Day: September 1, 2022

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh on September 1 attended a ceremony held in Vinh Quang Prison in the northern province of Vinh Phuc for the announcement of the President’s 2022 Amnesty Decision.

A total of 71 inmates here, including five foreigners, have been given clemency by the President on the occasion of the 77th National Day (September 2, 1945 – 2022).

Congratulating the prisoners to be released under amnesty, Minh said the early release is just the beginning of the path to start a new life. But with the performance and progress the inmates had shown during re-education and labour at the prison, he believes they would truly become good citizens, beginning a new life, having a happy family and not committing another crime.

Underpinning that every prisoner has equal opportunities, regardless of ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality and social status, he urged those yet to receive amnesty this time to work and study harder, and strictly abide by the law and the rules of the prison so soon they will be eligible to clemency such as commutation, parole or amnesty.

The Deputy PM also asked local authorities to help the released inmates re-integrate into society. Social organisations, businesses and family members should not discriminate but provide them with all possible conditions to facilitate their re-entry and enable them to have a job and a stable life, he added.

On the same day, 40 prisoners held at Hanoi Police Detention Centre No.1 in the district of Nam Tu Liem also received amnesty decisions. They are among more than 90 inmates qualified for early release in detention centres cross Hanoi. On the occasion, the amnestied prisoners were also granted with the new ID cards.

The State President signed Decision 978/QD-CTN dated August 30, 2022 to grant amnesty to 2,438 prisoners on the National Day occasion this year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Outstanding products of the “One Commune, One Product” (OCOP) programme from northern mountainous provinces are being showcased at an event opened in Son Tay town of Hanoi on August 31.

In his opening remarks, Nguyen Van Chi, Deputy Chief of the coordinating office for the new-style rural area building programme of Hanoi, said this is an important event under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s direction to help organisations and individuals advertise OPCP products and specialties of regions across Vietnam.

The OCOP programme looks to have at least 10,000 products nationwide by 2025. It is a focus of economic development efforts in rural areas and also a crucial task in the implementation of the national target programme on new-style countryside building for 2021 – 2025.

Hanoi is currently home to 1,649 OCOP products, including four rated five stars, 1,098 rated four stars, and 534 rated three stars. They include 1,071 food products, 35 beverage products, 17 herbal products, 492 handicraft products, and 34 fabric and apparel ones.

These items have quickly gained a foothold in the market, helping local residents expand production, increase product value, and improve their material and spiritual life, Chi noted./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Districts and towns across Hanoi must be responsible for keeping COVID-19 vaccination to schedule and efficiently use the COVID-19 vaccines they have received to avoid wastefulness, according to an official notice from the municipal People’s Committee.

The committee issued the instruction as the capital city is striving to speed up COVID-19 vaccine inoculation for people aged five and above to deal with the current spike of new cases.

Local authorities are asked to increase people’s accessibility to COVID-19 vaccines by flexibly arranging injection sites. For example, in addition to fixed vaccination points, mobile ones can be set up at industrial parks, schools and others, the official notice said.

Districts and towns must prepare personnel, drugs and medical supplies to get ready for any pandemic emergency and make sure that every citizen can gain the fastest and earliest access to health care services at grassroot level. They must also take drastic actions to promptly and effectively control the virus in the event of a COVID-19 resurgence, it added.

Any organisation or district that fails to do so, causing a wide-spread outbreak, will be held accountable, it noted.

Local administrations are requested to accelerate awareness campaigns to encourage people to strictly observe COVID-19 control rules and get vaccine booster shots. Residents must be provided with updates on the pandemic situation, associated risks from new variants and suitable virus prevention measures./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Foreign Ministry and Vietnam’s representative agencies in Cambodia have coordinated with the two countries’ authorities to safely repatriate over 600 citizens who had been tricked or lured to Cambodia for illegal work so far.

The agencies are also verifying personal information of some people rescued by the Cambodian side and will help them return home soon.

Under the Foreign Ministry’s direction, the representative agencies of Vietnam in Cambodia have worked with local authorities to assist and rescue Vietnamese nationals tricked or lured to work illegally there, and asked Cambodia not to impose administrative fines on these persons.

The ministry’s Consular Department has also proposed domestic agencies and localities bordering Cambodia apply mechanisms for quick verification and reception of the rescued citizens.

The Foreign Ministry and representative agencies are keeping a close watch on the situation of Vietnamese workers in Cambodia. They are also coordinating with the countries’ authorities to swiftly receive information, rescue, carry out citizen protection measures, and repatriate the ones tricked or lured to work illegally abroad.

On September 1, border guards of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang and relevant forces received 26 Vietnamese citizens handed over by Cambodian authorities at the Tinh Bien International Border Gate.

Lt. Col. Tran Hoa Hiep, head of the border guard post at the Tinh Bien International Border Gate, said the group consist of three women and 23 men, including 11 related to the Rich World casino, from which many workers strived to flee to Vietnam on August 18.

On August 18, 40 people, comprising 35 men and five women, escaped from the Rich World casino, located in Sampeou Poun commune of Kaoh Thom district in Cambodia’s Kandal province, and swam across the Binh Ghi River to illegally return to Vietnam.

Apart from them, one died from drowning on the river and one was captured by casino guards.

They said they were forced to toil and not paid, so they decided to flee to Vietnam.

Investigating the case, police have uncovered four rings showing signs of human trafficking in some localities.

An Giang police have detained and started legal proceedings against one woman and one man on the charge of arranging illegal exit for other people./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP) has sold 830 million cu.m of gas so far, fulfilling its yearly goal 123 days ahead of schedule.

PVEP attributed the success to soaring global demand for gas caused by the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The State-owned company has seen a sharp rise in gas sales at all its projects, particularly Block PM3 CAA and those of Cuu Long Joint Operating Company (JOC).

The firm has also accomplished all output targets assigned by its parent company PetroVietnam for the first eight months of this year.

It pumped 2.52 million tonnes of oil equivalent during the period, 19% higher than the eight-month goal and representing 79% of the yearly plan.

Its oil and condensate output reached 1.69 million tonnes, exceeding the periodic plan by 7% and equivalent to 72% of the year’s target. Gas output surpassed the eight-month plan by 50% to hit 834 million tonnes, reaching the company’s full target for the entire year.

In 2022, PVEP is tasked to produce 3.18 million tonnes of oil equivalent./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The Lao Government has allowed the re-opening of all local and traditional border checkpoints to facilitate trade and travelling of people in border areas after more than three years of closure to fight COVID-19.

An announcement of the Foreign Ministry said provinces can re-open local and traditional checkpoints under their management but must still ensure strict supervision and inspection to prevent the import of non-essential goods and illegal imports.

On May 9 this year, Laos re-opened all international border gates to facilitate import-export activities and attract tourists, thus helping with post-pandemic economic recovery.

As a result, the number of international arrivals to Laos has surged, rocketing from nearly 36,000 in May to almost 172,000 in June./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Hanoi will host a festival of craft villages and streets at the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long from October 13 – 16, aiming to promote and preserve local traditional handicrafts, according to Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Manh Quyen.

The festival will be held annually to develop craft village-based tourism and promote cultural spaces of craft villages and streets in the capital city, Quyen said.

The event will also be a chance for traditional craftsmen and craft villages not only from Hanoi but also across the country to introduce their products and seek partnership and export opportunities.

It will feature around 200 booths showcasing handicrafts, divided into six zones, including one for the recreation of Hanoi’s Old Quarter in the old times, with traditional silk stores in Hang Gai Street and “Ao Dai” (Vietnamese long gown) tailor shops in Luong Van Can Street. There will be demonstration of traditional jewellery making in Hang Bac Street.

Separate zones will be set up for craft villages in Hanoi and other cities and provinces. That for Hanoi craft villages will represent various folk crafts, including pottery-making in Bat Trang, Van Phuc and Son Dong, lacquer painting in Ha Thai, buffalo horn comb making in Thuy Ung, “to he” (coloured rice dough toy) making in Xuan La and rattan and bamboo handicraft in Phu Vinh.

There will be zones for folk games and tradition cuisine of Hanoi./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency