Nominees and winners golden globes 2018

A tour around emerald-green Nghe An, Vietnam’s largest province

March 1, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

The largest province in Vietnam, about 16,490 square kilometers in size , Nghe An adjoins Thanh Hoa Province to the north and Ha Tinh Province to the south, bordering Laos to the west and the ocean to the east.

An said he had not returned to Nghe An for nearly a decade, with his trip late last year reminding him of the province’s many beautiful, pristine landscapes he has yet to discover.

Lam River flows past Khe Bu Village near Pu Mat National Park in Con Cuong District.

The village is inhabited by the Dan Lai ethnic minority who keep both their natural surroundings and lifestyle intact.

A small corner of Khe Bu Village, where tourists can experience the rustic lifestyle of the Dan Lai.

Nowadays, as the smallest ethnic minority in Nghe An, the Dan Lai reside solely in the mountains bordering Laos.

Once upon a time, it is said, after a local committed a terrible crime, the king penalized the village, forcing its inhabitants to seek refuge in the dense forest where they slept upright to evade danger.

Leaving the village, An crossed the Pha Lai suspension bridge. Late in the afternoon, he caught a group of locals crossing the bridge on their way home after a day working in the nearby rice fields.

Located on the Ho Chi Minh trail near the border with Laos, the Thanh Chuong tea hills in Nghe An, 330 kilometers south of Hanoi, has an unusual setting.

More than 50 years ago, a dam was built here to irrigate more than 700 hectares of rice fields in Thanh An and Thanh Thinh communes of Thanh Chuong District. Three years ago, local farmers began growing green tea. Now there are nearly 200 households growing tea across more than 400 hectares.

Tea estates in Moc Chau, Thai Nguyen and Da Lat can be visited on foot, but those in the Thanh Chuong hills are only accessible by boat.

Rice fields in Cam Son Commune of Anh Son District reflect a resplendent golden yellow.

The ideal time to visit Nghe An is either March-April or November-December, with flowers blooming throughout the province, especially sunflowers.

June and July are referred to as the Foehn-wind period, pushing the daily temperature up to 45 degrees Celsius.

Visitors to Nghia Dan District will notice many fields similar to the above covering hundreds of hectares, the ones with red soil used to cultivate flowers, and the green ones, to grow feed for dairy cows.

A picturesque road in Nghia Dan District hugging Lam River.

Phu Quy flower valley located close to Ho Chi Minh Road in Nghia Dan District covers dozens of hectares. On weekends and holidays, this place welcomes between 1,000 – 1,500 visitors, including avid photographers, per day.

Chung Son Temple was inaugurated in May 2020, dedicated to the worship of President Ho Chi Minh’s family.

The temple is located on sacred Chung Mountain in Lien Son Commune, Nam Dan District, the hometown of the president.

Privately-run program sponsors free IVF treatment for infertile couples in Vietnam

February 19, 2019 by tuoitrenews.vn

Dozens of children in Vietnam have been born to infertile parents under a program that pays for the costs of the expensive in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for low-income couples who struggle to conceive naturally.

The annual program, known as ‘Uom mam hanh phuc’ (Sowing Happiness), was launched in 2014 by Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, who spearheaded the introduction of IVF treatment in Vietnam in the late 1990s.

Each year, organizers select from hundreds of applications and provide financial as well as medical support to some dozen couples who need help the most.

Selected couples are sponsored for all steps of a standard IVF treatment, which is a process of fertilizing an egg with sperm outside of the body.

This treatment involves monitoring and stimulating a woman’s ovulatory process, removing ova from the woman’s ovaries, letting sperm fertilize them in a laboratory, and implanting the resultant embryo in the female’s uterus.

A couple plays with their child born through in vitro fertilization sponsored by a program that supports infertile couples in Vietnam. Photo: Huu Thuan / Tuoi Tre

According to Dr. Dang Quang Vinh, deputy director of My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City that provides the treatment, selected couples will have all their medical costs covered, including those of storing unused embryos, which can be accessed for future IVF attempts.

Under this program, each couple can save up to VND80-100 million (US$3,500 – 4,300) per attempt.

As of the time of writing, 80 children have been born to parents who underwent IVF treatment sponsored by the program, while six mothers are expected to give birth through IVF treatment soon.

