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Social News 16/1
Separate jails proposed for transgender, gay prisoners
Homosexual and transgender prisoners may be housed in jails
separate from the general prison population to protect them from sexual
harassment under a plan proposed by the Social, Economic and Environmental
Institute to the Ministry of Public Security.
The institute has been studying gender-related problems for
many years and says many countries provide separate jails for transgender
prisoners who are classified as trans-female or trans-male.
A 2014 report found that the majority of transgender prisoners
wanted separate jails to avoid the risks of sexual harassment. Homosexual and
transgender prisoners face the highest risk of sexual harassment.
The institute cited statistics from the
The institute said that under current infrastructure in
It wants prisoners to be allowed to determine their gender
identity, while homosexuals should also be offered imprisonment separate from
the general population, rather than subjected to solitary confinement.
The institute said in a 2014 report there were 219 transgender
prisoners in
Of female to male transgenders, 72.4 percent wanted to be
housed in separate prisons.
Childcare, protection services enhanced in HCMC
A seminar on developing and improving systems for child care
and protection services was held in
Jointly organized by the municipal Department of Labor,
Invalids and Social Affairs and the United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in
To realize these goals, local authorities plan to construct
additional centers for supporting and protecting children, pilot a
day-boarding model to care for children living with HIV/AIDS, and develop a
community-based protection system over the next two years.
Le Thu Ha from the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social
Affairs said child care and protection service system has been piloted in 63%
of provinces and cities, helping reduce the rate of child victims of violence
and abuse, among others, by 0.2% annually.
The model also contributed to increasing the rate of children
receiving care and assistance to 72%.
However, she noted that efforts have yet to meet set
requirements because system and staff capacity in the field remains limited,
while interdisciplinary coordination in the field has not been effective.
Le Hong Loan from UNICEF Viet Nam said the 2015-2016 program
will focus on supporting the formation of socially-sponsored centers and a
staff network working in the field, while establishing interdisciplinary working
groups to provide assistance, care and protection services to children in
need.
Implemented in HCM City since 2010, the project was designed
to improve the capacity of local authorities to thoroughly and effectively
resolve issues related children, especially those in poor and vulnerable
families, and within migration communities.
Increase in traffic accidents in some provinces due to local
authorities’ neglectfulness
Increase in traffic accidents is due to local governments’
neglectfulness, said Deputy Prime Minister cum chairman of
Some 25,322 traffic accidents were reported, killing 8,996
people and injuring 24,417 . The figure dropped by 4,063 incidents (13.8
percent), by 373 dead people (4 percent.
Ten provinces including the
However, five other provinces such as the central
According to Transport Minister Dinh La Thang, traffic
accidents dropped thanks to local government’s timely guideline and all
agencies’ participation.
However, in some provinces serious accidents took place
between passenger coach and motorbikes especially in the last months of the
year when the travelling demand increase, he said.
Traffic accidents went up drastically in rural districts where
people’s awareness of traffic safety is low, he added.
Deputy Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat
Viet Hung said that most of traffic accidents had happened in countryside and
mountainous districts due to drivers’ low awareness. Drivers in these places
did not wear helmet and were drunk when driving.
Meeting participants said that local governments in provinces
which have surge in traffic accidents should spread information of traffic
regulations and increase inhabitants’ awareness of obeying to the law.
Traffic wardens have to tighten checking on drunk trucks drivers and
overloaded coaches.
Deputy PM Phuc ordered each local government and related
agencies to work out a detailed plan to reduce traffic accidents in which
leaders must assume responsibility if there would be an accident in the
province.
Container of smuggled goods found at Saigon Port
Customs officers of
The container belongs to Phuc Loc Consultant Investment
Company Limited who declared that the container contains more than 12.6 tons
of LDPE plastic scrap, worth US$1,264, imported from
On January 9, the company carried out customs procedure. When
checking the container, customs officers uncovered that beside some boxes of
LDPE plastic scrap as the company had declared on customs declaration, the
container also contains consumer goods, such as: milk, shampoo, and
toothpaste which the company did not declare.
Currently, customs officers continue to count and check this
batch of goods.
Experts combine traditional and modern medicines to treat
Medical experts of the Central Healthcare Committee yesterday
said that Mr. Nguyen Ba Thanh, who was former chief of Da Nang Party
Committee and now is Head of the Party Central Committee of Internal Affairs,
would be treated by combination of traditional and modern medicine.
Head of the Central Healthcare Committee Nguyen Quoc Trieu
said that Dr. Nguyen Minh Ha, director of the Army Traditional Medicine
Institute yesterday had come to the central city of
The committee also opened a consultation session on Mr.
Thanh’s health condition, he said.
Mr. Trieu said that Mr. Thanh is in stable condition. He can
eat, drink and talk as normal, however, doctors advised him to take soft food
diets, he added.
On the same day, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc came
to
Before, Politburo member and Head of the Party Central
Committee’s Department of Organization To huy Rua, former State President
Nguyen Minh Triet, and Health Minister Nguyen Thi Kim Tien also travelled to
the hospital to visit Mr. Thanh.
Labor union supports workers’ heart operation
A group of delegation from
The delegation gave gift to sanitation worker Pham Van Ut of
Go Vap District Public Services Company. His operation charge is covered by
the union’s charitable program that supports poor workers’ heart operations.
The delegation gave VND10 million (US$ 469.1) and Go Vap
District Public Services Company handed VND2million (US$ 93.8) over to him.
The worker has suffered heart problem for over five years. The
union’s charitable program has supported him VND100 million (US$4,690). Five
of his colleagues volunteered to donate blood for the operation.
Tra Vinh supports vets
The government of the Mekong delta
Vets will receive the amount when they inject vaccine to
poultry in a day. The expense is taken from the provincial budget. Before,
they receive just VND200 for injection a water fowl. It is so low that it can
not encourage vets to dedicate to their work.
Accordingly the vet sector proposed to increase and its
proposal was approved by the provincial People’s Committee.
As per the Department of Animal Health, 4,000 water fowls in
Tan Phu Commune ofThoi Binh District in the Mekong delta
The outbreaks of bird flu in Tra Vinh, Vinh Long and Ca
Mau triggered concern of the re-occurrence of the disease in the
Police seize Chinese-labeled dried radish
The Ha Noi Market Watch, in co-ordiantion with the Hoan Kiem
District Police, on Tuesday seized more than 1,900kg of dried shredded radish
with unknown origins.
The radish, which was wrapped in bags covered in Chinese
characters, was laid out on the pavement for sale on
The owner of the goods, Nguyen Thi Hue, failed to produce
papers to show where she had purchased the goods.
Vietnamese law stipulates that
Two die in air tank accident
Two people were killed and one was seriously wounded after an
air compressor tank exploded at a family home in Nui Thanh District's Tam
Nghia Commune at around 7am yesterday.
Kieu Thi My Loan, 25, and her brother, Kieu Duc Thanh, 16,
were killed instantly in the explosion, while Ngo Van Minh, 32, was seriously
injured.
A local source said the air tank was used to produce noodles
at Minh's house in
Police are investigating the case.
Young environmentalists discuss energy efficiency at GYS
The first Global Youth Summit (GYS) Winter to be held in
It is being attended by 200 young people from different Asian
nations to discuss and initiate ideas to protect the living environment.
The event is being jointly organised by the Hemispheres
Foundation and the Viet Nam Environment Administration.
The delegates, aged between 11 and 21, have from
"These young environmentalists will be a great source of
inspiration for other youth in the region to learn more about the environment
impact and assume a more active role in their actions for Earth," said
Hemisphere Foundation President Ann Phua.
A GYS Summer will be hosted in
Lam Dong earmarks fire prevention funds
The Central Highlands
The amount divided among 38 of the province's
forest-management agencies will be used to buy and repair fire-fighting
equipment.
