Look At Vietnam

Vietnam, Cuba foreign ministries to bolster ties

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:06:09 +0000

Vietnam’s top diplomat has affirmed that the Foreign Ministry will closely cooperate with its Cuban counterpart to implement the agreements reached by the two countries’ leaders to beef up bilateral ties.

FM Pham Binh Minh welcomes his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla. (Photo: VNA)

Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh made the statement in Hanoi on July 9 at a meeting with Cuban Minister of Foreign Relations Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, who accompanies the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee and President of the State Council and the Council of Ministers, Raul Castro, on an official friendship visit to Vietnam.

The two FMs agreed on measures to increase high-ranking delegations’ visits and the exchange of delegations between the Parties, States, National Assemblies, ministries, departments and social-political organisations of the two countries.

They reached a consensus on holding an annual political consultation late this year in Havana.

The two FMs exchanged views on international and regional issues and agreed that both countries should enhance coordination and mutual support at international forums in which both countries are members.

FM Minh took the occasion to thank the Cuban delegation for their active participation and contributions to the Vietnam-Latin America Trade and Investment Forum hosted by the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry for the first time.

The Cuban media have given extensive coverage of the meetings between its President Raul Castro with Vietnam ’s top leaders during his official friendship visit to Vietnam from July 8-10.

In its article titled the two countries’ friendship further consolidated, Granma, the official organ of the Communist Party of Cuba, wrote despite geographical distance, Cuba and Vietnam are always two fraternal nations and that was reaffirmed with the official friendship visit to Vietnam by General Raul Castro.

The front page article focused on Raul Castro’s activities with the talks with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and separate meetings with President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, which, it said, took place in the atmosphere of wholehearted friendship.

The paper cited Raul in his talks with Party General Secretary Trong as saying that returning to Vietnam this time is his great personal pride. He also highlighted the sustainability of the two countries’ relationship over the past decades although both nations have experienced difficult periods.

For his part, the Vietnamese Party leader affirmed Raul’s current visit aims to lift up the relationship between the two Parties and Governments to a new development stage, the paper said.

Activities by the Cuban delegation in Vietnam were also spotlighted in an article published by the ‘Trabajadores’ or ‘Workers’ newspaper. It quoted Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang as saying that “To receive you and the Cuban delegation, we have the feeling of welcoming brothers home not foreign guests.”

In a meeting with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, the two leaders discussed their countries’ socio-economic development. They agreed that President Raul’s visit is significant to both sides to promote bilateral trade and economic ties.

On the morning and afternoon of July 8, the “Cubadebate” online newspaper and the Cuba TV covered all activities by Raul Castro on the day during his first official friendship visit to Vietnam as Cuba’s top leader.

Raul Castro’s Vietnam in Cuban media spotlight

Cuban newspapers have widely covered meetings between Raul Castro, First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba (CPC) Central Committee and Vietnamese leaders during his official to Vietnam from July 8-10.

In a front-page article on the friendship between the two countries, Granma, the organ of the CPC said Cuba and Vietnam, regardless of their geographical distance, have always maintained the fraternal relationship and this is proven by Cuban Party chief Raul Castro’s visit.

The newspaper ran many photos of Mr Raul Castro holding talks with Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Truong Tan Sang and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.

Granma quoted Mr Raul Castro as saying to Mr Trong that it is his great honour to re-visit Vietnam to strengthen the time-honoured friendship between the two countries.

For his part, Party leader Trong said Mr Raul’s trip in response to the visit by a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation to Cuba in April with the aim of bringing the relationship between the two Parties and Governments to a higher level.

The official labor newspaper Trabajadores frontpaged the Cuban delegation’s activities in Vietnam with a focus on the talks between Party leader Raul Castro and PM Nguyen Tan Dung during which both pledged to boost economic and trade cooperation between the two countries.

Online newspaper Cubadebate and Cuba National Television also carried articles on Mr Raul Castro’s first visit to Vietnam as top leader of the Cuban Party, State and Government but his third trip to Vietnam after the first in 1966 and the second in 2005.

VNN/VNA/VOV

More tax incentives will help revive stock market?

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 07:06:08 +0000

LookAtVietnam – High tax is believed to be the main reason that makes
securities investment funds unable to develop in Vietnam.

Though the draft circular stipulating the tax policies for securities
investments offers a lot of tax incentives, it still has not satisfied
securities investors. Securities’ associations believe that more preferences
should be offered in order to recover the stock market.

Secretary General of the Vietnam Association of Financial Investors (VAFI)
Nguyen Hoang Hai said that in other countries in the world, stock market is
considered the leading business field of the national economies, while fund
management is the key channel that provides capital to the economies. Therefore,
the countries offer attractive tax incentives to create most favorable
conditions for securities funds, fund management companies to develop.

Also according to Hai, in the economies, the transactions carried out by
securities investment funds always account for 30-50 percent of the total
trading volume. Securities investment funds also hold big amounts of shares in
public and listed companies.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, there are only several operational securities funds.
There has been no domestic fund management company which can raise funds to set
up securities investment funds in the last three years.

One of the reasons behind this is the overly high tax rates applied to the
funds, which are much higher than the tax rates imposed on direct investments,
not via funds.

Hai emphasized that only when Vietnam succeeds in encouraging the development of
the fund management companies, will it be able to ensure the high stability of
the stock market and increase the numbers of institutional shareholders in
businesses. This would help change the corporate management modes. As such, it
is necessary to apply the policy allowing to offer tax incentives to securities
investment funds and fund management companies.

However, the currently valid corporate income tax and value added tax laws both
do not stipulate tax incentives for securities investment funds and fund
management companies.

While waiting for the two laws to be amended, the Ministry of Finance, when
compiling the draft circular on the taxation mechanism, would set up the
regulations to ensure reasonable tax rates on different subjects.

For example, the tax rates imposed on foreign and domestic individual investors,
who buy, hold and sell fund certificates must not be higher than the direct
investments in the stock market. Institutional investors, both and foreign, who
invest in securities investment funds, also must not bear higher tax than the
direct investments in the stock market.

In the long term, VAFI believes that the Corporate Income Tax and Value Added
Tax laws need to be amended, legalizing the preferential policies applied to
securities investment funds and fund management companies in order to form up
and develop fund management companies.

Sharing the same view with Hai, Bui Thi Ngoc Thao from the HCM City Securities
Company said if the draft circular comes true, the investments via securities
investment funds would bear the tax rate of 30 percent, including the 25 percent
corporate income tax and 5 percent personal income tax. Meanwhile, if making
direct investments in the stock market, one would bear only the personal income
tax, which is 20 percent of the profit (the margin between the sales and
purchase prices) or 0.1 percent of the sales prices.

Thao said that the tax rate in the draft circular is really unreasonable, while
it is higher than the currently applied tax rate of 20 percent.

Thao said that in the context of the stock index falls, the 30 percent tax rate
on fund certificate investments would not encourage institutions and individuals
to inject money in fund certificates, thus pushing the capital mobilization into
deadlock.

Source: DTCK

Foreign businesses warm up Vietnamese postal service market

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 06:06:09 +0000

LookAtVietnam – A lot of foreign companies have arrived in Vietnam to
explore the market and seek to buy the stakes of domestic postal service
companies in the last half a year, since the day Vietnam fully opened its market
to foreigners.

Foreigners penetrating Vietnamese market

In the last 20 years, the postal service market has welcomed the world’s biggest
service providers, namely Dutch TNT, German DHL and US’ FedEx and UPS.

At first, in early 1990s, they cooperated with domestic businesses, setting up
agents that collected and delivered goods. Later, they have been carrying out a
lot of activities to implement their plan to make long term investments in
Vietnam.

In 1995, TNT joined forces with Viettrans to set up the first joint venture in
the postal service market. In 2007, DHL teamed up with VNPT to set up DHL-VNPT
joint venture where DHL held 51 percent of stakes. In 2009 and 2010, FedEx and
UPS terminated the contract with VietnamPost to implement their own business
plans in Vietnam. FedEx then decided to team up with a private company, while
UPS cooperated with VnPost Express to set up UPS Vietnam with 51 percent of
stakes belonging to UPS.

Domestic postal service providers all have admitted that foreign companies, with
powerful finance capability, advanced technologies and experiences, have put a
hard competition pressure on them. Especially, foreign companies have been
dominating in the international express service market.

The white book on Vietnam’s information technology and communication showed that
in 2009 and 2010, the two joint ventures DHL-VNPT and TNT-Vietrans accounted for
26 percent of the market share. In 2008-2010, the market share held by domestic
firms were narrowed significantly. VNPost Express, for example, saw its market
share drop from 16 percent in 2008 to 12 percent in 2009.

Managers of VietnamPost and ViettelPost, the two big domestic service providers,
have admitted that the profits from international freight and forwarding
services are much higher than domestic services, but domestic companies cannot
squeeze into the market.

Experts have pointed out that one of the biggest problems of domestic firms is
that the connection to the world still has been relying on four foreign groups
with global networks, including TNT, UPS, DHL and FedEx.

Luong Ngoc Hai, General Director of ViettelPost, believes that not many powerful
foreign groups would arrive in Vietnam after January 2012, because the big
service providers, interested in the Vietnamese market, have arrived here
already.

He has also revealed that some foreign companies have suggested cooperation, or
asked to buy ViettelPost’s stakes, but no affair has succeeded. The problem is
that the foreign partners want to hold the majority of shares, while ViettelPost
does not want this.

Domestic firms struggle to retain clients

Earlier this year, Japanese Yamoto sent its staff to Vietnam to learn about the
Vietnamese market. Most recently, at the extraordinary shareholder’s meeting of
TTC Express (Tin Thanh), the shareholders approved the plan on transferring 70
percent of stakes of big shareholders to three investors, including Gia Ly
Company, Singaporean KLB and Hong Kong’s Kerry Integrated Logistics. Tin Thanh
is reportedly following legal procedures to legalize the stake transfer to the
strategic shareholders.

When asked if the cooperation of Tin Thanh with the powerful foreign partners
would generate a hard pressure on domestic firms, Hai said this would certainly
a big challenge for domestic firms. However, he said the challenges would prompt
domestic firms to struggle to retain their clients.

Source: Buu Dien

Eurozone to offer Spain 30 bln euro bailout

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:45:27 +0000

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(L-R) European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, Spanish Finance Minister Luis De Guindos and French minister for Economy, Finances and Foreign Trade attend a Eurozone meeting on July 9, 2012 at the EU headquarters in Brussels.

Eurozone ministers agreed to bail out Spain at talks ending Tuesday, with a first tranche of 30 billion euros ($37 billion) to be offered to relieve its banking sector by the end of the month.

Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the eurozone finance ministers group, said after nine hours of talks on Monday ended beyond midnight, that the group reached political agreement on a draft memorandum of understanding on Spain and were "aiming at reaching a formal agreement in the second half of July."

The accord "will enable a payment of 30 billion euros by the end of the month" to help Spain’s distressed banks, he said, with reimbursement deadlines set "up to 15 years."

The ministers also agreed to extend a 2013 deadline for Spain to cut its public deficit to the EU 3.0 percent limit by one year, he said.

Juncker told a press conference that the deadline was extended in view of the difficult economic conditions Spain faced but the country now had to implement all the measures needed to bring its public finances into line with EU norms.

In exchange for the loans, the eurozone will demand reforms of specific banks as well as the banking sector as a whole, said the EU’s Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.

Spain would also have to abide by EU ceilings on deficits, trimming its huge deficit to 6.3 percent of gross domestic product this year, 4.5 percent in 2013 and 2.8 percent in 2014, Rehn added.

Spain in May revised its 2011 public deficit — the shortfall between government revenues and spending, saying that it stood at 8.9 percent of gross domestic product instead of 8.51 percent as reported earlier.

The same month, the EU warned that Spain would miss its public deficit targets this year and next while remaining in recession through 2013.

The conservative government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged to cut Spain’s public deficit to 5.3 percent this year.

AFP

Distraught Murray vows to come back stronger

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:45:22 +0000

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Roger Federer (L) shakes hands with Andy Murray after his men’s singles final victory on Day 13 of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Tennis Club in southwest London. Federer won the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

Andy Murray vowed to come back stronger than ever after a heartbreaking four-set Wimbledon final defeat against Roger Federer left the distraught Scot crying tears of frustration on Centre Court.

Murray had hoped to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, but his dreams were dashed as Federer recovered from a slow start to claim the seventh All England Club title of his magnificent career.

It was a devastating blow for Murray, who has played some of the best tennis of his life over the last two weeks but is now on a miserable run of four defeats in his four Grand Slam final appearances.

The 25-year-old, who broke down in tears during an emotional on-court interview immediately after the match, was still understandably sombre when he fulfilled his media commitments after briefly returning to the locker room.

But, despite his obvious angst at falling short in his home Grand Slam, the world number four believes the way he took the fight to Federer in the first two sets proves he has the game to eventually win one of the four majors.

"I’d say that’s the best I’ve played in a slam final. I created chances and went up a set. Even the last two sets, I still had chances," said Murray who had been trying to become Britain’s first Wimbledon men’s champion since Fred Perry in 1936.

"It wasn’t like I gave away bad games or stupid games. I played a good match and made pretty good decisions for the most part, so I’m happy with that.

"I felt more comfortable this morning and before the match than I had done in the previous slam finals.

"It’s not an easy tournament for British players in many ways, but I think I dealt with all of the extra things away from the tournament pretty well, better than maybe I had done in the past.

"It was my first time in a Wimbledon final. I’d never been there before. I’m still improving, still playing better tennis, which is all I can do."

Murray is widely regarded as the best player of his generation never to have won a Grand Slam and he has been especially unfortunate to come up against Federer in three of his major finals.

Losing to the 17-time Grand Slam winner doesn’t make it any easier for Murray to stomach, but he conceded he could have few complaints about the result.

"Every loss has been different. Today’s pretty hard because you’re playing in front of a crowd like that and your whole family has come to watch," he said.

"But he played very, very well in the last two sets especially. When the roof closed he played unbelievable tennis.

"Was it my best chance? I don’t know. I lost to a guy that’s now won this tournament seven times and is number one in the world. So if that’s your best chance, then…

"We’re talking about one of the greatest athletes of all time here. We’ve got to put it in context a little bit."

Murray has never been completely accepted by the British sporting public because of his sometimes bad tempered demeanor, but that should change after his tearful post-match speech.

"I’d be playing the wrong sport if I wasn’t emotional," Murray said.

"I just said to sorry to Roger. I didn’t want that to happen. You feel like you’re kind of attention seeking or something. It wasn’t like that at all.

"I knew it would be hard when they asked me if I wanted to do the interview. I don’t know if I wanted to do it, but I tried.

"He just laughed and said ’This is meant to be the easy part, doing the speeches after the match’. But sometimes it feels quite hard compared with playing a tennis match."

After such a painful defeat, a mentally drained Murray plans to take time off before beginning his preparations for the Olympics and the US Open.

"There’s no point in going on the court until my mind is right and I’m ready to go out there and work hard," he said.

"I’ll wait and see how my body recovers over the next few days but I won’t be on court next week that’s for sure."

AFP

Cross-cultural relationships

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:45:17 +0000

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A young couple pose for their wedding photo in Da Nang. Most modern Vietnamese weddings incorporate both Western and Vietnamese traditions. Photo: AFP

Relationships between men and women are complex and problematic under the best of circumstances, and when you mix cultures as different as Western and Asian it can really get muddled.

And the fact that Vietnam is still coming out of a long period of difficult circumstances, both socially and economically, further contributes to the problem.

This can be seen even in relationship situations between Vietnamese couples. For example; young women are increasingly expressing a reluctance to follow the marital patterns of their mothers and grandmothers. It used to be that a girl who was unmarried after she passed into her mid-twenties was considered too old to attract a husband and was the object of sympathy among her family and peers. No more! Girls are delaying marriage into their thirties while they pursue education and careers, and some seem not to care if they never get married if a suitable mate has not put in an appearance.

Like all cultures, Vietnam has its social levels and levels of educational attainment. Depending on the background of the expatriate this may or may not be important. At the risk of sounding snobbish, for me it was. My first Vietnamese romance was with a young woman who was half my age, had no education and spoke no English. But she was lovely and promised to learn English, so things became serious and we talked of marriage. I envisioned making a brief visit to my former town and watch the envy of my aging friends with their equally aged wives! Foolish me!

Over time it became obvious that she was not very serious about English, saw me as a way out of relatively modest circumstances and we had absolutely nothing to talk about when we did have the benefit of someone to translateâ¦ in other words there was no common ground for us to meet on. In addition, I discovered that she had threatened a friend of hers that was helping her by translating for us, with physical violence, for being “too attentive to me” (a fallacy!) Not a young lady of good character, it would appear. After giving it a reasonable effort, I bade her goodbye!

I subsequently met a number of very lovely women of varied ages but none of them could speak much English, although several were engaged in a serious effort before I met them. I had determined that being married to someone with whom you cannot have a conversation is not very appealing, at least to me, and my feeble efforts at learning Vietnamese were coming to naught.

It is extremely easy for foreigners to meet attractive Vietnamese women who are looking for a relationship. The most common meeting ground is a bar, a restaurant or a hotel where the young woman is an employee. This often means some fundamental English (I do not mean to exclude other languages; French is still moderately common and Russian is fast becoming a desirable language as the Russian tourist numbers increase but I have no idea whether they are looking for mates or not).

Some of the young ladies are working their way through school and some are starting a life as “working girls,” it is hard to tell initially. The apprentice working girls are just what a lot of aging Lotharios are looking for. They will find plenty! But if you are seriously in search of a “soul mate,” be careful! Frequently, even the girls who are of “good character” are on the look-out for a meal ticket, not just for themselves but their whole family. I have known a number of late 50’s, early 60’s retirees who got seriously involved in building houses (which they can’t own) and looking after numerous family members who turn up as the relationship develops and all needing one thing or another that the rich foreigner can easily provide. (Remember, to a poor Vietnamese girl, all foreigners are “rich” and compared to them, we are!)

One fellow of my acquaintances has bought several houses for different girlfriends, only to have them take a powder with deed in hand. (Now I understand that it is possible to have your name on the title to prevent its sale without your agreement.)

I have known one fellow whose fate brought him into the clutches of a habitual gambler. This poor guy bought a house, went back to the US for a visit and returned to find that the house was sold. Her story was that her daughter had been in a serious accident and money was needed quickly. Even when friends who knew the real story told him she’d lost it gambling, he refused to believe it. The last I’d heard they had moved to another ASEAN country to escape her creditors.

My experience suggests that the best way to meet a likely companion is through a mutual introduction from someone you’ve gotten to know and trust. Another, not always considered, is to attend one or more of the Protestant or Catholic churches which abound in the cities where you will usually find a warm welcome and people who have some common standards with you. Teaching courses in your language can also be a harmless way to get acquainted.

One more personal observation has been that Vietnamese women are, on average, far more industrious and ambitious than the men. I have several friends whose wives earn excellent incomes and/or run their own business. I have taught gratis English classes since my arrival and the people who have stayed the longest and learned the most have all been girls and women, barring a very few exceptional cases. I even know one lucky fellow who met and married the attractive heiress to a multimillion dollar fortune, who has a sizable income from her own career.

If you are lucky as I have certainly been, (I have a great Vietnamese wife but I’m not the one who married the heiress!) as have many of my acquaintances, you may find yourself in a truly wonderful and challenging relationship.

By Bob Michaels
The writer is a retired American expat who lives in the coastal resort town of Nha Trang

Just gay enough

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:45:10 +0000

Amateur comedy opens hearts and minds toward a generally ostracized community

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(From left) The three leading actors in ‘My Best Gay Friends,’ Ngo Xuan Nhat, Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa and Tran Nguyen Kim Han

"I will not exchange my son for others,” Nguyen Thi Loan Thanh says matter-of-factly.

Thanh’s 21 year old son, Tran Nguyen Kim Han is gay, and she accepts him as such. That she publicly declares her acceptance in a supposedly “conservative, traditional society” has as much to do with Han being an ideal son in all “other” aspects as his participation in a comedy series called “My Best Gay Friends” that has become a Youtube sensation in Vietnam.

The first four episodes of the comedy series has been received well by thousands of viewers after they went online – on Youtube as well as other social websites.

The 20-minute episodes with English subtitles tell stories of friendship between three young gay men from different backgrounds who share an apartment in Ho Chi Minh City – Khoa, who has been sent out by his family to stand on his own feet, Rje, a rice vermicelli seller in the local market, and the mysterious Nhat.

Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa, a student of the Directing Department at the HCMC Academy of Theater and Cinema, not only plays the leading role of his namesake in the series, but also produces and directs it. Khoa invited his friends, Han, 21, Ngo Xuan Nhat, 19, and others to act in the 15-episode series.

“All of us in the leading roles are gay in real life. We collect and borrow material from daily life to write the script for the film, and hope that people will have a proper, comprehensive and compassionate understanding of homosexuality. They are just normal people, who have their own family, friends, and someone to love,” Khoa said.

Khoa also has experience in making video clips for some local singers, while Han is currently doing a make-up course and Nhat is studying graphic design.

“I made it a comedy to entertain people who have too much pressure nowadays,” Khoa said.

Khoa’s “My Best Gay Friends” is not the first Vietnamese gay film, but it is considered the best made in Vietnam by many, if not most netizens.

“Gay people portrayed in previous Vietnamese films are not real and are just a joke, causing offense and creating misunderstandings in the community. Some film producers and directors without thorough knowledge and understanding about these people have purposely made films with offensive scenes to attract audiences. Some just borrow a certain case or a stereotypical character to add to their film and make it as if the person represents the whole gay community. It’s just unfair,” said Thao Pham, a Facebook member.

Khoa said the response has largely been very positive, especially from the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual people) community. “Many of them have asked to take part in our film,” he said.

Thien Quy Oanh, a Youtube member, commented: “I cannot stop laughing. The actors play their roles well and the film itself is as funny as Korean TV series “High Kick.” I cannot wait to see next episodes. If it was screened in public, it would be a ’blockbuster’.”

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“The film features daily activities in markets, apartment buildings, rice noodle stands, cafÃ© and schools, but the actors act so well and naturally, making the scenes as good as possible. Waiting for the next episodes,” said Youtube member gayvn231.

Other viewers were not so impressed.

A netizen whose Youtube nickname is tuankhoa2307, wrote: “I don’t care about your sexuality, but honestly, when you work on a film project, you should pay attention to audience’s taste, instead of satisfying your desire to be an actor. The film’s actors overact and some scenes are not really funny.”

What mothers say

The film’s popularity has brought their close relatives and friends into the picture.

Thanh, Han’s mother, said her son was born gay.

“People themselves want to be either male or female, but my son was born gay and can do nothing to change it. It is ok as long as he is happy and healthy,” she said.

She said Han was luckier than others because his relatives and neighbors are very fond of him. Han is a “good boy”, always behaves himself, and helps his mother do housework.

“I will not exchange my son for others,” Thanh reiterated.

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Film director Huynh Nguyen Dang Khoa reviews the script before a shot

However, the film director Dang Khoa’s mother Nguyen Thi Be Tu spent days in tears and sorrow on seeing him grow up unlike others. It was hard for her to accept that her son is gay.

“I wished he was a real man and wanted to take him to see experts and hospitals for help. I gradually realized that medicine itself is useless in Khoa’s case because it is innate,” Tu said, crying. “His fate is pitiful,” she added.

Khoa’s mother also said that the film has officially made the sexual orientation of the three protagonists public, but added that even without the film, their gestures and behavior would have made people suspect that they were gay.

Unlike Khoa and Han, since the film’s online debut on April 8, fatherless Xuan Nhat has been condemned by his neighbors and relatives.

“People keep using bad words, gay-related stories to criticize me. They even openly despise me,” said Nhat, who lives with his mother and relatives on his father’s side. The relatives now want to kick him out the house because of the film.

Thu Hong, Xuan Nhat’s mother, said “it is a terrible feeling to be reprimanded and abandoned by our family.

“I hope community has sympathy toward gay people, stop differentiating them, for they are just ordinary people. Being gay is not a sin, and very few of them are involved in social evils. Most of them are talented, useful people for their communities. Don’t be rude and merciless toward them,” she pleaded.

“Mothers with gay children should not abandon them, they should give them even more love so that they can grow up normally,” she said.

Truong An, a Facebook member, said parents should watch the film and consider they way they treated their children when they first found that they were gay.

“They (the parents) should neither impose their opinion on the children nor try to get them out of their real sexuality, but simply love their children the best way they can.”

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By Nguyen Thanh Nam, Thanh Nien News (The story can be found in the June 22nd issue of our print edition, Vietweek)

FM Minh delivers speech at AMM 45

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 05:06:08 +0000

ASEAN needs to maintain solidarity, strengthen coordination and play key role in dealing with regional challenges, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has said.

In his speech at the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, which took place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on July 9, Minh emphasised that the group should bring into full play its role in creating new regional structure to make effective contributions to the common goals of peace, stability and cooperation.

Regarding external relations, he said ASEAN should further deepen relations with its partners and encourage them to contribute to regional cooperation.

Minister Minh expressed his deep concern over the recent complicated situation in the East Sea and reaffirmed the Vietnamese Government’s stance of opposing China’s approval of the establishment of the so-called “Sansha city” and its invitation for international bidding of the nine oil and gas lots which are located within Vietnam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf mentioned in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

China’s flurry activity of seriously has violated the sovereign right and the jurisdictional right of the coastal nations over exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in the provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS, and run counter to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), Minh said.

He referred to the principles of respecting the sovereign right and the jurisdictional right of the coastal nations over exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in line with the provisions of the UNCLOS, solving disputes by peaceful means without the use of force and with respect to the international laws, including the 1982 UNCLOS, and the spirit of the DOC.

ASEAN should raise its leading role, responsibility and constructive spirit in solving matters relating to the common interest of the region, creating favourable environment for the parties concerned to peacefully settle the disputes, he said.

VNA

Foreign Minister joins ASEAN talks in Cambodia

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 04:06:08 +0000

LookAtVietnam – Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh joined delegates from the nine other ASEAN member countries at the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting which began in Phnom Penh, Cambodia yesterday, July 9.

Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (fifth from left) joins delegates from member countries at the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, yesterday. â AFP/VNA Photo

Addressing the opening meeting, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said that after 45 years, ASEAN had become a closely-integrated political and economic entity, an influential player in Asia and an indispensable strategic partner of several major countries and global organisations.

He said ASEAN’s numerous achievements underlined the strong commitment and political will of its members to continue to work closely together.

“That spirit has been confirmed with the theme ASEAN: One Community, One Destiny, the theme chosen by Cambodia as ASEAN Chair for 2012,” he added.

However, he said, despite these achievements, ASEAN still continued to face challenges both globally and regionally.

These included the economic difficulties in major economies, the prolonged debt crisis in Europe, food and energy security, climate change, terrorism and trans-national crimes.

Hun Sen said these challenges threatened not only the sustainability of ASEAN’s socio-economic development made over the last 45 years, but the efforts being made to build an ASEAN Community by 2015.

He highlighted the foreign ministers’ significant role in shaping the ASEAN Community, especially in settling issues relating to security, political co-operation and ASEAN’s external relationships.

The Cambodian PM said that maintaining regional peace and security was essential for the bloc to prosper and develop.

“ASEAN needs to speed up negotiations and co-operate on security and political matters to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region,” he said.

“ASEAN should use all its current mechanisms to ensure regional security and peace. These included the Treaty of Amity and Co-operation (TAC) in South-east Asia; the South-east Asian Treaty on a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone; the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of parties in the East Sea ; the ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus.”

Hun Sen stressed that together with Britain and the European Union, the inclusion of other non-ASEAN countries into the TAC would highlight the treaty’s significance.

He underlined the necessity of implementing a Declaration on the Conduct of parties to finalise the Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.

ASEAN has key region role

Yesterday, Minister Minh told ASEAN foreign ministers ASEAN needs to maintain solidarity, strengthen co-ordination and play a key role in dealing with regional challenges.

Minh, speaking at the 45th ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, said that the group should bring its regional role into full play and push up the building of a regional architecture.

He said this would make effective contributions to the common goals of peace, stability and co-operation.

Regarding the East Sea, Minh expressed deep concern at the complicated situation.

He said under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Vietnamese Government opposed China’s approval of the establishment of its so-called “Sansha city” – and its invitation for international bidding for nine oil and gas lots located completely within Viet Nam’s exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.

These activities seriously violated the sovereign right and the jurisdictional right of the coastal nations over exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in accordance with provisions of the 1982 UNCLOS, and ran counter to the spirit of the Declaration on the Conducts of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), Minh said.

Other participating ministers supported Minh’s view on the principles of respecting the sovereign and jurisdictional rights of coastal nations over exclusive economic zones and continental shelves in line with provisions of the UNCLOS, solving disputes through peaceful measures without the use of force and with respect to international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS and the spirit of the DOC. The Ministers also supported Viet Nam’s nomination as the ASEAN General Secretary for 2013-17 and agreed to suggest the official nomination to the 21st ASEAN Summit in November 2012.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Int’l experts to help build tourism marketing strategy

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 03:06:08 +0000

LookAtVietnam – A group of international experts will arrive in Vietnam on July 11 to help the country create a tourism marketing strategy and an action plan for tourism development in the future.

The visit is being conducted by the European Union funded Environmentally and Socially Responsible Tourism (ESRT) project in Vietnam.

The experts will help the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) develop promotional strategies for the short term (one year), medium term (1-3 years) and long term (more than three years) and assist the VNAT Market Department in analysing data from seven key markets.

They will write reports on trademark concepts and implementation strategies for target groups, as well as communication channels, marketing tools and action strategies, and also work with relevant partners to develop appropriate trademarks.

The VNAT and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recognise that advertising and promotion are key factors in developing the tourism sector and improving its competitiveness in the international market.

However, tourism is now only being promoted through specific events, trade fairs and publications. Vietnam urgently needs to use new trademarks and modern promotional and advertising tools to highlight its image for tourism.

Vietnam aims to promote its image at the Tourism Fair in London this November and the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin in March 2013.

The VNAT reports that by the end of June, Vietnam attracted more than 3.36 million foreign visitors and 17.5 million domestic tourists, earning around VND75,000 billion.

VOV

Hospitals told to end queue jumping

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 02:06:09 +0000

Overloaded central hospitals have been asked to stop illegal brokers assisting patients to jump the queue for examinations and treatment in exchange for cash payments.

Representatives of 21 hospitals in Hanoi and the health and public security ministries at a meeting on July 6 heard the problem was occurring in most central hospitals, especially those that were overloaded.

The meeting was called following newspaper reports that brokers with contacts among doctors and other medical staff were helping patients gain quicker examinations and treatment, including at the Eye, Cancer and Bach Mai hospitals.

Brokers were also receiving commissions for taking patients to private medical units for faster service, but at higher prices.

Police Social Order Investigation chief Snr Lt-Colonel Nguyen Viet Chuc said the transactions between brokers and medical staff are behind the scenes and will be difficult to clean up if hospital management remained slack.

Chuc said police have arrested 12 illegal brokers in the first six months of this year and sent them away for “re-education”.

Bach Mai Hospital deputy director Pham Minh Thong said hospitals should expand examination and treatment units and increase working hours using IT and advanced equipment to make brokers redundant.

“With a private ID, patients could register for health examinations through phone or internet to save time,” he said.

National Paediatrics Hospital deputy director Nguyen Thanh Hai said it is difficult to identify brokers. They can be a doctor, a nurse, or a security guard, he said.

The ministry’s Legal Department deputy director Nguyen Huy Quang said brokers have contacts among medical staff so hospital managers are the ones to handle the problem.

Quang said no hospital has yet punished a doctor or nurse or a security officer for being involved in brokering.

Those at the meeting agreed hospitals should ease their overload, introduce security cameras, strengthen security systems and set up stings to trap brokers.

They should also have strict penalties, especially for medical staff who were involved in brokering.

The ministry, meanwhile, would conduct random checks at hospitals to handle the problem of middlemen.

VNA

Part 2: Steel manufacturers dragging out miserable existence

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 01:06:08 +0000

LookAtVietnam – A lot of steel enterprises have died actually, though none
of them has declared bankruptcy.

According to the Vietnam Steel Association VSA, only 1.144 million tons of steel
were sold in the first quarter of 2012, a decrease of 12 percent in comparison
with the same period of the last year. If the steel market continues to be
gloomy, the four percent growth rate goal in 2012 would be unattainable.

Real estate market gets frozen, steel mills weaken

VSA’s Chair Pham Chi Cuong said that the policy on cutting down public
investment has dealt a strong blow on the steel industry. All the four main
steel products, including structural steel, coated galvanized steel, tubes and
cold rolled steel, have seen big unsold volumes.

As for cold rolled steel, for example, the total productivity has reached 2.7
million tons after a 1.2 million ton mill in the south became operational.
Meanwhile, the total domestic demand is just one million tons, while it is very
difficult to export the products because of the anti-dumping lawsuit.

Also according to Cuong, five steel mills in the north have stopped operation
for the last two months and they have stopped sales as well. A lot of steel
companies have died actually, though they have not declared the bankruptcy.

Meanwhile, about 60 big enterprises still have been making every effort to exist
after they injected too much money in the projects.

Pomihoa, a once well-known brand of Tam Diep Company, would no longer exist on
the market after 12 years of existence. Japanese Kyoei Group has become the new
owner of Tam Diep after the successful stake transfer deal which helped the
Japanese group hold 70 percent of stakes. Tam Diep has been renamed into Kyoei
Vietnam since March 10. As such, Pomihoa brand would only exist on the unsold
products.

An executive of VPS steel company has complained that since late 2011, the
company has been running at the capacity lower than the designed capacity. The
company now churns out 1.8 million tons or steel tubes a year, while it can sell
less than one million tons on the domestic market. Meanwhile, only 1.1 million
tons of coated galvanized steel is sold domestically, much lower than the output
of 2 million tons.

Who to blame?

While steel mills have attributed the slow sales on the weak demand caused by
the policy on tightening the public investment, experts have said that investors
should blame themselves instead of passing the buck to the policy.

In fact, investors have been warned many times about the oversupply, they still
have poured money into steel projects. The massive investments recently into the
steel sector have led to the supply far exceeding the demand. Therefore, experts
said, even if the national economy did not fall into recession, the steel
industry still would suffer from their unreasonable investments.

Official reports show that there are 460 steel manufacturers nationwide. The
number of steel enterprises and the production capacity have both been galloping
in the last many consecutive years. The supply of structural steel has climbed
to 9 million tons, while the domestic demand is no higher than 6 million tons.

However, despite the bad situation of operational steel mills, five other steel
mills are to become operational in the time to come. Therefore, the thing that
needs to be done to rescue the steel industry is to re-program the industry
development, rather than calling for help.

Source: DDDN

Nearly 500,000 students sit tertiary entrance exams

poster — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 00:06:08 +0000

Nearly 500,000 students from across the country are taking part in the second phase of tertiary entrance examination on July 9 – 10.

The second phase involves both normal students in Groups B, C, and D and gifted students.

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), more than 1.8 million students registered for this year’s exams, 1.35 million (75 percent) for university entrance and 454,000 (25 percent) for college entrance.

30.44 percent of the pupils wished to work in the business and management sectors, only 4.43 percent in the humanity and science sectors.

The MoET is closely coordinating with related agencies and social forces to ensure the successful organization of the exams.

VOV

Vocational training needs push

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 23:06:06 +0000

LookAtVietnam – Do The Tai of southern coastal Vung Tau City promptly pulls out a list showing his university and college preferences when asked about the ongoing university entrance examinations.

What if, just in case, he does not make it? What about vocational schools where he can pick up valuable skills?

Tai has not even thought about it.

“I don’t know why, but I have never thought about them. I am just thinking of universities and colleges,” says the 19-year-old youth.
In fact, most students who are sitting the examinations are not thinking about vocational schools, even if they fail.

They would rather prepare afresh and retake the exam later, a small survey carried out by the Sai Gon Giai Phong (Liberated Sai Gon) newspaper found.

Only two of 50 students interviewed said they would consider joining vocational schools if their original academic plans do not work out.

The low priority accorded by students is hurting vocational training schools in HCM City despite several preferential policies and improved infrastructure.

Students are also pushed by their parents to focus on getting into a university or college irrespective of their abilities and talents.
It is reported that there are about 420 vocational training centres and schools in HCM City that can train 400,000 students per year.

Nguyen Thanh Hiep, head of the Vocational Training Department under the city’s Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said local vocational training schools and centres in the city last year enrolled 270,000 students.

The situation has not improved even after the Ministry of Education and Training began allowing students to sit for the entrance exams after finishing a vocational training course.

A stipulation that universities should not offer vocational training has also had little positive effect.

Experts point to several reasons why guidance provided to students on suitable careers has not made a difference in their choice of further studies.

The forecasting of human resource needs for the city has not been accurate, said Tran Anh Tuan, deputy director of a human resource management office under the Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Also, the training provided does not match the needs of several sectors, which means student find themselves unemployed after finishing a vocational training course.

This discouraged other students from enrolling in vocational schools, Tuan said.

He suggested that the city come up with programmes that explain clearly to students the careers for which they can be trained by vocational training schools and centres.

“The schools and centres also need to strengthen co-operate with enterprises so they know the real demand for skills and can offer courses that guarantee students gainful employment after graduation,” he added.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Troubles occurred with math university entrance exam questions

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:06:08 +0000

LookAtVietnam – The math exam questions appeared on the Internet and then
spread out rapidly via Facebook at 9 am on July 4, one hour before the exam hour
finished. Later, some experts found out that the answers provided by the
Ministry of Education and Training “had problems.”

The exam questions on the Internet were exactly the official exam questions
delivered to the examinees, who attended the A group (mathematics, physics and
chemistry) and A1 group exams (mathematics, physics and foreign languages). Just
several minutes after the exam questions appeared on Internet, there were also
the suggested answers to the questions.

The math exam, which took place on the morning of July 4, was scheduled to begin
at 7.15 am and finish at 10.15 am. Meanwhile, the exam questions were exposed to
the public at 9 am.

On the same day, the Ministry of Education and Training, after checking the exam
preparation works, affirmed that no mistake was made during the process. The
representative also affirmed that the information might be leaked after by
someone from exam rooms, after the questions were delivered to examinees. He
also informed that the ministry has asked the Ministry of Public Affairs to make
investigation over the case.

Some people made a wild guess that the exam questions were copied with the
camerawork and then slipped out of the exam room. However, Deputy Minister of
Education and Training Bui Van Ga said that he could not say nothing until the
problem was clarified.

The police have summoned Le Thanh Tung, who resides in Long Bien district in
Hanoi, a former student of the Nguyen Gia Thieu High School, now a student of
the Hanoi University of Technology.

The police found out that Tung was the person who posted some pictures of the
exam questions on the Internet at 9 am on July 4. Tung said he got up at 9 am
that day, then accessed a website where he found the pictures, and downloaded
the questions and posted on another website.

The statement by Tung was confirmed by the police, who also found the link from
which Tung downloaded the questions. The police think that Tung posted the
questions on the Internet just to queen it over the public, while he did not
have other purposes.

Therefore, a supposition has been put forward that the exam questions came out
prior to 9 am of the day. Some examinees, who smoothly brought hi-tech devices
into the exam room, might post the exam questions on the Internet themselves,
which were then copied by Tung and posted on another website.

However, it remains unclear who was the first person that posted the exam
questions on the Internet.

A source said that the police are taking necessary measures to find the person.
However, even when the person is found, the police would still have to
investigate if the person could receive the answers from outside. Experts
believe that it took much time to receive the signals from outside, and the
examinee would have been discovered by the proctors.

Under the current laws, the university entrance exam questions are considered
national top confidential documents. After the copies of the exam questions are
delivered to examinees, the other copies must be put into boxes and sealed.
Examinees can only submit the exam papers and leave the exam room when 2/3 of
the exam duration elapses. In theory, the exam questions could only made public
after that time.

Source: VTC

Frenchmen tour world in electric car

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 21:06:10 +0000

LookAtVietnam – Two French engineers on an around-the world trip in an electric car to promote electric mobility are about to depart from Ha Noi.

Charges d’affaires: French engineers Xavier Degon and Antonin Guy are making a world tour with their electric Citroen-Zero to promote electric mobility.

Xavier Degon, 27, and Antonin Guy, 28, began their world tour in February from Strasbourg, France. They are driving a standar Citroen-Zero, the first French electric car sold in France and which emits neither carbon nor any polluting particle.

They travelled through Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos to Viet Nam, collecting flags of the countries to decorate their car. They will cross another eight countries to finish the tour.

“The goal is to promote the image of electric vehicles and to reassure the public over their reliability and convenience,” Gegon said.

“If a standard electric car can make a world tour, every single person is able to use it to go shopping.”

Marie-Cecile Tardieu-Smith, head of the economics section of the French Embassy, said at a press conference: “Viet Nam is faced with the challenge of environmental issues.

“France has invested in projects to develop public transportation in Viet Nam and French enterprises want to present this experience of an electric car.”

The idea of the Electric Odyssey was born in 2010 in the minds of the two friends who share a thirst for adventure and a desire to travel.

Power-up: Antonin Guy recharges his car during a break in his journey around the globe. (Photos: VNS)

To make the world tour, they plan to travel 25,000km during eight months across 17 countries and with only 250kW of electricity consumption, five time cheaper than the same trip using petrol. Their car must be charged every 110km, which means more than 250 charges at local people’s homes.

Every day, the two men meet and convince members of the local population to lend them their outlets and they pay for the estimated megawatts used. The charge time is six hours.

“Luckily, the people we meet are all ready to help us,” Guy said.

“This voyage is like a true human adventure for us because it gives us the opportunity to be in close contact with people all around the world, through the American Rockies, the heart of Japan, the silk road between China and Kazakhstan and Europe.”

“In some of countries the English language is enough to communicate, but in most of them, sign language is mainly used to find outlets.”

The two adventurers spent seven days in Viet Nam. They leave Viet Nam today and will continue their trip to China through the Ha Khau border in Lao Cai Province.

The two men said they had interesting experiences on the Ho Chi Minh road to Ha Noi from Laos.

“We were impressed with the landscapes and hospitality of Vietnamese people. We stopped several times and ate with local people and truck drivers. We invited them to try our electric car and we were excited to drive a truck,” Degon said.

In Ha Noi. The two men enjoyed nem (spring rolls).

All their images of Viet Nam and the news of their adventure can be followed through the web in real time at www.electric-odyssey.com and through social networks such as Twitter and Facebook.

Degon has been an engineer in the State -owned French Electricity Provider Company since 2009.

Guy has been consultant for four years at Capgemini Consulting in the public sector. He has been driving several studies about electric mobility in collaboration with ESCP Europe (European Business School) since 2009.

To make the tour, they had to take one-year holiday.

“We will finish the tour in two months. If everything goes as planned, we will get back to Strasbourg in October,” Degon said.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

ART & ENTERTAINMENT IN BRIEF 9/7

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 20:06:08 +0000

Quang Tri hosts ‘National Traditional Boat Race 2012’

The ‘National Traditional Boat Race 2012’ took place on the Thach Han River in the central province of Quang Tri on July 8.

The book’s cover. (Image: cpv.org.vn)

The competition marked the 65th anniversary of ‘War Invalids and Martyrs Day’ (July 27) and the 40th anniversary of the ‘81 Day and Night’ vigil of Quang Tri Citadel.

More than 200 participants from provinces including Kien Giang, An Giang, Binh Thuan, Da Nang, Quang Tri and Hai Duong joined in the event. Competitors took part in categories of 1,000, 500 and 200 meter races.

The competition will be open until July 10.

Book about Party General Secretary Nguyen Van Cu published

A book entitled ‘Nguyen Van Cu – Outstanding Leader, Exemplary Communist’ has recently been published by the National Political Publishing House – Truth to mark the 100th birthday of the late Party General Secretary (1912-2012).

The 856-page book includes more than 70 writings by Party and State leaders, scientists and Nguyen Van Cu’s relatives, featuring the revolutionary life and career of the late Party chief.

Nguyen Van Cu was born into an intellectual family on July 9, 1912 in Phu Khe commune, Tu Son ward, Bac Ninh province and began taking part in revolutionary activities at the age of 15. He was elected as the General Secretary of the Indochina Communist Party Central Committee (now the Communist Party of Vietnam) in 1938. An excellent example of a true communist, he was absolutely loyal to the Party and faithful to the people. As a Party leader, he left many valuable lessons about the spirit of criticism and self-criticism in Party building.

Nestle runs healthy life photo contest

VnExpress electronic newspaper and Nestle are holding a nationwide photo contest ‘Song vui khoe xua va nay’ (Live well and happy: Now and Then) from now until August 11.

The contest aims to feature impressive moments of physical and spiritual activities of Vietnamese people during the past century and to raise people’s awareness of a healthy and happy life.

The organizers want photographers to share their best shots and new angles of some daily life activities. The total value of the contest is VND50 million consisting of two first prizes worth VND10 million each, one second prize worth VND8 million, two third prizes worth VND5 million each and three consolation prizes worth VND2 million each. Furthermore, there are six weekly prizes worth VND1 million each voted by the newspaper’s readers.

Photographers are allowed to send a single photo or a collection of maximum ten photos (in black and white or color) with clear and specific captions. Entries with artists’ personal information should be sent to http://member.vnexpress.net/song-vui-khoe-xua-va-nay/

Vietnam-Japan festival takes place in HCM City

A Vietnam-Japan Festive Day took place in Ho Chi Minh City on July 8 to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.
The event featured an exhibition of documents and pictures on Japan, its culture and its people as well as information about studying in the East Asian country.

Participants learnt how to make Japanese kites and boxes, origami paper folding and enjoyed contemporary music played on traditional Japanese instruments by Aki and Kunio, a duo playing koto and acoustic guitar.

The Vietnam-Japan Festive Day was organised by the Consulate General of Japan in Ho Chi Minh City in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural Centre.

Similar cultural events were held in Hanoi, Hoi An and Da Nang and all were welcomed by a wide range of people.

VNN/SGT/SGGP/ND

Singer to release butterflies at concert, worrying fans

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 19:06:09 +0000

LookAtVietnam – Many people have expressed their concern on the announcement that local pop singer Dam Vinh Hung will release 500 real butterflies during a performance at his concert this month.

Local singer Dam Vinh Hung. (Photo: ngoisao.net)

To prepare for the special performance at the live show titled “So Phan” (Destiny), to be held on July 21 and 22 in Ho Chi Minh City, the singer and the show’s director, Tran Vi My, said they have ordered the above amount of butterflies from a farm run by a disabled girl in Da Lat.

The director also added the show’s organizers will release the butterflies at a rehearsal to get a sense of the technique and safety problems. “To make the butterflies appear on the stage in accordance with our idea, we have to prepare magnetic field generators and lighting machines to lead them to fly the way we want them to,” he said.

However, the public seems unsupportive of the idea. They said the large number of the animals will have a negative effect on the audiences’ health.

Responding to such fears, the director added that his crew will pay close attention to the audiences’ safety. The organizers also have alternative plans in case the butterfly plan does not end up happening.

Doctor Le Duc Tho from HCMC’s Hoan My Hospital also gave some advice on this. According to him, the butterfly is not a toxic species, but it can cause acute reactions like dermatitis and make asthma worse.

“People can suffer skin allergies or conjunctivitis from the pollen in the air, especially in closed rooms. Still, they can recover after 5 to 7 days of outpatient treatment,” he said.

“Some people can get acute bronchial asthma when touching a butterfly or pollen. To avoid that, asthma patients should not go to crowded and closed spaces,” she added.

VietNamNet/Tuoi Tre

Quang Nam to revive vintage silk trade

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:06:09 +0000

LookAtVietnam – Cultural researchers, academics and historians discussed solutions to restore the traditional silk craft of Quang Nam Province at a seminar in Hoi An City on Saturday.

Looming changes: A woman reels silk yarn at Hoi An-based Silk Village. The central province of Quang Nam is seeking to revive the traditional silk craft from the 17th century. (Photo: VNS)

The seminar, titled Anxiousness on Traditional Silk of Quang Nam, focused on how to revive the traditional silk craft that started in the 17th century in the central province.

At the event, cultural researchers discussed the establishment and prosperous development of the traditional trade in the 17th century, and the influence of the Cham culture.

Participants also expressed their opinions on boosting the trade and sustainable development of the craft as part of the tourism industry.

“The silk trade started in the development of the Nguyen Dynasty to the south. The craft in Quang Nam was influenced by the Cham people in the coastal central region,” famous Vietnamese writer Nguyen Ngoc told the seminar.

“If we want to restore the trade, we have to find out how mulberry and silkworm were raised by the Cham people in the past. Trailing the origin of the trade will help create a unique silk industry that once prospered in the past.”

“Hoi An has been recognised by UNESCO as a world heritage site. People remember the city with a full-moon night and the twinkling of lanterns, so the silk trade has to be restored like the lantern crafts have been so far.”

Le Thai Vu, general director of the Quang Nam Silk Company, successfully discovered the mulberry plant the Cham used during an expedition in Que Son District last year, after Japanese cultural researchers had failed in their efforts to find the plant.

“It’s a significant find as it will help to revive the trade in Quang Nam. The 40-year-old plant was identified by scientists as the Cham mulberry. I strive to collect the silkworm of the Cham people and revive the trade that withered away in the early 1990s,” Vu explained.

“The discovery of mulberry and silkworm will help produce the best quality silk that was well-known in the 17th century. However, the trade needs a change in design to lure customers and compete against silks from China, Japan, Thailand, and the others in Viet Nam.”

The Quang Nam-born expert now cultivates mulberry in a garden for the future development of the trade.

He has also collected 40 kinds of mulberry which help silkworm produce the best quality of silk.

At the seminar, Vu’s company also launched the Silk Village on Nguyen Tat Thanh Street.

The village, which covers on an area of 2ha, will act as a museum of silk trade and different kinds of mulberry.

“The village will help introduce the charming trade of the central province to the world. It will play as a destination for tourists who want to find out about the production of silk. They can witness how the people raise silkworms, and weave,” said Tran Thi Chi Mai from the village.

Ho Viet Ly, director of the HCM City-based Toan Thinh Silk Company, said he was aware of the beauty of silk from Quang Nam.

“Quang Nam has been known for its silk over the past centuries. Yellow cocoon is a feature that makes silk from Quang Nam stand out from Van Phuc Village in Ha Noi and Bao Loc District in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong,” Ly said at the seminar.

“However, Quang Nam-made silk needs a special design that promotes the image of Hoi An – the heart of Quang Nam Province.”
General director of Bao Loc Silk Company, Nguyen Trung Hieu said he saw little silk from Quang Nam on sale at a boutique in Hoi An.

“The silk trade in the province has to change its production methods. It needs to update with advanced weaving technology and farming of mulberry,” said Hieu.

Vice chairman of the Hoi An People’s committee Truong Van Bay said the administration would look at ways to boost the to develop the tourism industry.

Quang Nam Province has welcomed 900,000 tourists since the start of this year.

It has targeted to attract 1.7 million tourists this year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News

Spain's most famous fiesta hit by economic downturn

poster — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 17:45:20 +0000

Â
A bull pushes through a crowd at the entrance to the bullring during the second run of the bulls of the San Fermin festival, on July 8, 2012, in the Spanish city of Pamplona.

Spain’s most famous fiesta, the San Fermin bull running festival in Pamplona, is taking a hit from the economic crisis as revelers cut corners to save money.

The cobbled streets of the northern city are still packed with party-goers from around the world, drawn by the carnival atmosphere and the chance to be chased by half-ton bulls every morning.

But hotels report lower occupancy rates, and sales in restaurants and bars are down.

Instead, many people choose to eat homemade food and drink sangria and beer bought in supermarkets in the streets during the nine-day festival that began on Friday.

Luis Armendariz, manager of the Cafe Iruna, a Parisian-style spot once frequented by Ernest Hemingway that overlooks the central Plaza de Castillo, said he expects sales during the festival to be down by 15-20 percent over 2011.

This San Fermin festival looks set to be the worst for business since Spain’s economic crisis erupted in 2008 with the collapse of a property bubble that has sent the unemployment rate soaring above 24 percent, the 48-year-old added.

"We have really felt an impact. There are fewer people but what really affects us is the street drinking," he said as he stood behind the counter of the cafe, jammed with dancing revellers wearing traditional white and red garb.

The historic centre of Pamplona, the capital of the region of Navarra, was full of people carrying plastic bags full of bottles of beer and sangria, which they swilled from plastic cups as they stood in groups.

Many people held picnics of sandwiches and other snacks while sitting on the ground in squares across the city.

Israel Jimenez, 26, and Rafael Gonzalez, 23, two soldiers from the southwestern city of Seville, said they were eating store bought food because prices at bars and restaurants shoot up in Pamplona during the festival.

But they said they were still willing to open their wallets to have a good time.

"We will think about the crisis tomorrow. But you have to live the day and be happy here because that is why we came here," said Jimenez as he sat on bench alongside his friend in front of the Cafe Iruna.

Pamplona city hall predicts about half a million people will flock to the city of 200,000 residents over the nine days of the festival, roughly the same as turned out in other years.

Hoteliers are less optimistic.

The Navarra Hospitality Association predicts hotel occupancy in Pamplona during the fiesta, which dates back to medieval times, will be down by around 10 percent over last year.

Fewer people stay overnight and those who do come are saving cash by staying for fewer days, with most checking in for just two nights, said the association’s secretary general, Nacho Calvo.

"There is a lack of promotion of the festival on the part of the government. The festival is very famous but you have to maintain the brand. And that is not being done," he said.

With Spain under pressure to rein in its public deficit, the budget for the San Fermin festival this year was slashed by 8.0 percent over 2011 to 2.4 million euros ($3.0 million), its fourth straight annual decline.

Pamplona officials are banking on the festival — made famous worldwide by Hemingway’s 1926 novel "The Sun Also Rises — bringing in more than 70 million euros in tourism earnings this year.

Bars are allowed to remain open until 6:00 am during the fiesta and the event accounts for up to a third of total annual sales at some establishments in the centre of the city.

Reuters