Social News 25/6 Ministry calls for improved staff and human resources Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh has asked the Ministry of Home Affairs to review the employment, management and assessment of State employees’ performance to improve government workers’ skills. The review is also expected to detect any shortcomings and to suggest measures to improve the legal framework governing State employees. The ministry has been asked to cooperate with other ministries and agencies to develop policies to attract talented people to State offices. The employers should also pay attention to assessing and recognising capable personnel. Deputy PM Binh urged the ministry to speed up the streamlining of State employees as part of efforts to implement a resolution by the Politburo of the Central Committee of Vietnam Communist Party last year, which calls for at least 10 percent of government staff and officers in ministries, localities and government agencies on the State payroll in various sectors to be reduced by 2021. A key task for the ministry is to identify the right staff to lay off, Binh noted, also calling for an update on State employees who had not finished their assignments. While adopting administrative reform during the 2016-20 period, the ministry is required to co-ordinate with other ministries and agencies in removing cumbersome administrative procedures or unreasonable permissions and accelerating the application of information technology in public service delivery. Vietnam is developing an e-Government portal with more online public services, which will, it is expected, create greater convenience for public service users, including businesses and foreign investors. The home affairs ministry was also asked to publicise the administrative reform index of ministries and localities yearly as a way for them to self-assess and improve their performance. The ministry will supervise the relevant agencies when surveys are conducted measuring the satisfaction of citizens who use healthcare and education-related public services. Facility allegedly responsible for farm-raised fish deaths in southern Vietnam A food processing facility in the south-central Vietnamese province of Binh Thuan was discovered to have been releasing wastewater into the ocean, following the death of nearly 4,000 farm-raised fish on June 22-23. The deaths began June 22 morning at Nguyen Van Sau’s coastal farm in Tan Thanh Commune, Ham Thuan Nam District, with around 3,000 dead fish recorded by June 23 afternoon. Similar incidents occurred at a nearby farming ground operated by Nguyen Duc Loc, accounting for an additional 700 deceased fish. “I have never seen such a large number of fish deaths,” Sau stated, adding that the epidemic has cost him billions of dong (VND1 billion = US$44,850). A probe by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters found that a steamed fish processing facility, owned by a man named Thien, was discharging wastewater into the sea area near the two farms. The waste was released through an underground pipeline that was installed a few months back, according to Thien. As his products are manufactured only once every ten days, the wastewater is not discharged regularly, the owner said. “We released the water on June 22 afternoon but fish of local farmers had already found dead much earlier that morning. I can also ensure that our wastewater does not contain any toxic chemicals,” he continued. Responding as to why he constructed the pipeline system without formal permission from authorities, Thien explained that he registered for a permit but it was not approved. Many local fish farmers have expressed concern for their business operations amid the potential harm from wastewater discharged by Thien’s firm and other similar operations. “We need competent authorities to inspect these firms and their waste treatment system. We want to know how the wastewater affects the aquatic environment,” a farmer asserted. Tuoi Tre submitted the probe to Nguyen Van Hien, chairman of the People’s Committee in Ham Thuan Nam District.   “The local Office of Natural Resources and Environment and police officers have been tasked with investigating the case. Inspectors were dispatched on June 23 to the affected fish farms to take reports on the incident,” Hien stated. Security Academy asked to take on arduous tasks in new situation President Tran Dai Quang has urged the People’s Security Academy (PSA) to outstandingly perform its forecasting and strategic consulting role for the Ministry of Public Security in order to help the Party and State issue sound guidelines and policies on security, safety, socio-economic development and foreign affairs. Speaking at a ceremony marking the academy’s 70th anniversary (June 25, 1946) in Hanoi on June 24, the State leader cited multiple threats to national sovereignty, interest and security in the context of unexpected developments in the region and the world at large. Against the background, the academy was requested to take a more active part in protecting the Party’s ideology, guidelines and policies, and enhancing public trust in the Party, State, people’s police force as well as the reform process Vietnam is pursuing. The President asked the PSA to double its efforts to become a high-quality and prestigious training scientific research centre at home, gearing towards higher prestige in the region and the world. Along with revamping its teaching and learning methods, the school should step up international cooperation with well-known universities and national security research centres of other ASEAN members and developing countries worldwide, he said. Another important task is to increase the training of officers for Laos’s Ministry of Public Security and Cambodia’s Ministry of Home Affairs, contributing to bolstering the traditional relationships between Vietnam and the two neighbouring countries, the leader noted. Besides, it is a need for the academy to work well in Party building and seriously effectuate policies and guidelines of the Party and State regarding education and training, President Tran Dai Quang added. Reviewing the PSA’s 70-year history, the leader hailed the school for its contributions to safeguarding national security and its coordination in training tens of thousands of Lao and Cambodian security officers. For the noted achievements it has recorded over the past while, the academy was granted the first-class Military Exploit Order on this occasion.- Shrimp farms wipe out An Biên rice fields Hundreds of farming households in An Biên District of the southern Kiên Giang Province failed to reap any rice this year due to saline water encroaching into their fields. However, the saline intrusion is not the consequence of weather patterns or climate change, but rather the result of local shrimp farmers pumping saltwater into their ponds, affecting nearby rice paddy fields.   In Đông Thái Commune’s rice paddy fields, which have summer-fall rice crops, there are no green plants – only withering ones. Lâm Hoàng Hai, a local, said he could not cultivate this year because the water in the fields reached saline levels of 10 to 12 per cent. The rice plants die when the salt level in the water reaches 4 to 5 per cent. Other farmers also lost everything and said they felt helpless when they saw their plants submerged in saltwater. According to Tuổi Trẻ (Youth) reporter, nearly 300 households from Nam Quý hamlet in Đông Thái Commune have switched from rice planting to shrimp raising, despite opposition from other farmers and local authorities. Officials from the district’s office for land rights registration also leased land for shrimp raising. About five years ago, farmers from Đông Thái Commune asked local authorities for permission to have one rice season and one shrimp season instead of the customary two rice seasons. However, according to Nguyễn Việt Bình, the district People’s Committee deputy chairman, infrastructure and irrigation systems could not ensure sufficient water supply for production, so shrimp raising was not allowed. "Digging ponds and pumping saltwater into the ponds here is illegal," he said. Nguyễn Công Trận, An Biên District’s People’s Committee chairman, said the district’s leading officials asked agencies to punish violators and require them to compensate farmers for the destruction of their crops. Officials who leased land to raise shrimp illegally would also be punished, he said. Schools take steps to prevent outbreak of diseases The HCM City Department of Education and Training has asked schools to take preventive measures and provide information about dengue fever and hand-foot-mouth prevention to teachers and parents. All schools have been asked to clean classrooms and kill mosquito larvae before they reopen after the summer holiday. The health sector will work with schools to spray chemicals to kill mosquitoes. Schools were also asked to provide timely reports of hand-foot-mouth disease to district-level preventive medicine centres. Children infected with hand-foot-mouth disease should be isolated at home or hospitals to avoid spreading the infection. The department has also asked schools to work with the health sector to strengthen supervision of kitchens at schools and food processing facilities to ensure food safety and hygiene. In the first three weeks of June, the city recorded 328 cases of dengue fever and 427 cases of hand-foot-mouth disease, according to a report released by the Department of Health. Two people in the city have died from dengue fever this year. Anaesthesiology association plans to expand activities Over 600 anaesthesiologists from Viêt Nam and 30 from abroad gathered for the 7th Việt Nam Anaesthesiology Association Congress that opened in the central city of Quy Nhơn yesterday. Associate Professor Dr Công Quyết Thắng, chairman of the association, said that in 2012-2016, the Việt Nam Anaesthesiology Association has closely worked with the Ministry of Health to draft circulars and create a legal framework as well as complete procedures for 500 operations related to anaesthesiology. Attention was paid to training and fostering during the term and many leading local experts took part in international workshops, he said. A website was set up for the association at vnanesth.org, he said. But the association does not have a headquarters or regular income, and this has restricted its activities, according to Thắng. In the next term, 2016-20, it plans to promote co-operation with Ministry of Health, set up a training centre to ensure a regular income, provide more opportunities for members to keep abreast of new technologies and publish a monthly scientific magazine. Thái Sơn Bắc enter semi-finals of futsal tournament Thái Sơn Bắc defeated HPN Phú Nhuận 2-1 in the second match of Group A of the HCM City Futsal Tournament Open, LS Cup, on June 22. With two wins, Thái Sơn Bắc has six points, earning a ticket to the event’s semi-finals. Văn Quý opened the score for Thái Sơn Bắc in the fourth minute, however, Văn Trung leveled the score 1-1 for Phú Nhuận in the last minute of the first half. After the break, taking full advantage of the error committed by Phú Nhuận’s defenders, Thất Phi scored in the 33rd minute, raising the score to 2-1 for Thái Sơn Bắc. In the other match of Group A, Sannan Khánh Hòa tied 2-2 with Tân Hiệp Hưng. In Group B’s matches, defending national champions Thái Sơn Nam lost to Hoàng Thư Đà Nẵng 2-3 and Cao Bằng beat Sài Gòn FC 7-3. Bình Dương, Thanh Hóa square off The match between Becamex Bình Dương and FLC Thanh Hóa today is being considered the central match at the 13th round of V.League 1. Round 13 is the last round of the first leg of the national premier league. Hải Phòng are sure to take the lead at this leg with 29 points after 12 matches. The remaining positions in the rankings are subject to change based on upcoming matches. At present, Bình Dương rank fifth out of 14 teams with 19 points, while Thanh Hóa are second with 22 points. So the two teams also want to earn three points to chase Hải Phòng. The match has caught the attention of fans and media nationwide. There are several players of Thanh Hóa who used to play for Bình Dương. Among them are Coach Lê Thụy Hải, midfielders Mai Tiến Thành, Nguyễn Tăng Tuấn and Hoàng Văn Bình, and striker Emmanuel Sunday. Meanwhile, Bình Dương’s striker Ivan Firer is also determined to score goals against Thanh Hóa, who sacked Firer in May. Bình Dương have received good news ahead the match against their rival. Their key player, midfielder Nguyễn Trọng Hoàng, has completely recovered from his injury and is ready for the coming match. Hoàng is a member of Việt Nam’s national football team. “Hoàng will be present at the match against Thanh Hóa,” said coach Nguyễn Thanh Sơn. “The coming match is very difficult for us, but we still set a target of having three points to nearly reach the No 1 position in the rankings.” Thanh Hóa finished third in the 2014-15 season under young coach Hoàng Thanh Tùng. The team is determined to improve its strength with the aim of winning the league for the first time this year. Bình Dương are four-time V.League champions. In other news, Sài Gòn FC are hoping to beat Cần Thơ today. “Sài Gòn FC will have the strongest line-up for their match against Cần Thơ with the presence of midfielder Andrew Mwesigwa and striker Dudu Lima,” said Sài Gòn FC’s chairman, Nguyễn Giang Đông. “And with the encouragement of HCM City fans, the team will make every effort to win.” Elsewhere, matches include: Đồng Tháp against Sanna Khánh Hòa; Long An against Quảng Ninh Coal; SHB Đà Nẵng against Hải Phòng; Hoàng Anh Gia Lai against Quảng Nam; and Sông Lam Nghệ An against Hà Nội T&T. 3,000 poor students benefit from East Meets West programmes The East Meets West organisation offered scholarships totalling 13.8 billion VND (168,102 USD) to nearly 3,000 underprivileged students nationwide in the 2015-2016 academic year, heard a conference in the central city of Da Nang on June 24. Students from families listed in the poorest 10 percent of the populations in seven central localities have benefited from SPELL (Scholarship Programme to Enhance Literacy and Learning), which was set up in 2004 to grant long-term scholarships to poor students, helping them pursue education and secure a brighter future. In the 2015-2016 academic year, 100 percent of the beneficiary students passed the entrance exam to high schools, while 97 percent successful in high school graduation exam and 35 percent entered universities. Eighty students under the programme also won provincial, regional and national contests for outstanding students. Meanwhile, the SPELL Goes To College programme, set up in 2011, gave 5 billion VND (22,727 USD) in scholarship to 223 students to help them pay university tuitions and living cost. The programme also held activities for the students to help other underprivileged people in the community, together with social skill training courses. The East Meets West, also known as Thrive Network, is an international non-governmental organisation pioneering evidence-based programmes and technologies in health, water and sanitation, and education for underserved populations in Asia and Africa. Vietnam focuses on expanding social insurance coverage Vietnam’s Social Insurance Agency (VSIA) will pay heed to engaging more social insurance participants and making administrative reforms in the last six months of the year, as heard a conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on June 24. In a bid to develop social insurance coverage, the agency asked its branches to strengthen coordination with local agencies to keep updated on the number of newly-established or dissolved enterprises as well as labour fluctuations in local businesses, said Do Ngoc Tho, head of the VSIA’s social insurance policy implementation department. Inspection of social insurance payments in those enterprises should be given priority, Ngoc highlighted, noting that strict punishments will be handed out to any firm reneging on paying insurance for its workers. He laid stress on information and technology application in the VSIA’s administrative shakeup, which is billed as a decisive factor in carrying out social insurance and healthcare insurance policies. The social insurance sector will work to complete a database of the sector to link with the national database. Online transactions for social insurance procedures and payments are scheduled to be carried out in 2016. According to the VSIA report, the social insurance sector earned a revenue of 113.2 trillion VND (5.07 billion USD) in the first half of the year, accounting for 48.15 percent of the yearly plan and a year-on-year increase of 15.7 percent. As of May 31, about 12.3 million people were members of the compulsory social insurance scheme, an increase of 1.2 million people from the same period last year. Meanwhile, health insurance coverage reached 77 percent with nearly 80 million cardholders, fulfilling 98.3 percent of the Government’s set plan. Hotline to be launched for unlawful mineral mining prevention The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will launch 24-hour hotlines to receive information related to illegal mineral mining, said Deputy General Director of t he Vietnam General Department of Geology and Minerals Lai Hong Thanh. Policies protecting and honouring information suppliers will be devised , Thanh said, adding that the ministry has suggested the Ministry of Finance issues a circular guiding the building of a budget estimate for untapped mineral protection. Over the recent time, localities nationwide have taken many measures to prevent unlawful mineral mining, lowering the number of localities recording the situation occurring to only 40 in 2015 from 47 in 2012, and taking down the quantity of illegally exploited minerals to 10 from 27 categories, Thanh stressed. However, he noted that illegal mineral mining activities still remain complicated at present. He attributed the situation to lax management by local authorities for the activity, as well as unclosed and tardy coordination among localities in handling relevant violations. Deprivation, low education and limited awareness of residents in several localities are also the reasons behind the situation, he said. According to Thanh, the Government, ministries and sectors have issued documents guiding the enforcement of the amended Law on Minerals in 2010, serving as important legal foundations for State management in the field. It is necessary to intensify campaigns to disseminate laws on minerals, and raise public awareness of the importance of protecting untapped minerals, especially in localities abundant in minerals. Provincial-level people’s committees should roll out plans to protect untapped minerals, and localities need to enhance links in managing minerals and take specific measures to prevent illegal mineral mining and improve the efficiency of the work. VJA, southwestern region’s steering committee sign cooperation deal The Vietnam Journalists’ Association (VJA) and the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on June 24. Under the MoU signed by VJA Chairman Thuan Huu and the committee’s permanent deputy head Son Minh Thang, both sides will convene half-yearly and yearly press conferences on regional socio-economic development, as well as hold seminars discussing issues of shared concern, particularly on climate change, saline intrusion, regional connectivity, human resources training and sustainable poverty reduction. They also agreed to ask for the Prime Minister’s permission to establish a media training centre based in Can Tho, while coordinating in information orientation and disseminating news regarding ethnic, religious, human rights and historic affairs in the region. Each year, the two sides will launch press awards on the themes of agriculture, farmers, rural areas, poverty reduction, human resources training, regional connectivity and climate change response. The VJA will also offer feedback on the committee’s social activities. On the occasion, the VJA launched a press award on the Mekong Delta.- Policy bank helps lower poverty rate in Central Highlands Soft loans for poor households from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) have helped lower the poverty rate in the Central Highlands to 7.34 percent, according to the Steering Committee for the region. Village-based savings and credit groups have been established with thousands of transaction points across communes in the region. The VBSP has simplified lending policies and procedures for households from ethnic minority groups so that they can have easier access to funds for production. The Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, the best performer in the region with the poverty rate dropping to only 2 percent, is home to more than 3,000 village-based savings and credit groups and 147 commune-based transaction points across 12 cities and districts of the province. The Central Highland Steering Committee proposed that the government should increase capital allocation and credit limits given to disadvantaged households in several credit programmes by the VBSP to meet the growing demand of people in need. It also urged local authorities and socio-political organisations in the Central Highlands to take a more active role in helping the poor take advantage of the soft loans and pay their debts on schedule. The outstanding credit balance of all credit programmes targeting beneficiaries of welfare policies in the region totals more than 12.67 trillion VND, an increase of 4.2 percent from the end of 2015. Efforts needed to improve communal clinics in Central Highlands As many as 18 communes in Central Highlands provinces have no medical stations, while 402 others have stations that are seriously degraded and so are unable to give initial health care services to locals, sounding the alarm that there is an urgent need to mobilise resources to improve the situation. According to the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands Region, eight communes in Kon Tum, six in Gia Lai and four in Dak Nong are in need of health care stations. Meanwhile, equipment in local clinics remains poor, while the number of doctors leaving their job in the facilities is growing, added the committee. As an effort to deal with the issue, the committee has proposed that the Ministry of Health continue effectively implementing a number of projects, including the second phase of a project to give health care services to locals in the Central Highlands region with resources mobilised from regional localities. Under the project, new medical stations will be built, while more equipment will be provided to existing facilities to meet the national standards. The regional localities will continue sending students to medical schools to work in local health care stations, and design more support policies for doctors in communal clinics. The committee also asked the Health Ministry to make plans to train doctors for specific regions across the country. According to the committee, the Central Highlands region, home to numerous ethnic minority groups, has 721 communal health care stations, with 82.4 percent having doctors. Thanh Hoa works to aid Kho Mu ethnic minorities The Kho Mu ethnic minority group in the central province of Thanh Hoa are expecting improvements in their living conditions as the provincial People’s Committee has approved a project to help them have stable livelihoods. The project sets a target to reduce the poverty rate in Lac and Doan Ket villages in Muong Lat district, where most of the minorities are residing, to 6-7 percent per year while eyeing an average per capita income of 16 million VND (717.6 USD) in the next four years. Along with giving financial supports in permanent housing construction as well as farm and latrine displacement, the province will also build two clinics and other support constructions to provide initial medical examinations for the locals. According to Luong Van Tuong, head of the provincial department for ethnic minorities, Thanh Hoa province is home to 179 Kho Mu households with 978 people, accounting for a mere 2 percent of the province’s total population. It is significant to tackle food issues for the ethnics as they live in remote areas and have been short of land for production, Tuong noted. The provincial People’s Committee asked Muong Lat district to enhance communication campaigns to encourage the Kho Mu ethnics’ active participation in the project. The district should guide the Kho Mu people to develop production and farming through providing them with sustainable cultivating technique as well as trainings to increase capacity of the villagers. Job arrangement for the Kho Mu ethnics after graduating from universities, colleges and vocational training schools should be given top priority as well. Vietnamese university joins ASEAN university network Foreign Trade University has just become the latest Vietnamese university to join the ASEAN University Network – Quality Assurance (AUN-QA), its rector said. Established in 1960 with its main campus located in Hanoi and two other campuses in Ho Chi Minh City and Quang Ninh Province, Foreign Trade University (FTU) is among the most prestigious universities in Vietnam, covering a wide range of areas from economics and business to law and foreign languages. According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Anh Tuan, rector of FTU, the university has officially become an Associate Member of the Southeast Asian quality assurance network AUN-QA. ASEAN University Network is an independent organization working to promote human resource development in the field of tertiary education among Southeast Asian nations and their partners. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a ten-member political and economic organization that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam. One of the key activities of AUN is assuring level quality among universities in ASEAN through its Quality Assurance assessment system. Dr. Bui Anh Tuan asserted that becoming an Associate Member of AUN-QA is a crucial launching platform for the improvement of the university’s curricula. “[Through being assessed and verified by AUN-QA], the university will have more opportunity to cooperate with AUN and its partners in education activities, scientific studies, student exchange programs, as well as improving the capability of our specialized quality assurance staff,” Tuan said. After becoming an Associate Member of AUN-QA, a university is also eligible for participating in programs and projects organized by the network and its partners such as Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), and the European Union Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) project. At present, only three universities in Vietnam are official members of AUN, which are Vietnam National University – Hanoi, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City, and Can Tho University. Hanoi air hub faces laser threats as police search for culprit Several aircraft approaching Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi since early June have had their safety threatened by laser beams from unknown sources directed at their cockpits, according to a recent report by the Vietnamese aviation watchdog. The National Committee of Civil Aviation Security (NCCAS) recently announced that four cases of laser beams being directed from the ground into the cockpits of planes flying toward Noi Bai International Airport in the capital have been reported so far this month. The four incidents, one of which involved a military aircraft on a training mission while the three others were related to commercial flights operated by Vietnam Airlines and budget carrier Vietjet Air, were reported by cockpit crews between June 2 and 14. The pilots reported seeing green laser beams being projected from 27 to 40 kilometers west of the airport while they were preparing to land. All four planes landed safely and the incidents were immediately reported to the police, though the culprit is unidentified after several searches in the area failed to pinpoint the exact origin of the laser beams. In its report, the NCCAS requested that the Anti-Terrorism Authority in Hanoi adopt measures to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. The act of pointing laser beams towards the cockpit during take-off and landing poses serious threats to civil aviation safety and violates Vietnamese and international laws, as it could temporarily blind pilots, rendering them incapable of controlling the plane, the report said. Speaking with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on June 23, Deputy Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam Dinh Vu Son said efforts were being made, without success, to scour the suspected area for those responsible for the recent laser attacks. Son cited Vietnamese laws that state laser guns are considered a supplementary weapon under regulation by law, though the aviation official added that normal laser guns could not have traveled such long distance, as were the cases in these attacks. “According to reports by pilots, the laser beams had originated from around one kilometer away,” Son said. “At such distance and height, the beam must have been powered by an extremely powerful source to have reached the cockpit." “Our guess at the moment is that the beams had originated from laser sources used for decoration in art performances or events,” Son added. "To help prevent this from happening in the future, the NCCAS has asked local police forces to request the people not to use laser beams for decoration in areas where flight activities take place." SEA Pride Music Festival 2016 hits the stage in Hanoi SEA Pride Music Festival 2016, the most fantastic music festival for the youth in this summer 2016 is coming to town on June 25. The music party will immerse music lovers in the dynamic and wonderful melodies at the American Club, 21 Hai Ba Trung Street in Hanoi. SEA Pride 2016 brings a message “Color with your music” to young people who desire to live in a respected and equal atmosphere. DJs Abli and Sameed from Britain; DJ Lina from the U.S.; the Nibiru band from the Philippines; international and local rock bands, Hang Up to the Moon, Parasite, Oringchains, Microwave,  Oplus band, Ngu Cung Band, Duong K, singer Noo Phuoc Thinh, fashion designer Caroll Tran will join the festival. Anbooks launches chat app for authors and readers to network Local publisher Anbooks has launched Facebook Messenger’s new feature, Messenger Codes, to connect readers and authors. Nguyen Phi Van’s “Quay Ganh Bang Dong Ra The Gioi” (setting out for the world from the paddy field), is the first book Anbooks has chosen to let readers directly reach out to their author by using Messenger Codes. Readers can use their phones to scan Facebook’s Messenger Codes on the book’s cover to leave a message or start chatting with the author via her book’s Facebook page www.fb.com/rathegioi. The chat application’s new feature also allows readers to store information and high-quality photos from the books. Anbooks director Ngo Phuong Thao said she expects readers, especially youths, will have an interesting reading experience. The book, which chronicles Van’s adventures to live and work in 60 countries for 20 years, was reprinted two months after its launch in March 2016. According to the publisher, the book has become a local sensation as it depicts the genuine daily lives in places where Van has set foot, and urges readers to immediately set out for the world.   Anbooks in collaboration with Nguyen Phi Van launched the “Bat Nut Cong Dan Toan Cau” (becoming global citizens) campaign on May 12 through December 30 targeting students at 30 universities and colleges across Vietnam. The author has been holding talks to discuss what students should prepare for global integration. Central metro station seen behind schedule The central Ben Thanh station of Metro Line No. 1 in downtown HCMC might come into service later than the first urban rail line due to time-consuming preparations and procedures. The central station may be ready at the end of 2020 or early 2021, heard a meeting of the HCMC Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR) on June 23. The authority organized the event to provide updates on urban railway projects in the city. Of the city’s eight planned metro lines, work has commenced on Metro Line No. 1 linking the central station near the landmark Ben Thanh Market and Suoi Tien Park in District 9, and Metro Line No. 2 connecting this station and Tham Luong Depot in District 12. Metro Line No. 1 is expected to be up and running in 2020, as 55% of its elevated track and 33% of its underground track are compete. However, to put the metro line into operation on time, the central station must be finished before the track is in place. Hoang Nhu Cuong, deputy head of MAUR, said a tender for the Ben Thanh station has been organized and a contract with the contractor will be signed on June 30. The station is scheduled to get off the ground in late August and be completed in the third or fourth quarters of 2020. The station will be put into test use for one to six months before it is put into official operation. This means if the station is completed in late 2020, city dwellers would not be able to travel by metro before 2021. Asked whether the first metro line could still operate in 2020 even if the Ben Thanh station is not ready by then, Cuong said the line could be put into use from the station at Suoi Tien Park to the station in front of the Opera House if the Ben Thanh station is not complete. However, Cuong said the best option is to wait for the Ben Thanh station to be finished before the entire line is put into service. Cuong said the authority of HCMC wants all the trees in September 23 Park near the Ben Thanh Market to be relocated to make room for construction of the Ben Thanh station, and only trees that cannot be relocated will be felled. HCMC Green Park Co Ltd  is working on a relocation plan for the trees. Regarding Metro Line No. 2, MAUR said the districts involved have committed to allocating land to the project this month. The metro line has been delayed for years due to capital adjustment and slow site clearance, but the start dates of the main packages have not been decided. Assistance urged for remote area teachers Officials and teachers are pressing for more government assistance for school teachers in remote areas. Nguyễn Đình An, head of the Education and Training Department in the mountainous Nam Trà My District of central Quảng Nam Province, said almost half of the 565 district teachers did not receive incentive pay because they were hired on short-term contracts. Incentive pay accounts for 70 per cent of each teacher’s monthly salary. It is paid to entice teachers to work in the most deprived areas. But incentive pay is only paid to teachers with permanent or long-term contracts, by government decree. An said short- and long-term contracts both require teachers to work hard and face the same difficulties. According to an earlier government decree, teachers have also been eligible for another type of incentive pay based on geography since 2006 if they teach in disadvantaged areas for five years, before teaching in more desirable locations such as big cities. Senior teachers who worked in disadvantaged areas before 2006 did not receive such incentive pay, according to An. “Such experiences depress teachers”, An told the Nhân dân (People) newspaper. In addition to incentive pay, housing and extra work hours are also needed. For example, teachers can practise forest-related farming in mountainous areas if forest land is allocated to them, according to An. The Principal of Trà Vân Primary School, Hồ Văn Hạnh, said that during his 18 years of working in the remote mountainous area he saw teachers crossing springs and climbing mountains to reach schools. In rainy season or between-crops, students from Cơ Tu ethnic groups usually drop out of schools because of hunger, he said. Teachers visit students’ houses to encourage them return to class during such times. Sometimes teachers even give families rice and salt to help relieve their hunger and gain their trust, Hạnh said. Nguyễn Thị Thọ, a teacher from Quảng Nam Province’s Duy Xuyên District, said she lives far away from the school where she teaches. “My students also become my children and sisters. They share with me their daily joy and sadness, since they live far from home,” she said. Teacher Võ Thị Kim Ánh said she and her husband have both worked at the school for six years, but they do not have their own house. They had to send their son to be cared for by his maternal mother in her hometown, according to Ánh. Teacher Đoàn Thị Quyên, who is 26 years old, usually hangs her mobile phone on tree branches in the front yard to get a signal so she can talk with family. Ninh Thuan hospital sets up specialised heart unit The Ninh Thuận Province General Hospital yesterday opened a cardio-vascular intervention unit for specialised cardiac monitoring and procedures. It benefited from transfer of medical techniques by the HCM City University Medical Centre as part of the Ministry of Health’s satellite hospital project in the last two years. In the beginning it would perform coronary interventions with technical assistance from the HCM City hospital, Thái Phương Phiên, its director, said. It would later perform advanced procedures to bring down the rate of transfer to higher-level hospitals, he said. Assoc Prof Trương Quang Bình, director of the city hospital’s cardiovascular centre, said doctors in the unit would be trained in minimally invasive surgical procedures to help local patients with heart diseases benefit from the latest treatment. Vinh airport looks to upgrade terminal The People’s Committee of central Nghệ An Province has proposed that the Ministry of Transport and relevant authorities upgrade an old terminal at the Vinh Airport into an international one. Nguyễn Xuân Đường, chairman of the provincial People’s Committee said that the current terminal at Vinh Airport, which was designed to receive three million passengers a year, was put into operation last January. However, the terminal has only served seven domestic flights from Vinh City to Hà Nội, HCM City, Đà Nẵng, Buôn Ma Thuột, Đà Lạt, Nha Trang and Pleiku. No international flights have been planned so far. In the meantime, the provincial committee has managed to launch an international flight from Vinh City to Thailand’s Bangkok and vice versa this month. As scheduled, there would be two flights per month. Đường said to serve the first international flight to Vinh City, the Vinh Airport has taken advantage of an old temporary terminal, which was built in 2013 on an area of 800 square metres. The one-storey terminal has become overloaded due to the large number of passengers to Bangkok, adversely affecting the airport’s service quality and security. Đường said another international flight from Vinh City to Singapore was scheduled to operate by the end of this year and one more flight from Vinh City to Japan would be launched next year. Thus, it was necessary to upgrade the terminal to meet the development needs of Vinh City, he said. The current terminal of the Vinh Airport in central Nghệ An Province has a total floor area of 11,700 square metres, including four boarding gates, 28 check-in counters and other facilities meeting international standards. The terminal served up to 1,000 passengers at peak hours. Total investment for the construction of the terminal and expansion projects was worth VNĐ1.2 trillion (US$54 million), invested by Airports Corporation of Việt Nam. New eastern bus station to be built in HCM City A new bus station in HCM City’s eastern Long Bình Ward in District 9 will be built next year with a total investment of VNĐ4 trillion (US$179.3 million). The first phase of construction will focus on the bus station and infrastructure around it in order to ease the load at the existing station in Bình Thạnh District, according to the city’s People’s Committee. The second phase will complete other project elements. Lê Văn Pha, deputy general director of the Sài Gòn Transportation Mechanical Corporation (SAMCO), said construction will take place at the same time as that of the Metro Line No.1 subway. Expected to be completed in 2018, the project will connect to the new Metro Line No.1, linking District 1’s Bến Thành Market with the Thủ Đức District’s Suối Tiên entertainment site.   Vietnam needn’t fear AEC free flow of skilled labour The birth of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) earlier this year has raised the spectre among many in Vietnam that it could result in a massive influx of foreign workers competing for the better paying jobs over coming years. Certainly, skilled workers in Vietnam need to prepare to face increased competition in the employment market from their peers in other AEC member countries, says Deputy Minister of Education and Training Bui Van Ga. It has been a long-standing precept of the Vietnam government to devise a legal framework conducive to attracting highly talented foreign students and professionals to compete in the Vietnam marketplace, the Deputy Minister told VOV in a recent interview. The emergence of the AEC among the 10 member nations of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam created a new economy, the globe’s seventh largest, 625 million people strong. A core tenet of the AEC, said Deputy Minister Ga, is the free flow of skilled workers and three groupings of arrangements to this effect have already been given effect, to at least some limited extent. The first are the mutual recognition arrangements (MRAs), for which Vietnam has agreed to recognize the education, experience, licenses, or certifications obtained in any of the AEC countries for the engineering, nursing, surveying, architecture, medicine, dentistry, tourism and accounting professions. The second arrangements pertain to the streamlined visa and employment preferences that the Vietnam government affords professionals and skilled workers engaged in cross-border trade. Last of all, are the arrangements related to enhancing cooperation among government funded universities in the AEC aimed at increasing the mobility of both students and university faculty throughout the region. It is important to emphasize, said Deputy Minister Ga, that the target of having the free flow of labour in the AEC applies singularly to skilled workers and does not extend to those semi- or unskilled. Vietnamese needn’t fret that the nation’s economy will become inundated with cheap unskilled or uneducated workers from other ASEAN countries thus pushing tens of millions of workers out of their jobs. However, there could be a relatively large inflow of workers at the senior to mid-level management level or professionals with great competence in, for example, segments of the economy such as tourism. The creation of this wider talent pool should have a positive influence on both the private and public sectors of the economy as skilled foreigners can transfer knowledge and experience to their domestic counterparts. It remains to be seen at this time whether ultimately Vietnam and the AEC will provide fully for the free flow of all skilled labour irrespective of profession.  Currently this free flow is only sanctioned for occupations in 12 specifically delineated economic segments. These priority 12 segments are – tourism, healthcare, logistics, aviation, communication and information, agriculture, wood, rubber, automotive, clothing and textiles, electronics and fishing. Before the Vietnam government can fully loosen its regulations regarding the employment of foreign citizens, the AEC member nations collectively need to harmonize standards and rules (including reciprocal rules) in the 12 priority segments through MRAs. Currently, the member nations have only managed to reach MRAs in eight out of the 12 priority segments. However, Deputy Minister Ga pointed out that only in tourism has the free flow of skilled workers been fully implemented. The other seven segments still need more political debate and research. There are a host of complex issues such as minimum years of experience requirements, labour market tests, pre-employment requirements, health clearances and numerous other domestic immigration and professional matters that still remain to be addressed by the respective governments of AEC members. It should also be noted, Deputy Minister Ga emphasized, that the best estimates are that 87% of all current intra-ASEAN migrant workers are low-skilled workers who do not fall into any of the 12 priority categories. As such, their employment is largely unaffected by the AEC laws and regulations that are applicable to only skilled workers. There is some legitimacy to the concerns of many that a ‘brain drain’ of highly educated workers away from other AEC members to Vietnam, particularly those with good English language communication and other interpersonal skills could occur. Everyone in the government is acutely aware that Vietnamese foreign language skills are substandard when compared to other AEC member nations and the government is actively pursuing a number of alternatives to rectify the imbalance. All in all, it will require some real effort, substantial reform and considerable time before the ASEAN region will see the free flow of skilled labour in the 12 priority segments come to fruition. The list of reasons why the AEC is unlikely to move quickly to further facilitate the movement of all workers – not just skilled workers – is a long one, said Deputy Minister Ga. However, the focus should be on the opportunities the AEC will now provide – the wider talent pool, increased mobility for certain professionals – that will most certainly serve as a catalyst for further positive change for the nation as a whole. Over 600,000 workers find jobs in five months Approximately 613,800 people found employment in the first five months of 2016, according to the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs. The figure was 3.8 percent lower than that of the same period last year and only met 38.3 percent of the employment target set for this year. Of the total, the number of job seekers who were hired domestically amounted to 573,000, an annual decrease of four percent. However, it still helped cut the unemployment rate to 2.23 percent in the first quarter. Vietnam’s workforce is estimate to reach 54.47 million in the second quarter, accounting for 76 percent of the country’s above 15 year-old population.  Better Work launches labour law application for smartphones A Labour Code application for smartphones has been launched by Better Work Việt Nam, a unique partnership programme between the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The purpose is to improve labour standards and enterprise performance in the apparel industry. Available in both English and Vietnamese, the app offers the latest content from the fourth edition of Better Work’s Labour Law Guide and a range of other interesting features, both for garment factory personnel and industry partners. The user-friendly interface and simple navigation allows users to search key information, skip between chapters of the Labour Code, bookmark and share articles of interest. The app also contains an interactive quiz to test users’ knowledge of the law, and a "Frequently Asked Questions" section featuring some of the most common legal questions asked by factories. The app is expected to serve as a valuable reference for factory managers, HR officers and compliance staff, as well as buyers and vendors with sourcing interests in Việt Nam. Huge money wasted on unused state cars Status hungry agencies continue to plea for new cars despite billions of dong being spent, and 7,000 perfectly good vehicles remaining unused. State agencies bought 611 new cars valued at a gigantic VND603bn (USD27m) in 2015 according to the Ministry off Finance, while 7,000 state-owned vehicles remained unused. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development led the list with 176 cars, with the Ministry of Industry and Trade in second with 57 cars. There were 29 unused cars in Binh Thuan Province and 73 cars in Quang Ninh Province. Vietnam has about 40,000 state-owned cars which are valued at VND13trn (USD590m) a year in terms of maintenance and driver wages. About 30% of the fleet is out-dated. This huge fleet was purchased using tax money yet have been left to deteriorate. In addition, lots of money is also being wasted on idle drivers, yet many agencies have refused to sell older cars while asking to buy newer models. These actions are in obvious contradiction with Decision 32 on the management and use of state cars. A state administrative agency is allowed to have one to three cars at most so the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and its member agencies can only use 276 cars. But in reality, they have up to 452 cars. This is not a special case, this is a common "mistake" that can be found everywhere. In order to deal with the situation, the Ministry of Finance has asked authorities at all levels to review and transfer unused cars to other agencies that are short on cars and to sell old cars quickly as their prices are decreasing with time. Agencies have been asked to submit reports about the state of their cars by the end of the first quarter but 30% of the agencies haven't filed the reports. "Agencies which didn't submit reports won't be allowed to buy new cars," said the representative of the Ministry of Finance. The Office of the National Assembly had planned on hiring a third party to provide cars to officials but it has never been realised because they prefer to benefit from the advantages and status afforded to blue-plated car. "Normal cars have to follow the rules of the road like everyone else and officials have refused to use taxis because they said they are too poor quality," said NA deputy Nguyen Sy Cuong. Why is there such overt violation at all levels of agencies? The question remains who will take responsibility for the violations because such blatant corruption is crippling Vietnam's development. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE