Conversations on Vietnam Development
AFP-JIJI Mar 20, 2017
BEIJING – China on Monday reiterated its firm opposition to U.S. arm sales to Taiwan, amid reports that Donald Trump’s administration is preparing a large shipment of advanced weaponry for the self-ruling island.
“China firmly opposes U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, this is consistent and clear-cut,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular news briefing. Tiếp tục đọc “China warns U.S. over arms sales to Taiwan”
Updated : 03/19/2017 14:43 GMT + 7
Residents of the central Vietnamese fishing village of Tam Thanh, which has gained popularity since a 2016 makeover that turned the entire locale into a giant canvas for mural paintings, are now running homestay service to host visitors.
The service is part of a community tourism project initiated by the administration of Tam Ky City, the capital of Quang Nam Province, where the village is located. Tiếp tục đọc “Remember this mural village in Vietnam? Its residents now offer homestay service”
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| Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.— VNA/VNS Photo |
HÀ NỘI – Việt Nam and Israel should work together in the spirit of creativity and innovation to strengthen bilateral economic co-operation, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin told the Vietnam News Agency in the run up to his March 19-25 official visit to the country.
How do you evaluate the relationship between Israel and Việt Nam over the years?
Israel and Viet Nam share a rich and prosperous friendship. This is a friendship between our governments, and between the two peoples. We have rapidly growing co-operation and are celebrating nearly a quarter of a century of diplomatic relations, but of course, Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, met with Hồ Chi Minh in Paris in 1946, and the friendship they established that day serves as the foundation for our close ties and strong relationship to this day. Tiếp tục đọc “Viet Nam, Israel have much in common: President Rivlin”
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| More night entertainment activities, festivals, and large-scale shopping centres are planned to make HCM City “a city that never sleeps.” — VNA/VNS Photo An Hiếu |
HCM CITY — New York, famously known as the “city that never sleeps,” will soon be joined by HCM City, which is aspiring to that status in an effort to step up its tourism game.
The city, formerly known as Sài Gòn and the “Pearl of the Orient” in the early twentieth century, receives an average of 400,000 foreign tourists each month, generating revenues of thousands of billions of đồng, but some experts say it lacks night attractions that meet the demands of tourists looking to explore the city’s night life.
Lã Quốc Khánh, deputy director of the National Department of Tourism, said his office has found a real need among tourists to stay up late and explore the local night life.
“Some 30-40 per cent of national and international tourists want to go out after midnight, as well as 60-70 per cent of local citizens,” he told the Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, adding that the majority of foreign tourists typically suffer jet lag due to time differences and can only fall asleep after 2-3am. Tiếp tục đọc “Sleepless in HCM City: a tourism initiative”
Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan speaks at the Xiangshan Forum, in Beijing, China, October 11, 2016. China Daily/via REUTERS
BEIJING: Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan left on Sunday for official visits to Sri Lanka and Nepal, the Defence Ministry said, trips that could unnerve neighbouring India.
China is vying to increase its influence in Nepal, which serves as a natural buffer between China and India, challenging India’s long-held position as the dominant outside power in the landlocked nation.
China has also invested heavily in Sri Lanka, funding airports, roads, railways and ports, and including the island nation of 21 million people on its “One Belt, One Road” mission to create a modern-day “Silk Road” across Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “Chinese defence minister to visit Sri Lanka, Nepal”
86-year-old Madam Kim takes a break. She works from morning to sunset, collecting more than 100 kg of trash a day. (Photo: Lam Shushan)
SEOUL: As the snow falls heavy on the city streets, Madam Kim trudges on through the sub-zero weather that has most others huddled indoors, going through her daily routine of gleaning alleyways for waste paper and other recyclable trash.
Severely hunched over, the 81-year-old does this for a living. On a typical day, she circles the city a few times on foot, gathering more than 100 kilogrammes of trash which she takes to a junk depot that buys it for 100 won per kilogramme.
That’s barely 10,000 won, or roughly S$12, for a day’s heavy haul. Tiếp tục đọc “Poor and on their own, South Korea’s elderly who will ‘work until they die’”
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has said he would not be intimidated by the prospect of the International Criminal Court (ICC) putting him on trial over his bloody war on drugs, promising that his campaign would continue and would be “brutal”. Tiếp tục đọc “Duterte: International Criminal Court ‘cannot stop me’”
The U.S. and its Asia-Pacific allies are rolling out their new stealth fighter jet, a cutting-edge plane that costs about $100 million each.
The U.S. Air Force this week hosted allies and partners in Hawaii for a symposium on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which can sneak undetected behind enemy radar.
Brig. Gen. Craig Wills, the strategic plans director at Pacific Air Forces, said the U.S. wanted to share its experiences with the F-35 and F-22, another stealth fighter, with allies and partners so they wouldn’t have to learn everything on their own. Tiếp tục đọc “US, Asia-Pacific allies rolling out F-35 stealth fighter”
Every afternoon, the grandmothers of Phangane village wrap pink saris around themselves and slip abacuses and chalkboard into their backpacks.
They are going to school. Tiếp tục đọc “International Women’s Day: Meet the grannies going to school”
My Lai Massacre Anniversary
Today, March 16, 2017, is the 49th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre, located in Quang Ngai Province, Vietnam.
It was Saturday morning, March 16, 1968, when approximately 115 U.S. Army soldiers of the Americal Division’s Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, landed in helicopters just outside the village of My Lai 4. Over the course of the next four hours, these American soldiers, and their Military High Command, who were flying overhead in helicopters observing the massacre, took part in a horror show far beyond the human imagination. They took the term “War Crimes” and added a butcher shop to the equation of morbid extermination. In essence, they became a U.S. version of the final solution. They committed an act of barbarity that would redefine the war in Vietnam. It would take years to decipher what happened that day, as denial is the elixir that protects us from experiencing national shame. It is these two words, ” National Shame,” that continues to hide the truth of what really happened in Southeast Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “My Lai Massacre Anniversary”
VietNamNet Bridge – The educational sector has been blamed for the unemployment of 200,000 university graduates, among other issues.
Insecurity at school
A report released by MOET and UNICEF shows that 80 percent of students suffered from gender-based violence at least once, while 71 percent suffered from school violence in the last six months.
| The educational sector has been blamed for the unemployment of 200,000 university graduates, among other issues. |
A report from Plan, an international non-government organization, showed that only 16 percent of female and 19 male students felt secure at schools.A fourth grader at Vo Thi Sau Primary School in Quang Ninh Primary School was at risk of becoming blind after a friend threw a pen into his eyes. Their teachers knew about the accident, but did not inform the parents and the school. Tiếp tục đọc “Problems in education sector mount”
In exchange, Thanh and Tuan will be free of all responsibilities, including legal responsibility. TTF will work with Tan Lien Phat, the big shareholder which holds 30 percent of TTF shares, so that Tan Lien Phat waives its claim against Thanh and Tuan. Tiếp tục đọc “Businesses try to ease losses with private properties”
VietNamNet Bridge – Ninety-six percent of Vietnam’s enterprises are small businesses, with the majority having 10 workers or less. Only 2 percent of enterprises are large in size, while another 2 percent are medium size.
Vu Thanh Tu Anh from Fulbright Economics Teaching Program (FETP), speaking at an international workshop on industry development in 2025-2035, emphasized the underdevelopment of supporting industries, saying this is a barrier that hinders the development of Vietnam’s industry.
The car maker Vinaxuki and other enterprises had to close because of the lack of supporting industries. Tiếp tục đọc “Vinaxuki’s demise reflects problems in economy”
Rex Tillerson has arrived in Beijing for his first face-to-face talks with Chinese leaders expected to focus on North Korea’s nuclear programme.
The US secretary of state’s visit on Saturday followed his remarks the previous day in South Korea where he cautioned that pre-emptive military action against North Korea might be necessary.
He said US military action against North Korea is an “option on the table”, and warned the country to end its missile and nuclear programmes.
“The policy of strategic patience has ended,” Tillerson said during his joint press conference with his South Korean counterpart, Yun Byung-se, on Friday. Tiếp tục đọc “Rex Tillerson in China to discuss North Korea”
The Communist government of Vietnam is considering changing a law that restricts most families to two children.
Adjustments to the policy may happen this year in certain parts of the country, which has been in place on and off for decades and is being blamed for a looming population problem.
“We haven’t had to make any changes to the population policy yet and I don’t think we need a big change now but amendments only,” said Le Van Cuong, a government adviser.
“Ageing population is not putting pressure on today but it will come tomorrow.” Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam rethinks contentious two-child policy”
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