VietNam Society: Vietnamese

Showing posts with label Vietnamese. Show all posts

Monday, January 31, 2011

VN focuses int’l youth festival on AO victims

Vietnamese delegates have campaigned for Agent Orange/dioxin victims at a two-day World Festival of Youth and Students opened in Pretoria , South Africa , on Dec. 15.

The Vietnamese delegation raised the topic at all events in the framework of the festival, including workshops on Africa, Asia-Pacific region, Europe and world youth unity and solidarity.

They also handed out leaflets calling on youth organisations and the international community to support the struggle for justice for AO/dioxin victims in Vietnam .

In addition, the Vietnamese delegates held meetings and joined sports and games matches with other delegations in an effort to boost solidarity and friendship with youths from other countries worldwide.

A mobile exhibition on Vietnam was held to promote the national image, including achievements in renewal.

Also on display was the 80-year-long history of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (HCMCYU) which highlights the vanguard and voluntary role played by the force in national construction and defence.

The HCMCYU’s First Secretary, Vo Van Thuong, said it was a good chance for Vietnamese youths to promote the national image to the international community and contribute to the world youth and students’ movement in the interest of peace, national independence, democracy and social progress.

Also on the day, Thuong was received by World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) President Tiago Vieira where the duo discussed measures to boost WFDY’S relations with the HCMCYU and the Vietnam Youth Federation.

The two sides pledged to do their best to fulfil the festival’s goal “For a World of Peace, Solidarity and Social Transformation”./.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

NGO provides aid for Vietnamese trade unions

APHEDA, the organisation of Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad, has contributed greatly to improving the capacity of trade unions in Vietnam since it first made its presence felt in the country 25 years ago.

Since 2010, APHEDA, an overseas aid agency funded by the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has carried out a number of projects to help build up trade unions in five industrial and economic zones in the northern city of Hai Phong, the northern province of Hai Duong and Ho Chi Minh City.

The Australian organisation has also implemented numerous programmes in Vietnam with a focus on foreign language training, team negotiation skills, HIV/AIDS prevention in the community and the social responsibility of businesses.

The organisation has also conducted research and information and education campaigns to raise the public’s awareness of the health risks of using asbestos and helping to build an asbestos information centre in Hanoi .

APHEDA supported Hanoi, HCM City and several provinces such as Bac Can, Hai Duong, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Da Nang, Binh Duong and Dong Nai in hunger eradication and poverty reduction, as well as in reducing discrimination against people with HIV, disabled people and victims of human trafficking.

Their programmes have received financial support from Australian and other international organisations such as the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Finland ’s Trade Union Solidarity Centre, the Olof Palme organisation from Sweden , the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations.

It became the first overseas organisation to receive the Friendship Order from a Vietnamese President in 1998 and a campaign medal from the Vietnamese Women’s Union in 2004./.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Vietnamese wins numerous world’s creative awards

The Vietnam Guinness Book Centre (Vietkings) has recognised Hoang Duc Thao as the first Vietnamese who won the most awards from the world’s scientific organisations for his innovations.

Thao, General Director of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau Drainage and Urban Development Ltd. Co, won five awards from the Vietnam Fund for Scientific and Technological Creations (VIFOTEC) in 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and four Techmart ASEAN+3 gold prizes in 2008.

In addition, he bagged one special prize, two gold and one silver from the Seoul International Invention Fair (SIIF) in 2008 and 2009, an award from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) for the best Vietnamese technological innovation in 2009, and a gold prize from the International Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition (ITEX) in Malaysia in 2010.

Thao’s inventions, which are honoured for their high practicality and have been applied in 38 localities nationwide, include dredging equipment for urban drainage systems, tides sluices, tanks for collecting rain water in streets and technologies to produce precast steel-reinforced concrete for drainage systems.

The Vietkings will present its recognition certificate to Thao on Dec. 18./.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Vietnamese shoplifter arrested in Thailand

Nguyen Thi Hien

A Vietnamese woman was arrested Thursday for attempting to steal designer jeans at the Central festival shopping mall on Pattaya Beach Road in Thailand.

Four other members of the gang, who put the jeans inside paper bags lined with silver foil to avoid detection, escaped with merchandise to the value of US$8,300.

On Thursday, Pattaya Police Investigator Lieutenant Colonel Phatsa Detphakkun was notified that a Vietnamese woman had been caught stealing fashion products from the Ed Hardy store on the 1st floor of the Central Festival on Pattaya Beach Road. A team of officers was dispatched to investigate.

They arrived to find that the offender Nguyen Thi Hien, 23, had being apprehended and detained by the department store’s staff. In her right hand she was holding a large paper bag, which police confiscated as evidence.

Inside the bag were four pairs of True Religion brand jeans – one valued at $400, and three valued at $475 baht each inside the bag. In addition, the bag was found to be padded on the inside with silver foil to prevent detection of the stolen clothes by the security scanner.

The ED Hardy shop manager, Wanlapha Yaowalert, told police that she could see from the CCTV that there were four other members of the gang who had the same kind of bags, but they had managed to escape with stolen jeans valued at $8,300. She managed to apprehend Hien, and then called the police.

Hien was charged with shop-lifting and taken into custody. The police will continue in their search for the rest of the gang.

Monday, January 24, 2011

WWF is incorrect on tra fish, says ministry

HA NOI — It is regrettable that a number of the European World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) offices have released unobjective, scientifically groundless and impractical assessments on the Vietnamese tra fish, said Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Spokeswoman Nguyen Phuong Nga yesterday.

In reply to reporters' questions relating to the WWF red listing of Vietnamese tra fish in the Consumer Guide 2010/2011, Nga said this would seriously hurt the livelihood of Vietnamese aquaculture farmers as well as European consumers and would not benefit the growing economic and commercial relations between Viet Nam and European countries.

"Over the past years, Viet Nam has strictly controlled its aquaculture sector from planning, production and processing, and widely applied highest international standards on aqua-production while meeting food sanitary and safety requirements and protecting the environment in accordance with international criteria. Many of Viet Nam's high-quality aqua-products have been exported to world markets and enjoyed by international consumers," she said.

"We ask WWF offices in those countries to remove Vietnamese tra fish from the red list, release the assessment criteria and make judgments that accurately reflect the Vietnamese tra fish production and export," Nga said.

Viet Nam would welcome WWF experts and facilitate their fact-finding activities in the hope that they would be able to assess the industry accurately. — VNS

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Russia closes market, lays off 400 Vietnamese

Russian authorities Tuesday closed down the Emeral market in Moscow, driving away some 400 Vietnamese traders.

The closure follows an inspection tour headed by Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin who concluded a number of retail markets there did not meet safety and hygiene standards.

Dong Minh Du, a Vietnamese student who used to work at the Emeral market, told Tuoi Tre Moscow authorities would continue to clear other markets in the area next year.

“How can we make a living? I heard Russian authorities would ban all foreign retailers next year as well,” Vietnamese trader Nguyen Van Tinh was quoted by Lao Dong newspaper as saying.

“It never rains but it pours. We have just begun our new life after the Dome Market was closed”.

He was referring to the Cherkizovsky Market, known by Vietnamese traders as Cho Vom (Dome Market) which was closed last year, putting 100,000 people, mostly immigrants, out of work.

Vietnamese traders and workers made up nearly half of those who lost their livelihoods when Cherkizovsky was closed.

The 28-hectare Emeral market is operated by mostly traders from Russia and former Soviet Union countries, and a number of Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Indian and Arabian traders.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Website for overseas Vietnamese launched

HA NOI — A website designed to link overseas Vietnamese throughout the world was launched yesterday.

Jointly launched by the Vietnam News Agency; the Foreign Ministry-supervised State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese; and the Information and Communications Ministry's Foreign Information Service, the website, www.vietkieu.info, is the largest-ever information project specifically designed for overseas Vietnamese.

It provides information about Party and the State's policies and guidelines for overseas Vietnamese, their activities in support of their homeland and outstanding overseas Vietnamese.

It also serves as a detailed database.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem, who is also Foreign Minister, members of the Party Central Committee's Publicity and Education Commission, representatives of the two ministries and VNA pressed the button to officially link the web site to the internet.

Its mission is titled "Connecting Vietnamese".

Khiem said he was delighted to witness the debut of a web site that was intended to serve the community and link overseas Vietnamese on five continents.

He asked news providers to provide more specialised pages, columns, news and articles to better serve the Party and State's mass mobilisation and foreign affairs.

VNA Director General Tran Mai Huong said as the official voice of the Party and State, the agency had long provided information about overseas Vietnamese.

The agency would increase the dissemination of information in various forms to promote the image of Viet Nam and its major events to help foreigners and Vietnamese communities abroad have an accurate and complete understanding of what happens in the country.

The information would include Party and State policies.

National pages

The web site is divided into national pages so that its readers can quickly learn about the lives of the overseas Vietnamese community in each country.

The Community News column is supplemented with information from reporters, agencies for foreign affairs, overseas Vietnamese trade missions as well as overseas Vietnamese.

Readers can find an overview of each nation and its relations with Viet Nam in the Contents column of each nation.

The web site also provides systematised State documents and policies divided into such categories as nationality, investment-business and verification of Vietnamese origin.

A list of overseas Vietnamese diplomatic agencies, associations, companies, trade centres and restaurants is being updated to facilitate business transactions and personal relations.

The Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank has joined with VNA and the other agencies to build the web site. — VNS

Monday, January 17, 2011

US congressmen voice support for VN’s AO victims

A number of US congressmen have voiced support for Vietnamese Agent Orange /dioxin victims, saying the US government must places importance on dealing with the consequences of the toxic chemical.

Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment Eni F.H. Faleomavaega and congressman Bob Filner affirmed the support during meetings with a delegation of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA) which paid a visit to the US from Nov. 22-Dec. 4.

Having organised three hearings on the AO/dioxin-related issue in Vietnam , Faleomavaega said he was regretful because he “had yet to do much for Vietnamese AO/dioxin victims”. The congressman also called on the governments of the US and Vietnam to jointly assume responsibility for addressing this issue.

At a working session with the VAVA delegation, headed by its President Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Rinh, US Department of State officials in charged for Southeast Asian affairs also affirmed the settlement of the AO/dioxin consequences in Vietnam is a priority of the department.

During the trip, the VAVA delegation and leaders of the Veterans for Peace (VFP) and the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC) discussed the coordination of activities to assist the victims in the coming time, especially on the 50 th anniversary of the beginning of the US chemical war in Vietnam (August 10, 1961-August 10, 2011).

The delegates worked with the President of the Ford Foundation and representatives of the Atlantic Philanthropies. They also met with lawyers and scientists who have devoted to the victims’ struggle for justice, as well as a number of overseas Vietnamese who have launched initiatives to enhance relations between the Us-based Vietnamese community and the homeland./.

Cultural exchange ship docks in HCM City

Japanese youths taking part in a cultural exchange tour alight in HCM City to be greeted by a welcoming ceremony organised by their Vietnamese peers. — VNS Photo Van Dat

HCM CITY — The Fuji Maru carrying more than 320 youngsters from the 10 ASEAN member countries and Japan arrived in HCM City for the final leg of the Southeast Asian Youth trip yesterday, before it returns to Japan on December 15.

The ship berthed in HCM City's Saigon Port to begin its eleventh visit to Viet Nam.

At the port, Vietnamese youths and Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union's HCM City Chapter held a ceremony before the delegations left to take part in cultural exchange activities at the city hall.

During a press briefing on board just a few minutes before the welcoming ceremony, Phan Thi Thuy Tram, leader of the Vietnamese delegation, said they had already taken part in various cultural exchanges on board with the other delegations as well as in the countries they had visited.

They had discussed topics including youth participation in social activities, promoting cross-cultural understanding, climate change and international relations, among others, he added.

The activities aimed to promote mutual communication through the pursuit of common concerns and interests.

On Saturday evening, Viet Nam Night featuring Vietnamese ao dai and martial arts was held, Tram said, adding that participating youths from other ASEAN countries had really enjoyed the programme.

"I have learned a lot from other countries during the trip," Tram said.

The Southeast Asian Youth Programme (SSEAYP) 2010 delegation, which includes 29 Vietnamese youths, left Yokohama in Japan by ship on a 52-day journey through six countries that will see the youths return to Tokyo on December 15. Some 170 families in the city have volunteered to house the guests during their three-day stay which will expose them to Vietnamese culture. The city dwellers are eager to take part in the programme and several families have done this on more than one occasion.

The participants will learn Vietnamese culture from attending cultural and social activities covering the environment, international relations, education, health, food, and community development.

This year, the ship travelled to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Viet Nam.

Started in 1974, SSEAYP is a joint initiative by Japan and the five founding ASEAN members — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. More than 10,000 youths from the ten ASEAN countries and Japan have travelled on the ship.

It seeks to strengthen friendship, co-operation, and understanding between Japanese and Southeast Asian youths to help build a peaceful, stable, and developed region.

Viet Nam joined the programme in 1996. — VNS

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Vietnam attends charitable fair in India

The Vietnamese Embassy in India attended an international fair for charity which opened in New Delhi on November 28.

The fair also attracted the participation of more than 40 foreign embassies, including those of Spain , Russia , China , Japan , Kazakhstan , Pakistan , Egypt and Thailand .

The Vietnamese Embassy’s pavilion showcased the country’s traditional products such as lacquer paintings, palm-leaf hats, Central Highlands coffee and Pho (noodle soup).

On the occasion, the Vietnamese embassy distributed many cultural documents and publications as well as special editions on the 1,000 th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi and the Vietnam-India relations in order to promote the image of the Vietnamese country and people as well as the fine traditional relationship between the two countries.

Initiated and organised by the association of women in diplomatic corps in New Delhi , the annual fair aims to raise funds for charitable activities in India . The day-long event also offers a chance to foreign embassies in India to promote their countries’ handicrafts, culture, cuisine and tourism./.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Friendship association extends condolence to Cambodia

The Vietnam-Cambodia Friendship Association (VCFA) has offered condolence to Cambodia over the tragedy occurred in the Koh Pich (diamond) island in Phnom Penh on the evening of Nov. 22.

In a message sent to the Office of Permanent Deputy Prime Minister and President of the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Association Men Sam An, the VCFA expressed the deepest sympathy to the victims’ families and the Cambodian Government and people, saying it believed the Cambodian Government and people would mobilise all resources to soon overcome the aftermath of the tragedy.

On Nov. 25, representatives of Vietnamese agencies, businesses and people conducting business in Cambodia donated 2,770 USD which will be channelled to the Cambodia Red Cross.

A delegation of Ho Chi Minh City on Nov. 24 handed over medicines worth 50,000 USD and 100,000 USD in cash to the Phnom Penh authorities to help the city overcome the tragedy’s aftermath.

The death toll in the stampede was confirmed at 347, including 221 women, said the Cambodian Social Affairs Ministry and the investigation committee on Nov. 25 morning.

President of the Overseas Vietnamese (OV) Association in Cambodia Chau Van Chi said that nine Vietnamese were killed and one remains missing in the stampede. Six out of nine injured Vietnamese have been discharged from the hospital, Chi added.

Cambodia observed a national day of mourning on Nov. 25 and pagodas across the city prayed for the spirits of people who were killed in the stampede.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen and his wife burnt incense at a memorial service held at the site of the bridge stampede which drew the participation of more than 400 Cambodian monks and hundreds of representatives from Cambodian agencies and local people./.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

More than 1,000 Asian medical specialists listen to 500 reports

HA NOI — Nearly 1,500 leading medical specialists from 36 countries and territories gathered in Ha Noi yesterday for the 10th Meeting of Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA 2010).

Opening the meeting, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen stressed the importance and development of endola-paroscopic surgery in the medical sector since the technology was first applied in the 1980s, and the achievements made by Vietnamese surgeons and scientists.

The meeting was an opportunity for Vietnamese specialists to meet with colleagues from regional countries and across the world, helping the Vietnamese medical sector integrate internationally, the deputy minister said.

The three-day meeting heard almost 500 reports on advanced endolaparoscopy, presenting the latest and most important achievements at global and regional healthcare centres. Vietnamese specialists also presented new achievements in endolaparoscopy in the country.

In addition, the delegates participated in an interactive television programme on endolaparoscopic surgery from the Viet Nam-Germany Hospital and the Central Paediatrics Hospital, and attended the launching ceremony of the Exhibition Centre for Medical Instruments and Pharmaceuticals.

Later that day, delegates were received by President Nguyen Minh Triet, who affirmed the Party and State's interest in the medical sector and its commitment to ongoing investment in it.

Although poor and war-devastated, Viet Nam has almost completed the UN Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule, with outstanding achievements in healthcare and poverty reduction.

President Triet welcomed international delegates to ELSA 2010, saying they brought to Vietnamese people friendly sentiments from international friends and shared experiences on the world's most advanced medicine with Vietnamese colleagues.

He said he hoped other countries would help Viet Nam to train doctors, recommend well-known professors and scientists to work and lecture in Viet Nam and invest in healthcare, in order to help Viet Nam build modern centres.

International delegates spoke highly of recent developments in Viet Nam's medical sector, including endolaparoscopic surgery and Vietnamese doctors' skills, that have helped reduce the number of Vietnamese people seeking treatment abroad.—VNS

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

At least eight Vietnamese dead in Cambodian stampede

At least eight Vietnamese dead in Cambodian stampede At least eight Vietnamese were killed in Cambodia's water festival stampede which left more than 350 people dead, according to an association of Vietnamese people in Cambodia.

Trinh Viet Long, an official from Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia, said among the dead was Nguyen Van Cu, a 12-year-old boy, while others have not been identified.

There were five other Vietnamese missing and eight injured, Long said. All of the victims were all from districts around Phnom Penh, he said.

Many Vietnamese people in Cambodia were worried as they have failed to contact relatives who left home over the weekend to attend the water festival called Bon Om Thook held between November 21 and 23.

The association has sent representatives to communes near Phnom Penh to get more information.

Following the incident, several tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City such as Fiditour and Lua Viet have delayed tours to Cambodia.

Panic ensued and around 350 people were trampled to death on Koh Pich bridge after a rumor spread that the narrow bridge was unstable, Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP.

The festival-goers had been crossing the bridge to reach an island hosting concerts, food stalls and ice sculptures.

Many of the deaths were caused by suffocation and internal injuries and about two-thirds of the dead were women, Kanharith said.

More than 400 people were injured.

Witnesses said there were people jumping and falling into the river below the bridge, so authorities are also searching for bodies in the water.

Prime Minister Hun Sen described the disaster as Cambodia’s darkest hour since the Khmer Rouge, whose 1975-1979 reign of terror left up to a quarter of the population dead.

Hun Sen said Cambodia would hold a national day of mourning on Thursday.

The bodies have been laid out in hospitals around the capital for relatives to identify them.

The annual festival, including boat races, concerts and fireworks, marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River in a natural flushing motion.

At least eight Vietnamese dead in Cambodian stampede

Trinh Viet Long, an official from Vietnam Embassy in Cambodia, said among the dead was Nguyen Van Cu, a 12-year-old boy, while others have not been identified.

There were five other Vietnamese missing and eight injured, Long said. All of the victims were all from districts around Phnom Penh, he said.

The association has sent representatives to communes near Phnom Penh to get more information.

Following the incident, several tour operators in Ho Chi Minh City such as Fiditour and Lua Viet have delayed tours to Cambodia.

Panic ensued and around 350 people were trampled to death on Koh Pich bridge after a rumor spread that the narrow bridge was unstable, Cambodian government spokesman Khieu Kanharith told AFP.

The festival-goers had been crossing the bridge to reach an island hosting concerts, food stalls and ice sculptures.

Many of the deaths were caused by suffocation and internal injuries and about two-thirds of the dead were women, Kanharith said.

More than 400 people were injured.

Witnesses said there were people jumping and falling into the river below the bridge, so authorities are also searching for bodies in the water.

Prime Minister Hun Sen described the disaster as Cambodia’s darkest hour since the Khmer Rouge, whose 1975-1979 reign of terror left up to a quarter of the population dead.

Hun Sen said Cambodia would hold a national day of mourning on Thursday.

The bodies have been laid out in hospitals around the capital for relatives to identify them.

The annual festival, including boat races, concerts and fireworks, marks the reversal of the flow between the Tonle Sap Lake and the Mekong River in a natural flushing motion.

Friday, December 31, 2010

Vietnam attends ASEAN Skills Competition

Vietnam has sent 36 competitors to the 8 th ASEAN Skills Competition being held in Bangkok , Thailand from Nov. 14-24.

Competing in 18 of 21 events, the Vietnamese team hopes to rank third at the competition.

Last September, the General Vocational Training Department in coordination with the British Council held a training course for those Vietnamese competitors under the instruction of four experts from the vocational skills organisation of the UK . The British experts said the Vietnamese workers have good skills.

The Lao dong (Labour) daily on Nov. 16 quoted Mark Forsyth, Director of the Corioliss International Co., and an expert in refrigerating-electrics as saying that Vietnamese competitors are enthusiastic and determined and have good basic skills. He said he believed that they would attain good results.

Deputy Minister of Labour, War Invalid and Social Affairs Dam Huu Dac said that participating in the competition gives Vietnamese competitors and trainers opportunities to learn experiences from other countries, thus helping improve the quality of vocational training in Vietnam .

The ASEAN Skills Competition has been held since 1997 and Vietnam took part in the event in 2001 for the first time.

Vietnam ranked first among participating teams at the 2004 and 2006 events, ranked second at the 2002 competition, and ranked fourth in 2001 and 2008./.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Overseas Vietnamese in UK meet in Dublin

Vietnamese people who live and work in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland gathered for the first time in Dublin city, Ireland , on Nov. 12.

Addressing the meeting, the Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Tran Quang Hoan, highlighted its significance to uniting Vietnamese expatriates.
The Ambassador said that the meeting provided an opportunity to develop overseas Vietnamese communities and seek more cooperation between Vietnamese businesses in these two countries.

Representatives of the Associations of Vietnamese in Ireland and the UK and the Association of Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in the UK delivered speeches on their current activities and orientations for the future.

On this occasion, on behalf of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem, Ambassador Hoan presented the Association of Overseas Vietnamese in Ireland with the certificate of merit for its outstanding achievements in developing the community and holding activities towards the homeland./.

Vietnamese pupil receives UPU gold medal

Ho Thi Hieu Hien, a Vietnamese pupil from the central city of Da Nang was presented with the gold medal by Edouard Dayan, Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Bern , Switzerland on November 12.

The twelve-year-old girl passed over 2 million candidates from 60 countries worldwide and won the first prize of the 39th UPU international letter-writing competition this year with the theme "Write a letter to someone to explain why it is important to talk about AIDS and to protect yourself against the disease."

In her letter to Zhang Yi Mou , a popular Chinese film director, Hien expressed her hope that the director would produce more movies on HIV/AIDS to help raise public awareness of the danger of the disease to effectively prevent it from spreading.

Addressing the presentation ceremony, Hien said she was honoured to receive the award and that this is the second time she has taken part in the contest. Hien said that she will continue to participate in the next year’s competition on forest protection.

Director General Dayan said Hien’s letter showed her intelligence and creativity. He said he hopes more pupils will take part in the UPU Letter-Writing Competition to share their views for the social progress freely and openly./.

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Japan continues support for IT engineer training

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) pledged to continue funding a Vietnam-Japan training project for high-quality Vietnamese IT and communications engineers.

JICA reaffirmed the commitment following its experts’ fact-finding trip to Vietnam to evaluate the implementation of the project at the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST).

Motomura Hitomi, head of the JICA delegation, applauded HUST’s ongoing performances, saying that the students who had joined in the training project always top the list of those with excellent results when they studied at Keio and Ritsumeikan Universities .

Hitomi urged Vietnamese experts to regularly renew methods in carrying out the project and update information to enable the targeted students get access to the latest knowledge. JICA will send lecturers to improve professionalism of their Vietnamese counterparts and ensure the project’s sustainability, he said.

HUST Vice President Nguyen Canh Luong said since its inception in 2006, the project has annually enrolled 125 students. These students all have good qualifications as well as English and Japanese skills eligible for working in foreign businesses, he added.

HUST is planning to expand the transfer of technology and cooperation with Da Nang University and Ho Chi Minh University of Technology and other local universities to further improve the quality of Vietnamese IT and communication human resources./.

Fund set up to help Vietnamese citizens overseas

The state budget will assign VND20 billion (US$1.02 million) for a fund to protect Vietnamese citizens overseas, according to a circular issued recently by the Ministry of Finance.

The fund, which will be supplemented every year, will be spent on activities carried out by diplomatic and consular agencies to protect Vietnamese citizens and legal entities overseas.

Officials who learn about cases where the citizens are arrested, tried and sentenced in foreign countries will receive financial support from the fund as well.

It will also aid Vietnamese citizens who are in severe financial troubles and have accidents overseas, as also women and children who are victims of human trafficking.

According to the ministry, the fund’s director will have the right to approve the spending of up to US$10,000 for each case.

To spend more than the amount, the director must report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs for approval. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is allowed to spend a maximum of 10 percent of the fund for its management activities.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Viet Kieu investment blocked by late implementation of law

Viet Kieu investment blocked by late implementation of law A law that gives overseas Vietnamese benefits enjoyed by Vietnamese citizens has taken too much time to be implemented, and the latter are unable to invest much in the country as a result, officials said at a Friday conference.

The amended Nationality Law took effectIn July 2009, allowing overseas Vietnamese who already have foreign nationality to register to hold Vietnamese nationality as well, so they can enjoy benefits that domestic residents have in Vietnam.

But instructions to implement the law have not been issued, officials said at the conference held in Hanoi to review six years of the implementation of the Party Politburo's resolution on policies relating to Viet Kieu (Overseas Vietnamese).

Luong Bach Van, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese, said many oversease Vietnamese people queued up at Vietnam's embassies all over the world on July 2 and 3, 2009 to register their nationality according to the amended law.

“But all of them were told to wait… Many have been discouraged,” Van said.

Nguyen Thanh Son, deputy head of Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry and chairman of the Government Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, said at the conference that more than four million Vietnamese are living overseas.

He said 400,000 of these are intellectuals and many of them are working at leading research centers worldwide.

Van also said the delay in implementing the law prevents overseas Vietnamese from registering to get a business license as a local investor.

Her deputy, Pham Khac Lam, said that regulating the affairs of overseas Vietnamese in the country was important. “But it’s more important to make them come back and invest in the country.”

Vuong Thua Phong, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Foreign Affairs Commission, said highly-educated overseas Vietnamese can help protect Vietnam’s sovereighty, especially in the East Sea area.

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