Social News 12/12 Crackdown on smugglers creates border control turmoil A crackdown on smugglers has created turmoil at Vietnam-China border crossings, notably at Mong Cai Border Gate in Quang Ninh Province, which is being flooded with people going back and forth between the two countries as gangs probe for weak spots in border control. Officials said Mong Cai Border Gate processed 10,000 people on December 6. The crowdness has been going on over the past month following the arrest of a smuggling gang on November 2, which prompted an increase of inspections by border gate security along the border. Mong Cai has been reinforcing security and inspection of the imported goods to identify smugglers, with all adjacent road crossings blocked to force people through the main border gate. Most of people going through Mong Cai Border Gate use "border citizen cards", which grant them them a duty-free allowance of VND2 million worth of goods a day. Any more than that attracts a customs tax of about 30 percent of the value of the goods. The Department of Vietnam Customs said smugglers were using the border citizen card to manipulate the rules to bring goods into Vietnam. Reports say it is also common practice for border crossers to wear multiple layers of clothing, which are handed off to brokers on the other side of the checkpoint, or pay commissions to others to break down and carry in large shipments of such items as handbags without arousing suspicion. But tightened inspections at checkpoints has led smugglers to probe for weak spots, resulting in some crossings, such as Mong Cai, being inundated with cross-border traffic. Authorities are considering limiting the duty-free allowance to one crossing a week. Miracle baby grows well  Doctors of Children Hospital No. 1 said baby Quoc Huy grew well when he was taken back to the hospital for re-examination, on December 9. He gains weights and his wound in leg looks well. Doctors will continue to use physical therapy to treat him. The terrible accident took place on October 25 when his father was driving his mother, Thi Kim Ngoc, to hospital to deliver Huy. While driving down National Highway 91 in An Giang’s Long Xuyen Town, their bike was hit by a truck traveling behind them -- throwing the couple down onto the road. The truck crushed Ngoc, killing her on the spot, and forcing Huy from her womb. Huy and his father both lost portions their legs in the accident. Vietnamese migrant worker seeks escape from Saudi Arabia A Vietnamese migrant worker in Saudi Arabia recently sneaked onto Facebook to ask for help from her compatriots to get out of terrible work conditions, adding that many other Vietnamese were in the same situation. The 28-year-old woman who called herself V said that she signed a labour contract with the Vinh Cat Company in Hanoi to work in Saudi Arabia. But according to her Facebook postings, it was not what she expected. "I flew to Saudi Arabia on July 12, 2014. I worked for my first employer for 1 month, but was only allow to sleep three to four hours a day. I was only allowed eat a bowl of plain rice or a piece of moldy bread each day. When I was sick, I wasn't sent to the hospital. Instead, they only poured acid on my hands," she stated. The post goes on to recall a succession of employers, for whom she worked in conditions akin to slavery. She ended the post with a plea: "Today I write this letter to ask for your help in returning to Vietnam. When I called the Vinh Cat Company, they told me that I had to pay VND58 million before they send me back." In her contract, V was promised a salary of VND 7 million per month, healthcare, per basic labour rights and at least eight hours of rest per day. A representative of Vinh Cat Company, Van Anh, said that none of V's claims were true, and that if anything were wrong with the employees, the company would intervene immediately. According to Van Anh, V's salary was over VND 9 million and that, just a few months earlier, V sent photos and notes saying that she was happy. JICA supports VN in agriculture development Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh awarded the medal “For the cause of Agriculture and Rural Development” to Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Viet Nam, Mori Mutsuya, on December 9, for his contributions to the sector’s development. Speaking at the awarding ceremony, the Deputy Minister said that the Government, the ministry and the people of Viet Nam honored the great support of the Japanese Government in agriculture and rural development. He said that official development assistance programs and projects, funded by the Japanese Government, had been implemented productively,  bringing positive results to beneficiaries, who are farmers and the poor throughout the country. Doanh noted that in his position as the chief of Viet Nam JICA, Mori Mutsuya had contributed to the agriculture sector as well as the development of bilateral relations. Mori Mutsuya said that he was happy and honoured  to receive the medal. He said that he would maintain the good relations with the Vietnamese ministry as well as the Vietnamese Government in the coming time. Quang Ninh seizes smuggled chickens Hai Hoa Ward border guards in the northern province of Quang Ninh's Mong Cai City on Tuesday seized 24,000 chickens illegally imported from China. The smugglers ran away when discovered. The driver, Nguyen Van Dung, 42, admitted to the guards that he was hired to transport the chickens by a man whose name he did not know. Two arrested for trading in stolen fuel The Binh Duong Police and Market Watch seized two men, one for illegally selling and one for buying stolen petrol in Thu Dau Mot City yesterday. One of the men, Nguyen Hoang Chau, 20, was seen collecting 60 litres of petrol from a petrol tanker in Phu My District. Investigations by the police revealed that the driver, Chau, siphoned off fuel at various petrol stations on his way from the depot in Thu Dau Mot City to the destined station. After taking out portions of petrol from the tanker and selling it, the driver would pump other liquids into the tanks to replace the stolen petrol. Thai Van Sang, 58, was caught in Dinh Hoa Ward while buying more than 120 litres of petrol from a tank truck. Fire destroys two carpentery workshops A fire destroyed two carpenter's shops yesterday morning on De La Thanh Street in Ha Noi's Dong Da District. No casualties were reported, but losses were estimated at VND200 million (US$9,500). It took an hour to extinguish the fire. Truong Van Thinh, 39, who owned one of the shops, said he heard an explosion and saw sparks. Then the workshop went up in flames. The fire is still being investigated. End violence against women, men urged More than 1,000 teenagers in Ha Noi joined street dance and cycle parades yesterday around Hoan Kiem and Thien Quang lakes. The HCM Communist Youth Union Central Committee and the UN Population Fund in Viet Nam held the event to call on the public – particularly men – to take action against all forms of violence against women. "Let's work together to ensure that Vietnamese men and boys ‘raise hands to hold, not to hit,'" said Arthur Erken, a representative from the Population Fund. About 58 per cent of women who have been married have experienced at least one form of violence (physical, mental or sexual) during their lives, according to the National Study on Domestic Violence against Women, released in 2010 by the General Statistics Office and the UN in Viet Nam. Scientists debate asbestos safety Experts at a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday expressed different opinions on the safety of amianthus, a kind of asbestos that is widely used in many industries. Nguyen Thi Thu Hien of the Department of Environment Management under the Ministry of Health said amianthus was a carcinogenic occupational hazard, noting that 54 countries had prohibited its use. She said that most figures cited at the conference were from research done in other countries, not Viet Nam, hence the country had insufficient data on the chemical's real impact. This also meant that impacts of amianthus on human health have not been properly investigated, she added. However, Luong Duc Long, director of the Construction Material Institute under the Ministry of Construction, claimed that international studies have not been able to confirm that amianthus was the real cause for several diseases, including cancer. Studies have only said the diseases could have been caused by amianthus, he said. Sharing Long's view, David Bernstein, a Swish consultant, said coloured amianthus has had bad impacts on people's health, but this was not true of "white" amianthus. He also said the impacts that people heard about were caused around 50 years ago, when people had no way to control dust, a problem that modern technology can address. Therefore, many countries have not prohibited the use of amianthus, just managed the use of the construction material, he said. Somchao Bovornkitti of the Thai Royal Institute said Thailand had been using amianthus for more than 70 years. Studies done in the kingdom have shown that amianthus was not the cause of several diseases, he said. Other scientists at the conference also said there was no clinching evidence for amianthus causing any disease. People with lung problems were mostly those who contracted diseases because of their contact with coloured amianthus about 20 to 40 years ago, they said. Le Hong Thinh, permanent member of the National Assembly's Science, Technology and Environment Committee, said more research and evidence was necessary before Viet Nam decided whether or not the use of amianthus should be banned. "If there's no proof that amianthus has bad impacts on people's health, enterprises should still be allowed to use this material," he said. Long of the Construction Ministry said no alternative for amianthus had been discovered in the last 70 years. Ha Noi to tighten bus controls for Tet season As Tet (Lunar New Year) festival approaches, more coach drivers have started transporting goods, a practice that could threaten the vehicles' passengers, according to transport authorities. A Vietnam News Agency reporter observed drivers and their assistants hurriedly loading goods onto their 30-seat and 40-seat coaches at the Ha Noi-based Luong Yen coach station. They even dismantled chairs near the back of the bus to make more room for the goods, which – if flammable – pose a risk to passengers. Nguyen Thanh Binh, whose husband is a driver for Son Binh Company, said that as Tet neared, transporting goods became more lucrative than transporting passengers. Transporting goods could earn Binh's husband millions of dong per trip, while he sometimes suffered losses transporting passengers, she said. Using a coach to carry goods is about 30 to 50 per cent cheaper than using a lorry, according to the VNA reporter's research. For example, it costs VND1 million (US$47) to transport a 50-kg cask from Ha Noi to the central province of Ha Tinh by lorry, but only VND300,000 ($14) by coach. Nguyen Tat Thanh, director of the Giap Bat Coach Station, said the Directorate for Roads of Viet Nam and local departments of transport asked transport firms to ensure customer safety, especially during Tet. But the number of passengers increases around the holiday, making it more difficult for companies to supervise all their coaches. Sometimes managers could not check for the goods, because drivers would load and unload goods outside the station, Thanh said. The Ha Noi Department of Transport assigned inspectors and police to improve inspections and prevent unsafe coaches from leaving the station, said Nguyen Hoang Linh, the department's deputy director. The inspectors had the right to temporarily seize coaches violating the law, Linh said. Coaches are only permitted to carry passengers and their luggage. Chairman of the Ha Noi Transport Association Bui Danh Lien said the municipal department of transport and coach station management boards should create more detailed regulations to prevent coach drivers from transporting flammable goods. Vietnam, Singapore boost cooperation in military medicine As many as 30 doctors and medical workers from the Singapore Armed Forces’ Medical Corps will join hands with their Vietnamese colleagues to provide medical examinations for local people in Binh Xuyen district, northern Vinh Phuc province, in next April. At their working session in Singapore on December 9, officials from Singapore’s Medical Corps and the Vietnamese Ministry of Defence’s Military Medicine Department agreed that Vinh Phuc residents will be provided with primary healthcare, dental services, eye screening and optometry from April 15-18. The Singaporean side will give medicine and glasses during the examination. This is the first time the two military medicine departments have cooperated in humanitarian medical treatment, said Colonel Bui Duc Hai from the Military Medicine Department. Singaporean doctors will share experience in profession, humanitarian assistance, high availability disaster recovery (HADR) and peace keeping activities, Hai added. Colonel Johnny Lim, Singaporean Defence Attache to Vietnam said that since 2009, the Singapore Armed Forces and the Vietnam People’s Army have closely worked in many areas from the army to the navy and the air force. Next year, the military will for first time work side by side with Vietnamese military, he said, adding “We’ll bring in a group of doctors and equipment, bring healthcare to residents there (Vinh Phuc) as well as treat them.” Irish Aid backs project to fight micronutrient deficiency Irish Aid and Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) on December 10 held a workshop in Hanoi to develop action plans to fight child malnutrition in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia through the use of multi-nutrient powders (MNP). The project, funded by Irish Aid, promotes optimal feeding practices with especial attention paid to home fortification solutions. It will gear up local manufacturing of MNPs to be distributed through the health system, and run a campaign to change social behaviors, said Nuala O'Brien, Deputy Head of Mission at the Irish Embassy in Hanoi. "Ireland will continue to champion nutrition through Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN)— a partnership for collective action, and a framework for scaling up actions to deal with malnutrition. " We are pleased to support Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in addressing maternal, infant and child malnutrition so as to prevent stunting, especially focusing on the first 1,000 days from the beginning of a woman's pregnancy to the child's 2nd birthday," said O'Brien. Dominic Schofield, director of GAIN Canada and senior technical advisor of policy and programmes said, "Micronutrient powders are a proven, cost-effective approach to tackling micronutrient deficiency, when coupled with behavior change programs and targeted distribution through the health system. We are happy to be sharing the lessons learned from our work in Vietnam, which provides an innovative model of collaboration that can be scaled up and replicated across the region." Home fortification of foods with supplementary vitamins and minerals is an effective way to prevent micronutrient deficiencies. MNPs are well-known products that are supported by the WHO and endorsed by UN agencies, NGOs and governments in more than 40 countries. Presently, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are carrying out pilot projects to identify the best practices for implementing and scaling up MNP distribution as a way to improve infant and young children's diets. Christmas greetings to Hue Catholics Ha Thi Khiet, Party Secretary, extended season’s greetings to dignitaries of the Hue Archdiocese and Catholic followers in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on December 10 in the run up to Christmas. Meeting with Catholic dignitaries in Hue city, Khiet, who is also head of the Party Central Committee’s Mass Mobilisation Commission, wished local priests, clergymen, and followers a peaceful and merry Christmas. She hailed contributions by local Catholic priests and followers to the building of new-style rural areas in their residential areas and the prevention of crime in their dioceses. The official reiterated the Party and State’s consistent policy of respecting people’s faith and religious freedom and facilitating religious followers’ participation in social activities. She expressed her belief that they will uphold patriotism and follow the teachings “Living the Gospel amidst the nation” and practically contribute to promoting the national great solidarity. Meanwhile, Archbishop Le Van Hong committed to continuing to encourage Catholic dignitaries and followers to observe the Party’s guidelines and the State’s policies and laws as well as leading a good secular and religious life. Covering Thua Thien-Hue and neighboring Quang Tri province, the Hue Archdiocese has around 69,000 Catholic followers. Poverty alleviation needs community involvement It is urgent to create a common legal framework for the reform of the decentralisation and granting of authority to communes and community with a view to sustainably reducing poverty. The suggestion was proposed at a policy dialogue on the issue held by the National Office on Poverty Alleviation under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in collaboration with British Oxfam in Vietnam . The dialogue shared information concerned in order to revise mechanisms and policies relating to poverty alleviation in the upcoming time, especially the mechanism to decentralize and grant authority to communes and community. Oxfam undertook a policy-analysis work on “Commune-level planning with the participation and decentralization of finances to grassroots levels” within the “Supervising and analysing poverty-alleviating policy” project in Lao Cai, Hoa Binh, Nghe An, Quang Tri, Dak Nong, Ninh Thuan and Tra Vinh in 2014-2016. The results showed the provincial government plays a key role in implementing the reform of commune-level planning and increasing the decentralization of investment to communes and granting rights to community to implement small-sized, simple projects in poverty-alleviating programs. The observations also showed that a common central legal framework on commune-level planning and decentralization as well as the granting of authority to community will help multiply initiatives at commune levels. The reform of commune-level planning for economic-social development with the participation of community has been a nationwide movement following the period of piloting village-and commune-level planning in some provinces in 1990s. Thirty provinces, including the seven aforementioned provinces, are carrying out the reform of the commune-level planning, which proved effective in most disadvantaged communes in Muong Khuong district in northern Lao Cai province, Dak Rong in central Quang Tri province and Bac Ai in central Ninh Thuan province. Stronger measures needed to protect children Vietnam should build laws and regulations to further promote the role that social organisations play in preventing and controlling violence against children and child abuse, child rights activists proposed during a policy dialogue in Hanoi on December 10. They suggested the Justice Ministry consider adding a regulation to allow lawyers from the Vietnam Association for Protection of Children’s Rights (VAPCR) to protect the rights of children, while adding test on children as a special examination to the 2012 law on forensic test. The assessment must be done any time required. A report at the event showed that as many as 1,000 children in Vietnam suffer from violence and abuse every year. The figure tends to rise among younger children, it said. A survey by the Vietnam Women’s Union also pointed out that up to 73.9% of Vietnamese children aged 2-14 are punished with violence by their parents and caretakers or other family members. At the same time, 23.7 percent of married women with under 15-year-old children said their husbands committed violence against their children, said the survey. According to VAPCR Chairwoman Tran Thi Thanh Thanh, over the past years the National Assembly, Government and localities have issued a number of policies and made various programmes and projects to protect children’s rights and address violence and abuse against children. The actions were supported strongly by associations, unions and social organisations, she noted. However, violence against children and child abuse remained a pressing problem with growing cases and increasing cruelty, leaving serious physical and mental pains for children, she stated. The activists stressed that the Ministry of Education and Training should take more measures to strengthen the engagement of school students in detecting, reporting and preventing bullying, violence and abuse against children at schools. Children’s rights, living and self-protection skills should also be added to school’s curricula, they said. In addition, the ministry should draw out plans to collaborate with social organisations in the work, they added. Vietnam hands over facilities to Lao science academy The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) handed over the Library - Documentation Centre and Office Building to the Lao Academy of Social Sciences (LASS) at a ceremony in capital Vientiane on December 9. The ceremony was attended by Lao Deputy Prime Minister Somsavad Lengsavath, visiting Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of LASS Chaleun Yiapaoher, and Head of VASS Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, among others. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang said the Library - Documentation Centre and Office Building complex, covering a total land area of 8,583 m2, was built at a cost of VND150 billion (US$7 million) donated by the Vietnamese government. On behalf of LASS, Chaleun Yiapaoher thanked the Vietnamese government and people general and the VASS in particular for the donation. He expressed his hope that these modern facilities will help LASS researchers and scientists work out efficient projects in service of the national development. Japan funds bridge, hospital projects The Japanese Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City has signed contracts to provide non-refundable aid worth a total of 646,500 USD for seven projects in Vietnam. The Mekong Delta city of Can Tho will receive 135,000 USD to build 12 bridges in Thoi Lai, Co Do and Phong Dien districts. A total of 308,000 USD will be provided for medical equipment for two general hospitals in An Giang and Kien Giang provinces and a medical centre in Long An province. Dak Nong and Kien Giang provinces will receive more than 100,000 USD each to build two primary schools.- Quang Ngai province to have biggest steel vessel ever The central province of Quang Ngai will have the biggest steel vessel ever in the coming time, to provide logistics services for fishing vessels operating at sea. The Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank)’s Quang Ngai branch will provide a 20 billion VND (952,380 USD) loan to the project under a credit contract inked on December 10 with the ship’s future owner, the Ly Son Fisheries Joint Stock Company. This is the first deal on building logistics service ships in the province. The ship, 45.6m long and 7.5m wide, costs 25 billion VND (1.19 million USD) in total. It can reach a speed of 12 nautical miles per hour while carrying 680 tonnes of seafood and 50 tonnes of necessaries to supply offshore fishing ships. It will also be equipped with a processing line. The ship is being under construction at the Vietnam Fishery Mechanical Shipbuilding Joint Stock Company in the northern port city of Hai Phong and expected to be launched in the second quarter of 2015. The building of the steel ship is in line with the Government’s Decree 67, which provides a full, systematic and synchronous set of basic policies to encourage fishermen building high-capacity steel ships capable of fishing offshore. Under this decree, Quang Ngai plans to build 189 new vessels for fishing and logistic services by 2016 at an estimated cost of 1.6 trillion VND (76.19 million USD). Over 1.4 trillion VND (66.66 million USD) is expected to come from bank loans and local fishermen will dole out 200 billion VND (9.4 million USD). UN Women delegation shares gender equality experience A UN Women delegation led by its President of Executive Board Gonzalo Koncke Pizzorno shared experience in promoting gender equality with the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) of the central city of Da Nang at a meeting on December 10. Gonzalo Koncke Pizzorno praised the VWU Da Nang chapter for what it has done to reduce incidence of domestic violence and improve gender equality. Both sides reviewed the progress of the Vietnam component of a project on applying technical tools, evidence and community involvement to promoting law enforcement and support services to women victims of violence in Southeast Asia from 2013-2015. The component is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development and the UN Women via the Spanish non-governmental organisation for peace and development (PyD). Le Thi My Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal VWU, informed the guests of the union’s activities in the field over the past time, including organising training courses, festivals and forums highlighting gender equality issues. The city has so far recorded no case of trafficking women across the border and a significant reduction in violence against women, she said. Last year, the union helped nearly 8,500 women out of poverty, using over 23 billion VND (1.1 million USD) for the cause. While in Da Nang, the delegation also met senior officials of the provincial People’s Committee and joined an exchange with a club of happy families in Hai Chau district.- Children’s rights integrated in business activities discussed Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Trong Dam has called for businesses’ more involvement in activities supporting the implementation of children’s rights. He made the statement at a workshop on children’s rights and business principles held in Ho Chi Minh City on December 9 by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in Vietnam. Developed by UNICEF and the UN Global Compact and Save the Children, the “Children’s Rights and Business Principles” is a set of ten principles guiding businesses to provide support for the implementation of children’s rights through their operations. The principles are built on existing standards, initiatives and best practices related to businesses and children, and seek to fill gaps to present a coherent vision for businesses to maximise the positive impacts and minimise negative impacts on children. According to Lara Vu from UNICEF Vietnam, the set of principles defines a series of actions that enterprises should take to prevent activities harmful to children. Irik Nyman, UNICEF regional advisor, highlighted that the implementation of business principles ensuring children’s rights will bring benefits to children and society as well as long-term benefits to enterprises. He suggested firms be given training on children-related issues in order to build action plans with a view to providing the best benefits for children. At the event, participants discussed measures to integrate the principles into businesses’ operations. Representatives from the city’s associations and businesses signed a commitment on the implementation of the “Children’s Rights and Business Principles”. Party veterans look back on their days in enemy’s prisons The Party Central Committee’s Secretariat organised a meeting in Hanoi on December 10 for more than 300 Party members who were once imprisoned by the enemy during the anti-US resistance war from 1954-1975. Addressing the meeting, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said the event was intended as a chance for the Party and State to express the profound gratitude to tens of thousands of revolutionary prisoners who contributed importantly to the liberation of the south and the country’s reunification. Even in prison, the fighting spirit of communists remained strong and inspired others, the Party leader said adding that the experiences and lessons gained in Party building and combat leadership from the revolutionary prisoners should be promoted during peacetime. The Party leader reiterated that Party strengthening and economic development continue to be the country’s core tasks at the moment. During 1954-1975, the US-led regime established over 300 prisons across Vietnam, detaining more than 700,000 political prisoners, including communists, revolutionary soldiers and patriots. Child rights activists call for stronger measures to protect children Vietnam should build laws and regulations to further promote the role that social organisations play in preventing and controlling violence against children and child abuse, child rights activists proposed during a policy dialogue in Hanoi on December 10. They suggested the Justice Ministry consider adding a regulation to allow lawyers from the Vietnam Association for Protection of Children’s Rights (VAPCR) to protect the rights of children, while adding test on children as a special examination to the 2012 law on forensic test. The assessment must be done any time required. A report at the event showed that as many as 1,000 children in Vietnam suffer from violence and abuse every year. The figure tends to rise among younger children, it said. A survey by the Vietnam Women’s Union also pointed out that up to 73.9 percent of Vietnamese children aged 2-14 are punished with violence by their parents and caretakers or other family members. At the same time, 23.7 percent of married women with under 15-year-old children said their husbands committed violence against their children, said the survey. According to VAPCR Chairwoman Tran Thi Thanh Thanh, over the past years the National Assembly, Government and localities have issued a number of policies and made various programmes and projects to protect children’s rights and address violence and abuse against children. The actions were supported strongly by associations, unions and social organisations, she noted. However, violence against children and child abuse remained a pressing problem with growing cases and increasing cruelty, leaving serious physical and mental pains for children, she stated. The activists stressed that the Ministry of Education and Training should take more measures to strengthen the engagement of school students in detecting, reporting and preventing bullying, violence and abuse against children at schools. Children’s rights, living and self-protection skills should also be added to school’s curricula, they said. In addition, the ministry should draw out plans to collaborate with social organisations in the work, they added. Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND