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Social News 20/7
More
patients need organ transplantation
Just a
few patients suffering kidney or liver failure received organ transplantation
in
According
to the Ministry of Health, the country has 14 medical facilities which are
able to perform organ transplantation and Vietnamese doctors' skill in
transplantation is as good as their counterparts in foreign countries.
However, the sector is in severe need of organ supply while the demand is
increasing drastically.
The
main cause of shortage of organ donation is due to people's incorrect
awareness of organ donation. In addition, information of organ donation is
still limited and not popular among the community.
By
statistics, Vietnamese surgeons has so far carried out over 1,011 kidney
transplant operations, 37 liver transplant surgeries, 11 heart
transplantation, one operation for pancreas transplant and over 1,400 cornea
transplantation.
Yet
the country has around 6,000 people suffering chronic kidney failure , over
1,500 people with liver failure and more than 300,0000 blind people because
of cornea diseases. Around 6,000 of them need a cornea transplant and
hundreds of people need organ transplantation operation.
Many
patients died while they were waiting for a transplant operation. However
many organs from brain death or traffic accidents were not used. It is a big
waste causing medical workers' concern.
As a
result, the Association for Organ Donation Encouragement and the Vietnam
Association of Organ Transplantation were officially set up. Health Minister
Nguyen Thi Kim Tien was elected Chairwoman of the Association for Organ
Donation Encouragement and Professor Pham Gia Khanh was elected Chairman of
the Vietnam Association of Organ Transplantation.
The
two associations were established to liaise with other organizations and all
sectors to spread information of organ donation all classes of people.
Overloaded
trucks banned in HCMC-Long Thanh-Dau Giay Expressway
Overloaded
trucks are banned from travelling in Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-Dau Giay
Expressway from Monday, announced the road's manager Vietnam Expressway
Services Engineering Joint Stock Company.
The
company will work with authorized agencies to regularly inspect and handle
violators.
Two
weigh stations will be installed at Long Phuoc and Dau Giay toll stations to
control vehicular weights from HCMC to Dau Giay and in the reverse direction.
The
move aims to practice the Ministry of Transport’s program against overloaded
trucks.
More
limestone mines to be built
Prime
Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last week approved work at eight limestone mines in
the
The
eight limestone mines are in different communes in Thanh Liem District, with
areas from 46.6ha to 151.3ha.
The
Thanh Thang Cement Project, taking place on 56.8ha of land in Thanh Nghi
Commune, Thanh Liem District, has a capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per year
and is expected to start operations in 2018.
Vietnamese
individuals and their foreign spouse-to-be should be freed from having an
interview with justice authorities as part of the registration of their
marriage, an official from the Ministry of Justice said Friday.
It is
currently required that Vietnamese citizens and their future foreign spouses
have an interview with the justice department at their locality, as a part of
the procedures of marriage registration with foreign elements, according to
Government Decree 24/2013.
Such
interviews are considered a judicial measure that helps ensure a healthy
marriage based on mutual understandings between Vietnamese citizens and their
foreign spouses.
But
Nguyen Cong Khanh, head of the Department of Civil Status, Nationality and
Certification under the justice ministry, believes it is not really necessary
to keep such procedure.
“The
implementation of this measure during the past years showed that it is
formalistic and has yet to bring practical efficiency,” Khanh said at a
national seminar on the implementation of the Law on Civil Status in Hanoi.
The
interview procedure may also result in corruption between interviewers and
interviewees, he added.
The
justice ministry has thus decided to propose that the government abolish the
above regulation in order to ensure the interests of people, simplifying
administrative procedures, and save time and cost for those involved, Khanh
said.
If the
proposal is approved, Vietnamese citizens wishing to marry foreigners only
need to apply for a certificate of marital status – to prove their single
status – and will no longer be required to have an interview with local
justice authorities, the official said.
In the
future, the certification of marital status will also be eliminated when the
national residency database is completed, he added.
The
proposal won support from some attendees of the seminar, who said it is a
strong renovation that helps effectively enforce the right to marry of people.
However,
there were also naysayers who said it is necessary to have such interviews.
In the
southern
It is
because the interviewees in these cases have failed to meet requirements
under current regulations, he explained.
In
response, Khanh said his department will continue considering whether such
interviews should be abolished or not.
Potable
water scarcity hits Nghe An families
Despite
the VND7-billion (US$320,000) clean water project Nghe An Province
implemented five years ago, thousands of inhabitants in two of its districts
still face a severe clean water shortage, the Tien Phong (Vanguard) newspaper
reported.
In
2010, the government sponsored 90 per cent of the project, which built new
water pipes to supply clean water to poor households in coastal communes.
Each resident had to contribute VND350,000 to VND400,000.
However,
locals still pray for rain so they can have enough clean water during this
prolonged drought. In order to cook their meals, many people have to pay
VND70,000-100,000 to buy a cubic meter of water. They have to use salt water
for other daily activities. Meanwhile, they worry that fresh water supplied
by such vendors is not safe, as it may have been drawn from wells and not
treated at water filtration plants.
An
increasing number of residents have been diagnosed with cancer, local man
Nguyen Huu Huynh said.
Previously,
Quynh Luu Water-supply Ltd was in charge of providing clean water for
families in Quynh Luu District. However, it has stopped providing it.
"Our
water sources are also very limited and we could not provide water to all
communes – just to some limited areas," said Hoang Van Chuong, the
company's director. "In other communes, the water pipes were damaged and
polluted since there was not enough water to make them operate. So it has
become even more difficult to give them water."
Many
households in the two districts have had to build cisterns to store
rainwater.
Nguyen
Viet Man, chairman of Dien Bich Commune's People's Committee, said that after
a clean water project was finished in his commune, the water pipes providing
clean water were destroyed by a newly built road, leaving 12,000 residents
without clean water.
"We
do not only suffer from a water shortage, but also a money shortage,"
said Hoang Danh Lai, chairman of Quynh Luu district's People's Committee.
"We sent requests several times to the provincial People's Committee,
and asked big enterprises to invest in and build water-supply plants. But we
are still waiting for their answers."
In June,
Nghe An's People's Committee announced a state of emergency across the
province for the first time, due to a prolonged, severe drought during this
year's summer-autumn crop.
Most
of the reservoirs have dried up, with water volumes standing at about 20 to
30 percent of their designed capacity. Pumping stations along the province's
largest river, the
Groups
fined for nature violations
A
total of 544 organisations and individuals were fined for natural resource
and environmental violations in the first six months this year, with
penalties amounting to more than VND38 billion (US$1.8 million), the Ministry
of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) announced on Friday.
In the
first six months this year, the environmental sector received more than 1,800
complaints related to land, environment, mineral and water resources. They
solved 922 cases.
Residents
protest truck dust, noise near expressway
Residents
along a 2km stretch of road on the Da Nang-Quang Ngai expressway last week dumped
their household furniture on it to protest against dust and noise pollution
created by scores of trucks carting road materials.
Authorities
said the pollution had created unhealthy conditions for residents and
hundreds of students at a school on the roadside.
Dust
covers the furniture in residents' houses and has led to a drop-off in
trading in small businesses along the road.
Local
authorities quietened residents down temporarily by ordering truck drivers to
cover their loads and carry less dirt, but problems continue on rough
sections along the road..
The
dust and noise pollution still upsets hundreds of people living along
provincial road No 609 in Nhi Dinh village in Dien Ban town.
Dump
trucks roared day and night from March to build the new road section to the
140km Da Nang-Quang Ngai expressway.
The
new road creating the problems runs through Dien Ban town and connects with
the expressway.
Local
resident Nguyen Viet Mai said while the situation had improved, problems
continued at many locations where the road surface was rough.
The
US$1.47 billion expressway project, which winds through
Capital
city rewards IT progress
Ha Noi
held a ceremony to honour 19 top agencies in the city for their achievements
applying advanced information technology (IT) in 2014.
The Ha
Noi People's Committee Office, the Department of Planning and Investment, the
Department of Customs and Long Bien District People's Committee were awarded
for implementing IT most effectively. Judges critiqued 111 agencies from the
city-wide level down to wards in Ha Noi on four criteria: IT infrastructure,
IT applications to serve citizens, IT resources and policy environment for IT
application.
The
awards have been held annually since 2010.
The
Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV) said it has approved the reopening
of Runway 25R/07L at Ho Chi Minh City-based
The
runway was closed for emergency repair on two spots which measure about 10
square meters on the runway surface damaged by lightning.
The
shutdown was initially set to last from 0:01 am of July 16 until 23:59 pm of
July 19.
The
runway serves 35 flights per hour.
Marriage
interview no longer needed for Vietnamese-foreigner couples
The
Ministry of Justice is seeking a new rule to scrap compulsory marriage
interviews, making it easier and less stressful for local residents to marry
foreigners in
The
ministry says these interviews have yet to prove effective in preventing
marriage frauds. The process also creates an environment for corruption and
bribery to thrive.
The
proposed amendment is part of the ministry's draft guidelines for the Law on
Civil Registration, slated to take effect on January 1 next year.
Under
current laws, when applying for a marriage certificate, Vietnamese citizens
are subject to being questioned by officials about their knowledge regarding
their foreign partner's background, including family and home culture and
laws.
In
case they fail to answer the questions, their partners have to go through a
similar interview which, if necessary, can be conducted through an
interpreter appointed by Vietnamese authorities.
In its
proposal to the government, the ministry cited feedbacks from many local
governments as saying that, due to the incompetence of involved officials,
there have been misconducts in the interview process.
Meanwhile,
in some countries, where many of their citizens marry Vietnamese, strong
measures have already been applied to prevent sham marriages.
It is,
therefore, necessary to eliminate the interviews, according to the ministry,
adding that the change will help save involved parties from unnecessary
trouble, and help them save time and money.
While
some local government praised the ministry's proposal as "a strong
reform" at a meeting in
A
representative from the southern province of Long An, for instance, insisted
interviews are "very important," citing that the province's
authorities rejected 23 out of 196 applicants for marrying foreigners over
the first six months, after they failed interviews, Tuoi Tre newspaper
reported.
Lack
of nuclear specialists causes concern
The
lack of young experts in the nuclear energy sector is a great challenge to
nuclear research and nuclear energy development in
Participants
at the event in the Central Highland Da Lat City, which is home to
General
Director of Da Lat Nuclear Research Institute’s training centre Nguyen Xuan
Hai said
However
low recruitment demand plus low salary makes research establishments not
attractive to young talents, he added.
The
Vietnam Atomic Energy Institute (Vinatom) said as a new nuclear research
centre will be built and begin operation in Da Lat in 2020, the facility will
need 400 specialists.
Some
solutions were proposed to develop manpower for the centre at the event such
as sending students to study abroad and recruit more specialists for research
institutes.
The
new centre will have a researching reactor with a capacity of 30MW, 30 times
the capacity of the existing reactor which will stop operating in 10 years.
The site for the centre is under consideration.
Construction
work of a science complex that costs nearly US$8 million to build is slated
to begin in the south-central Vietnamese
The
groundbreaking ceremony of the science complex, located on Quy Hoa beach in
the province's capital city of
The
total cost for construction is more than VND171 billion (US$7.85 million),
which will be funded by the state budget, according to the plan approved last
year by the prime minister.
It
will consist of three parts, including a planetarium, a science museum and an
astronomical observatory.
The
3.8ha complex, a round-shaped structure surrounded by rows of coconut trees,
is designed by French architect Jean - Francois Milou, who also designed the
nearby International Center for Interdisciplinary Science Education of the
Meet Vietnam Organization.
The
science complex is expected to be put into operation in 2017.
It is
intended to provide a public space of science in
The
complex is hoped to be used not only for science education but also for
scientific tourism development.
On the
occasion of the groundbreaking of the complex construction, the Meet Vietnam
Organization will also organize five international scientific conferences on
physics as well as workshops on astrophysics, and particle physics from July
19 to August 22.
The
events will be attended by reputable scientists including Nobel-winners
Jerome Friedman and George Smoot, and well-known Vietnamese – American
Professor Luu Le Hang.
Prof.
Jerome Friedman was awarded the Nobel prize in Physics in 1990 and is working
at the
Prof.
George Smoot received the Nobel prize in Physics in 2006 and is working as
professor at
Born
in 1963, Prof. Hang received numerous awards such as the Shaw Prize -
regarded as the "Nobel of the East" - in 2012, and the Kavli Prize
in Astrophysics - considered the "Nobel of Astronomy" the same
year.
She is
working at the Department of Astronomy at
Moreover,
Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper will collaborate with the Binh Dinh administration
and the Ministry of Education and Training to host an online exchange on
science for interested readers.
The
exchange is expected to take place at the International Centre for Interdisciplinary
Science and Education on August 18.
Swiss
donation helps ease Agent Orange pains in Vietnam
The
Vietnam Association of Victims of Agent Orange/dioxin (VAVA) received 10,000
USD donated by Maggie Brooks, a Swiss national living in Costa Rica, and her
friends at a ceremony in Hanoi on July 18.
Maggie
Brooks has been working to raise fund for Vietnamese dioxin victims for many
years. In 2011, she helped a delegation from the VAVA to contact the
International Association of Democratic Lawyers.
In May
2014, she visited
This
time, returning to the country to give the donation, Brooks suggested the
VAVA produce a documentary with Spanish subtitles about AO/dioxin effects in
Vietnam so that she could screen it in Costa Rica and help mobilise greater
public support, especially from the local Government and social organisations
for Vietnamese AO victims.
Border
localities share anti-crime experience
Representatives
from Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) chapters, police and border guards in 11
northern and central border localities gathered in the
According
to VFF Central Committee Vice President Truong Thi Ngoc Anh,
Therefore,
she said, they are prone to crimes, particularly drug and human trafficking,
which prompted the Prime Minister to issue Instructive 01/CT-TTg on promoting
residents’ involvement in safeguarding territorial sovereignty and border
security.
The
official reported that at present, residents in border areas have joined
3,519 groups to manage 3,262km of borderline and 2,345 border markers, while
VFF chapters and member organisations are running over 24,000 hotlines for
crime report at residential areas.
Border
residents have also work with police to organize over 655,000 community-based
security and watch groups, Anh added.
Meanwhile,
Tran Duc Quy, Vice Chairman of the Ha Giang People’s Committee, as part of
efforts to realise the Prime Minister’s directive, most border communes in Ha
Giang have applied a number of models for crime prevention and control.
Participants
at the event also learnt from crime control experience from representatives
from 11 localities – Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Son La,
Dien Bien, Quang Ninh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh.
Major
General Nguyen Phong Hoa, Deputy Head of the Police General Department under
the Ministry of Public Security, emphasised that raising residents’
understanding of crime prevention and control and calling for their
involvement in the work is crucial in combating crime effectively.
Khmer
ethnic group in Hau Giang enjoys better life
The
Khmer community in Luong Nghia commune in the Mekong Delta
A
group of Australia Government Scholarship alumni carried the 300-million-VND
(14,000 USD) project in the commune, which has suffered from increasing
pollution and salt water intrusion due to climate change.
Do Van
Dinh from the Office of the provincial Party Committee, head of the project
board, said Luong Nghia commune, home to a large number of Khmer people, is
among disadvantaged areas in the province. Local residents rely on river
water for daily use, and at the same time, use nearby rivers and canals as
their toilets.
The
project sought to change local practice by providing them with water
containers and filter systems to turn rain water into the main source of
clean water for their daily use.
Project
workers also helped build hygienic toilets for a number of local households
and held talks, training sessions and workshops to raise local residents’
awareness of protecting the environment.
Danh
Hung from the hamlet 10 in Luong Nghia commune is among 20 families who
benefited from the project. He said now that with the rain water container
and the filter, his family has clean water for cooking and drinking, in stead
of using water from the local river or drilled well.
Australia
launches New Colombo Plan in southern Vietnam
The
Australian Consulate General in
The
plan is the Australian Government’s initiative which aims to help Australian
students and trainees pursue learning in Asia-Pacific nations as well as
embrace links between people, universities, and businesses of the two sides.
This
year,
The
programme is expected to establish closer links between Vietnamese and
Australian youngsters and create more cooperation opportunities for the two
countries.
Consul
General John McAnulty said the programme enables Australian students to
exchange and cooperate with their peers from
Present
at the event were students from University of Adelaide and James Cook, who
are studying environment, tourism, and agriculture issues.-
Conference
gathers ideas on draft Law on Belief, Religion
The
National Assembly Committee for Culture, Education, Youth, Adolescents and
Children held a conference in
A
report reviewing 10 years of implementing the Ordinance on Belief and
Religion delivered at the event pointed to many shortcomings in the current
regulations amid the development of religious and belief activities, as well
as the need for legal system renovation.
The
majority of participants agreed that it is necessary to issue a Law on Belief
and Religion to replace the ordinance which reflects the responsibility of
the State in observing the rights to belief and religious freedom as stated
in the 2013 Constitution.
According
to Most Venerable Thich Thien Thong, Deputy Secretary of the Vietnam Buddhist
Sangha, the institutionalisation of belief and religious policies will make
the policies more effective, providing an efficient legal tool for religious
practice in line with the law.
Meanwhile,
Ly Du So, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of the Representative Board
of the Ho Chi Minh City Muslim Community, asserted that the draft law is a
big step forwards from the current ordinance, as it is more open and suitable
to international regulations and creates favourable conditions for religious
organisations to operate in conformity with relevant laws.
Assessing
the draft law, Professor Dr Tran Ngoc Duong, former Vice Chairman of the
National Assembly Office, said the document reflects a new mindset on the
rights to beliefs and religious freedom while expanding beneficiaries and
encouraging and supporting religious activities for the interest of the
community and the nation.
As
scheduled, the draft law will be debated for the first time at the 10 th
session of the 13 th National Assembly.
Phu
Tho moves to improve the environment
The
By the
end of this year, the locality targets to have all new local production
facilities and hospitals equipped with clean water and waste treatment
technologies.
Domestic
and industrial waste is expected to be classified in 30 percent of local
households and 70 percent of businesses while industrial zones deploy waste
treatment systems that meet environmental requirements.
Rain
water and domestic waste water sewage facilities will also be upgraded in
urban areas and industrial clusters and adequate supply of clean water will
be ensured for all urban residents and almost all rural areas.
Efforts
will also be made to restore local mining areas and develop and protect
forests, ensuring forest coverage exceeds 50 percent.
Publicity
campaigns will be organised to raise community awareness of environmental
protection in residential and industrial areas and in trade villages.
Management
and supervision have been strengthened to restrict the import and use of old
vehicles and machines while mobilising domestic and international resources to
protecting the environment.
In the
first half of this year, some 89.59 percent of urban waste were collected and
treated. The rural figure is closer to 44.3 percent, according to Deputy
Director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment
Luu Van Doanh.
The
province has deployed a number of cooperatives, businesses and projects to
address local pollution hotspots.
Medical
waste from local hospitals has also been collected, classified and treated
safely at the facilities, Doanh added.
A
waste water treatment system, worth more than three billion VND (140,000 USD)
with a daily capacity of 200 cubic metres has been developed in the locality,
said Bui Van Thuoc, Director of the Phu Tho Waste Treatment company.
In
early 2014, construction was started on a concentrated waste water treatment
facility in the Thuy Van Industrial Zone in Viet Tri city at a total cost
exceeding 100 billion VND (4.67 million USD), according to Chairman of the
city’s People’s Committee Le Hong Van.
The
5,000-cubic-metre daily capacity facility, is expected to address pollution
in the industrial zone, Van said.
Bomb
clearance project sends detection dogs to central Vietnam
A
Norwegian-funded project for clearing ordnance left from the Vietnam War is
using trained dogs as its new searching force.
Nguyen
Thi Dieu Linh, a manager of the RENEW project in the central province of
Quang Tri, said the Norwegian People’s Aid, which helps fund the project said
it has tried using dogs to search for unexploded ordnance and similar war
materials in the region.
Three
Cambodian experts have been guiding two
Linh
said the trial phase will last until September, or possibly to the end of the
year, and then the team will report the result and estimate possible cost if
the method is replicated widely in the province, which saw one of the most
devastating bombings of the Vietnam War.
Two
detection dogs assist a UXO clearance project in
Quang
Tri was a center for American military bases during the peak of the Vietnam
War and a principle battleground during the 1968 Tet Offensive.
An
estimated 400,000 pieces of UXO remain buried across 480,000 hectares of land
in the province and it can be found in residential areas, gardens and even
under the floors of houses.
Official
statistics list more than 7,000 people, 31% of them children, as victims of
UXO accidents in the province between 1975 and 2011.
RENEW
is counted among the most effective international organizations working
toward clearing UXO left in the province.
Its
new project is conducted with support from the Swedish International
Cooperation Development Agency (SIDA).
Aquaculture
under forest canopy helps Tra Vinh mangrove trees revive
Thousands
of farmers in the Mekong Delta
This
production method has helped farmers gain stable revenue and localities
quickly restore their coastal mangrove forests.
Over
the past decade, many intensive shrimp farmers in Hiep Thanh commune in Duyen
Hai district faced difficulties because shrimp died from unfavorable weather
and environmental conditions.
On the
contrary, with half of the 4.5 hectares of the water surface covered by
arenga forest, Pham Van Huan’s family earns a profit of nearly US$7,000 each
year from shrimp farming.
Though
the earnings are not high, the model requires less investment, management
costs, and care. Recently Huan has continued to invest in planting additional
3 hectares of forest to expand coverage and the area for shrimp aquaculture.
He
said his family “faces fewer risks if we only raise shrimps. We may gain less
profit from raising both crabs and fish, but the model is more sustainable.
All the areas are used for forest shrimp culture. But our forest is young, we
haven’t fully tapped its potential.”
Phan
Van Canh from Long Vinh commune in Duyen Hai district said his family
suffered losses in three consecutive years and got in debt. In the past when
he and other households newly settled down in the village, they used to cut
trees and build ponds to raise shrimps. Their first harvests were good but
subsequent catches were not profitable.
Canh
explained “since we re-planted forest and raised shrimps and crabs by
improved techniques over extensive shrimp culture with food completely
relying on nature and supplementary food per week, we have earned more than
US$5,000 a year.”
Raising
shrimp under the canopy of mangrove forests with improved extensive
techniques has more advantages than intensive cultivation and it even helps
to protect the environment.
Tran
Truong Giang, head of the agriculture and rural development section of Duyen
Hai district, said “the model requires less investment, risks, and is
suitable to farmers who live along coastal places. Statistics show that 80%
of shrimp farmers who apply improved extensive techniques have made profits.”
From
2010 to 2014, farmers along the coastal areas in Tra Vinh province invested
in growing nearly 3,200 hectares of forest for aquaculture, increasing the
province’s area of mangrove forests to more 7,500 hectares.
The
project was implemented in 12 communes in the three coastal districts of Chau
Thanh, Cau Ngang, and Duyen Hai.
Tran
Van Tri, head of the forest management and protection section of the
provincial Forest Ranger Department, said “the shrimp raising model in
combination with afforestation has resulted in higher efficiency and
sustainability than the traditional method. Its economic efficiency has drawn
public attention to re-planting forest.”
Aquaculture
under the canopy of mangrove forests has helped coastal farmers improve their
living condition, conserve and develop the ecosystem of mangrove forest in
Duyen Hai district, and better respond to global climate change.
More
than 80,000 students are taking part in an annual voluntary campaign that
kicked off in
They
have been divided into 9 groups to launch a large number of social and
humanitarian activities across the southern city, 12 neighbouring provinces,
Phu Quy island district in central Binh Thuan province, and some Lao
provinces.
Running
through August 16, the programme includes communications campaigns on
environmental protection, traffic safety and building a civilised society and
technical transfer to farmers.
The
students will deliver scholarships and gifts to disadvantaged students,
provide free health care services to the needy and build transport works in
rural areas.
The
campaign sets the goal of paving 40 kilometres of rural road with cement,
upgrading and building ten rural bridges, dredging eight canals and fixing
electricity problems for 1,000 poor households, among others.
According
to Pham Hong Son, deputy secretary of the municipal committee of the Ho Chi
Minh Communist Youth Union, this year, the summer campaign will be closely
coordinated with other ongoing social projects to expand the positive
impacts.
Ceremony
honours war heroes, heroic Vietnamese mothers
A
ceremony in tribute to war heroes, heroic Vietnamese mothers and those who
rendered their services to the revolutionary war took place in the central
Quang
Tri suffered huge losses during the war, the pinnacle of which was the final
strategic offensive – the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign 1975 that led to the
liberation of the southern region and national reunification, Politburo
member and head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for
Popularisation and Education Dinh The Huynh said in his speech.
Before
and after the Tet Offensive 1968, Quang Tri soldiers and people unyieldingly
fought and defeated the most powerful American army units on the Route 9
battlefield, leading to the epic Khe Sanh – Huong Hoa victory that ruined the
Huynh
recalled that the Quang Tri liberation campaign and heroic struggle to defend
Quang Tri ancient citadel throughout 81 days and nights in 1972, together
with the victories on other battlefields, paved the way for the 1975 General
Offensive and Uprising that liberated the south and reunified the entire
country.
The
ceremony started with a performance demonstrating how Vietnamese soldiers
crossed Thach
On the
occasion, commercial joint stock banks donated VND100 billion (US$4.76
million) to local authorities for the construction of houses, health care and
educational facilities.
Son
La develops cage fish farming on reservoirs
The
Besides
traditional freshwater fish farming method, the province has also promoted
sturgeon farming in cages on the Son La hydropower’s reservoir.
With
over 10,000 hectares of reservoir water surface, Quynh Nhai district has
encouraged and supported local households to try cage farming.
The
district now has seven active aquaculture cooperatives and 218 fish cages in
communes of Chieng Bang, Muon Giang, and Chieng On. Chairwoman of Hanh Loi
aquaculture cooperative Vu Thi Loi said as one of the first units to raise
sturgeon in the province, the cooperative has invested in 32 fish cages since
2011, selling about 10 tonnes of fish every year, mostly sturgeon and
tilapia.
According
to Chairman of Muong La district’s People Committee Nguyen Thanh Cong, the
district is assisting ethnic people living along the reservoirs to develop
aquaculture by providing fund under the government’s 30a programme.
To
date, Muong La district has developed 125 cages, contributing to increase
income for local people, he added.
Son La
has two big hydro power reservoirs, posing a great potential for aquaculture
development, particularly cage fish farming.
Buddhism
activities in
The
practice of Buddhism among ethnic groups in the Central Highlands was the
main topic at a workshop in Buon Ma Thuot city, the Central Highland
Participants
discussed solutions to foster the quality and sustainable development of
Buddhism activities in the region, including raising Buddhists’ sense of
responsibility for the community and organising classes on Buddhist teachings
in far-flung areas.
Sixteen
speeches were delivered at the event, focusing on methods to promote Buddhism
in ethnic minority regions, charitable deeds in remote and mountainous areas,
among others.
The
workshop was co-organised by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and its Dak Lak
chapter.
Chinese
friendship activist honoured with insignia
The
Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) awarded the insignia “For
Peace and Friendship among Nations” for Li Xiaolin, head of the Chinese
People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, at a ceremony in
Addressing
the event, VUFO’s President Vu Xuan Hong acknowledged Li Xiaolin’s
meritorious service in coordinating a range of meaningful programmes, such as
the Vietnam-China Friendship Festival, the Vietnam-China People’s Forum,
activities to mark the 65th anniversary of Vietnam-China ties and a tour
travelling across destinations where the late President Ho Chi Minh had been
to in the past.
Li
Xiaolin said she was honoured to receive the noble award and stressed that
people of the two countries will always foster the friendship built by the
two nations’ leaders.
Red
Journey collects blood in Da Nang
The
central city of
The
donated units will be given for blood transfusions at 20 hospitals in
According
to
Last
year, the number of voluntary blood donors in the city accounted for 3.25% of
the population, the highest rate in the country.
The
Red Journey 2015 blood donation campaign was introduced in
The
campaign will be held from July 3-26 in 22 provinces and cities nationwide,
aiming to attract about 20,000 donors and receive at least 17,000 units of
blood.
Organised
for the first time in 2013, The Red Journey has popularised blood donation
activities to around 1 million people and attracted 50,000 donors with 28,400
blood units, according to Head of the NIHBT Dr. Nguyen Anh Tri.
Vietnamese
in
Crowds
of Vietnamese people in
Prominent
attendees included Vietnamese Ambassador to Singapore Nguyen Tien Minh and
well-known Vietnamese scholars in the island country, such as Professor Ngo
Vinh Long and Associate Professor Vu Minh Khuong.
This
year, the fund aims to raise 11,000 SGD (around US$8,000) from selling
paintings and received donations during the event.
The
proceeds will cover 60 scholarships for disadvantaged pupils at high schools
in
President
of the Fund Luu Quang Hung expressed his hope that the fund will help convey
the support of the Vietnamese community in
The
Singapore-based Orchid Scholarship Fund was established in 2012 by a group of
young Vietnamese intellectuals.
Last
year, the fund presented 47 scholarships to students from four high schools
in
The
fund has worked with the PDG Trust Fund to support Vietnamese students at
home. It has also conducted a number of consultation programmes on overseas
studies and established a network connecting its beneficiaries.
Hanoi
youth volunteers work in Vientiane
A
group of 40 young volunteers from
The
campaign is jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of Hanoi,
the Hanoi Youth Federation and the Youth Union of Vientiane.
During
their stay in
The
youth will also transfer advanced technology in animal breeding and
cultivation to locals while visiting and distributing presents to those in
need.
They
will share experience in youth union work and conduct cultural and sport
exchanges with their Lao counterparts in the locality as well as organise
training courses on accident prevention to children in a number of local
kindergartens.
On the
occasion, the group will also present school equipment worth over VND1
billion (US$45,860) to children in
Chairman
of Xaythany District Chanthala Inthalasi said this is the fourth time
Argentines
discuss
A
workshop on
The
workshop began with a short documentary on the
Poldi
Sosa, Head of the Argentina-Vietnam Cultural Institute (ICAV) highlighted the
Vietnamese’s heroic deeds and solidarity during the struggle for independence
as well as socio-economic achievements while re-building the nation.
Another
film on today
The
workshop was co-organised by the ICAV and the Vietnam Embassy in
New height rule
would open up old apartment sizes
A
decree allowing local administrations to decide the height of new apartment
buildings built to replace rundown structures could considerably speed up the
planned upgrades.
A
draft of the much-awaited legislation was the topic of a conference held in
Until
now, the height of all new buildings to be rebuilt in
Since
the heights approved by the Prime Minister tended to be insufficient,
developers were not showing interest in the project to rebuild the old
buildings.
Since
the developers would have to return many apartments to the old owners
(old-new swap), they would look at how many extra apartments could be built
(and sold) before making a decision.
Nguyen
Trong Ninh, deputy head of the Department for Housing Management and Real
Estate Market under the Ministry of Construction, admitted that the current
requirement was a hindrance.
He
told the conference that over the last 10 years, very little progress has
been made on upgrading old apartment buildings.
With
Ha Noi and
After
the Housing Law was ratified in 2005, a Government Decree (Decree 34 issued
on 2007) rolled out a number of measures to expedite the upgrade, but the
legislation failed to make a real difference.
The
draft decree also demands greater transparency. It says that when dismantling
or upgrading an old apartment building, developers will have to talk directly
to its inhabitants. Until now, local authorities were choosing the developer,
and residents were often dissatisfied with the choice.
The
right to negotiate direct with the developer was one that residents had been
demanding, but the draft decree still caps the time limit for such
negotiations at one year.
While
it gives local authorities the right to fix the height of new buildings, the
decree requires that it (the height) matches the surrounding space.
Another
positive aspect of the draft decree that it requires local authorities to
publicise results of surveys on the status of old apartment buildings in the
neighbourhood. The public can now see for themselves if a building in
question is really dilapidated and whether an upgrade is required.
The
local authority will also be required to develop a roadmap for upgrading old
apartment buildings in their area and to reform administrative procedures to
facilitate paperwork for developers.
Le
Hoang Chau, chairman of the HCM City Real Estate Association (HoREA), said
the decree should add some more provisions.
He
said it should be able to deal with apartments where several members of a
family reside. Beside the one-for-one swap format, such families should be
allowed to buy additional apartments at preferential prices, he said.
According
to the HCM City Construction Department, there are 1,244 old apartment
buildings in the city, including 533 built before 1975.
The
process of upgrading them, either by renovating or dismantling and building a
new building, has been very slow. Between 2006 and 2010, just 16 were
dismantled and in the next five-year period from 2011 to 2015, only 15 were
pulled down for rebuilding.
Source: VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri
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Thứ Hai, 20 tháng 7, 2015
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