Việt Nam spent more than US$2 billion on importing cotton in the first eight months of 2018 – the biggest amount ever spent by the garment and textile sector – Vietnam News reported.
Of the total, imports from the US exceeded $1 billion , according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.
The increase in spending on cotton imports was attributed to growth in garment and textile exports, as Việt Nam depends on nearly 100 per cent imported cotton materials.
Việt Nam estimates it will buy more than $3 billion worth of cotton this year, up $700-800 million against the previous year.
The country has also set a target of earning $34-35 billion from garment and textile exports.
Last year, the textile and garment industry gained a year-on-year increase of 10.23 per cent in export value to $31 billion, beating its target set at the beginning of the year of $30 billion.
The High Command of Chemistry’s Centre for Environment Treatment Technology and Japan’s Shimizu Corporation held a ceremony in Hanoi on September 4 to announce a memorandum of understanding on the cooperation and plan to pilot dioxin treatment technology at Bien Hoa airport, based in the southern province of Dong Nai – Vietnam Plus reported.
The activity aims to overcome the consequences of the toxin left over from the war and study technologies to master dioxin treatment.
A representative from Shimizu Corporation introduced soil washing technology for dioxin treatment, a combination between soil washing and burning technology which could reduce waste and bring about higher economic efficiency.
The project will begin in November 2018, while the field soil washing will be carried out from mid-January to April 2019.
The area surrounding Bien Hoa aiport contains high levels of the chemical and is considered one of the country’s dioxin hotspots. According to assessments from Vietnam and the US, some 500,000 cu.m of dioxin-contaminated land in the airport need to be treated, requiring a large amount of capital and technology
Fox Sports Asia has selected its team of the tournament from the recently-concluded Asian Games 2018 (ASIAD), and three Vietnamese players have made the line-up.
They are right back Vu Van Thanh, centre back Bui Tien Dung and central midfielder Nguyen Quang Hai.
Widely regarded as one of Southeast Asian’s brightest prospects following some brilliant displays as an attacker, Hai’s development continued at the Asian Games as he was deployed in a traditional central midfield role. He not only adapted well to an unfamiliar role but even outperformed Viet Nam’s usual midfield general Luong Xuan Truong, although his campaign ended on a sour note as he missed a costly penalty in the bronze medal playoff against the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, having already been a star in January’s AFC U-23 Championship, Thanh continued his excellent form in Indonesia as Viet Nam stormed to the semi-finals before being beaten by eventual winners South Korea.
The 22-year-old looks a perfect fit for coach Park Hang-seo’s 5-2-3 system, bombing forward with intent whenever he gets the chance, but is also adept at performing his defensive duties.
Talking about Dung, the website said that while it was Bui Tien Dung – the goalkeeper – who shone for Viet Nam back at the AFC U-23 Championship, it was Bui Tien Dung – the centre back – who came to the fore this time around.
The Viettel defender played a crucial role in his side, keeping five consecutive clean sheets from their opening Group D clashes until they conceded in the semi-finals to the South Koreans.
Fox also named goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Shamsi of the United Arab Emirates, centre back Yugo Tatsuta of Japan, central midfidler Odiljon Xamrobekov of Uzbekistan, midfielder Lee Seung-woo of South Korea, and forwards Safawi Rasid of Malaysia, Yuto Iwasaki of Japan and Zabikhillo Urinboev of Uzbekistan in its team.
In other news, more than 25,000 South Koreans have demanded referee Kim Dae-yong be banned following his poor performance in the bronze-medal match between Viet Nam and the UAE.
They have posted a petition on the official website of President of South Korea Moon Jae-in, asking for the Korean referee not to be allowed to officiate international matches. The petition pointed to serious mistakes made by Kim during the match that were obvious to anyone with a basic knowledge of football.
The petition will be online for supporters to sign until October 1. Many South Korean football fans said the referee had treated the Vietnamese players unfairly and denied them a clear penalty kick. The game eventually went straight to a penalty shootout after normal time ended 1-1, with Việt Nam suffering a 4-3 defeat in the shootout.
An investigation into the production of “dirty” peppercorn in the Central Highlands province of Đắk Nông has to led arrest warrants being issued for five suspects, Phan Thanh Hải, head of the provincial People’s Procuracy, confirmed on Tuesday.
According to a report on VNS, Đắk Nông Province Police have arrested Phan Thị Dung, Lê Thị Hồng Thơ, Nguyễn Thị Thanh Loan, Nguyễn Xuân Bảo and Trần Văn Tuấn, Loan’s driver.
According to their testimonies, Phan Thị Dung’s family-run company in the southern province of Bình Phước started mixing black powder extracted from used batteries, rocks, dirt and low quality coffee beans into the peppercorn they were producing in 2015.
Dung’s partners accepted an impurity percentage in the peppercorn of 1 to 2 per cent, so she added other “ingredients” to make greater profits.
Dung bought the raw materials from Lê Thị Hồng Thơ in Đắk Song District and instructed Nguyễn Thị Thanh Loan and Nguyễn Xuân Bảo in Đắk R’Lấp District to produce the final mixture.
On April 22, Đắk Nông Province Police seized nine tonnes of peppercorns at Dung’s factory in Bình Phước District, and analysis found that the mixture contained 18.34 per cent of impurities including a toxic chemical called manganese dioxide.
Prolonged manganese exposure can poison and damage the brain, and the effects are irreversible and can lead to hallucinations and death.
The accused also admitted that from 2015 to 2018, they sold up to 400 tonnes of the mixture for VNĐ9,000 to 12,000 (39 cents to 51 cents) per kilogramme, of which Thơ took a cut of VNĐ1,000 to 3,000.
However, due to a lack of evidence, law enforcement officers can only charge them for the nine tonnes seized from Dung’s factory.
Almost half of Vietnamese think the country is still in recession, a recent Nielsen survey has found.
The Vietnam Consumer Confidence Index Report for the second quarter said while 48 percent of respondents thought the recession persists, 46 percent were positive the country would come out of it in the next 12 months, an increase of 8 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The survey was done for The Conference Board, which describes itself as “a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest.”
But Nguyen Huong Quynh, managing director of market research firm Nielsen Vietnam, said the country is not in a recession and has actually been growing at 6-7 percent in the last three quarters.
“Despite the fact that none of the economic key performance indicators indicate the country is in recession, consumers continue to believe that the current situation is not really positive.”
This sentiment could significantly influence consumers’ spending and saving patterns, she added.
Many believe it is not a good time to spend. Up to 70 percent of respondents said that they are willing to channel their spare cash to saving, the report said.
The report also said consumers continue to feel upbeat about their personal state of finance.
Seventy-six percent of respondents thought their personal finances would be good or excellent in the next 12 months, a drop of one percentage point from Q1.
Vietnam’s GDP grew at 7.08 percent in the first half, the highest ever since 2011.
Vietnam imported 11,150 cars in August, representing a record-high figure so far this year, according to the General Department of Customs.
During the week of August 24-30 alone, Vietnam imported around 3,089 cars valued at USD59.27 million. Of the figure, cars from Thailand and Indonesia dominated.
Cars below nine seats accounted for 2,129 units, making up 69% of the country’s total imported cars in the week. Different truck models were second at 900 units. Meanwhile, during the week, only 31 vehicles of more than nine seats were imported into Vietnam.
Although more cars from ASEAN countries have been imported into Vietnam after the import tax for cars imported from ASEAN was slashed to 0% from January 1, 2018, cars which have been used for 1-2 years have still sold well.
Unlike luxury cars which have been used for many years, prices of second hand cars have fallen from between VND50 million (USD2,272) and VND100 million (USD4,545) and are popular with middle-income buyers.
According to Kenichi Horinouchi, director of Mitsubishi Motors Vietnam, the Vietnamese automobile market has seen an impressive growth which is expected to outperform Malaysia and Singapore in the coming time, to rank the fourth position in Southeast Asia in terms of car sales just behind Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Experts said that the car sales growth in Vietnam is attributed to the country’s economic growth. After some years of slower economic growth, the Vietnamese economy is looking stronger again, and Vietnam’s income per capita is reaching a stage where increasing car ownership is to be expected.
According to VNG’s first half financial statement, after investing VND506 billion ($22.4 million) in Tiki, VNG’s investment is currently worth only VND185 billion ($8.2 million) at the moment.
VNG has just released its financial statement for the first half of 2018, which outlined VND2.065 trillion ($91.4 million) in revenue, slightly down compared to the same period of last year. Of this, the online game segment continues providing the largest proportion of 81.5 per cent, with VND1.682 trillion ($74.4 million) in net revenue, while VNG gained VND313 billion ($13.85 million) from online advertisement revenue, capturing 15.2 per cent and up 31 per cent on-year.
The remaining revenue of VNG in the first half of 2018 came from value-added services on telecommunications networks and internet (VND32.7 billion–$1.45 million), ringtones (VND16.2 billion–$0.72 million), and sales (VND8.4 billion–$0.37 million), which contributed VND38.7 billion ($1.7 million) in the first half of last year.
Meanwhile, the revenue from financial activities was VND74 billion ($3.27 million), but VNG’s costs doubled, and the affiliated company made a loss of VND99 billion ($4.38 million) in the first half. As a result, VNG’s after-tax profit was VND244 billion ($10.8 million), down 58 per cent on-year.
The statement showed that VNG continued pouring money into Tiki, although the e-commerce company has been posting consecutive losses. Specifically, VNG poured around VND384.4 billion ($17 million) into Tiki as of the end of 2017. On April 18, 2018, VNG invested an additional VND121.8 billion ($5.4 million) in Tiki, according to a contract to purchase newly issued shares. Thus, VNG made a total investment of VND506.2 billion ($22.4 million) in Tiki by June 30.
In 2017, VNG recorded a loss of VND219 billion ($9.7 million) from Tiki. In the first half of this year, this loss rose by VND102 billion ($4.5 million). Thereby, the total losses in Tiki reached VND321.2 billion ($14.2 million) as of June 30 and the value of VNG’s investment in Tiki is only VND185 billion ($8.2 million).
Earlier, in early 2016, VNG spent VND384.4 billion ($17 million) to acquire 38 per cent of Tiki, at a share price of VND104,300 ($4.6). At this price, Tiki was evaluated at over VND1 trillion ($44.25 million), making it one of the most valuable startup companies.
At June 30, 2018, VNG’s total assets stood at VND4.364 billion ($193 million), up 1.5 per cent compared to the beginning of the year, including VND2.462 billion ($109 million) of deposits in banks.
Viet Nam’s National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC) has ordered the traffic safety boards of Ha Noi and HCMC and GrabTaxi Viet Nam Co Ltd to regulate and strictly handle Grab riders using mobile phones when riding.
Specifically, the NTSC has requested the traffic safety boards of Ha Noi and HCMC to direct competent forces to intensify patrols to enforce the law against riders using phones indiscriminately on the road, especially those using phones to contact passengers.
The Grab Company is required to strengthen the propaganda of traffic order and safety for its rider and driver partners.
Besides, Grab-registered riders are asked to absolutely not use phones while riding. The Grab will have to consider terminating the contract with those deliberately violating.
In order to meet the needs of people in terms of saving time and transaction costs, as well as the trend of using smartphones nowadays, Grab ride-hailing apps is attracting a lot of people to use as well as register to work as partners, especially Grab Bike service.
However, after a time of operation, Grab partners reportedly often use phones to contact passengers and locate addresses while riding.
“This is an act of violating the land-road traffic order and safety, endangering the safety of road users,” the NTSC asserted.
Under the current law, riders using a hand-held phone while riding motorbikes have to pay a fine of VND100,000-200,000. They also have their riding licences revoked for one to three months.
Grab is one of the most frequently used online-to-offline commerce mobile platforms in Southeast Asia, operating in 195 cities in the region. It is estimated that more than 5 million people use the combined platform daily.
A large number of Koreans have demanded referee Kim Dae-yong to be banned following his poor performance in the Vietnam- United Arab Emirates (UAE) match at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
More than 18,000 people have to date supported a petition posted on the official website of President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, which asks for revoking the Korean referee’s entitlement to lead international matches.
The petition pointed to serious mistakes of Kim in the match, which it said could be noticed with basic knowledge on football. It is collecting public support on the site until October 1.
Many Korean football fans said in the Vietnam-UAE match at the Asian Games 2018 on September 1, the referee was unfair to the Vietnamese Olympic team by neglecting two times UAE players broke the rules, which could grant Vietnam a penalty kick.
Losing to the UAE in the match, Vietnam missed the bronze medal. The game went straight to a penalty shootout after the normal time ended with a 1-1 draw, with Vietnam suffering a 3-4 defeat on the penalty shootout.
As many as 83 traffic accidents took place during the National Day holiday, resulting in 46 deaths and 53 injuries, according to the National Committee for Traffic Safety, reported by Nhu Quynh, Dtinews
This year, Vietnam’s National Day holiday lasted for three days from September 1 to 3. Monday was also a holiday due to the date falling at the weekend.
The National Committee for Traffic Safety reported that on the last day of the holiday, September 3, 33 traffic accidents left 14 people dead and 32 injured.
Compared to 2017 National Holiday, the number of accidents increased by 9 but deaths and injuries dropped by 12 and 3 respectively, the committee said, adding that most of the accidents were caused by over speeding, overloading and reckless driving by motorbike drivers.
Traffic jams occurred on many roads in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on September 1 and 3.
Some photos of the congestion in Hanoi on the afternoon of September 3:
Finally, after a lifelong fascination, a fruitful trip to enjoy all things Vietnamese, from shopping to eating reviewed by Rene Alcala (Inquirer‘s contributor)
Vietnam, a country scarred by blood and fighting in the 1960s, was always an off-the-beaten-track route for tourists. I remember buying old postcards of French colonial buildings in Saigon (the old name of Ho Chi Minh) in a flea market in Vienna in the late ’80s.
As I had the chance to visit other Asian countries, my fascination with Vietnam became more intense, until last December, a friend and I planned a Holy Week getaway.
On our way out of the airport, we exchanged our US dollars for Vietnamese Dong (VND) and became instant millionaires
—the exchange rate was VND 22,370 to a US Dollar, so we got VND 2,237,000 for $100.
It took us 25 minutes to reach Hotel Continental Saigon, a Ho Chi Minh landmark built in the 1880s as a French-style luxury accommodation. It’s centrally located near nice shops, restaurants and hotels, and the beautiful opera house.
The weather was hot but not uncomfortable, and there were trees everywhere. First stop was the post office, done in French colonial architecture style, for sending a postcard to myself, as I do in every city I visit. Inside the building was a cavernous hall with a picture of Ho Chi Minh, father of the socialist republic of Vietnam. Stalls sold souvenir items and postcards. My friend Leo saw a poster for a contemporary ballet performance at the opera house, and we made plans to watch it.
Walking further, we arrived at the glorious monument to Christianity, the Notre Dame Cathedral, built in a neo-Romanesque style with red bricks imported from Marseilles and colored glass windows from Chartres, France. In front of the cathedral was a statue of the Virgin Mary. The cathedral’s two 58-meter-high towers topped with iron spires dominate the city’s skyline.
Baguette
Next on the agenda was filling our grumbling stomachs. We saw a lot of stalls selling banh mi, the local sandwich made with a baguette, the bread of the French colonizers, with grilled pork, vegetables and a special sauce. We ended up in Quan Vietnamese Bistro, a modern restaurant with a good selection. We ordered pork ribs, crispy catfish and the fresh spring rolls found in every Vietnamese menu. The food was very good, and the bill just right.
The next day, we went to the opera house to catch the ballet “The Mist” by Lune Productions. It was about the rice farmers of Vietnam, featuring dance movements accompanied by music played with traditional instruments.
From there we went to look for Layla, a bar-cum-restaurant, with much effort. The entrance was unassuming, and we climbed the fourth floor, bypassing a lady who seemed to have built a cardboard house on one of the landings. Behind a small door, Layla was teeming with young Vietnamese, drinking and chatting.
The next morning was Palm Sunday, and Notre Dame was full. We proceeded to the Fine Arts Museum, housed in a complex of French colonial buildings that used to be owned by a rich Chinese immigrant. The buildings were as beautiful as the artworks from the early 1920s to as late as 2000, contemporary pieces by famous Vietnamese painters. The museum also houses sculptures and ceramics.
Antique Street
We walked to Antique Street (Le Cong Kieu Street), lined with stalls and antique shops from end to end. I drooled over the merchandise from furniture and ceramics to snuff bottles and beads. I settled for a horn snuff bottle that I had always wanted to have while Leo bought some beads.
Halong Bay —LARRY MALLARI
Next was Cho Ben Tanh, their version of a grand bazaar or our very own Divisoria in Manila, where we also had lunch in the market to savor local dishes. In the evening, we went to a rooftop bar overlooking the south of the city, where we drank as the sun set and all the lights came on—including the red brake lights and headlights of the cars.
It was an early morning flight for us the next day to Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam. The weather was very different, windy and cool, and we stayed at La Siesta, a trendy hotel in the old quarter.
The staff was very helpful and attentive, with a great command of English. We went to St. Joseph’s Cathedral, passing all sorts of stores selling all things Vietnamese—fresh meat, vegetables, flowers, coffee, antiques, propaganda posters and T-shirts.
The cathedral was built in 1886, in a style described as resembling Notre Dame in Paris. It was one of the first structures built by the French colonial government in Indochina and is the oldest church in Hanoi. After lighting a candle to give thanks for our visit and pray for our families and friends, we went to a restaurant for a late lunch.
We walked from the old quarter to Hoan Kiem Lake, where people converged to run, talk or just sit on benches. In the center of the lake is the Turtle Tower, standing on a small island. Legend has it that in early 1428, Emperor Le Loi was boating on the lake when a golden turtle god surfaced and asked for his magic sword, which the ruler had used to fight off the Chinese.
Military leader
From the vantage point of the turtle tower, we went to the northern part of the lake, to Jade Island, where the Temple of the Jade Mountain stands. The temple was erected in the 18th century, and honors the 13th-century military leader Tran Hung Dao who distinguished himself in the fight against the Chinese. Jade Island is connected to the lakeshore by Huc Bridge.
Since the temple was teeming with tourists, we opted instead to sit on a bench and wait for a sighting of one of the turtles, which, legend says, brings you luck. Little did we know that the last turtle died in 2016!
We proceeded to a bar in the old quarter, chatting with tourists. Vietnam is a tourist favorite these days because the people are nice, it is safe to walk the streets at night and the food is flavorful.
Façade of The Green Tangerine Restaurant in Hanoi
The next day, we were picked up for our overnight trip to Halong Bay, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site famous for its emerald waters and towering limestone islands. Junk boat tours and sea kayak expeditions take visitors past islands named for their shapes, including Stone Dog and Teapot Islets.
From Hanoi, it’s a four-hour drive to the wharf where you get on your boat, which sails around the 1,500-square kilometer area. We stopped on a beach, climbed an overlook tower, and tried kayaking. From the veranda of our room on the boat, we could see the people enjoying the beach and the climb up the tower.
Dinner was served in the dining room of the boat, and the food was as great as in the finest Vietnamese restaurants in the city. After a good night’s sleep on very calm water, we toured a cave before heading back to the city.
At night, we went to the opera house to see its grandeur, just like the well-lit buildings of Paris by night, with their beautiful and intricate architecture. Walking past Metropole, the grand dame of hotels in Hanoi, we headed to the French quarter for a dinner of regional specialties.
Preserved culture
Walking around the wide open space of the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and its surrounding colonial-style government buildings, my eyes watered at how they preserved their cultural heritage—what a marvelous sight!
At 54 Traditions Antique Store, we were entertained by Mark Rapoport, a New York native who has lived in Hanoi for 17 years. He loved it so much, in fact, he wrote a pamphlet entitled “101 Reasons to Love Living in Hanoi.” He toured us around his five-story antique gallery with everything from clothing to jewelry, ceramics to wooden puppets.
I got myself a prinsa, an old bronze clothes iron much like our old irons in the Philippines, but more intricate. The handle featured a face, complete with a moustache, and etched with lines and curves that resemble clouds. What a find! Wooden masks also caught my eye, some laughing, others frightful. I got one with a smile.
We carried our loot to a late lunch at Green Tangerine restaurant, housed in a 1928 French colonial building, for some Vietnamese-French fusion cooking—asparagus, pumpkin and beetroot seafood soup, five spices and coconut milk served with mushrooms, turnips and potatoes, duck fillet in forest mushroom sauce, sea bass fillet topped with Vietnamese tomatoes and basil sauce, served with a red fruit risotto cooked in balsamic vinegar.
The next day, we headed back to Ho Chi Minh for a night to catch our flight back to Manila. We checked in at Liberty Central Riverside to be beside the Saigon River and dined at Hum Vegetarian Restaurant, where the food was very tasty. We enjoyed a heart of banana blossom salad, a traditional dish in Vietnamese villages.
After eating, we went to Ben Tanh Market to buy pasalubong, including kilos of Vietnamese candies and cashew as big as thumbs—and tasty, too.
Taking a cab to and from your hotel is always a challenge. The reliable ones are Vinasun or Mailihn
In the evening, we went to a rooftop sky bar for our final cocktails in Ho Chi Minh.
We wandered down Buy Vien, a walking street with rows of bars, street food and restaurants with loud music, considered a backpackers’ haven.
For our last dinner, we had soft shell crab with tamarind sauce and spring onions, stir fried noodles and fish with shallot, galangal, fermented rice, turmeric, shrimp paste and fish sauce served in a hot sizzling plate.
Will we visit Vietnam again? Yes, with a capital Y! The people are nice, willing to help, the cuisine is incredible and it’s a good place to explore with friends and family.—CONTRIBUTED
At one of An Nguyen’s old jobs in Hanoi, she had a daily ritual: When she wanted to log in to the computer, she had to answer a cybersecurity question such as “What is spear phishing?” or “How does malware work?”
Nguyen did not work in the technology industry, but this was her employer’s way of making sure that all staff had at least a basic understanding of good cyber awareness.
Vietnam could use more people like Nguyen, according to security professionals. They say the country’s small businesses, in particular, do not realize how big a threat they face from hackers or other sources of data breaches.
“Cybersecurity for us, sometimes we are too confident — or maybe we are ignorant,” Nguyen, who has since started her own business, said regarding Vietnamese apathy toward computer security. “So we don’t care much about that.”
But small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should care, cyber professionals say, especially considering the factors that make security risks even more acute in Vietnam. These include the Southeast Asian country’s widespread use of pirated software, the high internet penetration among a tech-loving society without the IT support to match, and the love-hate relationship with China.
There are two kinds of people, said Vu Minh Tri, vice president of cloud services at the gaming company VNG, deploying a favorite global cliche — those who have been hacked, and those who do not know that they have been hacked.
“There is a very true saying that there is no company, or no organization, or no computer not impacted by malware,” Tri said. “There’s only organizations, computers, or people not aware the computer is impacted. So all are impacted. It’s just a matter of whether you’re aware or not.”
A new wrinkle in the story comes from neighboring China, with some cyber-attacks believed to be related to its Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to connect many countries from Asia to Europe through infrastructure projects. Research from the security firm Fireeye suggests Chinese hackers may be used either to defend Beijing’s partners in the Belt and Road, such as Cambodia, or to target those that do not play ball, like Malaysia.
Vietnam has taken a cautious approach to the initiative, with some scholars expressing concern about risks like burdensome loans and over-reliance on China. The Southeast Asian country also has reason to worry about potential cyber fallout. In one famous case, Chinese internet protocol addresses were suspected in the 2016 hack of Vietnamese airports, where screens displayed messages challenging Hanoi’s claims in the South China Sea.
“In this digital era, Asia Pacific region has become the largest digital market in the world, creating tremendous business opportunities for SMEs,” Jason Kao, director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s SME crisis management center, told small businesses at a Ho Chi Minh City workshop his office sponsored last week.
Cyber security awareness has not kept up with the popularity of internet cafes in Vietnam. (Photo: H. Nguyen / VOA)
But not enough of these small and medium-sized enterprises are paying attention to online security, Kao warned.
“Since more businesses use computers to connect their customers and store data, cyber-attacks and data leaks can cause serious harm,” he said.
The cost burden is understandable, though, he added.
On the one hand, a small business might be too little to attract the unwanted attention of hackers. On the other hand, they might be too small to bear the expense of insuring or guarding against attacks.
“As we talk about cost and benefit, we know that we have to buy insurance contracts, we know that we have to protect ourselves,” Nguyen said. “But we don’t have enough resources.”
That is the reason ripped software remains popular in Vietnam, earning it a spot among countries to watch in the U.S. Trade Representative’s report on intellectual property. Thanks to this pirated software, overseas hackers can access Vietnamese computers, which they use in denial of service attacks – sending so many requests to target websites that the sites become overloaded and shut down.
At the same time Vietnam lacks the information technology specialists who can alleviate some of these dangers. By one estimate, the country could face a shortage of one million IT staffers by 2020.
In the meantime, security advisers offer some basic reminders to increase safety online. Do not click on links, in emails or otherwise, if they are even slightly questionable. Use strong passwords and do not reuse them across different accounts. And of course, avoid pirated software.
Four Vietnamese members of a gang that robbed stores were shot dead by Kedah police in Malaysia early on Aug. 29 after a car chase ended in a shot-out.
At about 4:40am, local police gave chase to a car in Kedah which was speeding towards a highway, The Star reported.
Police instructed the car to pull over but one of the passengers suddenly opened fire and another tried to kill an officer with a parang knife. All four were shot dead and the police suffered no casualties, said Mior Faridalathrash Wahid, the Senior Assistant Commissioner of Kedah police.
The four were identified as Le Quoc Lang, Vu Dac Sinh, Truong Quoc Dat and Truong Van Long. They were believed to be members of a bigger gang – the Tembuk gang – that had been robbing stores throughout Malaysia.
Evidence recovered at the scene included a semi-automatic firearm, ammunition, two parang blades, gloves and other tools.
Police said gang members usually moved between cities and robbed shops that open late at night. Five other members of the gang were tried in a Jitra court last week.
The Red River that dissects Hanoi takes its name from the color of the silt that tints the water.
But maybe there’s another reason for its moniker as this 1,149 km stretch has been the life blood of Vietnam for hundreds of years.
According to an article, written by Paul Kennedy on VNS, in the 19th century it was a lucrative trade route to China and remained the main commercial route between French Indochina and Yunnan Province.
Today cargo ships can be seen carrying goods to and from the many ports dotted along its banks.
But unbeknown to many living in the capital city, the Red River is a place many people call home.
Living in make-shift shelters constructed from just about any items they can scavenge, find or even recover from the river itself, around 25 families live in this floating community.
A man walks across a home-made bridge to get to his floating house.— VNS Photo Nguyen Hieu
Men, women and children crowd into these ‘floating homes’ turning the muddy banks into a growing community.
But ask those who live here if they feel like they are getting a rough deal, then the answer is a resounding yes.
None want to be here but none can afford to be anywhere else.
Their unique way of living has even become somewhat of a tourist attraction, with many visitors cycling down the path in the hope of grabbing a selfie or two with ‘the people who live on the river’.
The residents themselves don’t seem to mind.
Some have even set up shop creating a café under Long Biên Bridge selling refreshments to curious sightseers.
But the money they make from their small enterprises is not enough to provide an escape route from their floating residences.
Đinh Thị Mai has called this area home for two decades. She has raised children on the water and now has grandchildren to look after.
“I raised three children here on my own,” she said, cradling her grandchild.
“It was really tough. I got by with seasonal jobs. I got a cleaning job at the 108 Hospital, and took up any job that was available at that time.”
Two young children play on their ‘house boat’ moored on the banks of Red River. Their family hopes the youngsters can escape and live a better life when they grow up. — VNS Photos Doan Tung
But sadly her grown up children have found themselves falling into the same trap as their mother.
“Life has gotten easier now that my children have grown up,” Mai added.
“But since they did not get a proper education, they cannot get good jobs – only manual work like mowing grass. The boys have taken jobs as porters, and the girls as domestic helpers.”
It is especially tough when one child gets sick. Running water is nonexistent and buying water to bathe can be expensive.
“We don’t know what a hospital is, even when we’re sick,” she added.
“We just go to a drug store and buy medicines when we have headaches or stomachaches. We don’t have money to go to hospitals. It’s unthinkable, and it’s the same for all of us.”
If life is hard most of the year around, it gets tougher when the weather gets bad.
A storm, strong winds or impromptu downpours may be inconvenient to most of us, but for the residents of the Red River they potentially spell disaster.
“We lost a bunch of barrels and got our roofs blown away,” said resident Phạm Thị Thu, as one of her children was busy in the background patching up their home after the latest storm.
“They were all blown away, including ours, and half of our boat was destroyed. We lost a lot of stuff. We’ve tried to recover them.
“We’re poor, but we all spent three to four days fixing stuff so that we can carry on with our lives.”
And really that’s the only option left for those that live here. To just carry on with their lives as best they can.
Nguyen Van Moc’s dreams are simple. He doesn’t want a bottomless pit of cash or a flash car.
“My only wish is to have a house, or a hut,” he said.
“I don’t think much of anything else. Maybe when I get older I might return to my home town. My brother has land there.”
Le Dang Le, vice chairman of Ngoc Thuy Ward People’s Committee in Long Bien District, said they want the people who live there to find a much more stable place to live.
But he knows that’s no easy task.
“The 27 households who live here face many difficulties,” he said.
“From the ward management viewpoint, we see that it also influences the security and environment of the area.
“We want the residents here to be able to find stable places to live instead of living by the river.
“In the future we will focus on re-evaluating the number of people who live here and categorize them in order to find suitable solutions: for people who have homeland then persuading them to return to theirs; with old people who don’t have relatives or home to return to, we will cooperate with the social support centers to shelter them; for those who have jobs, we will find suitable locations for them on land so they have better living conditions.”
There has been help.
A charity has fitted solar panels on many of the roofs to power generators. This may offer light in their rooms but the future still remains bleak, especially for the children.
Today they play on the river banks. Riding their bicycles, holding dolls. One even sings a song to her younger sibling.
To them they know no other way of life. They believe this is just the way life is.
As they grow older with the right direction and support they may find themselves in a better position not to follow in the footsteps of their parents and grandparents before them.
With a little bit of luck they could start and raise families of their own away from the water’s edge. But for now, they remain the next generation of the residents of Red River.
River facts
The source of the Red River is the Hengduan Mountains in Yunnan, China. There it is elevated 1,775 meters above sea level.
It runs through seven Vietnamese provinces before reaching the Gulf of Tonkin.
A number of hydroelectric dams have been constructed along the river.
The Thao River and Lo River are its two chief tributaries.
*Additional reporting by Hồng Vân & Bảo Hoa. | Featured Image by Hachi8
A large number of Koreans have demanded referee Kim Dae-yong to be banned following his poor performance in the Vietnam – United Arab Emirates (UAE) match at the Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
According to report by VNA, more than 25,000 people have to date supported a petition posted on the official website of President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, which asks for revoking the Korean referee’s entitlement to lead international matches.
The petition pointed to serious mistakes of Kim in the match, which it said could be noticed with basic knowledge on football. It is collecting public support on the site until October 1.
Many Korean football fans said in the Vietnam-UAE match at the Asian Games 2018 on September 1, the referee was unfair to the Vietnamese Olympic team by neglecting two times UAE players broke the rules, which could grant Vietnam a penalty kick.
Losing to the UAE in the match, Vietnam missed the bronze medal. The game went straight to a penalty shootout after the normal time ended with a 1-1 draw, with Vietnam suffering a 3-4 defeat on the penalty shootout.
