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.
VietNamNet Bridge – The project to build an expressway with total length of 1,372 kilometers linking the northern and southern parts of the country through 16 cities and provinces has sparked controversy among experts.
It is estimated that the project would cost VND312.435 trillion. With the Ministry of Transport’s (MOT) plan, the project will be implemented in two phases. The first, in 2017-2020, the new road sections of Mai Son (Ninh Binh) – Bai Vot (Ha Tinh), Cam Lo (Quang Tri) – La Son (Thua Thien Hue) and Nha Trang (Khanh Hoa) – Dau Giay (Dong Nai), with total length of 632 kilometers, would be built. Tiếp tục đọc “Concerns raised about north-south highway project”→
An employee of a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City has been probed for stealing Visa card information of a Japanese customer and appropriating nearly VND600 million (US$26,460).
Proportion of working age laborers in rural areas. – Source: GSO’s national census on rural areas, agriculture and fishery in 2016. – VNS Inforgraphic Khánh Dương
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – The economic structure in Việt Nam’s rural areas has been transformed in the past five years, with fewer people working in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors and more in construction, industry and services, according to the 2016 national census on rural areas, agriculture and fishery. The report was issued yesterday by the General Statistics Office (GSO). Tiếp tục đọc “VN shifts away from agriculture”→
The third annual CEO Forum Mekong Connect to discuss ways to develop the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and invest there will be held on October 25-26. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngọc Thiện
Viet Nam News MEKONG DELTA — The third annual CEO Forum Mekong Connect, which focuses on developing the economy of the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta and investment opportunities there, will be held in Bến Tre Province this month.
Its organisers, the Business Association of High Quality Vietnamese Goods, told a press conference in Cần Thơ city on Tuesday (October 10) that this year the event would have the theme, “Developing local resources in combination with technological strength.” Tiếp tục đọc “CEOs to mull ways to develop Mekong delta at annual forum”→
The first-ever Việt Nam Business Summit will be held in Đà Nẵng City on November 7 within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting of 21 leaders of economies. — Photo vietnam-guide.com
HÀ NỘI — The first-ever Việt Nam Business Summit will be held in Đà Nẵng City on November 7 within the framework of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting of 21 leaders of economies, the Việt Nam Chamber of Commerce (VCCI) announced yesterday. Tiếp tục đọc “First VN Business Summit to be held”→
Thailand’s famous Patong Beach, Phuket. (Photo: Panu Wongcha-um)
(Updated: )
Thailand plans to impose a smoking ban on 20 of its popular tourist beaches across the country, including those in Phuket and Krabi, the Bangkok Post reported on Tuesday (Oct 10).
The US Navy regularly carries out such operations to challenge China’s vast claims to the South China Sea, where Beijing has turned reefs into militarised artificial islands. AFP/Ted ALJIBE
BEIJING: China said Wednesday (Oct 11) it has lodged a protest with the United States after an American warship sailed near disputed islands in the South China Sea.
byCourtney Kube, Kristen Welker, Carol E. LeeandSavannah Guthrie
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he wanted what amounted to a nearly tenfold increase in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during a gathering this past summer of the nation’s highest ranking national security leaders, according to three officials who were in the room.
Trump’s comments, the officials said, came in response to a briefing slide he was shown that charted the steady reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons since the late 1960s. Trump indicated he wanted a bigger stockpile, not the bottom position on that downward-sloping curve. Tiếp tục đọc “Trump Wanted Tenfold Increase in Nuclear Arsenal, Surprising Military”→
Ban Gioc Waterfall is considered a priceless gift that the nature has given to the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang. It is an overwhelming waterfall with breathtaking beauty in Southeast Asia
Ban Gioc Waterfall, located on the Vietnam-China borderline, is in Dam Thuy commune of Trung Khanh district
The waterfall is 89km to the north of Cao Bang township and 26km from Trung Khanh town
VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam has been warned that it will receive a yellow card if it doesn’t implement EU demands on fighting IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing. Ngo Viet Hoai, deputy general director of Ba Ria – Vung Tau Seafood Processing & Import/Export Company, said if the EU gives a yellow card warning, 100 percent of seafood containers to be exported to the EU will be subject to inspection in terms of fishing sources. Tiếp tục đọc “What will Vietnam’s seafood industry do if it receives yellow card from the EU?”→
VietNamNet Bridge – The Cai Mep–Thi Vai container port in Ba Ri –Vung Tau province, built with investment capital of $2 billion, is now running at 15-20 percent of capacity.
Ba Ria – Vung Tau spent VND45 trillion to build Cai Mep – Thi Vai which had designed capacity of 7 million TEU, increasing to 11 million TEU after the expansion.
The Ba Bo Canal has varied in color from murky to foamy since 2003
By Tuoi Tre News
October 10, 2017, 18:00 GMT+7
A section of the Ba Bo Canal that runs through Provincial Highway No. 43 in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City, is filled with white foam. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Factories in Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring Binh Duong Province have secretly been dumping industrial wastewater into an already seriously contaminated canal, leaving local officials scratching their heads.
The heavily polluted Ba Bo Canal, which snakes along from Binh Duong Province, approximately 30km from Ho Chi Minh City, to the southern hub’s Thu Duc District, has been a serious issue for a decade.
Scavengers can easily be ‘swallowed’ by waves and swept away by the seaBy Tuoi Tre News
October 9, 2017, 10:03 GMT+7
Two women are pictured painstakingly scavenging for barnacles ‘glued’ to the cliffs precariously protruding to the sea in Tam Hai Commune, Nui Thanh District, located in the central province of Quang Nam Photo: Tuoi Tre
Groups of women in a province in central Vietnam, including the elderly, have toiled hard at the risk of their own lives in order to scavenge for barnacles and eke out a meager living for years.Under the blazing noon sun recently, dozens of women could be seen sweating atop razor-sharp embankments that dot Ban Than Lagoon, nestled in Tam Hai Commune, Nui Thanh District, Quang Nam Province.
CVD 