Quang Ninh to repair flood damage after torrential rain

The People's Committee of Quang Ninh northern province yesterday held an online meeting with local authorities to co-ordinate work to repair damage caused by torrential rains over weekend.

The committee's chairman, Nguyen Duc Long, said this was the largest rainfall in the province in 40 years, measuring nearly 600mm.

The two-day rainfall caused floods in cities and areas, including Ha Long, Dong Trieu, Uong Bi, Cam Pha, Van Don, and Hoanh Bo, Long said.

The rainfall in some places rose to 2m-high. Many areas in the districts of Van Don and Cam Pha are still difficult to access to rescue inhabitants.

For areas with high risks of landslides, the chairman required local authorities to move residents and tourists to safe places.

He also asked authorities to immediately check areas to take prompt measurements and provide support to local residents.

Local authorities also need to increase the forces in places to provide timely rescues, and repair damage.

The flash-floods caused by torrential rains yesterday claimed three lives and caused substantial property damage in provinces.

By 11pm on Sunday, the deluge killed a 27-year-old woman and her two children residing in Mong Duong ward of Cam Pha city, local authorities said.

The rain also flooded hundreds of houses, roads, and caused landslides in some districts.

The local authorities, in collaboration with the army, moved hundreds of households to safe places.

According to the report from local authorities, the rainfall in Cam Pha township inundated many areas, such as National Road 18A and Cam Phu, Cam Son and Mong Duong wards, where water reached as high as the second floor of some houses.

On the same day, 260 millimetres of rainfall were recorded in Quang Ninh's Cua Ong ward, 200 millimetres in Ha Long city and Van Don district, and some 100 millimetres in Dong Trieu town.

Since more than 200 houses in Viet Hung ward of Ha Long city were flooded, the city is planning evacuations and temporary power cuts to ensure safety.

The local authorities warn that neither people or vehicles can venture near the rivers and streams.

Also, fishing boats are not being allowed to sail.

Driving rains, which are forecast to continue for the next several days, caused landslides and led to housing collapses in some residential areas, such as Hong Gai, Bach Dang, Tran Hung Dao, Ha Lam and Ha Trung wards of Ha Long city.

Local residents are continuing to monitor the complicated changes of weather.

According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorology Forecast, a low pressure trough crossing the north of Viet Nam has caused torrential rains with an average rainfall of between 30-60 millimetres since Saturday.

The centre predicted prolonged heavy rains in the region and warned northeast provinces, such as Cao Bang, Lang Son, Bac Kan and Bac Giang, about flash floods and landslides.

In northern mountainous areas, rainfall over several days caused landslides in the provinces of Lai Chau, and Son La, leading to dozens of homes being damaged.

In Son La province, heavy rain caused serious landslides in many districts of Quynh Nhai, Thuan Chau, and Muong La.

Lack of warnings blamed for drownings in Da Lat

Drownings at Da Lat have raised questions over safety and rescue.

Da Lat Town in Lam Dong Province is well-known for its raw beauty and its waterfalls, but many visitors report there are no warning signs where the often fast-flowing water is deep and the path slippery with moss.

Early in July, a group of five were taking pictures at the Golden Spring Lake when a girl slipped and fell into the stream. Three others tried to save her, but they were all swept away. Rescuers found their bodies later that day.

The Golden Spring Lake is downstream from the Ankroet Power Plant and is especially dangerous during the rainy season when flash flooding is common.

Hoang Anh Van, a local in Da Lat said, "This location is far from the residential area so it's almost impossible to call for help if anything happens. I don't understand why the authorities haven't put up warning signs yet."

Authorities of Lac Duong District said they would put up warning signs after carrying an inspection of lakes and streams in the area.

Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, the deputy head of the Lam Dong Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, urged local authorities and managers of tourist sites to improve rescue services and raise awareness of particularly dangerous locations.

Experts tell Laos, VN, Cambodia to study border issues

Delegates from Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos discussed the ASEAN Economic Community's effects on transnational natural resources at an annual international conference on cross-border economic co-operation.

Speaking at the meeting in Da Lat, Professor Nguyen Xuan Thang, chairman of the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS), said Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia should research and discuss cross-border economic co-operation and the plan for combining police forces.

The work would help the three countries integrate the area and resolve problems related to competitive capacity, poverty reduction and socio-economic inequality.

Professor Chaleune Yiapaoheu, chairman of the Lao National Institute of Social Sciences, said that to ensure effective cross-border economic co-operation, the three countries should include specific regulations and work to resolve obstacles such as collecting fees at international border gates.

Experts at the conference said they believed the biggest challenge was that ASEAN's commitment to circulating goods for free could turn countries without developed goods manufacturing such as Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia into consumers of developed ASEAN countries' goods, instead of equal exchange.

Nguyen Huy Hoang of the VASS said that with the foundation of the ASEAN Economic Community the three countries' investments could face combativeness from other ASEAN countries that have advantages in technology.

Some researchers emphasised the importance of the Mekong River in the three countries' economic co-operation.

Chheng Vannarith and Som Somuny from the Royal Academy of Cambodia agreed that cross-border natural resources must be exploited effectively and mustn't hurt the Mekong River valley.

Da Nang debuts fishing logistics fleet

The central city has introduced a fishery logistics co-operative, the second one since last year, to boost the offshore fishing trade in the city and central region.

Le Thanh Sang, chairman and director of the Hai Nhi co-operative in Hai Chau District, said the co-operative's logistics fleet, which includes four ships with a 90CV-1,600CV capacity, will supply fuel, ice, food, fresh water and necessities for longer trips involving 60 offshore fishing trawlers in Da Nang and other central provinces.

Sang said the mother ships of the fleet could purchase 500 tonnes of seafood from fishing boats each month.

Last year, the deep-sea fisherman Sang also launched his own 100-tonne steel mother ship equipped with the latest technology.

In June, Son Tra District also introduced a fishery logistics co-operative.

Under normal circumstances, fishing boats typically waste many days going to and from the port to unload fish, stock up on food and refuel.

The central city's People's Committee has approved an eight-year deep-sea fishing production project worth VND1.1 trillion (US$52 million).

The project is aimed at increasing productivity and providing bigger and better high-capacity vessels equipped with the latest technology.

This includes the development of a fleet of 400 trawlers by 2020, most equipped with global positioning and fish-detection systems.

The central city, which has 15,000sq.km of fishing grounds, has a fleet of 2,300 fishing boats, of which 699 are deep-sea trawlers.

VN, New Zealand continue co-operation on food safety

New Zealand is keen to share its experiences with Viet Nam on food safety and to use this information to improve food-safety outcomes and increase bilateral trade going forward.

It is hoped that Viet Nam will have visits to New Zealand in the coming period to see the food safety system at work, New Zealand Minister for Food Safety Jo Goodhew said today at a press conference in Ha Noi.

Goodhew started her four-day working visit to Viet Nam yesterday in response to the official visit by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in March.

The visit's key objective is to review existing co-operation between New Zealand and Viet Nam in the field of food safety as well as to discuss opportunities for expansion in the future.

The visit was also timed to coincide with celebrations of the 40th anniversary of friendship and diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Viet Nam this year.

The two countries signed a food safety agreement in March with the aim of facilitating co-operation in the sector and enhancing Viet Nam's own system.

The agreement is a good opportunity to take the co-operation between the two nations to the next level, Goodhew said.

Viet Nam exports many agricultural products to New Zealand, including tropical fruit, nuts, coffee, pepper and seafood.

Dong Nai slow to move polluters from suburbs

A plan to move nearly 480 production and husbandry units causing pollution out of urban and residential areas in the southern province of Dong Nai has been sluggish, failing to meet its deadline this year.

The provincial People's Committee issued the decision to remove the units in August 2012, setting a date for completion in 2014. But the province had to extend the deadline to the end of this year.

The provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE)'s latest report shows that most of the units refused to move to industrial clusters equipped with environmental treatment facilities. Only four out of 185 production units have moved, while very few of the 294 husbandry units have moved.

Huynh Huu Nghia, Head of Thai Duong Porcelain and Ceramic Co-operative in Hoa An commune, said the province's decision to move all polluting production units was sound. The units would enjoy a 60 percent discount on infrastructure investment and exempted land lease fees for 11 years.

"However, the enterprises must rebuild their entire workshops when they move to a new place and they need money for that," he said, adding that rebuilding his workshop would cost 40 billion VND (1.8 million USD).

Nghia said he hasn't moved to the Tan Hanh cluster because local authorities have been slow with paperwork on land leasing and building certificates.

Dang Minh Duc, DONRE's deputy director, blamed the delay on the lack of policies on preferential loans for moving units.

"In the current difficult economic times, it is hard for businesses to keep up current production and also set up a new workshop," he said.

Besides financial issues, the sluggish progress can also be blamed on the slow construction of industrial clusters in Dong Nai province.

The province has set a target of constructing 27 industrial clusters covering 4,500 hectares to gather workshops, factories and small production units by 2020. However, statistics from the provincial Department of Industry and Trade show that so far only two clusters have been completed. Ten clusters have investors but seven of them have not broken ground. The remains have not obtained investors. Most of the clusters do not actually have environmental protection treatment facilities.

Vo Van Chanh, Deputy Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, said the province has asked the Department of Industry and Trade to review policies for moving units.

"The deadline for removal is insisted by the end of this year with no extension," he said.

President Truong Tan Sang hosted a reception for a delegation of veterans from Division 313 and 314 in Military Zone 2 on the occasion of the National War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

The veterans, who fought to protect the nation in border battlefields in Vi Xuyen district in the the northern province of Ha Giang recalled their memories of fierce battles from 1984-1988.

As the key mobile force in Military Zone 2, their victory in a number of big battles firmly preserved the nation’s territory and border.

They said they hope the Party and State will continue its efforts to complete preferential policies for war invalids. They also pledged to promote the revolutionary spirit and act as good examples for the youth.

President Truong Tan Sang stated that the Party, State and people continually remember the sacrifices of heroes and martyrs.

He urged the Liaison Board for Veterans to collaborate with the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs as well as localities to speed up the search and gathering of martyr remains and ensure support for beneficiaries.

The President expressed his hope that the veterans would continue joining hands with the armed forces and the entire society in protecting and developing the nation. He also called for engagement of veterans in preparations for Party Congresses at all levels towards the 12 th National Party Congress.

Water levels rise in upper Mekong River

Water levels on the upper section of the Mekong River are rising rapidly, said Luu Van Ninh, Director of the An Giang provincial Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre.

The water level in Tan Chau town and Chau Doc city in An Giang province is forecasted to rise 8 to 12 cm a day over the next three days.

It is expected to hit its peak on July 31, with the highest water level on Tien River at Tan Chau station hitting 1.85m and 1.75m on the Hau River in Chau Doc city, 1.65m and 1.25 m below alarm No 1 level, respectively.

The lower course of the river in Cha Moi district in Long Xuyen city will also see tides at its peak during the end of July.

The province is taking measures to prevent flooding, protect late winter-spring crops and strengthen dyke systems.

More remains of Vietnamese soldiers repatriated from Cambodia

A solemn memorial and burial service was held in the south-western province of Tay Ninh on July 27 for the remains of 347 volunteer Vietnamese soldiers who lost their lives in Cambodia.

The remains of four other soldiers found in the province were also reburied to mark the 68 th War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Tran Luu Quang recalled the traditional solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cambodia, saying many Vietnamese youths volunteered for international missions in Cambodia to help the people escape from the genocidal regime.

Local authorities have carried out a number of measures to care for war veterans, the families of martyrs and those who rendered services to the country, including searching for martyrs’ remains.

The provincial search teams received support from Cambodian localities and people, he added.

On the same day, the southern province of Kien Giang also organised a ceremony to rebury the remains of 49 volunteer Vietnamese soldiers and experts who died in Cambodia and along the locality’s border.

Since 2001, the province has found and repatriated 1,850 sets of martyr remains, most of whom lost their lives in battlefields in Kep, Kampot, Sihanouk and Koh Kong provinces in Cambodia.

Lao, Vietnamese youth maintain border peace

Youth from the Lao province of Savanakhet and Vietnam’s Quang Tri province are boosting cooperation to maintain peace and friendship in border areas.

Youth unions from the two provinces held a meeting on July 27 in the Huong Hoa district of Quang Tri as part of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the two provinces to increase exchanges and meetings to share experiences.

On the occasion, a joint group of volunteer youth to maintain peace and friendship at border areas in Huong Phung commune and Thanh commune in Huong Hoa district was unveiled.

The two sides pledged to increase voluntary activities and mutual assistance as well as coordinate to prevent immigration, human trafficking, drug trafficking and cross-border smuggling.

Ministry helps rice farmers shift to other crops

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been directing localities to build plans to convert rice cultivation to other crops or in combination with aquatic breeding, as well as to improve irrigation systems, said Minister Cao Duc Phat.

He added that the ministry has proposed the Government continue to implement the Prime Minister’s Decision 580/QD-TTg, under which farmers will receive support to buy seedlings when switching from rice to other food crops, while expanding the support to the cultivation of other plants in the northern mountainous and midland, north central, Mekong Delta, south central coastal and Central Highland regions.

Nearly 700,000-800,000 hectares of ineffective rice cultivation are expected to be replaced with other crops by 2020, he noted.

The Mekong Delta in particular has grown maize soybean, sesame, sweet potatoes and vegetables on 53,800 hectares of former rice fields, thanks to seed assistance policies. Provinces in the region plan to convert 80,000 more hectares of rice fields to other crops in 2015.

Some 17,150 hectares of paddy fields in northern provinces have also been shifted to other plants. Effective models have helped raise farmer incomes 5-10 times compared to growing rice.

The south central coastal and Central Highland provinces planted other crops on 10,276 hectares of paddy fields with profits increasing 1.5-3 times from their rice outputs.

Converting from rice to drought-tolerant crops is increasingly relevant given the ongoing drought in south central coastal Binh Thuan, Ninh Thuan, Khanh Hoa and Quang Tri provinces is making it impossible for farmers to grow rice on over 50,000 hectares of land.

Minister Cao Duc Phat confirmed that his ministry will further coordinate with localities and the Ministry of Finance to deal with local concerns with supporting capital resources.

Stores launch school supplies sales

As a new school year is just around the corner, many supermarkets and bookstores have launched major promotions designed to increase sales of stationery and other school supplies.

For instance, Co.opMart and Co.opXtra supermarkets nationwide are offering discounts of 20 percent to 33 percent on 300 items, including student uniforms, school bags, notebooks, pens and other school supplies until August 9.

In addition, on August 2, Co.opmart and Co.opXtra will gift more than 600,000 white notebooks to shoppers who own Co.opmart member card.

French supermarket chain Big C is also running a discount programme called "Hanh trang den truong" (School supplies), with discounts of 5-49 percent applied on more than 500 items from notebooks, backpacks and calculators to student uniforms, desks, desk lamps, alarm clock and confectionary.

School uniforms will be offered at a discount of 20 percent, while buyers of textbook sets will receive a 10 percent discount in Big Xu (coin) on their member cards.

These coins can be collected and used as payments in the next shopping trip.

In addition, the supermarket has also introduced clothing for teachers for the back-to-school season at reasonable prices.

Not missing this occasion, Lotte Mart supermarkets have launched the "Vui mua tuu truong" (happy back-to-school season) programme, offering attractive discounts on more than 2,000 school products until August 3.

Under the programme, some products for primary students like raincoats, water bottles, helmets, bookcases, desk lamps and scissors are discounted up to 49 percent, while school uniforms and children clothes are at 15-35 percent discount.

Buyers of school products at Fahasa stores at Lotte Mart supermarkets will enjoy a 17 percent discount.

Many bookstores in HCM City, including Thang Long, Nguyen Van Cu, Van Lang and Gia Dinh, are offering 10-15 percent discounts on textbooks and other items.

Choosing backpacks for her 10-year-old daughter at Co.opmart Dinh Tien Hoang, Nguyen Hong Anh of Binh Thanh District said she would also buy textbooks, notebooks, pens and rulers for her daughter to use in the upcoming academic year.

Anh said she usually took advantages of promotions to purchase necessary school supplies for her daughter, which helped her save at least 20 percent compared to market prices.

War martyrs commemorated abroad

A delegation from the Embassy and other representative offices of Vietnam in Laos laid a wreath at the monument to Laos-Vietnam fallen soldiers in Ban Con village, Phonhong district, Vientiane, on July 26.

This is an annual activity to mark Vietnam’s War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

Addressing the event, Chairman of the Laos War Veterans Association Major General Somphone Keominsay expressed his gratitude for Vietnamese voluntary soldiers and Lao martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the nation’s independence and freedom.

The Ban Con monument is erected at the site of a collective tomb of 26 soldiers from the Laos-Vietnam allied troops who lost their lives during the war against French colonialists in 1946.

In Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Vietnamese Ambassador to Cambodia Thach Du led a delegation to pay respect to fallen volunteer Vietnamese soldiers at a monument dedicated to the soldiers to mark the occasion.

During the wars, tens of thousands of Vietnamese soldiers and experts lost their lives while undertaking international missions in Cambodia. The remains of more than 4,000 soldiers are yet to be found.

The two countries are making joint efforts to search for and repatriate the remains with the goal of completing the task by 2020.

On July 24, representatives of Czech Republic-based Vietnamese agencies and people gathered at a ceremony in Prague to honour Vietnamese soldiers.

During the event, the Vietnamese War Veterans Association in the Czech Republic offered gifts to eight Vietnamese wounded soldiers living in the country and heroic Vietnamese mother Tran Thi Quam from Hiep Hoa district in northern Bac Giang province who was invited to the event.

Vinh Long to supply clean water to 90 percent of rural households

The Mekong Delta province of Vinh Long aims to supply clean water to 90 percent of its rural population by the end of 2015, 60 percent of whom will have access to local water supply systems, a 10 percent increase from 2014.

By the end of June, about 89.4 percent of the province’s households, including 55.2 percent of rural families, have access to clean water, up 2.4 percent from last year.

This year, the locality is planning to allocate 72 billion VND (3.3 million USD) to upgrade and expand 14 pipe networks and install about 7,000 water metres in rural areas.

Vinh Long has been working to replace privately dug wells and slow sand filters with clusters of standard water supply systems capable of providing clean water to 300-500 households.

Another 43.4 billion VND (2 million USD) was put aside for 22 rural water projects with a focus on new-style rural communes, such as My Loc in Tam Binh district, Hoa Phu in Long Ho district, Hoa Binh in Tra On district and Chanh Hoi in Mang Thit district. To date, 12.7 billion VND was already disbursed.

The province plans begin construction of a water supply system in Tan Phu Commune, Tam Binh district and speed up three other projects to expand water pipe networks in Thanh Binh commune of Vung Liem district, and Huu Thanh and Tich Thien of Tra On district.

HCM City: Over 100 youth join volunteer activities in Laos

Over 100 volunteers in Ho Chi Minh City involved in the “Red Holiday” and Green Summer campaigns have participated in volunteer activities in the Lao provinces of Attapeu and Champasak since July 26.

The 12-day programme includes free healthcare examinations; communication campaigns on food hygiene and safety as well as preventing malaria, viral hemorrhagic fever and encephalitis; and transferring forest-agricultural techniques to local residents.

Volunteers will also present gifts and scholarships to disadvantaged students, organise art exchange programmes and build electricity systems for disadvantaged households.

Pham Hong Son, Deputy Secretary of the municipal committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union and Chairman of the Vietnam Youth Federation’s Ho Chi Minh City chapter, said that the volunteer event aims to enhance international youth exchange activities during the integration process and economic development.

He added that the event will contribute to deepening the solidarity and friendship between Laos and Vietnam and further cooperation in economics, culture and society between Ho Chi Minh City and Lao provinces in particular.

Candle vigil held to commemorate fallen soldiers nationwide

Candles were lit at thousands of cemeteries in cities and provinces across the nation on July 26 night in memory of fallen soldiers who gave their lives for the nation.

The candle vigil formed part of activities jointly conducted by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee to commemorate the 68th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27).

At Road 9 National Martyrs Cemetery in central Quang Tri province, more than 1,000 youth and officials offered incense and wreaths at graves of revolutionaries and soldiers.

On the occasion, gifts were also presented to dozens of families of invalids and martyrs, heroic Vietnamese mothers, and the management boards of the Road 9 National Martyrs Cemetery and the Truong Son National Martyrs Cemetery.

First Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union’s Central Committee Nguyen Dac Vinh called on the youth nationwide to nurture their love for the nation and care for those who rendered services to the country and their families.

Among the cemeteries dedicated to war heroes nationwide, the Road 9 National Martyrs Cemetery is the resting place for over 10,000 soldiers who laid down their lives during the anti-US war.

Some 10,263 other fallen soldiers hailing from across the country have been laid to rest at the Truong Son National Martyrs Cemetery.

Improving environmental sanitation in coastal cities in Vietnam

More than 800,000 Vietnamese citizens have benefited from an environmental sanitation project which is being implemented in coastal cities of Dong Hoi, Quy Nhon and Nha Trang.

Over 800,000 citizens now enjoy improved solid waste management service, 66,500 students have better schools sanitation facilities, and 8,452 poor families have benefited from the received revolving fund for upgrading their toilets.

The project was funded by the World Bank’s IDA (US$190 million), the Japanese government (US$4.6 million) and a Global Environment Fund (GEF) (US$5 million).

Nguyen Huu Hoai, chairman of Quang Binh People's Committee said the project has changed the landscape of Dong Hoi and added more points to its score as a 2nd tier city, which in more specific term means that 75% population and visitors can benefit from sewage and waste water treatment service. Trees have been planted on sewage canals; lighting system has also been erected; ship anchor ports have been upgraded, etc. This has made Dong Hoi a modern and environment-friendly and sustainable city”.

The project used an integrated and innovative approach to address the challenges that include the following:

•    Take an investment-phased approach and select appropriate technologies.

•    Mark household connections and collection systems as crucial elements.

•    Enhance project/contractual management.

•    Conduct compensation and resettlement processes in a timely and consistent manner.

•    Promote efficient institutional and regulatory arrangements at the local level. Financial commitment and address cost recovery issues.

•    Place Information-Education-Communication (IEC) program for WW/SWM tariffs increase and behavior change as a top priority, to include community participation and the establishment of environmental learning centres in the participating cities.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has promulgated a plan on viral hepatitis prevention for the 2015-2019 period to reduce the spread of hepatitis viruses and improve community access to screening, treatment and care services, said Tran Dac Phu, Head of the MOH’s Preventive Health Department.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that about two billion people worldwide are infected with the hepatitis B virus and around 130 – 150 million people were chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus in 2014. About one million people die every year as a result of the viral disease, or 2.7% of all fatalities globally.

Hepatitis B and C viruses are major causes of liver cancer and cirrhosis. An estimated 57% of cases of liver cirrhosis and 78% of cases of primary liver cancer result from hepatitis B and C virus infections.

According to the Preventive Health Department, 8%-25% of people in certain population groups in Vietnam have hepatitis B and some 2.5% – 4.1% of such population groups are positive for hepatitis C.

Chronic hepatitis remains a major public health problem and liver cancer is the most common cause of cancer mortalities in Vietnam.

The hepatitis B vaccine has been used in the country’s Expanded Programme of Immunisation since 1997 in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

It has been given to children under one year old nationwide since 2003 with a coverage rate of over 90%.

Since 2006, the vaccine has been applied to newborns within the first 24 hours after birth. Pregnant women are also encouraged to be screened for hepatitis to prevent mother-to-child transmissions.

The inseparable ties of villagers along Vietnam-Cambodia border

Villagers along the border of Vietnam and Cambodia have maintained close relations for generations and, for them, the ‘border line’ is just like a fence between two nearby houses.

They have shared inseparable roads and paths, and most villagers are bilingual in Vietnamese and Khmer.

They can cross the border line any time for business, or just to visit each other.

Men and women have married each other and led normal lives on the land their ancestors worked and lived on long before.

Recently, they have faced a more challenging ‘border’ fabricated by those who come from afar.

The honest villagers have become victims of the divisive plot urged by The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – the opposition to the ruling Cambodian People's Party.

The opposition party has persuaded thousands of people from Phnom Penh, the Cambodian capital, to travel hundreds of kilometers to the border to disturb security and try to uproot the border post numbered 203 between Long An Province of Vietnam and Svray Rieng Province of Cambodia.

Traveling along the Xang Canal one day, Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper journalists visited the upstream area of the Vam Co Tay River to visit Binh Bac Hamlet, Binh Hoa Tay Commune, Moc Hoa District, Long An, located in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta.

The area has two concrete posts, 202 and 203, the only signs informing visitors that they are standing near the border.

Except for the two posts, rice fields, paths, roads and land are open and extend on all sides, as they have for generations.

At a small grocer’s situated on the side of a path in Binh Bac, where Khmer (Cambodian) people often pass, Tuoi Tre met the owner, Dang Thi Dung, a 50-year-old Vietnamese woman who has lived on the canal bank for 40 years.

She showed her roll of debts, writing that Ta Uon owed VND80,000 (US$3.7) in dried fish, Som An VND95,000 (US$4.4), and Ta Chanh VND70,000 for two kilograms of rice and a liter of fish sauce, among others. All the names are Cambodian.

This proves the close ties in life and business of Vietnamese and Cambodian people.

“It has rained heavily these days, causing road surface to become slippery. This limits visits and makes life here less busy. I miss them,” said Dung.

Her memories of life in the area have been described as “even longer than the road in front of [her] grocer’s,” which was built several years ago.

With 40 years of living by the river bank, Dung recalled the time when she was still single.

People from Binh Bac and the Cambodian village of Ta Not were very poor and cultivated rice fields separated by just a 30-cm wide path.

She said farmers did not spend money hiring each other but ‘exchanged help’ by joining hands to reap rice on one field before moving on to others.

“There were no border posts then. We farmers of both nations just had the edge of rice fields, just like other fields deep in the mainland,” Dung said. “But none of us trespassed on each other’s land, not even with just a stroke of a hoe.”

Since Dung began running her shop, locals who frequented the area and have become her acquaintances have called her shop the “transnational credit seller.”

“They just buy on credit and I note down their names. They will pay it off later when they have money. Otherwise, they can pay the debts at the end of a rice season,” she said. “Our ties are attached to one another like that, naturally; there is no distinguishing between Vietnamese and Cambodians.”

Dao Van Thuc, a Vietnamese who returned to Vietnam from Cambodia in 1975, said they often drop by one another’s homes to celebrate Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival.

“I often visit their house and perform Lâm Thôn [a traditional folk dance of Cambodians] and they visit us to sing karaoke as neighbors,” he added.

Another Binh Bac local, Huynh Van Doi, set up a tent over a tea table to “receive international visitors,” he joked.

It is a place to rest for passers-by, mostly Khmer people.

It has become a ‘rendezvous’ of those who either want to hire laborers or to be hired.

“You can demarcate the land, but you can’t do it for the relations of people here,” said Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hoa Hung, political commissar of the Binh Hoa Tay border post.

Number of Vietnamese visiting Japan soars

Drops in tour prices, simpler visas and more direct flights have boosted the appeal of Japan among Vietnamese tourists seeking an overseas holiday break, Vietnam’s tour agents have reported.

Bookings have skyrocketed in the first months of the year, mainly due to the fall in the yen according to one tour agent who said currently a six-day and five night tour to Japan cost only US$1,375-1,604 (VND30-35 million).

The news came as a report by the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) suggested Vietnam is now Japan’s third largest inbound tourist market just behind China and Hong Kong (China).

More than 13,000 tourists from Vietnam visited Japan in just the month of June alone, a sharp rise of roughly 52.7% compared with June last year, according to JNTO.

For the six month period January-June 2015 JNTO reported tourism spiked 59.3% to 94,300 visitors by far outpacing the 124,266 visitors for the whole of 2014.

Visitors from Vietnam have also been drawn by the lower taxes on Japanese goods.

A JNTO representative added that many Japanese localities such as Kanagawa, Niigata, Gifu and Ibaraki prefectures are the preferred destinations by Vietnamese visitors.

Singapore says welcomes Vietnamese visitors amid entry denial complaints

A Singaporean immigration agency has officially addressed complaints that some Vietnamese visitors, especially women, have been denied entry to the city-state, saying the country welcomes visitors from all around the world, including those from Vietnam.

The Singaporean Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said it does not enact any discriminatory measures against Vietnamese nationals, according to the minister-counselor of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore, Nguyen Minh Hang.

Hang told the Vietnam News Agency that the embassy and the ICA worked together on the issue last Friday.

The embassy demanded an explanation for complaints that Vietnamese passengers, mostly women, have been denied entry to Singapore and forced to return to their home country after their flights landed at Singapore Changi Airport for unknown reasons recently.

The Vietnamese side also requested that its citizens be assisted by interpreters, and respected by immigration officers, when coming to Singapore.

The ICA responded by asserting that Vietnamese visitors are always welcome to visit Singapore, and pledged to assist and respect those visitors on their arrival at Changi Airport, the Vietnam News Agencyquoted Hang as saying.

The Singaporean immigration authority added it will increase information exchanges and coordination with the embassy and airlines offering Singapore-Vietnam services to facilitate Vietnamese nationals’ entry to the city-state, Hang said.

The ICA affirmed that ties between the two countries have been tightened in recent times, with the number of Vietnamese visitors to Singapore doubling over the past five years.

Ninety-eight percent of these visitors have passed entry without any problems, according to the ICA.

Many Vietnamese women said they were held by immigration officers at Changi Airport, questioned in private rooms and had their photos and fingerprints taken before they were allowed to enter, or told to return to Vietnam.

These people also had to present relevant papers, their purposes of traveling to Singapore, and the amount of cash they carried to immigration officers.

The ICA said these measures do not mean it suspected those people, or that they would not be permitted to enter, according to the Vietnamese minister-counselor.

Similar procedures, also done in many other countries, are applied to foreign citizens to help with exit and entry management, she said, citing the ICA.

The ICA also stated clearly that it will deny entry to certain types of visitors, including those who use passports with different personal information to enter Singapore repeatedly, or those who have violated local laws.

Individuals who repeatedly come to Singapore but do not have a clear purpose for their entry, and those visiting the country to seek a job, will also be rejected, according to the ICA.

With the responses from the ICA, Hang concluded that Vietnamese people can now be at ease when visiting Singapore.

“Vietnamese visitors must prepare all required papers and appropriately complete the immigration declaration, with sufficient information regarding their travel purpose and duration of stay,” she advised.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri