VietNam Society: 9/19/10

Saturday, September 25, 2010

Resettlement of nomadic ethnic minorities under review

A resettlement program reserved for nomadic ethnic minority people has been carried out too slowly and needs to gather all the available resources to accomplish all of its goals by 2012, a supervising agency has said.

The Nationality Council under the National Assembly held a conference to review the introduction of resettlement policies for ethnic minority households still engaging in nomadic lifestyle and farming, in Hanoi on Wednesday.

The council reported that since its launch in 2007, the program has helped over 1,000 ethnic minority households to switch to sedentary life and farming, representing only 3.5 percent of the original target 29,700 households, by the end of 2009.

The relevant State agencies and local authorities carried out just 126 out of the 297 settlement projects over the 2007-2009 period.

The council pointed to unmatched planning, inaccurate reports on the program’s beneficiaries and a very slow disbursement of government funding as main reasons behind the situation.

When speaking at the conference, the Chairman of the Nationality Council Ksor Phuoc, said that the Party and State’s resettlement policy was aimed at helping nomadic ethnic minorities to settle down and develop household-based economies to improve their living conditions.

He also stated that the policy has met the people’s aspirations and the needs of various localities.

To help all nomadic ethnic minority households to resettle by 2012 as planned, the council has asked the National Assembly to speed up its resettlement policies and programs.

The ministries, sectors and targeted localities need to revise and readjust their resettlement projects to adapt them to the current situation as well as publicize the State’s assistance policies to help beneficiaries relocate.

More than VND2.7 trillion has been allocated for the resettlement program and the initial outcomes will be reported to the National Assembly at its eighth meeting this October.

Inspectors uncover ‘wrongdoing’ at health ministry

The government’s Inspectorate has accused the Ministry of Health of “several wrongdoings” in the purchase and stockpile of anti-bird flu drugs like Tamiflu.

In a report last week, inspectors also recommended to the government to “discipline individuals and organizations involved in the case.”

The report said that between late 2003 and late 2005, there were only 91 cases of A/H5N1 influenza but the ministry proposed in November 2005 to stock 30 million anti-viral pills, enough for three million patients.

The government approved the purchase of 20 million at a cost of VND562 billion (US$28.9 million).

Half of them are now past their expiry date.

The report also accused the ministry of importing raw materials for anti-viral drugs from India and Singapore at a 50 percent higher price than offered by Swiss company Roche.

The products have a shelf life of just three years compared to Roche’s 10 years, it said further.

The ministry permitted four drug firms to import the raw materials without reporting to the Ministry of Finance, it said.

They bought more than 2,000 kilograms from the Indian company Hetero Labs Limited and Singapore’s Mambo Overseas Limited at $12,000 a kilogram but the ministry reported a price of $17,500-$18,000, it said, adding they pocketed the difference of around $6.8 million.

Minister of Health Nguyen Quoc Trieu told Tien Phong newspaper his ministry is awaiting a final decision from Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, but said any wrongdoing that is uncovered must be severely punished.

He was not in office when it happened, he added.

Nguyen Thi Trung Chien, his predecessor, was the minister at that time.

Hanoi cab drivers go on strike

Hanoi cab drivers go on strike More than a hundred taxi drivers in Hanoi went on wildcat strike Monday after they were asked to replace and pay for meters sooner than scheduled.

Lines of Thanh Cong Company cabs remained stationary in front of the company headquarters in Long Bien District as drivers refused to comply with the order, the local news website VietNamNet reported.

They said their meters were still fully functional and that they were scheduled to be replaced in two years.

It costs VND3.1 million (US$159) to replace a meter and the drivers are expected to foot the bill.

One of the drivers, identified only as Nguyen Trong H., said the company had made the decision without informing or consulting them.

“Any drivers who don’t follow the order are going to have their cabs confiscated and won’t be allowed to work at the firm anymore,” another driver named M. said.

Driver Nguyen Quang A. said the drivers helped set up the company. "Everyone contributed cabs and obeyed all company regulations but now the management is treating us unfairly. It makes no sense.”

Hanoi cab drivers go on strike

Hanoi cab drivers go on strike More than a hundred taxi drivers in Hanoi went on wildcat strike Monday after they were asked to replace and pay for meters sooner than scheduled.

They said their meters were still fully functional and that they were scheduled to be replaced in two years.

It costs VND3.1 million (US$159) to replace a meter and the drivers are expected to foot the bill.

One of the drivers, identified only as Nguyen Trong H., said the company had made the decision without informing or consulting them.

“Any drivers who don’t follow the order are going to have their cabs confiscated and won’t be allowed to work at the firm anymore,” another driver named M. said.

Driver Nguyen Quang A. said the drivers helped set up the company. "Everyone contributed cabs and obeyed all company regulations but now the management is treating us unfairly. It makes no sense.”

Free drinks cool city streets

Free drinks cool city streets Tran Van Nghia walks the streets all day long selling lottery tickets. It's thirsty work.

Lucky for him then, on a street corner of Dinh Bien Phu sit two containers of iced tea there for the taking.

“Since the containers arrived, I, and others like me, save tens of thousands of dong every day,” Nghia told local news website VnExpress.

“When I first came, I didn't want to take much thinking that I should leave some for others. The owner encouraged me, though. Now I bring my friends who are lottery ticket sellers and cyclo drivers. It’s convenient and it’s safe.”

Nguyen Thi Huong, 64, wakes up early every day to buy ice cubes, make tea, let it cool and put everything into two five-liter containers labeled “charity drink” in front of her doors. She has been doing this for three years.

Huong sells cakes next to the containers so she knows when to pour in more water.

“I noticed there are many lottery ticket sellers and cyclo drivers who pass by the street every day. These people need to drink much more water than office workers but sometimes the extra expense puts them off. So while boiling water for my family, I make some extra for them to drink if they need,” Huong said.

There are around a hundred people who drop by Huong's spot every day. Sometimes they come in large numbers and wait for their turn. Vendors, vehicle repairers from around the corner or college students coming from other provinces also stop to quench their thirst.

On a hot day, Huong just boils water and doesn't add tea because she fears it won't keep.

She usually goes through four or five water containers a day. When it's hot, passers-by also take a drink and she can use up to ten containers a day. Her children help to boil the water and buy ice.

Huong said the idea came after her many visits to her relatives in the Mekong Delta countryside, where every house had a jar of rain water at the door with a ladle for anyone on the street to drink if they needed.

“My act is a small one. I just hope I have brought some happiness to the poor, and I get some peace in return,” she said.

According to VnExpress, water containers have started to appear on major streets in Ho Chi Minh City such as Xo Viet Nghe Tinh, Vo Thi Sau, Nguyen Trong Tuyen, Vo Van Tan.

Vo Ngoc Mai has recently started to put water containers out on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh. “I've run a store here for nearly ten years. I've seen many lottery ticket sellers and the like ask for a drink and I was willing to give.”

“In recent months, I’ve started to put a water container out as many people are too shy to ask,” she said.

Vietnam, Laos seek martyr remains

Laos’ Savannakhet province will create all favourable conditions for the central province of Quang Tri ’s Search Team 584 to search, gather and repatriate remains of Vietnamese volunteers and experts who laid down their lives in Laos.

The Savannakhet Deputy Mayor affirmed this at a working session between the two provincial leaders on this issue held in Quang Tri province’s Dong Ha city on September 8.

Quang Tri leaders also vowed to provide 100 million VND for Savannakhet province in searching, gathering and repatriating Vietnamese soldiers’ remains.

In the 2010-2011 dry season, Search Team 584 will focus on seeking and gathering Vietnamese martyrs’ remains scattering in six districts of Savannakhet province, including Sepon, Muong Nong and Muong Phin.

The team strives to gather and bring home around 40 sets of Vietnamese soldiers’ remains during the season.

The team has so far gathered and repatriated nearly 6,000 sets of remains, including 48 sets found during the 2009-2010 dry season./.

Panasonic to open science-maths centre in VN

Panasonic Corporation will open a sciences and mathematics-themed facility in Cau Giay district in the capital city Hanoi , the corporation announced on September 8.

Covering a site of 1,274 m2, the facility, called Panasonic Risupia Vietnam , the second of its kind in the world after Japan , will utilize Panasonic’s most advanced technologies, including 3D technology, to interpret the world’s most famous principles of sciences and mathematics into various play activities for Vietnamese children.

There will be several themes such as sciences, mathematics, physics and water in the four corners exhibited in the Risupia Zone.

In addition, the facility will also include a showroom exhibiting Panasonic’s latest technologies and messages, which are developed into various themes such as “Environmental Vision”, “Eco Technologies”, and “Tomorrow’s life style”.

Panasonic will use PDP and Full HD 3D technologies to present comfortable and eco-friendly lifestyle ideas using the corporation's latest products, environmental technologies, and advanced AV technologies.
Risupia, a name developed from the Japanese word "Ri" for Sciences and "Su" for Mathematics, was first opened in August, 2006, as a support to the development of Japan 's future generation by providing a place for children to play with several laws and principles of sciences and mathematics.

Established in the Japanese city of Osaka in March, 1918, Panasonic Corporation comprises 680 companies and operates as one of the world’s leading producers of electric products.

Panasonic Vietnam Group began in Vietnam in 1996 and the group now has six companies nationwide employing a total workforce of about 7,000./.

VNA remembers French war experiences

The Vietnam News Agency (VNA) on Sept. 8 inaugurated a stele house in memory of its experiences prior to the Dien Bien Phu victory which put an end to the French presence in Vietnam.

The project has been built on the Khau Linh hill in the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang, where VNA was headquartered during the 1952-54 period.

VNA General Director Tran Mai Huong said at the inauguration ceremony that the project bore a historic significance as it would hand down the glorious history of the nation’s only newswire from generation to generation.

“From this woodland, the VNA staff overcame numerous wartime difficulties to update audiences on domestic and international news items and photos every minute,” said the news agency leader.

He emphasised that with VNA’s regular supply of information, President Ho Chi Minh and other Party and Government leaders working in the remote Viet Bac (northern Vietnamese) revolutionary base had managed to closely follow domestic and international developments and make the right decisions.

Huong expressed thanks to local authorities and ethnic minority groups for their assistance to VNA staff during the wartime period - which was full of hardships - as well as in the recent construction of the memorial house.

In reply, Tran Ngoc Thuc, Vice Chairman of the Tuyen Quang People’s Committee, said it was a great honour for the province to house a revolutionary base, offices of the Party Central Committee, President Ho Chi Minh and other Government agencies, including the VNA, during the anti-French struggle for national salvation.

He also expressed a desire for further development of relations between the province and the VNA.

The stele house in memory of the VNA’s former office was located within the former Tan Trao revolutionary base, which has been turned into a site of historic interest.

The project, covering 57 sq. m., has been built with financial contributions by VNA staff.

The VNA relics were recognised by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) as a national site of relics in 2001./.

Vietnam employment manual released

Vietnam’s leading recruiting firm Navigos Group and US law firm Russin & Vecchi jointly released the Vietnam Employment Manual on Sept. 8.

The manual is provided free of charge to help employers, especially those of foreign-invested businesses, to understand and apply the complex and often confusing labour regulations.

“We believe it’s an essential guide for any company operating in Vietnam or planning to start a business in Vietnam,” said Navigos Group Managing Director Nguyen Thi Van Anh and Russin & Vecchi Managing Lawyer Sesto Vecchi.

“Vietnamese labour law continues to develop,” said Anh, adding that however, some labour law regulations remain ambiguous. Understanding labour regulations and applying them correctly can help to avoid disputes and improve employee retention, she added.

According to a recent survey conducted by Navigos Group, almost 80 percent of more than 14,000 surveyed people asserted that they would not join a company if they know that company violates the labour law. Another survey revealed that 87 percent of over 8,000 surveyed people believe their company does not properly apply 100 percent labour laws. These findings indicate that compliance with labour laws should be taken into account in developing talent retention strategies.

Businesses failing to abide by labour laws, especially working hours and wages, have caused labour disputes and rising strikes.

The Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs reported that there were 216 strikes nationwide last year and more than 200 cases in the first seven months of this year./.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Resettlement of nomadic ethnic minorities under review

A resettlement programme reserved for nomadic ethnic minority people has been carried out too slowly and needs to gather all the available resources to accomplish all of its goals by 2012, a supervising agency has said.

The council reported that since its launch in 2007, the programme has helped over 1,000 ethnic minority households to switch to sedentary life and farming, representing only 3.5 percent of the original target 29,700 households, by the end of 2009.

The relevant State agencies and local authorities carried out just 126 out of the 297 settlement projects over the 2007-2009 period.

The council pointed to unmatched planning, inaccurate reports on the programme’s beneficiaries and a very slow disbursement of government funding as main reasons behind the situation.

He also stated that the policy has met the people’s aspirations and the needs of various localities.

To help all nomadic ethnic minority households to resettle by 2012 as planned, the council has asked the National Assembly to speed up its resettlement policies and programmes.

The ministries, sectors and targeted localities need to revise and readjust their resettlement projects to adapt them to the current situation as well as publicise the State’s assistance policies to help beneficiaries relocate.

More than 2.7 trillion VND has been allocated for the resettlement programme and the initial outcomes will be reported to the National Assembly at its eighth meeting this October./.

France supports Vietnam in clean water, hygiene

Solutions to promote cooperation in clean water supplies and environmental hygiene between France and Vietnam were discussed at a seminar in Paris, France, on September 7.

The seminar was held within the framework of the bilateral cooperation agreement that was signed in Paris between France’s Ministry for Ecology, Sustainable Planning and Development and Vietnam’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in Paris in June 2007.

When addressing the event, the President of the French Development Agency (AFD) Pierre-Andre Perissol, highlighted the effective joint initiatives underway to ensure sustainable use of water resources while keeping a hygienic environment.

The Vietnamese Ambassador to France Le Kinh Tai, praised France for its support to Vietnam in this field.

He emphasised the significance of the effective use and exploitation of water resources for an emerging economy like Vietnam’s, which, he said, is a strategic issue that requires the efforts and cooperation of every concerned party.

The Vietnamese diplomat also briefed the delegates on Vietnam’s socio-economic development targets for clean water supplies and environment hygiene in 2010.

He said that France and Vietnam will both benefit if they promote bilateral ties in this field.

The seminar focused on Vietnam’s water and environmental hygiene issues and the experiences of a number of businesses when penetrating the Vietnamese market./.

VN comes out on top at UPU letter-writing contest

HA NOI — Ho Thi Hieu Hien from the Tay Son junior high school in Hai Chau district, central Da Nang city has won the first prize at the 39th Universal Postal Union (UPU) International Letter-Writing Contest, marking the first time Vietnam has won such prize after nearly 20 years of participation.

Earlier, Hien also won the first prize at the national contest with a letter to Zhang Yi Mou, a popular Chinese film director. In her letter, Hien expressed her hope that the Chinese director will produce more movies on HIV/AIDS to raise public awareness of the danger of the disease.

With this victory, she will be invited to receive prize at the UPU headquarter in Switzerland . Concurrently, the national organisation board of letter writing contest will present her 30 million VND and a certificate of merit by the Ministry of Education and Training.

This annual contest aims to develop children's writing skills and creativity, contributing to tightening friendship among nations and helping young people better understand the role of the postal sector in social development.

The 40 th UPU letter writing contest is scheduled to launch on October 9, 2010 on the UPU's founding anniversary. — VNS

Hanoi gets tough on banned vehicles

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged the ministries of Transport and Public Security to increase inspections and the punishment of those who continue to use banned vehicles.

Under Government resolution No 32/2007/NQ-CP, all homemade vehicles, including dilapidated trucks and unregistered and self-modified three and four-wheel motor vehicles, were banned from the streets as of June 2008.

The regulation is aimed at reducing traffic jams and accidents.

Deputy director of the Hanoi Transport Department Nguyen Xuan Tan admitted that many vehicles subject to the ban are still found on the city's streets.

"Violators will be fined or have their vehicles confiscated," he said.

To support these owners, the Government has decided to provide them with financial aid to change their vehicles by the end of this year.

Assistance packages will start at 5 million VND (263 USD) and those who choose to replace their vehicles will receive 9 million VND (473 USD) towards the purchase of a new one.

Special financial assistance will also be provided to owners of banned vehicles who are beneficiaries of social welfare. Disabled people will be eligible to assistance of 20 million VND (1,052 USD) and the poor and ethnic minorities will be eligible to 15 million VND (789 USD).

Authorities in many cities and provinces will also provide poor owners with preferential loans, vocational training and jobs to create favourable conditions for them to change the illegal vehicles which they use as their primary source of work.

Hai entrusted the Ministry of Finance to work with relevant ministries and agencies to review the implementation of the support policies and report to the Prime Minister before the end of the year.

There are estimated 2,000 self-modified three-wheel vehicles in Hanoi while the figure is predicted to be over 22,000 in HCM City - the most in the country. /.

Vietnam maths star prefers life in the shadows

His work is incomprehensible to most people, but Ngo Bau Chau has been feted like a champion athlete or a pop star since last month when he won the Fields Medal, the mathematics version of the Nobel Prize.

Returning to Hanoi, Chau was welcomed like a hero -- an uncomfortable role for the French-educated academic who says he prefers life in the shadows, where mathematics had firmly kept him.

He met Vietnam's President Nguyen Minh Triet and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, while his story features prominently in the country's media.

"When I go to buy cigarettes, people recognize me. It's terrible," Chau says in an interview with AFP.

Official media reported 3,000 people attended a ceremony to welcome him home. The prime minister said Chau, 38, had "brought fame to the nation".

One reader of the popular VNExpress news website wrote that Chau is "like Pele of world football." On Chau's blog, another reader said that all the articles about the prizewinner seemed more like publicity "for an actor or a singer."

Chau received the award for his proof of a mathematical conundrum known as the fundamental lemma.

The International Congress of Mathematicians honored his "profound and beautiful argument, built on insights mathematicians have contributed for over 30 years".

On its website, the group said Chau's breakthrough "removed one of the great impediments to a grand, decades-long program to uncover hidden connections between seemingly disparate areas of mathematics".

His achievement had already gained public recognition when Time magazine included it in a list of the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2009.

Chau's face still looks young. But his hair is greying and he speaks carefully, fixing eyes on his questioner from above his spectacles.

He may have preferred working away from the limelight, but he tells AFP the prize has brought responsibilities and obligations to his homeland.

"From now on I have a heavy responsibility because I will be listened to more," he says at a coffee shop.

Chau grew up in Vietnam but made his professional breakthrough in France and is proud of his ties to both countries.

"It's as a Franco-Vietnamese that I receive this honor," he says.

Chau says he "hurried to become French" and attained his nationality in February when he felt he would win the prize. It would have been unjust had his success not also brought recognition to French mathematicians, he explains.

Chau is following the profession of his father, a mathematician who worked for the Vietnamese army until the 1980s, when he returned to academia. His mother conducts chemical research at a hospital laboratory.

Until the age of 12 Chau was enrolled in an experimental program where "students were encouraged to have a great deal of free speech", unusual in a country where repetitive teaching methods and a submissive relationship persists between students and teachers.

His passion for mathematics evolved in his high school years when he was already winning international prizes.

With a grant from the French embassy in Hanoi, Chau left home in 1990 to begin university in Paris. He continued at Ecole Normale Superieure -- one of France's best post-secondary institutions -- and earned a doctorate from Paris-Sud University in 1997.

In 2004, along with Gerard Laumon, Chau earned the prestigious Clay Research Award for work on the fundamental lemma. But it needed more.

"I was at a key point in my progress. All my attempts were blocked," he says.

He left France in 2006 for the Institute for Advanced Study, an independent academic institution in Princeton, New Jersey.

Suddenly in the US, the breakthrough came.

"Everything played out in one or two weeks in December 2006. At that moment I found the missing piece of my puzzle. And I knew that I would go to the end, and prove the lemma."

Now at the University of Chicago, Chau says he plans to spend three months a year in Vietnam and open a mathematics institute under the Ministry of Education.

"One of the objectives will be to attract Vietnamese scientists to get them to come back and work in their country," he says.

"This medal, it's an incredible source of pride for Vietnamese and a formidable opportunity for the country's researchers to progress."

US servicemen's remains sent home

A repatriation ceremony for the remains of US serviceman at Da Nang International Airport in 2009

Photo: Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper

A repatriation ceremony for the remains of US serviceman who died during the war in Vietnam was held at Da Nang International Airport Tuesday.

Representatives from the Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel, US Ambassador to Viet Nam Michael Michalak and representatives from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command attended the function.

The Vietnamese government representative handed over to the US government representative three boxes of remains, which were recovered during the 100th Joint Field Activities from August to September 2010. The remains were discovered by Vietnamese citizens.

The remains were jointly reviewed by Vietnamese and American forensic specialists who concluded they might be associated with US servicemen who went missing during the war in Vietnam, and it was recommended that the remains be brought to Hawaii for further review.

Addressing the ceremony, the US government representative expressed deep gratitude and high appreciation for the steadfast humanitarian policy, goodwill and the increasingly efficient co-operation with the Vietnamese government and people.

This is the 116th hand over of American missing servicemen's remains since 1973.

Vinashin asked to report debt solution

The government on Tuesday asked the state-owned shipbuilding giant Vinashin to report its existing bank credit debt and propose debt solutions.

Vinashin must deliver the report by next Monday.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai instructed relevant ministries and agencies to stabilize production and operations, pay its employees and restructure personnel.

The group's managers and member companies conduct online meetings every week to review tasks and to solve emerging problems. The group was instructed to provide social insurance to its employees.

More than 5,000 Vinashin workers, or almost 10 percent of its workforce, lost their jobs when the company failed to pay VND234 billion (US$12 million) in salaries and social insurance in June.

Newly-appointed Vinashin General Director Nguyen Quoc Anh said that Vietnam's shipbuilding industry had potential. He said the group was working to overcome the hard times.

The Government Office reported that Vinashin's total debt was VND86 trillion ($4.41 billion) at the end of last month.

More counterfeit products flood Vietnamese market

Officers of the northern province of Son La's Market Watch team inspect seized counterfeit products. — VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet

HA NOI — The production and trade of fake products was becoming increasingly common, said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Cam Tu.

Many officials agreed with the deputy minister that fake products were pervasive during a meeting held on Monday to review the Prime Minister's direction No 28/2008/CT-TTg to fight the production of counterfeit goods.

Fake products are available across the country in urban centres and in rural markets.

Counterfeit goods are produced with sophisticated methods and modern technology, which makes it hard for consumers to distinguish between fake and genuine products, reported the Viet Nam Fake Production Prevention and Trademark Protection Association.

Fake wine accounts for 20 to 50 per cent of the market share.

Popular methods of marketing fake products include producing counterfeit registered trademarks. Production can include the use of low-quality materials mixed with genuine products.

Modern technology gives producers of fake goods the opportunity to sell well-forged products, including official-looking wrapping and labelling.

However, the lack of a legal framework and technology to evaluate products, and ineffective co-operation between relevant ministries and agencies makes it difficult for authorised agencies to stamp out the production and trade of counterfeit products, according to the association.

"The lack of comprehensive co-operation by relevant agencies and essential tools to conduct their work hinders the fight against counterfeit products," said Chairman of the Viet Nam Anti-Fake Production and Trademark Protection Association Le The Bao.

Meanwhile, businesses themselves paid little attention to protecting their products with registered trademarks, he said.

The association proposed the Ministry of Justice to give Market Watch groups the power to punish violators to help improve the situation rather than keeping that capacity solely with chairmen of local People's Committees which is currently the case, he said.

"Businesses should actively work with authorised agencies to protect their trademarks," Bao added.

Deputy Minister Tu proposed the establishment of a decree on punishing producers and traders of fake products.

It was also essential to review and finalise all legal regulations against counterfeit and low-quality products and supplement the regulations on prosecuting violators, he said.

"Increasing information dissemination to raise public and business awareness about protecting their legal rights is also important," he added.

During the first six months of the year, market watch forces nationwide handled nearly 41,000 violation cases, according to the Ministry of Industryand Trade. — VNS

Officials warned over sale of State property

PHU YEN — Two senior officials from central Phu Yen Province received warnings yesterday for illegally selling State-owned properties.

Deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Ba Loc and director of the provincial Finance Department Do Duy Vinh were involved in selling three houses on Tran Hung Dao Street, the busiest shopping street in Tuy Hoa City, to Sacombank without having a proper auction and at a price lower than the market value.

The purchase was cancelled last year at the request of the provincial Party Committee in November. Deputy head of the provincial Finance Department's State-owned property management division Le Van Loi was put in temporary detention earlier this year.

Two children die after eating toad eggs

HCM CITY — Two siblings, aged 15 months and four years old, died after eating toad eggs on Sunday in Vinh Thoi Commune, Lai Vung District, southern Dong Thap Province.

Their 25-year-old mother was hospitalised on the same day but doctors at Cho Ray Hospital said she was recovering.

Tran Quang Binh, head of the hospital's Tropical Diseases' Department, said toad meat contains protein, but its skin, eggs and bile are poisonous.

After being poisoned, vomiting is the best method to remove the poison.

Fundraising to aid landslide victims

HA NOI — The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations and the Viet Nam-China Friendship Association yesterday officially launched a fund raising campaign for landslide victims in Zhouqu in north-western China's Gansu Province.

The week-long fund raising campaign will end on September 15.

On the campaign's first day, US$53,000 was raised in Bac Giang, Binh Dinh, Lang Son, Quang Nam, Lai Chau, Yen Bai and Khanh Hoa Provinces and by PetroVietnam and Vincom.

The landslide killed 1,239 people and 298 were still missing.

Company fined for discharging waste

BINH PHUOC — Southern Binh Phuoc Province People's Committee fined foreign invested C&N Vina Ltd Co in Chon Thanh District VND150 million (US$8,000) for discharging untreated waste water.

The company also released 10 times the regulated amount of waste water. — VNS

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Deputy PM salutes 40 years of Viet Nam Television

HA NOI — During its 40 years of broadcasting, Viet Nam Television (VTV) has been an effective communication tool of every Vietnamese, reaching overseas to keep those living abroad informed of developments at home, said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan.

The Deputy PM made the statement at a ceremony to mark the 40th anniversary of VTV, adding that VTV's broadcasts were of increasingly higher standard.

VTV had contributed not only to the country's socio-economic development, but also in improving people's knowledge and lives, said the Deputy PM.

Deputy PM Nhan asked VTV to continue developing the national television network in line with global trends and constantly strive to raise the quality of their programmes to meet public demand.

During the ceremony, VTV's General Director Vu Van Hien said that VTV currently broadcasts six channels, outputting 120 hours of programming daily. VTV's regional stations in Hue, Da Nang, Phu Yen, Can Tho and HCM City had also contributed to providing local broadcasting.

At present, VTV covers over 90 per cent of the country and reaches 17 million households and its satellite TV channel (DTH) covers all of Viet Nam. VTV4 also reaches almost everywhere that overseas Vietnamese live.

On the occasion, VTV received the Ho Chi Minh Order for the second time from the State President and VTV's General Director Vu Van Hien was awarded the Independence Order, third class, for his contributions to the development of the television sector. Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan was also present at the ceremony. — VNS

Ha Noi gets tough on banned vehicles

HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai has urged the ministries of Transport and Public Security to increase inspections and the punishment of those who continue to use banned vehicles.

The regulation is aimed at reducing traffic jams and accidents.

Deputy director of the Ha Noi Transport Department Nguyen Xuan Tan admitted that many vehicles subject to the ban are still found on the city's streets.

"Violators will be fined or have their vehicles confiscated," he said.

To support these owners, the Government has decided to provide them with financial aid to change their vehicles by the end of this year.

Assistance packages will start at VND5 million (US$263) and those who choose to replace their vehicles will receive VND9 million ($473) towards the purchase of a new one.

Special financial assistance will also be provided to owners of banned vehicles who are beneficiaries of social welfare. Disabled people will be eligible to assistance of VND20 million ($1,052) and the poor and ethnic minorities will be eligible to VND15 million ($789).

Hai entrusted the Ministry of Finance to work with relevant ministries and agencies to review the implementation of the support policies and report to the Prime Minister before the end of the year.

There are estimated 2,000 self-modified three-wheel vehicles in Ha Noi while the figure is predicted to be over 22,000 in HCM City - the most in the country. — VNS

ADB offers loans for health, irrigation projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide loans worth US$160 million and a grant of $11 million to expand Vietnam’s access to quality health services and improve irrigation infrastructure.

Agreements to this effect were signed between ADB and the State Bank of Vietnam in Hanoi on Tuesday.

Of the total, a $60 million loan from ADB and the $11 million non-refundable aid from the government of Australia will finance the Health Human Resources Sector Development Program which deals with obstacles in health service delivery, especially the management of human and financial resources.

The program will upgrade training facilities, provide training for ethnic minority health workers and facilitate the adoption of standard treatment and costing packages for health services provided to the Vietnamese people.

Addressing the ceremony, ADB representative Ayumi Konishi said that Vietnam should accelerate and step up socially inclusive policy reforms to address inequalities and improve delivery of social services as improvements in health status - especially of the poor and ethnic minorities - are critical to achieving the country’s development goals of inclusive development.

Another $100 million loan was for the Strengthening Water Management and Irrigation Systems Rehabilitation Project.

The project will repair the 50-year-old Bac Hung Hai irrigation and drainage system in the northern provinces of Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Hai Phong.

It will also construct a new training centre for the Water Resources University which is expected to be completed in June, 2016 and benefits 14,200 people.

VN, RoK promote cooperation in trade unions

Trade unions representatives of Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have committed to the promotion of ties and exchange visits of high-level delegations and information of mutual concern.

During their talks in Hanoi on September 7, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL) Nguyen Hoa Binh and Vice President of the Federation of Korea Trade Unions (FKTU) Kim Ju Young agreed to help grassroots trade unions to set up and increase friendship and cooperation based on each locality’s situation and in accordance with the laws of both countries.

The two countries’ trade unions will jointly hold symposiums and share experiences in personnel training, they said.

Vice Chairman Binh stressed the VGCL will give top priority to the protection of legitimate rights of labourers, including improvement of negotiation skills and the building of healthy, sustainable labour relations of trade unions officials.

While in Vietnam, the FKTU delegation led by Vice President Kim Ju Young is scheduled to visit the labour federations in Ho Chi Minh City, Quang Ninh and Dong Nai provinces./.

Activists presented with friendship insignias

Three members of PeaceTrees Vietnam (PTVN), a US non-government organisation, have been presented with a “For Peace and Friendship Among Nations” insignia for their contributions in mine clearance activities in Vietnam.

They included PTVN cofounder Rae Cheney, PTVN Executive Director Jerilyn Brusseau and Country Director Le Dinh Quang.

Addressing the ceremony on Sept. 7, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations Vu Xuan Hong spoke highly of PTVN’s positive contributions in mine clearance in Dong Ha city of the central province of Quang Tri since 1995.

The insignias are a recognition of the efficient contributions of the three PTVN individuals in helping Vietnam deal with the aftermath of war, and also boost Vietnam-US relations, Hong said.

Speaking at the function, Jerilyn Brusseau expressed her hope for better implementation of PTVN projects in Vietnam in order to bring an improved life to the people in Quang Tri province, who severely suffered during the war.

“To achieve that, we need to continue to build and consolidate friendship and mutual trust,” she said.

According to PTVN Country Director Le Dinh Quang, the organisation will build houses for mine and unexploded ordnance victims, plant green trees in mine cleared areas and provide credit support for disadvantaged families.

PTVN was the first US NGO to be licensed to work in the clearance of mine and unexploded ordnance in Vietnam in 1995./.

Protection needed for corruption denunciators

A senior Government official has emphasised the need to formulate mechanisms to protect and promptly commend corruption denunciators.

Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong made the emphasis when speaking at a conference to honour outstanding individuals in the fight against corruption held by the Office of the Steering Committee for Preventing and Combating Corruption in Hanoi on May 7.

A highlight of the conference was the presence of 88 people, including 46 individuals who reported corrupt acts and cases and 42 others who uncovered and handled corrupt cases. Eight are journalists.

Accordingly, the Deputy PM tasked the Office of the Steering Committee for Preventing and Combating Corruption and the Ministry of Public Security to complete these mechanisms as soon as possible and submit them to the Prime Minister for promulgation.

He also requested that party committees and administrations at the grassroots level adopt a mechanism to protect corruption fighters and take responsibility for them when they are targeted by those guilty of corruption.

Trong underscored that uncovering and denouncing corrupt acts is very important as it is the premise helping responsible agencies to handle with corrupt cases and perpetrators promptly and accurately.

He also emphasised the need to exercise democracy regulations at the grassroots level and promote the role of people-elected and political organisations in supervising state officials and public civil authorities.

The government official reiterated that preventing and gradually warding off corruption is the goal of the Party, State and entire people, calling for the people to be determined and persistent in accomplishing the goal.

He commended the important significance of this conference, saying it offered the venue for the pioneers in the fight against corruption and the watchdog in the field to share their experiences to raise the effectiveness of the fight and wished that those present at this conference would continue to lead in the fight against the menace.

The Steering Committee Office Chief, Vu Tien Chien, said the conference represents the progress that the public has made in their awareness, responsibility and trust on the strength and success of the fight against corruption under the leadership of the Party and State.

He described an increase in the number of individuals who had the courage to fight head-to-head the scourge as a deterrent to those who intend to commit corruption.

However, Chien raised the fact that since corrupt state officials and public civil authorities are wielding power their revenge on those who dare to bring their bad deeds to light can be very sophisticated and have both short and long term consequences.

Prominent among those present at the conference were Nguyen Thi Hoa from Hanoi’s Tay Ho inner district, who reported wrongdoings relating to the construction of a facility on sluices connecting West Lake with the Hong (Red) river, and Hoang Van Khanh, Director General of the Hai Phong Apparels Joint Stock Company, who denounced former Vice-Director General of the Vietnam Bank for Investment and Development for asking and taking a bribe of 1 billion VND./.

Japan shares public management experiences

A seminar on Japan’s experiences in public management was held on September 7 in Hanoi with the participation of managers and researchers from the two countries.

The seminar, jointly held by the Vietnam Academy for Social Sciences and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), talked about issues including national management trends in a globalisation context, international cooperation in public management, modernisation of public finance, public investment, and central and local hierarchies in public management.

Prof. Yoshiharu Tsuboi, senior expert of JICA, said that Japan would share experiences with Vietnam in regulations for public servants, state management, a transparent system for public capital and international cooperation in policing and the judicial sector.

Prof. Muneyuki Shindo said that Vietnam should have an agency for appraising the State’s investment projects, applying a common bidding form and increasing the participation of independenet experts and the public in drafting public projects. The government should also empower local administrators to supervise these works./.

Germany aids Vietnam to develop forestry sector

Vietnam is Germany’s most important Asian partner in the forestry sector and the German government will continue to support Vietnam to develop it forests sustainably, especially with worsening climate change.

Speaking at the opening ceremony for Vietnam’s conference on Sustainable Forestry Development on September 7 in Hanoi, Gudrun Kopp, German Secretary of State for Economic Cooperation and Development, said that even with the efforts made to increase the country’s forest coverage, climate changes have posed many challenges to Vietnam.

She added that to overcome these challenges, Vietnam needs to promote cooperation between the State and the private sector and work out a new financial strategy with its sponsors.

Hua Duc Nhi, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that Vietnam is one of the five countries in the world to be the hardest-hit by climate change, especially rising sea levels. Subsequently Vietnam is closely cooperating with the global community to prevent and minimise the losses.

At the event, 250 specialists from many countries around the world will discuss the challenges as well as effective solutions to raise the effectiveness of sustainable forest development and come up with policies and practical action plans for Vietnam to deal with climate change.

Jurgen Hess, a representative from German Technical Organisation (GTZ) stated that Germany would continue to support Vietnam in sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, climate change as well as in protecting coastal ecosystems.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Vietnam has about 19.2 million hectares of forest land, but only 13.1 million hectares are covered with trees. Vietnam’s forest coverage has increased to 38.8 percent compared to 27 percent in the 1990s.

Since 1994, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development has pledged to provide Vietnam with 145 million USD to finance the forestry field. Of which, 13 projects worth 92 million USD are underway in Vietnam./.

More girls paraded for Taiwanese men

More girls paraded for Taiwanese men Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday found 13 women, most at their twenties, being paraded as future brides in front of two Taiwanese men.

The Taiwanese were checking closely the body of each woman, with help of the Vietnamese broker and the translator, when the police busted in.

According to initial investigations, Phung Quang Quang, 31, a city resident, has over the past six years successfully brokered more than 100 marriages for Taiwanese and South Korean men with Vietnamese women.

Quang brought the girls from poor families in the Mekong Delta, and made them wait in Ho Chi Minh City to be paraded.

He reportedly earns around VND10 million (US$513) every month for gathering the girls and parading them for Korean and Taiwanese men.

His sister worked as the translator for the men.

All the Vietnamese and Taiwanese caught in the latest raid were taken to the nearby police station.

This is the second illegal marriage brokerage busted in a week in the city. The earlier one was on August 27 when 17 Vietnamese girls were paraded in front of a Korean groom-to-be.

Over the last two decades, poverty has driven thousands of women from poor families, especially the Mekong Delta, to marry older men, mainly from South Korea and Taiwan, despite language and cultural barriers.

Many of them are alienated and mistreated.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in HCMC show that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone.

This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea after marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were arranged by illegal brokers.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

More girls paraded for Taiwanese men

More girls paraded for Taiwanese men Police in Ho Chi Minh City on Saturday found 13 women, most at their twenties, being paraded as future brides in front of two Taiwanese men.

The Taiwanese were checking closely the body of each woman, with help of the Vietnamese broker and the translator, when the police busted in.

Quang brought the girls from poor families in the Mekong Delta, and made them wait in Ho Chi Minh City to be paraded.

He reportedly earns around VND10 million (US$513) every month for gathering the girls and parading them for Korean and Taiwanese men.

His sister worked as the translator for the men.

All the Vietnamese and Taiwanese caught in the latest raid were taken to the nearby police station.

This is the second illegal marriage brokerage busted in a week in the city. The earlier one was on August 27 when 17 Vietnamese girls were paraded in front of a Korean groom-to-be.

Many of them are alienated and mistreated.

Statistics from the South Korean Consulate General in HCMC show that around 27,500 Vietnamese women had been granted marriage visas by 2008 and around 8,000 such visas were granted in 2009 alone.

This means around 35,500 Vietnamese women had migrated to South Korea after marriage by the end of 2009.

Most of these marriages were arranged by illegal brokers.

Man threatens self-immolation for money to buy drugs

Man threatens self-immolation for money to buy drugs Police in Ho Chi Minh City Sunday arrested a man who allegedly threatened to burn himself if his family didn’t give him money to buy drugs.

Initial information shows that 36-year-old Nguyen Vinh Huy came to his parents' house in District 11 at around 1 p.m. Sunday, asking for money.

After his demand was refused, Huy caught hold of his younger sister and threatened to harm her with two knives, witnesses said.

After his family managed to free the sister and run out of the house, Huy poured petrol on his body and the house. He then set a motorbike on fire, but local people put it out.

Locals, however, said they couldn’t control the man because he was holding two knives. Huy then ran into a room and threatened to burn himself and attack anyone who dared to go in, they said.

Huy, who was discharged from a drug rehab center early this year, didn’t give up until a rescue team from HCMC Department of Fire Prevention and Fighting used tear gas and broke into the house to control him about three hours later.

Locals said Huy, who lives with his wife and child in Tan Binh District, had threatened to burn his parents’ house for money to buy drugs many times earlier.

Vietnam considers biosafety a priority

The Vietnamese government always gives priority to developing biotechnology during the country’s modernisation and industrialisation process while attaching more importance to biosafety.

Bui Cach Tuyen, Director General of Vietnam ’s Environmental Administration at the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MoNRE), made the remarks at an Asian Workshop on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, in Hanoi on September 7.

“ Vietnam is acutely aware of the potential risks caused by modern technologies and will promote international and regional cooperation to deal with this issue,” he stressed.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for Vietnam to learn about bio safety from other countries, he added.

At the forum, delegates from 11 countries and territories, including the Philippines, India, Cambodia, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand, China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam discussed major issues such as the handling, transporting, packaging and identification of living modified organisms; the rights and/or obligations of parties who transit living modified organisms, as well as liability and redress.

The participants also debated risk assessment and management, raising public awareness and drawing up strategic plans and programmes for the fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (MOP 5).

On September 11, 2003, the Cartegena Protocol on Bio safety came into effect, which highlighted international efforts to protect public health and the environment from potential risks caused by modern technologies. Vietnam joined the Protocol one year later.

The workshop was jointly organised by the MoNRE, the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications and the Programme on Bio Safety in preparation for the MOP 5, which will be held in Japan this October./.

Giant ox besieges people, animals in Ninh Thuan

The gaur that has killed a bull and badly injured a boy in Phuoc Binh Commune, the central Ninh Thuan Province

Photo: Tuoi Tre/Vien Su

A gaur, the world’s largest wild ox, has been destroying crops and attacking domesticated bulls in the central province of Ninh Thuan where farmers are now living in dread of the animal.

The male gaur was first spotted in their fields by Raglai ethnic people in Phuoc Binh Commune near Phuoc Binh National Park last year, and he is back this year, making more frequent raids.

Newswire VnExpress quoted Pinang Hoang, the commune chairman, as saying the huge animal butted a bull to death and seriously injured a young boy herding cattle.

It has also been destroying crops and people are afraid of sleeping in their field at night.

Several farmers said the gaur is mating with cows and so is attacking other bulls to keep them away. A cow has given birth to a calf which is three times bigger than normal and has several gaur-like features, they added.

Pham Ngoc Hoan, deputy director of the Phuoc Binh National Park, said the animal is part of a 40-strong herd that lives up on a mountain. It goes down to look for food and mates when it gets dark and back up the mountain in the day, he added.

The gaur (Bos gaurus), native to South and Southeast Asia, is rated “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is also listed in the Red Data Book of rare and endangered species of fauna and flora native to Vietnam.

Giant ox besieges people, animals in Ninh Thuan

The gaur that has killed a bull and badly injured a boy in Phuoc Binh Commune, the central Ninh Thuan Province

Photo: Tuoi Tre/Vien Su

A gaur, the world’s largest wild ox, has been destroying crops and attacking domesticated bulls in the central province of Ninh Thuan where farmers are now living in dread of the animal.

The male gaur was first spotted in their fields by Raglai ethnic people in Phuoc Binh Commune near Phuoc Binh National Park last year, and he is back this year, making more frequent raids.

Newswire VnExpress quoted Pinang Hoang, the commune chairman, as saying the huge animal butted a bull to death and seriously injured a young boy herding cattle.

It has also been destroying crops and people are afraid of sleeping in their field at night.

The gaur (Bos gaurus), native to South and Southeast Asia, is rated “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It is also listed in the Red Data Book of rare and endangered species of fauna and flora native to Vietnam.

Baby among 2 killed as landside derails train

The three cars derailed in Yen Bai Province after being hit by debris from a landslide

Photo: Tuoi Tre

A 55-year-old woman and a baby were killed and two others injured when three cars of a train going north from Hanoi to Lao Cai Monday derailed in Yen Bai Province after being hit by debris from a landslide.

The locomotive was thrown into a paddy field while the luggage and the power coaches also tumbled off the tracks after being hit by the debris in a remote mountain area just a kilometer before a station.

Khuong Thi Thinh, the deceased woman, and her nine-month-old grandchild Dinh Thu Phuong of Van Yen District, Yen Bai, were reportedly seated at the end of the car next to the luggage car and were thrown out of the train in the collision.

The train driver, Bui Van Them, and his assistant, Vu Duc Phuong, both of Hanoi, were slightly injured. Luckily, none of the other passengers were hurt.

The landslide was reportedly caused by torrential rains in the region.

A specialized crane has been brought to the area to recover the locomotive and two cars.

Another locomotive was dispatched to take the remaining cars with 460 passengers to Yen Bai. Everyone was given free tickets on trains to Hanoi and buses to Lao Cai.

The 300-kilometer Hanoi-Lao Cai route is considered to be the busiest in Vietnam with 10 pairs of passenger trains and 20 cargo trains traveling everyday, and 14-16 passenger trains during national holidays like Tet, the Lunar New Year.

Built in the early 20th century, it has badly deteriorating tracks and outdated signaling systems.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

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A repatriation ceremony for the remains of US serviceman at Da Nang International Airport in 2009

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Thursday, September 23, 2010

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

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The gaur that has killed a bull and badly injured a boy in Phuoc Binh Commune, the central Ninh Thuan Province

Photo: Tuoi Tre/Vien Su

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The three cars derailed in Yen Bai Province after being hit by debris from a landslide

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