Day: July 8, 2021

This year, the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) organisation once again issued biased, unobjective, and completely groundless assessments when listing Vietnam among the countries with little media freedom.

The RSF assessments are far from new but repeat the old mindset from the previous years and show that this organisation has turned a deaf ear to the reality of the protected freedom of speech and the press in Vietnam.

It is a fact that the State of Vietnam has always worked to protect and promote fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of speech, the press freedom, and the right of access to information, which were regulated in the Constitution and related legal documents and have been practiced in the political, economic, and social aspects in the country.

Ensuring all citizens can practice the right to freedom of speech and of the press under legal regulations is a consistent policy of the Vietnamese Party and State.

Over the past years, the State has made unceasing efforts to complete the legal system so as to facilitate and protect citizens’ fundamental rights relevant to the freedom of speech.

The rules set in the revised Press Law and the Law on Access to Information, both adopted in 2016, completely match international documents on human rights and the right to freedom of speech and of the press.

It is regrettable that the RSF has intentionally ignored the legal documents enforced in Vietnam for many years.

The freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of information in Vietnam are also clearly reflected in the development of diverse types and content of the press.

In Vietnam, there are now about 41,000 personnel working in the media sector, 779 press agencies, and 72 others licensed to operate in radio – television broadcasting with 87 radio and 193 TV channels.

Meanwhile, information from major international media agencies like CNN, BBC, TV5, NHK, DW, Australia Network, KBS, and Bloomberg can all be easily accessed in the country.

In recent years, activities of press outlets in Vietnam have demonstrated the right to freedom of speech and become an important bridge linking the country with international friends.

Even international media pointed out the “information transparency” factor for many times when reporting on the measures helping Vietnam to contain the COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020. Many foreign newspapers also highly valued the Vietnamese Government’s effective use of social media and information technology for the pandemic fight.

David Hutt, a British journalist covering Southeast Asian politics, also held that when the pandemic broke out, the Party and State of Vietnam were highly transparent and open in sharing and updating data about COVID-19, which is one of the reasons why Vietnamese people put their trust in the anti-pandemic measures taken by the Government.

Besides, the RSF has intentionally turned a blind eye to the fact that Vietnam was recognised as one of the countries with the fastest growth in internet usage, with more than 68 million internet users, or 70 percent of its population.

The internet freedom and the freedom of expression on social networks have always been practiced within the legal framework in order to guarantee cybersecurity and prevent the abuse of social networks to violate Vietnamese law or create a pretext for external forces to intervene in the country.

In Vietnam, no one is brought to trial or arrested just for expressing their opinions or protecting human rights. Only the ones who take advantage of the freedom of speech or of the press to infringe the State’s interests, the rights and legitimate interests of collectives or individuals, and break the law are handled as in line with legal regulations. That matches international law as well as law in many countries.

It is obvious that the guaranteed freedom of speech and of the press in Vietnam is an undeniable reality. The RSF has intentionally negated the Vietnamese Party and State’s efforts in this regard to make wrong and groundless assessments.

Its arguments show that this organisation, with bad intentions, is distorting and twisting the truth about the freedom of the press in Vietnam. The RSF itself is running counter to the journalism principle of respecting and not distorting the truth./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The third plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee concluded on July 8 afternoon with the adoption of a resolution, completing all of its working programme after four days.

Delivering his closing speech, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said the committee acknowledged the efforts of the entire Party, people and army in the implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress; the successful organisation of the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and to People’s Councils at all levels for the 2021-2026 term; and especially in COVID-19 prevention and control work during the current fourth wave of outbreaks.

In the first half of the year, the nation continued pressing ahead with the dual targets of pandemic combat and socio-economic development, taking care of the people’s life, while maintaining defence, political security, social safety and order, and promoting external activities in line with global developments of the epidemic.

However, Vietnam did not fulfill its socio-economic goals set for the period. The nation faced a host of challenges and difficulties amid increasingly complicated pandemic situation.

The Party chief emphasised that the socio-economic development plan should continue to be supplemented and clarified, ensuring an appropriate proportion of spending on development investment and regular expenditure.

It is necessary to attach importance to the participation of the whole political system; and to inspection, prevention and combat of corruption and wastefulness, he added.

The Party chief directed tightening disciplines and intensifying the fighting against corruption and vested interest in public investment.

The Central Committee unanimously agreed on the nomination of 23 additional candidates for a number of positions in the state leadership in the 2021-2026 term./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Ho Chi Minh City has prepared for a scenario of up to 15,000 COVID-19 patients as the total infections in the southern metropolis surpassed 7,000, with hundreds of cases reported daily.

To handle the surge in infections, the city has set up two temporary hospitals for COVID-19 patients in Thu Duc city and Binh Chanh district, both converted from resettlement apartment buildings.

Each of the hospital accommodates 3,000 beds, pushing the total number of beds in four temporary hospitals for COVID-19 treatment in HCM City to 12,000.

Hundreds of the city High Command and thousands of medical workers from hospitals across the city have been deployed to the four facilities.

Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long said on July 7 that his ministry will mobilise about 10,000 medical workers to aid HCM City in the pandemic combat.

The ministry has also sent a document to the Ministry of National Defence, calling for the assistance from military medical forces in the city./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Yen The district in northern Bac Giang province provides the market with around 12-14 million hill chickens worth 1.5 trillion VND every year, turning free-range chicken farming into sustainable livelihoods for local people.

Local authorities have focused on strengthening trade promotion activities and building the “Ga doi Yen The” (Yen The hill chicken) brand name, which has been protected and recognised in Laos, China, and Singapore.

In the domestic market, the hill chickens have become popular among customers in many cities and provinces nationwide.

To boost consumption, Bac Giang targets both domestic and export markets but top priority is given to domestic markets, especially in Hanoi and major cities. It is also looking to export Yen The hill chickens to ASEAN and China in the near future.

The district will also continue restructuring chicken varieties in farming to improve quality, towards making inroads into more difficult markets such as Japan and Europe.

According to the Secretary of the district Party Committee Bui The Chung, the local authority will pay due regard to promoting its potential and strengths and taking measures to improve quality, contributing to boosting the incomes of local people.

Under its agricultural production development strategy to 2030 and on the basis of restructuring agricultural production towards improving the quality and value of products, including Yen The hill chickens, the district has made efforts to promote production links and renovate breeding methods. It also adopted mechanisms to encourage the development of enterprises, cooperatives, and cooperative groups in husbandry, thus building agricultural production value chains.

The district authority has created the necessary conditions for households, businesses, cooperatives, and cooperative groups to access credit for livestock production and processing and to form closed chains in producing, processing, and marketing Yen The hill chicken products.

In the future, Yen The district will promote the transfer of scientific and technical advances in raising and processing Yen The hill chickens in order to improve quality, ensure food safety and hygiene, and increase competitiveness.

Priority will be given to applying and transferring new, advanced high technologies in raising and processing hill chickens, expanding hill chicken production areas in accordance with VietGAP standards, and forming safe hill chicken production areas.

The district will also encourage businesses, organisations, and individuals to invest in developing breeding and processing facilities in order to diversify processed products.

The locality has paid heed to introducing and promoting the product in parallel with expanding the market through effectively implementing policies and mechanisms on supporting the protection of intellectual property rights, trademark protection, geographical indications, and product brands for products made from Yen The hill chicken.

It has also built a mechanism to support the development of the Yen The hill chicken brand to meet the standards of the national “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme.

Yen The is a mountainous district in Bac Giang province with an area of more than 300 sq km, mainly hills and semi-mountainous land suitable for agricultural and forestry development in combination with livestock.

The locality quickly identified hill chickens as its main livestock group, and planned a high-quality, large-scale production area.

Yen The hill chicken was granted a certificate of trademark registration by the National Office of Intellectual Property at the Ministry of Science and Technology in 2011. It was the first livestock product in Vietnam to be provided with trademark and monopoly protection.

The district’s chicken products have continuously won prestigious prizes since 2011, and were among four Vietnamese products to receive “The best products and food of Southeast Asia-ASEAN” Cup in 2013.

To sustainably maintain and develop products, the district has issued and implemented projects to support their sustainable development in line with VietGAP standards in the 2013-2015 and 2016-2020 periods.

The district’s chicken numbers are maintained at 4-4.5 million heads, primarily in Tien Thang, Canh Nau, Tam Tien, and Dong Vuong communes.

The locality has also planned hi-tech concentrated breeding areas in Dong Tam, Dong Ky, Canh Nau, Tien Thang, Tam Hiep, and Tam Tien communes, and developed large-scale hill chicken farming models./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Vietnam treasures and will make positive contributions to the ASEAN-EU strategic partnership, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung, head of SOM ASEAN Vietnam, said at the annual ASEAN-EU Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) that was held online on July 8.

The event aimed to review and discuss regional and global issues of shared concern and make preparations for the ASEAN – EU Post Ministerial Conference scheduled for August.

The Vietnamese official suggested the EU help to ensure ASEAN’s timely and even access to vaccines, offer assistance in technological transfer and increase vaccine production in the region while coordinating to step up economic recovery and growth, green and sustainable development.

He asked the EU to continue its involvement and making constructive contributions to ASEAN’s efforts to cope with challenges to regional security and stability.

Reaffirming ASEAN’s principled stance on the East Sea issue, deputy minister Dung proposed the EU continue supporting ASEAN’s efforts to maintain peace, security and safety in the East Sea, fully and effectively realise the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and soon complete negotiations on an effective and efficient Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC) in line with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Countries welcomed ASEAN and EU’s official upgrade of ties to strategic partnership level and affirmed the importance of the “partnership in connectivity” between the two blocs. They pledged to enhance multilateral cooperation and coordination, and promote free and equitable trade on the basis of sharing common values and benefits about a rules-based world order.

Head of the SOM EU Gunnar Wiegan emphasised that EU wants to further promote the strategic partnership with ASEAN and affirmed EU’s support for ASEAN’s central role in the regional architecture.

The EU representative vowed to continue strengthening solidarity with ASEAN to effectively cope with COVID-19 pandemic together.

ASEAN member states suggested the EU support ASEAN’s initiatives regarding COVID-19 prevention and control as well as coordinate with ASEAN to ensure fair access to vaccine, and safe and effective research and development of vaccine.

Both sides agreed to work closely together to fight COVID-19, promote comprehensive and sustainable recovery and successfully realise the ASEAN-EU Plan of Action for 2018-2022.

The EU proposed giving priority to economic recovery, trade, sustainable connectivity, climate change and green growth.

On the occasion, the EU suggested holding a commemorative summit marking the 45th anniversary of ASEAN-EU relations next year in Belgium.

On regional and global issues, both sides highlighted a need to ensure an environment of peace, security and safety in the region, thus creating favourable conditions for countries to cope with the pandemic.

They underscored the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, maritime and aviation safety and freedom in the East Sea. They expressed support for dialogues, building trust, exercising self-restraint, refraining from actions that further complicate the situation or increase tension, avoiding militarisation, and settling disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS.

The two sides expressed support for efforts to resume negotiations to reach an effective and efficient COC in accordance with international law and the 1982 UNCLOS.

The EU side affirmed its backing of ASEAN’s efforts on Myanmar situation and welcomed the Five-Point Consensus adopted at the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in April.

Concluding the event, Singapore, co-ordinator of the ASEAN-EU relations, and the EU issued the Co-Chairs’ Press Release on the outcomes of the meeting./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A draw for the 2022 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U23 Asian Cup qualification will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at 2pm (Vietnam time) on July 9, the Vietnam Football Federation said on July 8.

A total of 43 teams will compete at the competition, including 20 East Zone squads from East and Southeast Asia, which will be divided into five groups of four, according to the AFC.

Taiwan (China), Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore and Thailand will be hosts of such groups.

Vietnam are in Pot 1 out of the four seeded groups in the East Zone, together with the Republic of Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Meanwhile, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates will be hosts in the West Zone.

The qualification will be held from October 23 to 31, 2021.

Due to COVID-19, in each group, teams play each other in a round-robin format. The eleven group winners and the four best runners-up qualify for the final tournament, slated for next June in Uzbekistan./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Vietnam – Korea Business Forum with the theme of “Cooperation for a sustainable future” was held virtually on July 8.

Co-organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the event focused its discussions on bilateral investment cooperation, especially in the fields of information technology, electricity, renewable energy, education and smart city development.

Speaking at the event, VCCI Vice Chairman Hoang Quang Phong said the Republic of Korea (RoK) is an important economic partner of Vietnam and has taken the lead in terms of foreign investment in the Southeast Asian country.

By the end of 2020, the RoK had had over 8,900 valid projects in Vietnam with combined registered capital of around 70.65 billion USD, ranking first among 139 countries and territories investing in the country. Last year, the RoK was also the third largest trade partner of Vietnam with a two-way trade of 66 billion USD. It was the fourth largest export market and the second biggest importer of Vietnam.

Despite COVID-19 the pandemic, the Vietnamese Government has created favourable conditions for foreign enterprises in the country and committed to institutionalise people’s travel while developing infrastructure and regional connectivity, Phong said.

In order to boost bilateral business ties, he suggested stepping up the application of digital technology and the development of telecommunication infrastructure, including mobile broadband infrastructure, and e-commerce.

In the field of energy, Vietnamese and Korean firms should enhance the sharing of information and promote Korean investment in power plants and renewable energy, he said.

Regarding education, he proposed further increasing the exchange of students, develop teaching methods using artificial intelligence and big data, especially in the training of foreign languages and workforce major in high technology.

Phong expressed his hope that the two governments and business communities will further enhance online business connectivity activities, helping to maintain and promote the global supply chains, technology transfer and assistance from the RoK in Vietnam’s industries.

Commenting on bilateral trade and investment prospects, President of the Lee & Ko Global Commerce Institute and former Korean Trade Minister Taeho Bark said a number of Korean companies are paying special attention to the Vietnamese market.

Bark said the two countries should further tap the advantages of bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements in a bid to achieve the target of 100 billion USD in two-way trade by 2023.

At the same time, the RoK and Vietnam should develop the private sector and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by actively building e-commerce platforms in conformity with common trends and amid the pandemic at present, he said./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Both employees and employers that are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can gain access to the Government’s support package worth 26 trillion VND (1.13 billion USD) from July 8.

This information was released by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung at a July 7 press conference announcing the Prime Minister’s Decision on the implementing some policies to support pandemic-hit employees and employers.

The decision provides detailed guidance on conditions and procedures implementing 10 supporting policies under the Government’s Resolution No 68 on a number of policies to support pandemic-hit employees and employers.

The resolution was issued in the context of the fourth outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic on a large scale, affecting many industries and fields.

Minister Dung emphasised that the support solutions this time focus mainly on the group of workers in industrial zones and export processing zones.

In this document, some basic principles are set out, such as ensuring timely support, to the right people, publicity and transparency, simple and easy criteria and procedures for employees and employers to access, he said.

Some policies can be mentioned such as reducing the contribution to the insurance fund for occupational accidents and diseases, suspend the payment of retirement and survivorship funds, use unemployment insurance funds to support vocational training and job changes; support to employees with their labour contracts temporarily terminated; and additional support and assistance to children.

In addition, the Resolution supports employees who suspended labour contracts or took unpaid leave from May 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021 but were participating in compulsory insurance with the support level of.8-3.7 million VND (78-160 USD) per month depending on their work delay period.

Employees who work under labour contracts but have been suspended from work due to medical quarantine or in lockdown areas, will receive one-time support of 1 million VND (43 USD) per person.

In addition, tour guides who are suspended from work will enjoy one-time support of 3.7 million VND (160 USD).

Pregnant employees are provided an additional 1 million VND (43 USD) per person.

Children who have to be treated for COVID-19 or under medical quarantine will be covered with support of 1 million VND (43 USD) per child.

Meanwhile, companies will get loans to pay for workers during suspended time and for production recovery, while freelancers and a number of other cases will also receive support.

Dung said that Resolution 68 also promulgated policies to support businesses to borrow money for wages and to restore production and business./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency