New year gifts to Truong Sa island district

The gift, valued at 30 million VND (roughly 1,620 USD), was made in the form of basic necessities such as cookies, candies, sugar and dairy products, beer, tea, etc for the lunar new year celebrations.

This batch of gift is the first to be made in response to the provincial people’s committee’s call for presents to Truong Sa people and soldiers. Other branches and agencies within the province are continuing to collect money and goods for Truong Sa.

The Khanh Hoa Provincial People’s Committee has taken the occasion to earmark 200 million VND for the deed.

On the same day, a fleet of ships carrying gifts of nearly 200 different types from the Navy zone no. 4 left for Truong Sa. Apart from basic necessities such as food, the gifts included branches of peach and apricot trees – the two traditional kinds of planting that are typical for Tet holiday, and entertainment facilities such as sets of Chinese chess, table tennis rackets and volleyballs.

The Truong Sa district People’s Committee also took the occasion to send gifts to families in the two communes of Song Tu Tay and Sinh Ton and Truong Sa town.

Ho Chi Minh City ’s Women Association and Culture Centre have sent a donation worth 180 million VND of televisions, calendars and food to different islands as the lunar new year is approaching.

Quang Trung Emperor’s statue inaugurated in Hue

Thua Thien-Hue (VNA) – A ceremony to inaugurate the statue of Quang Trung Emperor, who defeated Qing dynasty’s 200,000 troops of out of Vietnam in the spring of 1789, was held at the Ban mountain square in the ancient imperial city of Hue on Jan. 9.

The inauguration is one of activities towards the Thang Long-Hanoi millennium anniversary and of major culture activities of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue this year.

The national hero’s 21m high marble statue is made of 18 slabs, weighing 10-60 tonnes each. It was created by sculptor Le Dinh Quy.

Apart from the statue, these are temples dedicated to Emperor Quang Trung, Empress Le Ngoc Han and the mandarins of Tay Son dynasty and a showroom displaying documents and objects from the Tay Son uprising.

The total construction of the statue costs 19.8 billion VND (about 1 million USD).

Right after the inaugural ceremony, a festival to describe the national hero’s coronation was held with the participation of 1,480 artists.

Chief law maker focuses on farmers on Thanh Hoa visit

Thanh Hoa (VNA)- National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Phu Trong has pushed Thanh Hoa province to develop both industry and agriculture and take care of farmers to narrow the gap of development. 

Trong, also Executive Deputy Head of the Party Programme and Political Report Sub-Department, made a fact-finding visit to the central province on January 9-10, in service of the drafting of documents for the Communist Party of Vietnam 11 th Congress slated to take place in January, 2011. 

He urged the province’s key officials to pay attention to restructuring the economy based on local potential and advantages and increasing the efficiency of State-owned enterprises’ operation while encouraging other 
He called on provincial authorities to balance the ties of economic growth and social development and strengthen relations between entrepreneurs and farmers in an effort to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. 

Trong urged Thanh Hoa to tap advantages of a province with the second largest territory and third strongest population to develop harmoniously industry and agriculture. 

The legislative leader visited the poor, remote mountainous village of Ngoc Phung , Thuong Xuan district, home to a large ethnic minority community, and the Cua Dat hydro-power and irrigation project. 

He made a trip to the VEAM automaker and the Lam Son Sugarcane Joint-Stock Company to investigate the model of partnership between the company and sugar-cane farmers in Cam Chau village, Cam Thuy district. 

Thanh Hoa has managed to record an annual economic growth of 9.8 percent in the 1991-2009 period and a per-capita income of 720 USD in 2009, representing an increase of 2.5 fold over 2000.

Deputy PM highlights science and technology in national development

Hanoi (VNA) – Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung has affirmed the role of science and technology sector in the national socio-economic development. 

Addressing a ceremony to mark the 50 th founding anniversary of the Ministry of Science and Technology in Hanoi on Jan. 10, Deputy PM Hung said that the Party and State always consider science and technology together with education and training as a top priority, a motive force for national socio-economic development and a necessity for maintaining national independence and successfully building socialism. 

National industrialisation and modernisation must be implemented by and based on science and technology, he said, adding that science and technology has become a direct production force in the national economy 

The Deputy PM urged the science and technology sector to forecast well the development of science and technology in and outside the country and join the science and social humanities to search for solutions to the nation’s challenges. 

The sector should develop its researches and apply them in production, he said. 

On this occasion, the ministry was bestowed with the Gold Star Order, the State’s highest distinction, in recognition of its outstanding achievements in helping the Party and State to manage science and technology activities as well as its important contributions to national construction and defence.

Vice State President stresses OV links to nation

Hai Phong (VNA) – Overseas Vietnamese community is an indispensable part of the Vietnamese nation and an important factor in promoting friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries, said Vice State President Nguyen Thi Doan.

The vice president emphasised their contributions to the national development at a meeting in the northern port city of Hai Phong on Jan. 10 to mark the day when late President Ho Chi Minh welcomed 992 Vietnamese expatriates returning to the homeland 50 years ago. 

She called on them to unite, instill patriotism in their minds, place trust in the Party and contribute to building a strong and prosperous Vietnamese nation. 

On this occasion, two licences were granted to overseas Vietnamese –invested projects on an overseas Vietnamese village and an international hospital in Hai Phong.

Expatriate representatives presented 6,000 GBP to the children’s heart fund and more than 500 million VND to construction of houses for the poor and schools for impaired-vision kids.

BUSINESS

Kumquat, peach tree growers expect bumper crop

Hanoi (VNA) – Peach and kumquat growers in Hanoi are looking forward to a bumper crop as the weather has become rather cold, with the occasional warm day during the years-end. 

Although the Tet (Lunar New Year) festival is still to come, the kumquat fields have started to turn yellow while the red peach blossoms are in bud. Many owners of peach orchards in Nhat Tan have gathered their ornamental trees together and are waiting for buyers. 

Almost every grower in Nhat Tan and Tu Lien, Hanoi’s largest peach and kumquat growing area, seems to be excited. Dao, who owns over 400 peach trees in Nhat Tan, said that many perennial peach trees with a good shape and big buds have been bought in advance, some even for a price of nearly 30 million VND. Meanwhile, the prices of peach branches will range from between 50,000 VND to 400,000 VND each. 

According to Tuan Viet, the owner of a peach garden in Au Co Street , besides the Nhat Tan-trademarked peach, a new kind of peach which is a cross between the Nhat Tan and wild peach is also extremely popular with customers. Around 20 households in Nhat Tan Ward have applied new technologies, which should hopefully lead to more efficiency. 

The same busy atmosphere has been seen in kumquat orchards. Lien, who has a kumquat orchard in Tu Lien village, confirmed a bumper kumquat crop as his 200 kumquat trees have produced large fruit with green leaves and nice shapes. “Dry weather and an average temperature of 20 degrees Celsius as it is now is very suitable for kumquat trees,” he said. 

Despite expectations of a better crop for peach and kumquat trees this year, a lot of orchard owners claim that the price of ornamental trees at Tet will hardly increase or only see a small rise of 10 percent or so compared to the previous festival. 

According to Dao, the majority of his customers usually buy peach trees according to their tastes and hobbies. “Therefore, my prices cannot follow the upward trend in market prices”, he said, adding that “I want to keep my prices the same or maybe just put them up a little bit compared to last year to please my regular customers.” At present, his peach trees are sold at between 2-7 million VND each. 

Many other growers in Nhat Tan and Tu Lien say that the prices of peach and kumquat trees this Tet will not rise sharply because there are large numbers of trees flooding into the capital from neighbouring provinces. 

In addition, due to difficulties caused by the global economic crisis, people will be more careful about their spending and limit their purchases, so raising prices will deter customers.

With over a month left until Tet arrives, several families have already decorated their houses with kumquat and peach trees to enjoy the warm atmosphere of New Year a little bit earlier.

Coal group launches electricity firm

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam National Coal and Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) on Jan. 10 launched an electricity company which is expected to produce 20 percent of the national electric power by 2025.

With a chartered capital of 6.8 trillion VND (367.2 million USD), the new electricity company is permitted to invest, construct and operate hydro and thermo-power plants as well as power generators using new and renewable energy resources and regulate electricity grids. 

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade and President of Vinacomin’s executive board, Le Duong Quang, said the company was founded in response to the policy of promoting multi-sector business based on the group’s traditional production of coal.

The move is aimed at increasing the value of coal products exploited by Vinacomin and expected to contribute to ensuring the national energy security, he added.

At present, Vinacomin manages and operates 23 electricity projects with a total designed capacity of 13,169MW, of which two generators – the Na Duong and Cao Ngan thermo-power plants - are for commercial electricity production.