinations, and shopping sites, HCM City is also an alluring destination for Chinese visitors. According to Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, the city welcomed some 200,000 Chinese tourists in the first eight months of the year.

Over the past time, the city has organised an array of tourism promotion activities to lure more visitors, with the highlight being the 17th International Travel Expo Ho Chi Minh City 2023 (ITE HCMC 2023) at the beginning of September.

Themed “Connectivity, Growth, Sustainability”, the three-day expo saw the participation of 199 buyers from 42 countries and territories which are Vietnam’s key and potential inbound tourism markets, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, China, Poland, the US, France, Malaysia, and New Zealand.

There were than 9,000 networking sessions between the exhibitors and buyers at the event.

According to Marketing Director at Vietravel Nguyen Nguyet Van Khanh, many customers flocked to the fair, which was held during the peak tourism season, to buy promotional tours, which is a sign that the city will welcome more visitors this autumn than the previous year.

Director of the municipal Department of Tourism Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa said in order to attract more visitors, the city will survey the market to develop its tourism brand, while enhancing communications campaigns to popularise its images both locally and internationally.

HCM City is pinning high hope on healthcare and wellness, and waterway tourism offerings, which are seen as a cash cow for the southern hub.

The municipal Department of Tourism has worked with 50 entities, including hospitals, healthcare facilities, spa parlors, travel companies and lodging facilities to create 30 unique packages that combine health care with visits to renowned tourist destinations to meet the needs of travelers.

The city is striving to welcome about 500,000 visitors a year to the waterway tourism programmes in the 2023-2024 period. This number is expected to increase by 10% in the following years.

Resettlement arrangements for households displaced by Long Thành Airport 'basically completed'

The Long Thành District People's Committee announced on Wednesday that the reviews and resettlement arrangement for households displaced by the megaproject Long Thành International Airport have been 'basically completed'.

To execute the project, the State had to reclaim 5,000ha of land from various organisations and almost 5,600 households (amounting to over 7,200 cases) in the southern district.

Functional departments have reviewed the resettlement files for over 5,500 households. About 4,500 of these households meet the criteria and have been allocated land for relocation, while over 1,000 households do not qualify for resettlement.

Currently, only a handful of household cases are still under review, and it is anticipated that by early October, all cases will be resolved.

After being allocated land, over 1,600 households have constructed houses and moved to the Lộc An-Bình Sơn Resettlement Area, which is designated for the airport project's resettlement purposes.

To ensure stable livelihoods for people in their new homes, the Long Thành District authorities are collaborating with relevant units to assist people in finding employment and vocational training.

Lê Văn Tiếp, Chairman of the People's Committee of Long Thành District, mentioned that the land recovery and resettlement arrangements for this extensive project have encountered various challenges.

In 2005, the Government approved the airport planning. However, it took 13 years for the relevant authorities to announce land recovery.

Many residents, having lived in the zoned planning land areas for an extended period, had to transfer usage rights through unofficial methods such as handwritten papers. This was especially prevalent in multi-generational families, leading to an increased number of households needing resettlement, Tiếp observed.

From this project, district authorities recognised the importance of building trust, valuing the residents' views during the land recovery and resettlement process, and intensifying the inspection and rigorous management of violations.

Moreover, it's essential to boost public understanding of the project's purpose and importance, as well as the Party's guidelines and state laws.

In August, Đồng Nai Province finalised the land clearance for the Long Thành Airport Project and has transferred 2,532 out of the 2,532 hectares needed for the project's Phase 1 to the investor.

The Long Thành International Airport, spanning more than 5,580 hectares, will cover six communes in Long Thành District. The airport’s total cost is estimated at VNĐ336.63 trillion (US$14.2 billion), with construction segmented into three phases.

In the initial phase, a runway, a passenger terminal, and other support facilities will be erected at a cost of VNĐ109.1 trillion to accommodate 25 million passengers and 1.2 million tonnes of cargo annually.

Work on the project began in 2021. Once entirely finished by 2050, the airport will have the capacity to serve 100 million passengers and manage 5 million tonnes of cargo each year.

Situated 40km east of HCM City, the airport aims to alleviate the intensifying congestion at the bustling Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport in the southern metropolis, currently the nation's largest airport.

Festival preserves values of Vietnamese craft villages

The Vietnam Craft Villages Festival 2023 will take place in Hà Nội from October to November to preserve and promote the values of traditional craft villages, the organising board said at a press conference on September 26.

The event will be co-organised by the Department of Co-operatives and Rural Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), and the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A wide range of activities are scheduled, including a ceremony to honour excellent craftsmen, an opening ceremony, an art programme, an international exhibition introducing craft products and those under the One Commune One Product (OCOP) programme, and an international workshop on the preservation and development of craft villages.

Thăng Long Imperial Citadel will host major events from November 9-12.

Particularly, the MARD will organise a Vietnamese handicraft product contest to encourage the development of products with high applicability and that meet criteria for sustainability during the international integration process. It aims to preserve the identity of Vietnamese craft villages while enhancing product values and improving workers' income.

According to the Director of the Department of Co-operatives and Rural Development, Lê Đức Thịnh, the festival creates an opportunity to honour standout craftsmen and excellent workers, develop tourism offerings, and connect craft villages with businesses to promote consumption.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director of the Hà Nội Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tạ Văn Trường, said that Hà Nội will host seven events of the festival, including a Vạn Phúc craft village culture-tourism and trade week, an event to introduce the southern region's OCOP products, and a Hà Nội autumn festival.

Furthermore, the Hanoi Gift Show 2023, as well as visits to Hà Nội craft villages such as Bát Tràng, Vạn Phúc, and Đường Lâm, will be arranged within the framework of the festival.

Vung Tau city eyes to be world-class tourism centre

Vung Tau city in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau is aiming to become an international-standard tourism centre, according to Chairman of the city People’s Committee Hoang Vu Thanh.

After three decades of development, Vung Tau has grown strongly to become a leading urban centre in the Southeast region, a national urban area for oil and gas and tourism, and one of the leading urban areas in the country in terms of per capita income.

Thanh told the Dien dan Doanh nghiep (Business Forum) magazine that the city boasts great potential for tourism development with rich cultural and cuisine values and beautiful landscapes and beaches. The city now has more than 1,300 accommodation establishments and over 15,000 rooms, about 850 restaurants and eateries. Typical tourism products vary from resort, swimming combined with MICE (Meeting Incentive Conference Event), sports and mountain climbing, water sports to eco-tourism.

In addition, Vung Tau also owns an 18-hole golf course in the downtown area, attracting high-class golfers at home and abroad.

For tourism products, there are currently 27 investment projects on a total area of 631.46 hectares. Among them, 19 are domestic-invested with a combined capital of 10.2 trillion VND (418 million USD), and eight FDI ones worth 5.86 billion USD. Eight have been put into operation, and five are underway, while the remaining 14 projects are in the process of completing land and construction procedures.

Each year, Vung Tau serves over 6 million domestic and foreign visitors. From 2019, Vung Tau has been recognised as an official member of the Tourism Promotion Organisation for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO). In 2022, Vung Tau was the only locality in Vietnam recognised to meet the ASEAN Clean Tourist City Standard twice.

The Politburo has also issued Resolution 24 with an orientation of turning the city into a high-quality, world-class tourism centre, stated Thanh.

Regarding the city’s contributions to Ba Ria - Vung Tau province’s socio-economic development, the official said that with its high and sustainable economic growth rate, Vung Tau is the leading locality in the province in terms of budget collection and payment, helping Ba Ria - Vung Tau maintain its place in the top group in the country in terms of State budget contribution.

The production value of the city’s economic sectors has reached 109 trillion VND, while average per capita income hits 8,000 USD a year.

Vung Tau also continues to focus on implementing breakthroughs in planning, construction, and smart urban management and development.

For the city’s orientations to 2030 with a vision to 2045, the city leader said that it will pay attention to increasing the proportion of the service sector in the economic structure, especially in tourism, finance, seaports and logistics; and develop the petrochemical industry and the downstream industrial ecosystem of this industry.

After 2030, Vung Tau city is envisioned to merge with the Phu My - Ba Ria - Long Dien urban area to become Ba Ria - Vung Tau City which will act as an important development pole in the Southeast region’s urban system, contributing to turning Ba Ria-Vung Tau province into one of the top 10 localities in Vietnam.

Looking forward to 2045, Vung Tau aims to basically becomes a green, smart, modern industrial city, and a world-class high-quality tourism centre, said Thanh.

The official went on to say that to develop Vung Tau city into a high-quality, world-class tourism centre, it will make efforts and proactively invest in modernising transport infrastructure, pursue the development orientation of green economy, circular economy and digital economy, develop high-quality tourism.

This requires the drastic and effective participation from the central level, the entire region, and the province itself, he added.

Vietnam continues completing JETP resource mobilisation plan

To implement the Political Declaration on establishing the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), Vietnam is drafting a JETP Resource Mobilisation Plan (RMP).

The plan will provide a list of priority projects for implementation in the 2024 - 2030 period along with a set of project selection criteria and necessary policy actions.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has coordinated with relevant ministries and agencies to consult the Prime Minister, head of the COP26 Steering Committee, on establishing a secretariat to implement the Political Declaration, and JETP implementation support groups.

One of the main tasks of the Secretariat is to build and implement the RMP for at least the next five years.

Through the Political Declaration, adopted by Vietnam and the G7 and non-G7 countries last year, partners have committed to mobilising an initial amount of 15.5 billion USD over the next 3-5 years to address the Southeast Asian nation’s transition needs.

By participating in the declaration, partners commited to mobilising funds to address Vietnam's just energy transition needs, including 7.75 billion USD from the International Partners’ Group (IPG), including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, the US, the EU, Denmark, and Norway, and at least 7.75 billion USD from the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).

The amount for the next phase could be higher if Vietnam effectively uses the initial funds and meets the conditions of international partners and financial regulations.

Through the JETP, Vietnam aims to establish a framework for international cooperation to enhance policy development, technology transfer, and financial support for just energy transition. The goal is to attract investments in renewable energy development, improve energy efficiency, and upgrade power infrastructure.

Additionally, the country plans to establish renewable energy centres and develop a renewable energy industry, promote carbon capture and storage, manufacture energy storage devices and batteries, produce green hydrogen, and expand offshore wind power.

Anti-smuggling, trade fraud efforts to be enhanced until end of this year

The market management force will enhance activities to prevent and control smuggling, trade fraud and the production of counterfeit goods from now until the end of the year, as per directions from the Government and Ministry of Industry and Trade, said the General Department of Market Management.

Accordingly, the force will focus on monitoring, inspecting, and handling violations in the e-commerce environment, strengthening market information dissemination, enhancing trade promotion, developing rice export markets and stabilising the domestic market in the current period.

In particular, the force continues to prevent and strictly handle violations of illegally trading and transporting pigs across the border into Việt Nam, and improve the efficiency of state management of petroleum to ensure the supply of petroleum for the production and business activities of enterprises and people's daily activities.

According to the general department, market management forces will coordinate with local authorities to improve the effectiveness of market inspection and control, and handle violations, especially targeting smugglers and checking warehouses storing prohibited, smuggled, unknown origin and counterfeit goods.

The general department will focus on implementing the project on anti-counterfeiting and consumer protection in e-commerce until 2025.

Additionally, international cooperation will be ramped up, including the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and China’s General Administration of Market Management.

According to the general department’s statistics, as of August this year, the market management force has detected and handled 37,960 violations, an increase of 36 per cent, and collected fines of VNĐ344 billion (US$14 million), increasing by 59 per cent compared to the same period last year, and confiscated goods worth VNĐ143 billion ($5.8 million).

In HCM City, the force discovered and seized tens of thousands of cosmetic products with signs of counterfeit brands worth nearly VNĐ2 billion ($82,000), confiscated 6,877 imported cigars of all kinds, six bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label whiskey, 74,400 units of imported children's toys, and 700 boxes of complementary foods without invoices or documents proving their origin.

However, up to now, the effectiveness of inspection and handling of violations in many places, especially in some key areas, is not high.

The management and handling of assets that are evidence and means of administrative violations in some localities is still confusing, not closely following the provisions of law and regulations of the general department.

Vietnam Pro-Am Basketball Championship lures national best amateur clubs in October

The Vietnam Pro-Am Basketball Championship 2023 by VNPAY will be held for the first time, featuring the country's top eight amateur teams in October in Hà Nội.

The tournament is the final round of three events, which are considered qualification rounds, held in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng and HCM City since last October.

"Vietnam Pro-Am Basketball Championship 2023 by VNPAY features the strongest teams which are rich in tradition and achievements vying for a huge bonus," said Tô Duy, chairman of the Board of Directors of New Sports Joint Stock Company, a representative of the organising board.

"The tournament will have the participation of stars from the top basketball teams in Việt Nam as well as some foreign players," said Duy, adding that it was an effort to professionalise and systematise the national basketball movement and and competitions.

He said its goal was to create a playground with a professional-organised model and a new, attractive format for athletes. Meanwhile, it was expected to combine sports and entertainment in one, contributing to spreading and promoting basketball culture to the public.

In addition, the organisers also hoped to discover new talented players to supplement professional teams and clubs participating in national and international tournaments.

At the tournament entitled Rise of the Conqueror, supporters will have opportunities to watch their favourite players, either from domestic leagues or the professional Vietnam Basketball Association, on the court.

It is a double-elimination competition with a total of VNĐ300 million (US$12,300) up for grabs.

Teams will be divided into two groups, competing in round robin format. The top two teams of each group will advance to the upper bracket while the bottom two will go to lower bracket.

The final will be a clash of the two brackets' winners.

The champions will receive VNĐ140 million. Two runners-up will take VNĐ80 million and VNĐ40 million, respectively.

There are two matches organised per day at the Cầu Giấy Gymnasium and broadcast live on VTVcab multi-platform channels such as ON Sports; App: ON Plus, ON; Facebook: ON Sports and Youtube: ON Bóng rổ.

Along with competitive matches, music and dance performance by famous singers and dancers will also be held everyday to entertain supporters.

Hanoi works harder to promote domestic tourism market

Hanoi's tourism sector is working harder to promote the domestic market besides attracting international tourists to the capital city.

The municipal Department of Tourism said travel management agencies and firms have rolled out activities to boost the sale of made-in-Vietnam products and local specialties through tourism.

Attention has also been paid to upgrading infrastructure, developing high-quality products with competitive prices, building new tours and tourism products, and diversifying tourism activities.

Notably, night tours to such historical relic sites as Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Hoa Lo Prison and Vietnam Literature Museum have been launched, it added.

The department has coordinated with districts like Ba Vi, Thach That, Quoc Oai, Chuong My and My Duc in building agriculture-and community-based tourism models.

It has also worked on new products such as golf tourism, medical tourism and waterway tourism, among others.

Director of the department Dang Huong Giang said the agency has focused on tourism promotion events and programmes over the past time, and will continue with the information work to lure more holidaymakers to the city in the time ahead.

The number of tourists to Hanoi hit 18.9 million in the first nine months of 2023, up 36.5% year-on-year, reported the municipal Department of Tourism.

Of the figure, foreign tourist arrivals reached 3.2 million, marking a four-fold increase compared to the same period of last year and surpassing this year's target of 3 million, while the number of domestic visitors rose by 20.2% year on year to 15.7 million.

Total tourism revenue was estimated at 69.3 trillion VND (2.88 billion USD), up 66.9% year-on-year.

The figures have proved the attractiveness of the city's tourism to domestic and international visitors, as well as its efforts to draw tourists back, the department said.

Contest to seek solutions for smart city launched

Saigon Hi-tech Park – Incubation Center (SHTP-IC) starts the contest ‘DigiTrans Smart City’ to find feasible solutions for digital transformation in a smart city.

The contest is expected to attract 100 teams from the community of over 550 technological startups and 100 universities and colleges in HCMC as well as other provinces nationwide.

The contest focuses on training and consultation activities in the technology field to serve the digital transformation process in establishing a smart city via improving the basic skills in developing a project related to a smart city.

The participating projects can perfect themselves via this contest and have a chance to win prizes with the total value of VND100 million (US$4,100).

The deadline for submitted papers is October 15.

Traffic police crack down on alcohol concentration violations

Implementing the direction of the Ministry of Public Security, the traffic police nationwide have been checking and strictly handling the violations of traffic order, especially violations on alcohol concentration.

Representatives of the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security informed that from August 30 to September 21, the working teams of the Traffic Police Department had implemented their missions in many localities comprising Hanoi, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Yen Bai, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Can Tho, Da Nang, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Thua Thien Hue, Quang Binh, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Ben Tre, Dak Lak and so on.

Via the patrols, the working teams had directly checked over 80,500 vehicles, detected and thousands of violation cases and transfered them to the police of localities for handling. Of these, there were over 2,700 violations on alcohol concentration.

Representative of the Traffic Police Department said that alcohol concentration is considered one of the main reasons causing traffic accidents so the police will crack down on violations without any restricted area or exception.

Besides, traffic police forces will also send notices to organizations, offices, agencies where violation individuals work to handle in accordance with regulations of the Party and the agencies.

Hoi An’s Mid-Autumn Festival recognized National Intangible Cultural Heritage

A ceremony to receive the “National Intangible Cultural Heritage for the traditional festival, social customs and beliefs” title for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province.

Previously, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism listed the traditional festival, social customs and beliefs of the Mid-Autumn Festival to the category of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The title would confirm the values that the Mid-Autumn Festival has brought to the daily lives of residents and be a chance to preserve and promote traditional cultural values.

During the 25 passing years, the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hoi An City has been associated with the activities of the full moon night in the ancient town attracting crowded domestic and international visitors.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Chairman of the People’s Committee of Quang Nam Tran Anh Tuan said that the recognition of National Intangible Cultural Heritage for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hoi An City would enrich the heritage list guide of Quang Nam Province in general and Hoi An city in particular.

This is a special cultural feature that needs to be preserved and promoted in the process of preparing dossiers in fields of crafts and traditional folk arts to stand for UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).

On the occasion, Hoi An City organized a parade to perform the procession of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hoi An Park and the main streets of the city.

Vietnamese students bag one platinum, one gold, and one silver award at FRSIS

Vietnamese students bagged one platinum, one gold and one silver award at the Fully Residential Schools International Symposium (FRSIS) 2022, which was organized by the Malaysian Ministry of Education from September 22 to 30.

The Vietnamese student group won high rankings at FRSIS - the annual forum on social issues of the Malaysian Ministry of Education for high-quality specialized and boarding schools and international student groups.

The Vietnamese delegation includes nine students of a specialized school, one student from Hanoi-based Amsterdam High School for the gifted, one student from a foreign language school for the gifted and one pedagogy high school student.

The group was divided into 3 teams. The first team won the Silver award with the topic Application Prospects of AI in Vietnam while the second team won the Gold medal with the theme Empowering Vietnamese Youth to build world peace and the third team won the Platinum award on the topic Development direction of the free economy in Vietnam.

FRSIS is a forum for students aged 15 to 18. The main activity of FRSIS is the sharing of experts and students through learning behaviorism, studies and presentations on social topics. The theme of this year's contest is For Global Peace and Prosperity. Participant teams in the competition had to deliver live speeches.

Some 70 Malaysian schools and 25 international teams were attending the forum.

Fee collection for temporary use of sidewalks, part of roads needs clarification

The HCMC People’s Committee claimed that paying fee for the temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads is necessary and suitable for the management task while creating more convenience for users.

In the explanation about maintaining road traffic safety and order in HCMC, Vice Chairman of the HCMC People’s Committee Bui Xuan Cuong admitted that the effectiveness of handling encroachment on roads and sidewalks lately has not been as expected due to inconsistent infrastructure investments and the high need to earn a living of certain city residents.

Meanwhile, as the applicable legal documents cannot meet the real needs in HCMC, the HCMC People’s Committee is focusing on developing necessary legal regulations within its power to increase the management capability to better keep the order on both roads and sidewalks to ensure traffic safety.

One such solution is the resolution about collecting fee for the temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads, effective as of the beginning of next year. Before this was Decision No.32/2023/QD-UBND by the HCMC People’s Committee on how to manage and use sidewalks and part of roads without causing traffic disorder or unsafety or occupying 5 meters of the front space of a building gate, and to ensure at least 1.5m of walking space for pedestrians.

After the introduction of Decision 32 and the related resolution on fee collection for temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads in HCMC, all localities here have checked the eligibility of the roads under their management for implementation.

Head of the Urban Management Division of District 6 Doan Tran Hai Au commented that there should clearer regulations on the subjects affected by these two legal documents.

Pham Huu The from District 1 added that the sidewalk in front of a house is the appearance of that house. When allowing the use of such space, it is necessary to consider the right of the house owner to use the front-house space for personal purposes. Clearly identifying the proportions of space saved for house owners and for use under fee collection is a must. If house owners want to lease this space, they must also ask for approval from the local authorities.

Many other city residents support the opinion above, saying that it is essential to calculate and arrange the temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads sensibly to suit the specific features of that area while ensuring urban aesthetics and general environmental hygiene. Violations must be immediately dealt with.

Vice Head of the Urban Management Division of Binh Tan District To Thanh Tam shared that his unit has advised the Binh Tan District People’s Committee on effective implementation of the resolution on fee collection for temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads in the district from January 1, 2024.

The theoretically eligible space will be inspected once more for the real status to ensure both the rights of residents there and effective management. However, there should be clear regulations on the state units in charge of collecting fees, managing this collection, issuing use permits, and monitoring the process. Binh Tan District is going to select the most suitable routes to adopt the resolution first and gradually expand to others.

Head Le Truong Hai Hieu of the Economy-Budget Board under the HCMC People’s Council stressed that this fee collection is compliant with the Law on Fees and Charges to increase the effectiveness of using roads and sidewalks. He also asked that the HCMC People’s Committee must carefully prepare capable human resources, implementation methods, and proper usages of this amount, along with frequent checking to ensure transparency and avoid any negativities. Besides launching the resolution consistently citywide, the municipal authorities must strictly handle violations on illegal encroachment of sidewalks or roads.

Head of HCMC Institute of Economy and Management Tran Quang Thang commented that the implementation of fee collection must ensure the rights of both traders, pedestrians, and road users. Food selling on sidewalks must meet criteria on food safety to be granted a permit to lease the space. This means criteria for the temporary use of sidewalks and part of roads must be carefully developed right at the beginning, no matter how hard the task is. In addition, residents should be allowed to supervise this fee collection for transparency sake and citizen right ensuring.

Using AI to hunt down copyright infringing websites

Vietnam ranks third in Southeast Asia quantitatively in terms of copyright infringement in the digital environment, but on a per capita basis, the violation rate in Vietnam currently leads the region. According to a study by Media Partners Asia, copyright infringement cost Vietnam's cultural industries $348 million in 2022.

According to the Strategy for Developing Vietnam's Cultural Industries to 2020, with a Vision to 2030, approved by the Prime Minister on August 9, 2016, the development of cultural industries is based on creativity, science and technology, and intellectual property rights. Enforcing copyright protection will help increase creative motivation and bring fairness to cultural industries.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy, who has many years of experience in copyright law and is currently in charge of combating copyright infringement at K+ Television, believes that the forms of copyright infringement are becoming more complicated.

"Piracy of English Premier League football matches is rampant on the Internet. Out of 15.5 million views of this pirated stream, if 10% of this number become subscribers, the amount of money earned will be huge. This money in the hands of legal broadcasters would be reinvested in more valuable products, buying better sports programs and movies," Thuy said.

According to Thuy, about 10 years ago, domain names in Vietnam were easy to control, but today the owners of piracy websites are much smarter. They use foreign domain names and can easily change them if the site is blocked in the country.

As a result, copyright infringing websites that broadcast movies, music, and football programs are constantly moving to new addresses that are very difficult for the authorities to control.

Pham Hoang Hai, Director of the Digital Content Copyright Center, Department of Broadcasting and Electronic Information (Ministry of Information and Communications), agreed with the above opinion.

He said that from August 2022 to August 2023, nearly 1,000 websites illegally broadcasting football matches were blocked, but the authority's management tools are not flexible enough to block new domain names, which is a shortcoming that needs to be addressed.

Lawyer Pham Thanh Thuy suggested that regulators could use IP blocking tools (Dynamic Site Blocking), which is currently in effect in the UK.

IP addresses provide the identity of devices connected to the network, helping devices on the Internet to distinguish, recognize, and communicate with each other. As a result, when the IP address of a pirate site is blocked for the first time, ISPs can proactively block additional domain names without having to repeat administrative procedures.

Thuy said that in addition to existing measures such as administrative sanctions, authorities need to update new technical measures.

"If you want to sue a website owner in court, you need to identify the illegal profit of the pirate website and prove the damage to copyright holders, which is hard to do. Therefore, copyright lawsuits are often lengthy and ineffective," the lawyer said.

Nguyen Ngoc Han, general director of Thu Do Multimedia, suggested the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in copyright protection, affirming that it is a new and more comprehensive shield.

Han gave the example of the Sigma Active Observer (SAO) tool, which uses advanced artificial intelligence algorithms to detect and verify all data exchange activities during the content distribution process on the Internet.

As a result, SAO ensures that content is not violated by boundary violations and VPN (virtual private network) exploitation. SAO's defense mechanism helps prevent unauthorized access, minimizing revenue loss when content is compromised and freely distributed on the Internet.

In addition, SAO not only protects, but also monitors and alerts against threats, making content providers proactive.

Dinh Tien Dung, deputy director of the Department of Foreign Information Service under the Ministry of Information and Communications, said Vietnamese authorities zealously protect copyrights of cultural industry products and comply with international commitments and conventions to which Vietnam is a party. Regulators are also making efforts to amend legal documents and relevant regulations.

Dung pointed out that online content management is handled by three agencies: the Ministry of Information and Communication, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. As a result, it still takes a long time to deal with channels that violate copyright.

He also believed that the speed of blocking and removing copyright-infringing content needs to be further accelerated because if the infringing channel has millions of views, the handling is no longer effective.

Suggesting solutions, Dung said agencies must share data for more effective coordination. Sanctions also need to be more severe. The highest administrative fine ever is VND150 million (US$6,500), while a pirate website that streams football and organizes online football betting can make billions of dong in profits (VND1 billion is equivalent to US$44,000), he said.

Dong Loc battlefield re-enacted at Hanoi museum

An art performance celebrating the 55th anniversary of the Dong Loc Victory is being produced by the Vietnam Women's Museum and director Le Quy Duong.

Titled Huyen Thoai Thanh Xuan (Legend of Youth), the performance is dedicated to 10 young female volunteers who gave their lives for the Dong Loc Victory during the anti-American war.

Dong Loc T-junction is located in Dong Loc Commune in the Central province of Ha Tinh, on the legendary Ho Chi Minh Trail.

From 1965 to 1968, the US Army dropped nearly 50,000 bombs and fired tens of thousands of missiles on the Dong Loc T-junction to cut off the transport route to the southern front.

To keep the traffic flowing, all human resources were mobilized to clear the road.

Ten girls between the ages of 17 and 24 volunteered to work at the Dong Loc T-junction to ensure the safe operation of the supply route to the southern front. The bombing killed them all on July 24, 1968, while they were trying to fill bomb craters and repair the road.

According to director Le Quy Duong, the sacrifice of 10 young girls and other volunteers, soldiers, and people at the Dong Loc battlefield are noble symbols of revolutionary heroism, expressing the desire for peace of every Vietnamese. All will be recreated in the art space of Legend of Youth.

Le Quy Duong said that since the 10 heroines died young on the Dong Loc battlefield, the 60-minute performance conveys a profound message to today's young generations: "Live a life worth living.

They have been the inspiration for many artists, but Duong is confident that he will bring a different perspective to the audience and deliver a meaningful message to today's young generation in a context where the world is still at war and conflict.

"The staging concept in this play is also different from other shows. Instead of choosing 10 actresses with good acting skills to play the roles of 10 female martyrs, I am looking for young people who are sensitive enough to bring emotions to the audience," said the director.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Director of the Vietnamese Women's Museum, said this is a program that the museum has put a lot of effort into and is a highlight that enriches the museum's activities and fulfills its mission to educate the domestic and international public about the historical traditions of Vietnamese women.

"The historical story of young women with a strong fighting spirit will be told at the museum, where many war memorabilia collected from the battlefield in the past will be displayed," Tuyet said.

The program will be launched on Vietnamese Women's Day (October 20, 2023) and will be performed regularly for domestic audiences and international tourists at the Vietnamese Women's Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.

Wild monkey attacks people in Vinh Long

Authorities in the southern province of Vinh Long are seeking measures to catch a wild monkey which attacked several local residents.Speaking to Dantri/Dtinews on September 28, a representative from Phu Duc Commune People's Committee said that at least seven people in the area had been attacked and injured by the monkey.

"At 7 am on September 28, we were informed that the monkey appeared again near a rice store of a local resident and attacked some people," the representative said. "We sent a team to the area and saw it some 200 metres from the store before it fled."

According to local residents, the gray monkey weighing some 10 kilos has been seen in the area several times. It is very aggressive and attacks anybody near.

Head of Phu Duc Commune Police Department, Nguyen Minh Hai, said that at least seven people in the commune have been attacked by the wild monkey, suffering slight injuries.

"We'll co-operate with local residents to catch the monkey," he said.