Month: January 2023

Hue Festival 2023, themed “Cultural Heritage with Integration and Development”, opened in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on January 1.

 

The festival will span across the whole year with over 50 major and about 100 response activities.

 

Highlight activities include a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of Complex of Hue Monuments as a World Cultural Heritage, the 20th anniversary of Nha Nhac (Vietnam Court Music) as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and Hue Traditional Craft Festival.

 

Opening the festival was the re-enactment of Ban Soc ceremony by the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre. It was the celebration to officially issue the calendar under the Nguyen Dynasty, held periodically at the end of the lunar year. Because the ancient Vietnamese people heavily relied on agricultural economy, the calendar was of immense significance as it helped the farmers keep track of time for farming activities and beware of weather changes to adapt to disasters and extreme weather conditions.

 

On the occasion, leaders of the provincial authorities presented flowers and gifts to the first visitors to the complex.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

German newspaper Junge Welt has published an article about the “Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory of the Vietnamese army and people 50 years ago when the US massively bombed the North in a campaign considered to be the fiercest targeting Hanoi.

 

The author noted in the article that the victory in 1972 was the theme of many events and exhibitions in the capital last December to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the event.

 

The article also cited Vietnam’s data showing that the US lost 81 combat aircraft, including 34 B-52 ones.

 

Vietnam can proudly speak of it as a ‘Dien Bien Phu in the air’ campaign, a phrase derived from a victory of Vietnam against the French in 1954, it wrote.

 

In addition, another article also published in the Junge Welt newspaper said the half a century has passed since that war, relations between Vietnam and the US are now very diverse and not only at the state level.

 

The 1972 triumph played a decisive role directly forcing the US Government to sign the Paris Agreement on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam, it noted.

 

During the historic battle that lasted 12 days and nights, the Vietnamese army and people defeated US airstrikes in the North. The triumph is often called the “Dien Bien Phu in the air” victory, which took the name from the victory of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954 that put an end to the French colonial rule over Indochina.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Three terminal branches of Hai Phong Port JSC in the northern port city of Hai Phong on January 1 welcomed first cargo of 2023.

 

This is one of its annual traditional activities to stimulate production and trade in the beginning of the new year.

 

The first cargo at Tan Vu terminal branch were from Maersk Line’s Nordmaas vessel. Meanwhile, container cargo and bulk cargo arrived at Chua Ve and Hoang Dieu terminal branches, respectively.

 

Last year, Hai Phong port developed two new service routes of Cosco and Zym shipping lines connecting Hai Phong with China. In January 2023, the port is expected to welcome one more service route of Maersk Line, bringing the total number of service routes connecting to the port to 17.

 

At 0am on January 1, Da Nang Port JSC also held a ceremony welcoming the first tonne of cargo to Tien Sa port, which was handled from 12.649 DWT Haian Park of Vietnam and Panama’s 33.577 DWT Ever Optima vessel.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Four Vietnamese fighters have claimed silver belts in the first international Muay Thai tournament known as “The Home Coming” which was managed by the Muay Thai Grand Prix (MTGP) and organised in Vietnam for the first time.

 

Held on December 29 in Ho Chi Minh City, Huynh Van Tuan beat WaraYut Wanajamriang of Thailand in the men’s 51kg category to win the first silver belt, reported Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV).

 

In the men’s 60kg, Truong Cao Minh Phat put in an excellent performance to outclass Wimonchan Nathawut of Thailand and pick up the silver belt.

 

Elsewhere, Nguyen Tran Duy Nhat also successfully defeated Anon Rachvicha of Thailand in the men’s 60kg category.

 

As the only female Vietnamese representative, Huynh Ha Huu Hieu took home a silver belt after trouncing Mary Glyde Elizabeth Rivera of the Philippines in the women’s 48kg category.

 

Changpauk Pongtong of Thailand went on to win the gold belt in the key fight of the night against Turien Paphawin of Thailand in the men’s 57kg class.

 

The tournament witnessed the participation of 26 fighters from 17 clubs based in Thailand, the Philippines, the UK, Italy, Iran, and hosts Vietnam. They competed in 13 matches, four of them vying for pro titles.

 

The total prize money on offer is up to 420 million VND, with the winner in pro categories walking away with a record prize of 60 million VND.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

Myanmar’s military has extended its ceasefire agreement with Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) until the end of 2023, according to a statement released by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services on the last day of 2022.

 

As per the statement, the military has extended the ceasefire agreement for 21 times between December 21, 2018 and December 31, 2022.

 

The agreement was extended to boost the peace process in the Southeast Asian country, it said.

 

Also on December 31, a four-hour curfew was suspended in Myanmar to organise activities serving New Year’s celebrations in its three biggest cities.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

 

An exhibition featuring paintings and installations on the image of the cat, the zodiac animal for the upcoming Lunar New Year, is taking place at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi.

 

The exhibition drew the participation of various famous painters and artists who have made great contributions to Vietnamese fine arts.

 

The exhibits, which were created using diverse materials including lacquers, oil paints, acrylics and coloured wood carvings, highlighted interesting and unique perspectives about this animal which is very close to humans.

 

The event marked the hard work and serious creative journey of outstanding painters of contemporary fine arts to produce unique artworks as a gift to art lovers ahead of New Year 2023.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

 

The successful hosting of the 31st Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games 31), the biggest sporting event in the region in 2022, affirmed the position of Vietnam on the regional sport map and its readiness as well as great efforts to welcome back foreign tourists.

 

With the engagement of the whole political system, the right, flexible and drastic measures taken by the Government, ministries, sectors, and localities, the COVID-19 pandemic has been effectively controlled, helping people calmly return to their normal life after the two-year fight against the health crisis.

 

By the end of 2021, when the pandemic was basically controlled in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, the date for SEA Games was fixed. The biennial regional sporting event, featuring 40 sports, took place in Hanoi and 11 nearby localities from May 12 to 23, 2022.

 

SEA Games 31 not only spreads the sports spirit, solidarity and friendship to more than 600 million people of 11 countries in the region, but also gave proof of Southeast Asia’s strength after two years of combating the pandemic.

 

There was a fear of a SEA Games with no-audience due to COVID-19. The fear was really removed when the Vietnamese Government decided to fully re-opened borders to tourists from March 15, which means that foreign tourists, sports lovers and fans can come to Vietnam to enjoy the atmosphere of the largest sporting event in the region. The decision aims to bring life back to normal, promote recovery of economic development at the same time do not miss the opportunity to organise major international events like SEA Games.  On April 28 last year, the General Department of Preventive Medicine under the Ministry of Health issued a document on the suspension of the COVID-19 health declarations in service of SEA Games 31.

 

This was applicable at all of Vietnam’s border gates. Therefore, all people entering Vietnam to participate in SEA Games 31 did not have to make COVID-19 health declarations.

 

On the evening of May 12, thousands of athletes and audiences at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, and millions of Southeast Asian spectators together witnessed the impressive opening ceremony of SEA Games 31.

 

Foreign athletes and tourists had the opportunity to experience various modern competition venues, witness the socio-economic development of Vietnam and visit attractive destinations in the host country.

 

With hospitality and sportsmanship, Vietnamese fans also presented a beautiful image to foreign athletes and fans.

 

Foreign media praised Vietnam’s preparations for the Games, saying that despite the complex developments of the global health crisis, the country demonstrated responsibility in preparing thoughtfully, safely, and securely.

 

Vice Chairman of the World Vovinam (Vietnamese martial arts) Federation and Chairman of the African Vovinam Federation Mohammed Djouadj expressed his impression with Vietnam’s organisation of SEA Games 31, to which he was invited to serve as an international supervisor of the sport at the Games.

 

Commenting on the event, Chairman of the Singaporean National Assembly and also Chairman of the Singapore National Olympic Committee, Tan Chuan-Jin, who attended the opening ceremony and matches of SEA Games 31, said it was difficult to organise a huge event like SEA Games amid the lingering effects of COVID-19, not to mention many other challenges.

 

To be able to pull off such a feat, Vietnam has proven their top-notch level capability, he stressed, adding that it delighted him that Vietnam has hosted and organised such a successful SEA Games for the region./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency

With the success in running for a seat at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2023-2025 tenure, Vietnam’s efforts to ensure and promote human rights have been recognised globally by the international community.

 

After Vietnam was elected to the UN Human Rights Council, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his belief that Vietnam will continue to actively promote and protect human rights.

 

He called Vietnam one of the indispensable members of the UN, noting the country will make meaningful contributions to the common affairs of the UN in solving global challenges, towards peace and development in the world.

 

Meanwhile, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam Saadi Salama said that Vietnam deserves to have a seat at the UNHRC as the country has worked tirelessly to promote and protect human rights in any circumstance.

 

The international community also expressed the belief in Vietnam’s substantial contributions during its second tenure at the UNHRC. The contributions reflect the community’s recognition of Vietnam’s efforts in preserving and promoting human rights.

 

Over the years, Vietnam has paid great attention to ensuring human rights. As of 2021, the country ratified and joined seven out of nine UN basic conventions on human rights. The consistent view of the Party and State of Vietnam is to place people at the centre and consider the people as the subject, the most important resource and the goal of development, ensuring all enjoy human rights. The policy has been demonstrated and institutionalised in the Constitution and laws, and specified in socio-economic development policies and plans.

 

According to the UNDP report on human development in the 2021-2022 period, during the most trying times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam performed well in protecting human rights. The Human Development Index leapt two places in the global ranking in 2021.

 

Caitlin Wiesen, former Resident Representative of UNDP in Vietnam, affirmed that Vietnam has realised the Government’s commitments on placing the people at the centre of development following UN guidelines. This has been revealed in all aspects and reflected in all socio-economic development policies.

 

Vietnam has always taken full responsibility, and maintained transparency in realising international commitments on human rights protection, including the implementation of recommendations that the country has accepted within the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.

 

Over the past 13 years, Vietnam has actively and responsibly participated in the UPR mechanism. It has accepted and implemented an increasing number of recommendations through the three cycles of its membership. This represents the country’s increasing capacity in institutions, resources and finances.

 

At a recent conference to update the implementation of UPR third cycle recommendations in the fields of labour and society, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha said despite the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, Vietnam completed 82.6% of the recommendations. There are many positive results in terms of ensuring and promoting human rights in the fields of labour, society, gender equality and in the fight against human trafficking.

 

However, there are still hostile forces targeting Vietnam in the hope of derailing democratic and religious affairs to distort the human rights situation in the country. A number of organisations, including the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), have regularly released reports with wrongful, one-side and ungrounded comments about Vietnam. They accused the country of “limiting” religious freedom or “repressing” religions.

 

These organisations used information from outdated documents provided by unrecognised religious groups and religions. They often quoted the opinions of religious extremists who are discontent with the regime. These extremists supported illegal religious activities, which are not registered with the government and operate without permission. They promoted “evil” religious activities in remote areas, aiming to increase superstitious and illegal religious activities.

 

Regretfully, the US Department of State, based on such inaccurate and biased reports, has recently put Vietnam in the group of countries on the Special Watch List for religious freedom.

 

In fact, respecting beliefs and religious freedom of all people has been a consistent and thorough policy of the Vietnamese Party and State. The concept of religious freedom has been institutionalised in Vietnam’s legal system. Vietnam is home to many religions with about one fourth of the population following a number of faiths.

 

Vietnamese people are free to choose to follow or not follow any religion, and all are equal before the law without any religious discrimination.

 

To date, the Vietnamese State has recognised and granted operating licences to 43 organisations, belonging to 16 different religions. These religious groups encompass more than 27 million followers, or nearly 30% of the population. They include over 55,000 dignitaries, about 135,000 religious workers, and close to 30,000 places of worship right in Vietnam.

 

In the first six months of 2022, the administrations at all levels granted licences to the construction and upgrading of 152 places of worship. It also issued registrations to 183 facilities to organise concentrated religious activities. Religious activities have been held regularly with the participation of a large number of followers across the country.

 

Recently, in late November, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc attended the ninth National Buddhism Congress for the 2022-2027 tenure. This was an important event in Vietnamese Buddhism, showing the Party and State’s care for religions that have positive orientations and walk in step to help build the nation. This is a fact that is not up for debate on the topic of religious freedom in Vietnam.

 

This year, the International Human Rights Day (December 10) is themed “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”. This is also a goal that Vietnam pursues with respect to the protection of human rights. As a member of the UNHRC for the 2023-2025 tenure, Vietnam will make direct contributions to protecting and promoting human rights all over the world./.

 

Source: Vietnam News Agency