Some festivals in Vietnam have been infamous for chaotic stampedes and brutal rites
August 15,2017, 15:03 GMT+7
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| A chaotic stampede is seen at a spring festival in Hanoi. Photo: Tuoi Tre |
Vietnam’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is looking to draft a decree on festival management and organization, in response to public complaints about the commercialization and brutality of some local festivities.The ministry has requested government directions on its initiative, and will unveil the first draft of the decree before 2018 should the plan be given the green light, said Trinh Thi Thuy, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
Elaborating on its decision, the ministry said some local festivals have recently been criticized for their violent and offensive content.
Chaotic stampedes, brutal rites, widespread panhandling and price-gouging have been named among the issues yet to be solved of many traditional festivals across Vietnam.
Meanwhile, a lack of legal documentation governing the organization of festivals has posed a challenge to authorities in cracking down on them, the ministry pointed out.
In its upcoming draft decree, the ministry will look to sort current and future festivals into four categories, which are traditional festivals; festivals celebrating historical and revolutionary events; culture, sports and tourism festivals; and festivals originating from other countries.
For traditional festivals, organizers will be required to notify relevant authorities at least 20 days prior to their commencement.
Other festivals will require a permit, and only those without brutal rituals or violence will be allowed.
Applications for a permit must include historical evidence of the origin of the festival, according to the ministry’s plan.
No more than two donation boxes will be allowed at each worshipping site inside any festival ground to avoid commercialization of the traditional activity.
Adequate numbers of restrooms and garbage collection points must also be made available to put up with the expected number of participants.
If the plan is approved by the government, Ninh Thi Thu Huong, a culture official, said.
“The ministry would soon welcome public and expert feedback on the decree’s first draft as early as the end of this year,” Huong added.
Đăng bởi Trần Đình Hoành
I am an attorney in the Washington DC area, with a Doctor of Law in the US, attended the master program at the National School of Administration of Việt Nam, and graduated from Sài Gòn University Law School. I aso studied philosophy at the School of Letters in Sài Gòn.
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I have worked as an anti-trust attorney for Federal Trade Commission and a litigator for a fortune-100 telecom company in Washington DC.
I have taught law courses for legal professionals in Việt Nam and still counsel VN government agencies on legal matters.
I have founded and managed businesses for me and my family, both law and non-law.
I have published many articles on national newspapers and radio stations in Việt Nam.
In 1989 I was one of the founding members of US-VN Trade Council, working to re-establish US-VN relationship.
Since the early 90's, I have established and managed VNFORUM and VNBIZ forum on VN-related matters; these forums are the subject of a PhD thesis by Dr. Caroline Valverde at UC-Berkeley and her book Transnationalizing Viet Nam.
I translate poetry and my translation of "A Request at Đồng Lộc Cemetery" is now engraved on a stone memorial at Đồng Lộc National Shrine in VN.
I study and teach the Bible and Buddhism. In 2009 I founded and still manage dotchuoinon.com on positive thinking and two other blogs on Buddhism.
In 2015 a group of friends and I founded website CVD - Conversations on Vietnam Development (cvdvn.net).
I study the art of leadership with many friends who are religious, business and government leaders from many countries.
I have written these books, published by Phu Nu Publishing House in Hanoi:
"Positive Thinking to Change Your Life", in Vietnamese (TƯ DUY TÍCH CỰC Thay Đổi Cuộc Sống) (Oct. 2011)
"10 Core Values for Success" (10 Giá trị cốt lõi của thành công) (Dec. 2013)
"Live a Life Worth Living" (Sống Một Cuộc Đời Đáng Sống) (Oct. 2023)
I practice Jiu Jitsu and Tai Chi for health, and play guitar as a hobby, usually accompanying my wife Trần Lê Túy Phượng, aka singer Linh Phượng.
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CVD 