PM asks US Congress for more aid in combatting Agent Orange effects

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung (right) meets Thomas Harkin, chairman of the US Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labour and Pensions, during his visit to Viet Nam. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyen Dan

HA NOI — Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday asked the US Congress to increase aid to Viet Nam in order to alleviate and combat the effects of Agent Orange.

Dung made the request during a meeting with Thomas Harkin, chairman of the US Senate Committee for Health, Education, Labour and Pensions.

The leader applauded the US delegation's visit to the Agent Orange clean-up site in central Viet Nam, and said the practical activity would boost co-operative relations between the two countries.

Dung appreciated Harkin's contributions to relations between the two countries, and thanked him for his support of the US aid that had been given to combat the effects of the toxic chemical.

The Prime Minister said Viet Nam was pleased to see the development of the multifaceted co-operation between the two countries, which will benefit both countries, especially in trade and investment.

Dung said he hoped the US Government would continue to assist Viet Nam with efforts to clear mines and bombs and recover the remains of 300,000 Vietnamese people who died during the war.

He also expressed his expectation that as the chairman of the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labour and Pensions, Harkin would continue to boost co-operation between the two countries in fields like health, education, labour and climate change response.

Senator Harkin noted that he was impressed with Viet Nam's socio-economic development and pleased with the increased co-operation between the two countries during the past 15 years.

The senator affirmed that he would play a more practical role in fostering co-operative ties between the two countries in the health, education and trade sectors.

Harkin said that it was the duty and responsibility of the US to help Viet Nam solve the problems caused by Agent Orange.

Harkin paid his first visit to Viet Nam in 1995. He supported the anti-war movement during the American War. He also supports Viet Nam's current trade relations with the US.

Also yesterday, the US delegation was welcomed by Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

During the meeting, Ngan said, "We will continue exchanging and supplying information on issues of mutual concerns relating to labour and the rights of labourers."

She said that the senators' interests had a large influence on the development of Viet Nam.

American non-government organisations (NGOs) had co-operated well with Viet Nam, which had resulted in successful achievements in social security, she said. Through NGOs, tens of millions of US dollars had been used to improve the country's health care and infrastructure sectors in poor regions. The NGOs had also helped create jobs for the poor and disabled.

The minister also said that she hoped to boost co-operation and understanding between both countries concerning labour inspections, adding that the two countries would join hands in projects to recover remains of people who died during the American War.

Senator Harkin said he was glad that the National Assembly approved the Law on Disabilities, affirming his readiness to co-operate with the Vietnamese Government in dealing with issues concerning labour and the rights of labourers.

He said he supported Viet Nam's effort to increase workers' rights and living standards, while also improving trade relations.

In the meeting with the vice chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Duc Kien yesterday, Harkin said confronting and ameriolating the consequences of Agent Orange was an important issue and a moral responsibility.

Kien acknowledged the positive and efficient developments in the relationship between the two countries and legislative bodies.

He also said he hoped that the senators would support increased trade between the two countries and remain committed to the agreements made by both sides on co-operation deals in health, education and training, and eradicating the effects of Agent Orange in Viet Nam.

Meanwhile, the US parliamentarians held a press briefing on the results of their Viet Nam visit.

Harkin said that based on statistics collected during their trip to witness dioxin detoxication activities in the central city of Da Nang, one of the hardest-hit localities during the war, the clearance of the toxic chemical was feasible.

He also pledged to try his best to speed up the detoxication process in Viet Nam.

Regarding the two countries' 15-year-old diplomatic ties, Harkin said members of both the US Senate and House of Representatives were positive on development of ties.

"We cannot change the past but we can make the future better," he said.

Senator Bernie Sanders said he was proud of achievements in Viet Nam-US relations over the past 15 years and vowed to further develop the bilateral ties.

He said the Agent Orange/dioxin issue was also one for many US war veterans as the chemical had seriously affected them and their families. — VNS

Tradition resurrected

Traditional dance from Hanoi will be performed for the first time in decades at a festival this fall

Traditional dances dreamt up by various communities in and around Hanoi hundreds of years ago will be performed to celebrate the capital’s 1,000th birthday this October.

Nine ancient Thang Long style dances will be performed by 600 dancers, artists and monks at a festival titled Thang Long mo hoi tim lai dau xua (Thang Long: looking back to the past).

The dances fall into three major categories: those traditionally performed at celebratory festivals, those with spiritual/religious implication and those associated with the old imperial court.

Nguyen Van Bich, president of Hanoi Association of Dance Artists, said the performances are the result of a project that has been restoring and developing Thang Long-Hanoi dances since 2005.

Understanding exactly what the dances meant and knowing how they were performed hundreds of years ago was not an easy task.

“It is very difficult to say exactly how we’ve ‘restored’ the dances in comparison with the original ones,” Bich said.

Bich went on to say the dances had been restored based on historical records and on consultations with village elders and local senior artists.

Chu Thuy Quynh, the show’s director and noted People’s Artist, said this was the first project of its kind aiming to preserve traditional dances in Vietnam.

“We need a professional preservation center like the one we have for Nha nhac cung dinh Hue (Hue royal court music).”

“We need to preserve such dances properly, which means giving more chances for dancers to train young ones.”

Quynh said the dance program would tell the story of Hanoi, from its first days as the new capital of Thang Long 1,000 years ago, to its development into the modern metropolis of today.

The show will be divided into three acts, the first of which, Lua thieng Ha Noi – mo hoi ngan nam (The holy fire of Hanoi: A 1,000- year festival), will tell the history of early Hanoi. The second, Nhung dau xua – trinh dien cac dieu mua co (Ancient vestiges: the performance of ancient dances) focuses on the artistry behind the dances and the history of the dance arts in and around Hanoi. The last segment, Mung Thang Long chien thang (Celebrating the Thang Long victory) details the history of modern Hanoi and the defeat of imperial powers who sought to subdue and enslave the great city.

Delta police bust thieves who stole gold worth over $500,000

An Giang police found gold, which is sealed (L), and money after catching two men involved in stealing gold worth over US$500,000 last week.

Police in the Mekong Delta’s An Giang Province on Monday said they had busted a ring that stole more than half a million dollars worth of gold on June 24.

The thieves broke into Quoc Thang gold shop with pincers and an iron saw and stole around 600 teals of gold, worth more than VND10 billion ($524,000) at the time.

An Giang police cooperated with their counterparts in Takeo, Cambodia to stop the thieves from crossing the border.

Two organizers of the ring, Nguyen Van Nha, 39, and Nguyen Van Thanh, 33 from the nearby Dong Thap Province were caught on June 29 and 30 respectively.

Police found more than VND330 million, 25,500 US dollars, 3,000 Australia dollars, 1,000 Taiwan dollars and 105 teals of gold at their place. The gold was small items stolen from gold shops and has been cooked into larger pieces.

Nha and Thanh told police they and two Cambodians had successfully conducted ten gold thefts in the Mekong Delta provinces of An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Vinh Long.

Nha has been charged with theft, gambling and keeping weapons illegally.

He bought many lots in Binh Duong and Dong Thap Provinces, and set up two fake firms to account for his sudden wealth.

Some of the gold he stole was donated to charitable causes around his neighborhood.

Police said they are further investigating the case to catch anyone else involved.

Miss Universe can't get enough of Khanh Hoa

The president of Miss Universe Organization has officially asked Vietnam's Khanh Hoa Province to hold the 2011 competition in the coastal town of Nha Trang again.

Paula Shugart said during a meeting with Khanh Hoa vice chairman Le Xuan Thuan on Wednesday that the organization had chosen Nha Trang for the event and was only waiting for the Khanh Hoa and Vietnam governments to approve the move.

The organization has also invited Hoan Cau, Ltd. and Hoan Vu Joint Stock Company, which organized the contest in Nha Trang in 2008, to continue to do so next year. The companies have agreed, organizers said.

Thuan said he believes that Khanh Hoa will organize the event successfully thanks to its experience in 2008.

He also said facilities had been improved since then, including the upgrade of Cam Ranh International Airport, the opening of new five-star hotels and seminar centers.

But he said the organization and companies involved should submit detailed plans for the event, including reports on their financial capacity.

Next year's pageant will mark the 60th anniversary of Miss Universe. The contest in 2009 was organized in Bahamas and 2010 in Las Vegas.

Investment Law deemed a failure

Workers put the finishing touches on new scooters inside a factory of Italian group Piaggio in the northern province of Vinh Phuc.

The Investment Law was drafted to protect the rights and benefits of investors and encourage investment in Vietnam, but experts say it has failed to do so, and some even argue it has made things far worse.

The law “worsens the business environment in Vietnam” with its unclear and contradictory regulations, said Cao Ba Khoat, director of Hanoi-based K & Associates Co. It overlaps with other laws, “messing everything up,” he said.

Khoat’s statements published by Thoi bao Kinh te Saigon (Saigon Economic Times) Magazine last week echoed several reports on the law since it came into effect in June 2006.

A report by the Business Information Center at the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce said in 2008 that ambiguities in the law had been easily exposed, as well as “inconsistencies and conflicts” with other business-related laws, including the Land Law, the Environmental Law, and the Construction Law.

According to the Task Force for Implementing the Enterprise Law and Investment Law, headed by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, investors and government agencies have faced extreme difficulties in implementing the Investment Law.

In some cases, if officials assessed an investment proposal based on environmental codes in the Investment Law, certain regulations under the Environment Law would be violated. As a result, “most localities chose to ‘violate’ the Environment Law,” the Task Force said.

“One of its main goals is to adjust the governance of investment, but the Investment Law has not really succeeded in that role,” said a member of the Task Force who wished to remain unnamed.

The member said a glaring example was that though everyone agreed that it is necessary to restrict the number of similar projects located near each other to prevent capital waste and unnecessary competition, the Investment Law had failed to do so.

Time-consuming

The Investment Law stipulates that local projects with an investment of VND15 billion or more, and all foreign invested projects, have to obtain an investment license from provincial authorities. But this has proved easier said than done for many investors.

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, reported that investors in an unidentified province have to visit government agencies 38 times, submit 67 documents and wait 451 days on average to receive a project license.

Many lawyers have said that ambiguous regulations under the Investment Law have resulted in different interpretations by licensing agencies, requiring them to seek instructions from higher authorities, hence delays in the process. They said many foreign investors had to wait for years to receive licenses, especially in the distribution and property sectors.

“As the law is vague, some cases were decided without any (legal) basis,” a lawyer said, noting that sometimes an investor was rejected simply because authorities deemed the project in a sector that “doesn’t need to be encouraged.”

Khoat said investment-related issues including construction, land use, and environmental protection, can be monitored by their corresponding laws. “The Investment Law is thus pointless and it even overlaps with other laws,” he said.

The expert from the task force said that although it’s necessary for the government to administer investment, it doesn’t mean there has to be an investment law. “Many other countries have good investment management without such a law.”

“The government should only monitor what they have to, and other things that belong to businesses should not be interfered with,” the task force member said.

China targets 'vulgar' advertising for online games

BBC News, Shanghai Chinese authorities say they fear the advertising will corrupt young people

The Chinese government is to ban online games companies from using sex, gambling or violence to promote their products.

Several firms have used women involved in sex scandals to help sell their games.

The new regulation from the ministry of culture is the first to be applied to the country's online gaming industry, according to state media.

More than 69 million people, most of them young, play online games in China.

Morals 'at risk'

Sex sells. Scandals too. Whatever your market, attracting attention helps shift your product.

In China though, the companies that produce online games appear to have gone too far.

Officials from the culture ministry are unhappy that the game producers have used young women embroiled in sex scandals or employed in the pornography industry to promote their products.

One was a model known as Shou Shou, who became famous after her sex videos were posted on the internet. She was asked to promote a role-playing game.

A Japanese adult video star helped publicise another game - Warrior OL.

Social commentators complained the use of these women in advertising material, though not illegal, could undermine the public's morals.

So the government has decided to act. From next month local officials will be able to force website owners to delete what is called vulgar content in online game promotions.

Violence and profanities will be banned from all the advertisements but not, it appears, from the games themselves.

The new policy has been covered widely in the state-controlled media and on websites here, accompanied of course by photos of the same scantily clad models who have upset the bureaucrats.

Newspapers, like the games producers, know that young women embroiled in scandals always attract a lot of attention.

Hanoi reports 18 cholera patients

The Hanoi-based Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases said Sunday they have admitted 18 patients that tested positive for cholera among 36 with acute diarrhea over the past week.

Most of the cholera patients are from the center of Hanoi, which has recorded no cholera cases over the past four months, according to the hospital.

Tests showed that most of them had eaten food that was not safe nor hygienic, namely dog meat and raw vegetables, before falling sick.

Le Anh Tuan, director of the Hanoi Department of Health, said shrimp paste, a dipping sauce used when eating dog meat, and the meat itself are not foods that normally cause the intestinal disease.

However, the way they are prepared could make someone contract cholera bacteria.

The current hot weather is ideal for the growth of the bacteria that causes the disease infecting hundreds of people in northern Vietnam in 2008 and 2009, he said.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Binh, deputy chief of the health ministry’s Preventive Health Department, said the department has proposed that southern localities adjacent to Cambodia further promote preventive measures to local people, given that the disease has plagued many localities in the neighboring country.

Areas with shared water sources need to be checked and should be cordoned off if they are found to be contaminated with the bacteria, according to Binh.

He said the southern province of Binh Phuoc has recently admitted five people who contracted cholera in Cambodia.