Funds will also be used to upgrade temporary fire-watching
huts and permanent fire-watching towers, redesign fire-ban signs, collect
meteorology data and print maps, maintain regular patrols, and hold
fire-drilling and educational campaigns.
In a related issue, the Bidoup-Nui Ba National Park will
submit plans for a project to improve forest management and protection to the
Ministry of Planning and Investment for approval.
Lam Dong's forest area extends across more than 580ha,
accounting for 59 per cent of the province's natural area.
Last year, the number of forest fires declined from 92 to 40,
damaging 131.5ha, 66.8 fewer than the figure of the previous year.
Haste makes waste as families rush into pre-Tet cleaning spree
With just a month before Tet, many families in Ha Noi are
scrambling to have their houses spruced up to celebrate the most important
holiday of the year.
This means it is peak season for those providing renovation
and repair services; and such firms are enjoying a surge in work orders.
However industry insiders warn that many firms are taking on
tasks they are not equipped to handle. Many firms lack the manpower and
skills, and faced with the pressure of holiday deadlines, may deliver work of
substandard quality, they say.
While the Internet makes it easier to find firms providing
renovation and repair services, house owners should be careful in selecting
them.
"Many companies do not have the required manpower to
carry out many contracts. It is not uncommon for them to secure the deal
first then find a sub-contractor to do the work," said Nguyen Viet
Chien, a sub-contractor who has a 20 plus strong crew.
He said candidly that since sub-contractors do not get the
full amount mentioned in the contract, the quality of their work or even the
construction materials used may not meet expectations.
"Home owners may be upset but we cannot do anything about
it. From a legal point of view, we only honour the contract we have with the
company that signed us on as sub-contractor," said Chien.
A few house owners have found to their chagrin that Chien is
telling the truth.
Truong Huy Hiep hired a company to renovate his house in Ha
Noi's Hai Ba Trung District last year, just two months before Tet.
He was utterly disappointed with the quality of work.
"I had to call almost every day for them to send someone
and some days, they did not even show up. And it was not always the same
group. There were at least three different groups who came to work on the
bathrooms," he said.
The bathrooms later had a bad odour coming up every time it
rained heavily and the shower water collected because the floor had not been
done correctly to have it flow down the drain.
When he informed them about the problems, he had to wait for
almost three months before workers were sent to fix the bathrooms' floors,
because "they said there were simply no hands to spare during such a
busy time," Hiep said.
The stench issue was never addressed, he added.
In some cases, owners are not sure of what needs to be done to
improve their homes, so they have to rely on experts' opinions on the need
for repairs or redoing their wiring, said said Nguyen The Nam, who runs a
firm providing electrician services mainly for houses in the capital city's
Ba Dinh District.
"I often advise home owners on what brand (of electrical
equipment) they should get and what quality they can expect. It is very
important in the long run, since most houses nowadays embed the wiring in
their walls and replacing it would involve digging into them,"
Companies and contractors who lack experience and skills will
not be able to advise their clients properly, and when this happens, large
expenses are incurred and great inconvenience experienced later in fixing
problems.
Land issue violations cost the capital city VND160 billion
(US$7.6 million) and 3.88ha of land during 2014, Ha Noi Inspectorate Deputy
Chief Bui Van Dinh said on Monday at a meeting.
City authorities conducted 270 administrative inspections
covering issues in construction investment, land management and public debt
in construction, where the city government cannot pay the contractors after
they finish building urban infrastructure, according to Dinh.
He said the Inspectorate had proposed that the city People's
Committee reclaimed VND150 billion ($7.1 million) and 3.88ha of violated
land, in addition to fining 29 organisations and 39 individuals for failing
to fulfill their management duties.
The city also conducted non-administrative inspections in
other fields including environment and construction safety and fined related
organisations and individuals VND44.36 billion ($2.1 million) last year, he
added.
During 2014, city agencies received 30,446 people with
complaints and denunciations and resolved two-thirds of the claims.
While the city returned VND2.4 billion ($114,000) and
29.29sq.m of housing land to the people and warned 32 individuals and 12
organisations, Dinh said that the city did not solve a large number of cases
because rules and regulations had changed. Moreover, some districts did not
follow cases closely and assign clear missions to their agencies.
At the meeting, Le Tien Hao, the Government Inspectorate's
Deputy Chief, said that Ha Noi should improve its inspection activities and
performance in solving claims and reports, review its policies and
regulations to prevent corruption and perform cost-effective activities.
An administrative inspection is an inspection conducted by the
Government on itself, its agencies, ministries and their agencies to evaluate
their performance in implementing regulations and policies. Administrative
inspectors discipline those who fail to fulfill their duties.
A non-administrative inspection is an inspection that the
Government conducts to ensure all organisations and individuals in the
private sector strictly follow the laws, regulations and policies issued by
the Government. Non-administrative inspectors fine those who break the law.
Over 180 suspension bridges to be completed in first half
The project to build 187 suspension bridges across the country
will be completed by mid 2015, according to the Directorate for Roads of
Vietnam (DRV).
DRV Deputy General Director Nguyen Van Quyen was speaking at a
January 13 conference in
The department also intends to build another 4,000 bridges
between 2015 and 2017 among a number of maintenance projects from the Vietnam
Road Asset Maintenance Project (VRAMP), funded through loans from the World
Bank.
It will also accelerate the implementation of regular
maintenance across the entire national road system.
Besides, online administrative services for granting and
renewing driving licenses will be applied in the third quarter of this year,
including personnel training.
In 2014, national road system maintenance met transport
requirements, with 74 build-operate-transfer projects implemented across
nearly 20,000 kilometres of road, more than 400 kilometres of which were put
into operation. Last year also saw new measures enacted and enforced
regarding vehicle weight limits. Nearly 60,000 violations of weight limits
were detected and 227 billion VND (10 million USD) in fines were collected.-
Investigation team on collapsed tunnel in Lam Dong set up
An investigation team on collapsed Da Dang-Dachomo hydropower
plant incident in late December last year in the Central Highlands
The team includes experts from the Ministry of Construction
and the State Council for Acceptance of Construction Works, and
representatives of relevant ministries and local agencies.
According to Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung,
the team will review and assess investment management, implementation and the
quality of facilities, while finding out reasons on the collapse and
responsibilities of concerned units and individuals.
It also considers conditions to propose resuming the project,
he said.
The work should be done and report the Government for final
conclusion in early this April at the latest, the deputy minister added.
Work on the Da Dang-Da Chomo project in Lac Duong district
kicked off in 2003. The 475 billion VND (22.6 million USD) plant, invested by
the Civil Engineering Construction Corp. No. 5 (CIENCO 5), is designed to have
a capacity of 22 MW.
Part of the tunnel collapsed on the morning of December 16
after heavy rain in the area, making 12 workers, including one woman, trapped
in the tunnel.
The collapsed site was about 500 metres from the opening of
the 700m-long tunnel running though the mountain to bring water to the plant.
After a nearly 82-hour mission involving over 500 rescuers,
all the workers were safely brought out of the collapsed tunnel at 4:30 pm on
December 19.-
National television broadcaster unveils special programme
The national television broadcaster, VTV, on January 14
unveiled a special monthly programme called “VTV Special” which will be
produced with assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA) and Japan's national public broadcasting organisation, NHK.
The VTV Special series will deal with various subjects with
emphasis on new findings, original approach and humanistic messages, VTV
Deputy Director General Pham Viet Tien said at a press conference introducing
the programme.
The programme will be broadcast at 20h10 on the second
Saturday each month on VTV1 Channel, with the first episode already debuting
on January 10.
The second one will come on air on February 14, bringing the
audience into the world largest cave - the Son Doong in the central
The VTV is looking for international partners to jointly
produce or buy broadcast rights of some special productions to feature in the
VTV Special.
Phu Yen finances flood-proof houses
The central
The project will offer each family 12-16 million VND (570 USD
– 760 USD), with plans to extend the benefit to another 84 households next
year.
Phu Yen has also instructed districts to provide 8 million VND
(380 USD) to each household from local support funds, dedicated to
disadvantaged members of the community.
Families in poverty are also able to borrow up to 15 million
VND from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies with an annual interest rate of
3 percent over 10 years.
In 2013, the province financially assisted in the building of
100 flood-proof houses in Tuy An and Dong Xuan districts.
Design competition in honour of Earth Hour
The competition “Turn off the lights, turn on the ideas”, now
in its sixth year, will begin in Hanoi on January 15 in response to the Earth
Hour 2015 campaign slated for March 28.
Themed “Character protects the environment”, the competition
calls for designing characters, be it a person, an animal or a personified
object, that highlight recycling, planting trees and energy conservation.
Winning designs will be printed on T-shirts and sold, the
profits from which will go towards a reforestation fund planting 5,000
mangrove trees in Ru Cha forest, the central
The three winners will be later invited to join the campaign
“I rode a bike today”, due to be launched on the same day in the capital.
Co-hosted by BooVironment, Redraw the Line, Go Green, and 350
Established in 2009, BooVironment aims to raise the sense of
social responsibility among young generations to protect the environment.
Redraw the Line is a campaign to raise awareness of climate
change in the
It encourages action and behaviour change in three key areas,
expanding the use of clean energy and increasing energy efficiency,
encouraging greater use of low carbon transportation options, and raising
awareness of sustainable alternatives.
Assistance policies pay off in reducing poverty in mountainous
areas
Poverty rates in mountainous and ethnic regions were reduced
by 2-4 percent last year, with most rapid decreases seen in the
Reports delivered at the Government Committee for Ethnic
Affairs meeting noted that the poverty rate among households in the
northwestern region dropped by 3.5 percent, while the northeastern region saw
a decrease of 3 percent and the Tay Nguyen Central Highlands was able to
reduce the poverty rate by 2.7 percent.
The conference also heard that in 2014, mountainous provinces
recorded an average economic growth of 8-10 percent thanks to a recovery in
industrial and agricultural production with increases in productivity,
output, and quality. The living conditions of ethnic minorities improved
while political and security situations remained stable.
The positive outcomes were attributable to numerous policies
dedicated to mountainous ethnic areas, including programmes to build
flood-resistant homes in vulnerable areas in the Mekong Delta and central
regions and a project to construct 186 suspension bridges in 28 mountainous
provinces.
In 2014, over 3.9 trillion VND (183.3 million USD) was
allocated to 2,331 disadvantaged communes for infrastructure upgrades and
production development, with an additional 327 billion VND provided for
resettlement projects targeting nomadic ethnic minority groups.
In particular, 29 provinces have provided housing and farming
land to landless ethnic households in extremely poor areas.
Addressing the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan
Phuc hailed ethnic affairs results in the last year, saying that they significantly
contributed to Millennium Development Goal achievements on poverty reduction
and the country’s socio-economic targets.
At the same time, he appealed for greater efforts towards
further developing mountainous ethnic areas.
In addition to the Party and Government’s policies, he
suggested localities enact their own measures to accelerate growth in these
areas by paying more attention to ethnic affairs, allocating resources to
far-flung areas, and organising activities to attract more investment.
Leadership skill-training course for
A training course commenced on January 14 with the aim of
promoting leadership skills among students at a number of universities in
In his opening speech, Vice Chairman of the National Assembly
(NA) Office Nguyen Si Dung said this is a component of the cooperation
project between the Vietnamese NA and the UK Embassy in
The project is also intended to equip young people—potential
future NA members—with necessary skills and knowledge in the field.
Cherry Gought, Country Director of the British Council (BC) in
The three-day course will cover teamwork, communication,
negotiation, and speaking skills, all of which are expected to significantly
contribute to forming their leadership capabilities in the future.
Source: VNN/VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/ND
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Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 1, 2015
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