This year, on its fifth annual call for candidates, the program has received 621 applications from infertile couples from across the country and selected 167 satisfying all criteria laid out by the organizers.

“As our funds are limited, we have no choice but to give priority to couples who are in most dire need of financial support,” said Dr. Vinh said.

Dr. Dang Quang Vinh, vice-director of My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Huu Thuan / Tuoi Tre

The program is funded by donations from My Duc General Hospital employees and philanthropists. In 2017, VND2.7 billion ($116,000) was raised from these donations to help 33 couples selected for the fourth edition of the program.

“It pains us every time we have to reject an application,” he said.

The birth of ‘Treasure’

Hoang Van Hung, 36, and his wife Huynh Kim Hue, 29, who live in a small house in District 12, Ho Chi Minh City, were one of the 86 couples who were blessed with a child after being chosen for the program.

The couples’ dream of having a child became more and more far-fetched as they still struggled to conceive years after getting married.

Hue managed to get pregnant after their first attempt at seeking medical intervention by manually inserting her husband’s semen into her uterus, but their unborn child was pronounced dead by doctors eight weeks into her pregnancy.

After spending some time getting over the shock of their first child’s death, Hung and Hue sought help from private clinics multiple times to no avail.

Huynh Kim Hue plays with her first child born through in vitro fertilization sponsored by a program that supports infertile couples in Vietnam. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

Financially exhausted, the couple decided to apply for the third edition of the ‘Uom mam hanh phuc’ program and got selected to undergo free IVF treatment at My Duc General Hospital.

It was Dr. Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan, Dr. Phuong’s daughter, who implanted the lab-cultured embryo into Hue’s uterus.

The couple’s happiness doubled when the first ultrasound result came out, showing that Hue had conceived twin babies.

However, one of the babies was pronounced dead after only 11 weeks.

Following this incident, Hung told Hue to refrain from all labor activities and to spend her days watching comedies to stay in a good mood.

Hue gave birth to the remaining twin on October 15, 2016 after 37 weeks of pregnancy. The couple had asked doctors to perform a C-section three weeks earlier than the expected date for fear of another miscarriage.

“It was only after hearing our child’s first cries that we could breathe a sigh of relief,” Hung said.

“It was a special moment that we wouldn’t ever be able to forget.”

A medical worker tends to the first child of Hoang Van Hung and Huynh Kim Hue after the boy is delivered at the My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on October 15, 2016 in this photo provided by the couple.

A medical worker tends to the first child of Hoang Van Hung and Huynh Kim Hue after the boy is delivered at My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City on October 15, 2016 in this photo provided by the couple.

They named their first child Bao Lam, which translates as ‘treasure of the forest.”

Now pregnant with her second child through IVF treatment, Hue said she and her husband could finally put an end to their restless search for a child which they had thought was without any hope.

Renewed hope

According to a 2018 research conducted on 14,300 married couples in Vietnam, 7.7 percent of the couples who were in childbearing age suffered from infertility.

The research estimated that around one million couples nationwide were infertile, half of which were under the age of 30.

Although the figure is not high when compared to the average global infertility rate of 6-12 percent as per WHO statistics, Dr. Phuong said it is alarming due to the fact that unhealthy lifestyles contribute much to infertility in Vietnam.

Heavy smoking and drinking habits affect one’s ability to conceive naturally, she added.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, former director of the Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phuong, former director of Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

More than 20 years since the first child was born through IVF in Vietnam in 1998, tens of thousands of children have been born thanks to this medical technique, Dr. Phuong said.

“Although the cost of IVF treatment in Vietnam is the lowest in the world, it’s still a huge expenditure for low-income couples,” Dr. Phuong said.

“If [all infertile couples in Vietnam] get access to free IVF treatment, around 70 percent of them will be able to conceive,” she added.

Dr. Phuong expressed her hope that IVF treatment will soon become available in each of Vietnam’s 63 provinces and municipalities so patients can cut down on their traveling and accommodation expenses.

An infertile patient undergoes medical checkup at the My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

An infertile patient undergoes a medical checkup at My Duc General Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duyen Phan / Tuoi Tre

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Vietnam – UK free trade agreement takes new step for bilateral ties

December 11, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – A trade deal in place will help ensure continuity in trade relations between the UK and Vietnam after Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020.

Vietnam and the UK today [December 11] officially concluded the negotiation process for the UK – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA).

Overview of the signing ceremony. Source: MoIT.

The agreed minutes on the conclusion of the free trade agreement negotiation were signed by Vietnam’s Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh and the UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss in Hanoi.

“The agreed minutes signed today is a first major step towards the signing of the UKVFTA in the coming time,” stated Mr. Anh.

The Vietnam minister said both sides started the negotiation process for the deal since August 2018.

As the UK is set to leave the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) after the Brexit’s transitional period ends on December 31, 2020, a new FTA between Vietnam and the UK will help ensure the continuity in bilateral trade relations.

On her part, UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said the UKVFTA is a milestone for the country to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which remains a priority for the UK government next year.

The fact that most of the clauses stipulated in the UKVFTA are similar to those in the EVFTA, significantly shortening the negotiation process for the two sides.

Mr. Anh suggested with the UKVFTA, Vietnam will hold advantages compared to regional countries such as China, India, Thailand, or Malaysia, those do not have a similar deal in place with the UK.

Vietnam is set to have more opportunities in attracting investment capital, technology transfer, and tourists from the UK once the Covid-19 is rolled back, while the deal presages positive outlook for the Vietnam – UK relations on the occasion of 10 ^th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership.

Under the UKFTA commitments, six years since the coming into effect of the deal, the UK will remove import tariffs for 99.2% of goods imported from Vietnam, or 99.7% of Vietnam’s exports to the country.

The EU in its EVFTA with Vietnam provides the tariff rate quotas (TRQs) with 0% tariff rate for certain imported products. The UK, meanwhile, is set to review actual trade figure with Vietnam during the 2014-16 period to make a similar decision.

On the other hand, Vietnam will immediately remove tariff for 48.5% of goods from UK, or 64.5% of import turnover. The figure is set to rise to 91.8% or 97.1% of UK exports to Vietnam in six years.

The UK is Vietnam’s third largest trade partner in Europe, behind Germany and the Netherlands.

In 2019, Vietnam’s exports to the UK reached US$6.1 billion, the country imported nearly US$800 million worth of goods and products in return.

As of August 2020, the UK has 400 valid projects in Vietnam with total investment capital of US$3.6 billion, ranking 16 ^th among countries and territories having investment projects in Vietnam.

Vietnam willing to share experience with UK on CPTPP accession

September 19, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The UK looks to focus on trade with the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam.

As a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Vietnam is willing to share its experience on CPTPP accession with the UK, said Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: MOFA

At the ministry’s regular press conference on September 17, the spokesperson stressed that the CPTPP is a high-quality free trade agreement with comprehensive commitments to promoting economic-trade cooperation among member countries and trade liberalization towards open and rules-based trade in the region.

She underlined that CPTPP member countries have adopted procedures for joining the pact, and economies interested in the pact should meet its high standards and follow admission process.

Earlier, on September 9, the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) announced that the UK has taken a major step in the process of joining CPTPP.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss, alongside the current chair of the CPTPP Commission, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Márquez, opened discussions between senior UK trade officials and Chief Negotiators from all 11 members of the Partnership to discuss potential UK’s incorporation into the deal.

This is the first time the UK has met with Chief Negotiators from all 11 members of the Partnership to discuss UK admission, and the first time CPTPP members have had such a discussion with a country seeking membership since the Partnership was created in 2018.

The UK has held preparatory conversations with all CPTPP members. If the UK decides to apply, it will enter into a formal accession negotiation with all member states.

This meeting follows major progress in negotiations between the UK and Japan, the beginning of negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, and the resumption of negotiations with Canada, as the UK looks to focus on trade with the dynamic Asia-Pacific region. CPTPP membership also provides an opportunity to expand trade links with key partners in the Americas.

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement among Canada, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Once fully implemented, the 11 countries will form a trading bloc representing 495 million consumers and 13.5% of global GDP, according to the Canadian government. If the UK were to join, that share of global GDP would rise to about 16%.

The UK left the European Union early this year but the main terms of its membership remain in place during a transition period until the end of this year. Both the UK and EU hope to negotiate a new free trade deal between them by the end of the year, according to Reuters.

On August 6, the CPTPP Commission’s third meeting ended with the approval of a ministerial joint statement reiterating the members’ commitment to back trade liberalization, and multilateral trade. The next meeting of the CPTPP Commission is scheduled for 2021 in Japan.