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The 2020 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI 2020) report, which surveyed around 15,000 across 416 communes and 208 districts of all 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam, ranked the four cities among the 16 localities with the lowest index score for Environmental Governance.

These cities, along with Can Tho in Mekong Delta, are the five cities administered centrally in Vietnam and considered the country’s most important localities.

On a scale of 1 to 10, Hanoi scored 2.96, Ho Chi Minh City 2.82, Hai Phong 3.1 and Da Nang 3.14.

Areas with the lowest environment score are the Red River Delta and the southeast region, where many industrial parks are gathered. Among those with low scores are Binh Duong that neighbors HCMC; Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Thai Nguyen and Vinh Phuc provinces in the north; Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands that is home to the resort town of Da Lat and Khanh Hoa Province on the central coast, home to tourist hub Nha Trang.

Of all cities and provinces in Vietnam, Dong Thap of Mekong Delta is the only one to score higher than average, at 5.2.

In the Environmental Governance category, local residents are surveyed via indicators on air quality and water quality in their vicinity.

They are also asked whether they had learned about cases in which businesses in their localities have got in bed with authorities to avoid their environment protection responsibilities.

Hanoi and HCMC, along with Lam Dong and the northern provinces of Hung Yen, Ha Nam and Phu Tho, scored lowest in the “air quality” indicator.

In the survey conducted by the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, an umbrella organization of all political and social groups in Vietnam, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), each respondent had been asked to spend 45-60 minutes answering questions in different fields to evaluate governance capacity of local authorities.

Since 2011, PAPI has been providing data on six key indicators of government performance, which are Control of Corruption in the Public Sector, Participation at Local Levels, Transparency in Local Decision Making, Vertical Accountability Towards Citizens, Public Administrative Procedures, and Public Service Delivery.

Since 2018, the index added two new indicators, Environmental Governance and E-Governance.

Nguyen Huu Dung, vice chairman of the Central Committee of Vietnam Fatherland Front, said the survey works as a foundation to evaluate the efficiency of each city and province for policymakers so they could make suitable and timely adjustments.

“Report findings have increasingly been used by the legislative National Assembly and government, becoming a fair indicator that holds a certain position in the public opinion to serve renovation and provision of public services,” he said.

Ho Chi Minh City-based Tre Publishing House has recently released a series of colored picture books featuring Vietnamese history in both Vietnamese and English.

The series titled ‘A History of Vietnam in Pictures’ consists of eight books showcasing Vietnamese history through the periods of the Hung Kings, the Trung Sisters, Emperor Ngo Quyen, the Early Le, the Ly, the Tran, the Later Le as well as featuring three national heroes including Ly Thuong Kiet, Tran Hung Dao, and Nguyen Trai.

The series, which is part of the activities to mark the publisher’s 40th birthday, is intended to “match the standard of similar publications in the English-speaking world,” with the production team aiming for a modern yet authentic layout, as well as high visual impact, to be achieved through a sizable format of 19x24cm, hard cover, and four colors printed on thick paper.

The English translation was done by the British-Vietnamese duo Patrick and Mai Barry under the requirement to maintain a natural style of storytelling in English whilst staying faithful to the original Vietnamese content.

A supplied photo captures some pages of a book in the series ‘A History of Vietnam in Pictures’ released by Ho Chi Minh City-based Tre Publishing House.

The newly-released books are a facelift to a namesake original black and white collection first published in 1997 in the hope of developing a new approach for children’s history books through pictures.

The initiative was spearheaded by the late scholar Tran Bach Dang and brought together a team of artists from the University of Fine Arts and University of Architecture in Ho Chi Minh City, as well as researchers from the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Social Sciences for a collaboration with the publisher’s editors.

The first book in the black and white collection was released in 2001, and so far 53 books have been introduced.

“We already had lots of Vietnamese history books in texts while there had not been so many books in pictures,” said artist Nguyen Trung Tin, a representative from the books’ production team.

“And we wanted to do that.

“It was tough at the beginning, but after a long road we have been through with the very passionate painters, we now have a collection of Vietnamese history books in pictures.”

Meanwhile, Tre Publishing House’s acting director Duong Thanh Truyen expressed his hope “that readers who have loved the old series will go on to enjoy the color edition.”

“We also look forward to welcoming readers who are new to the series,” he said.

“Together we will bring the stories of Vietnamese history to more Vietnamese children, not just in Vietnam but elsewhere in the world.”

‘A History of Vietnam in Pictures’ can be bought directly at the publisher’s booth at Nguyen Van Binh Book Street in District 1 or its official store at 157 Ly Chinh Thang in District 3, as well as other bookstores of Fahasa, Ca Chep, and Phuong Nam across Vietnam.

Also, the series can be purchased online through e-commerce sites such as Tiki, Fahasa Online, and Shopee.

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The Ministry of Health reported two new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday morning, both of whom are imported cases, which makes Wednesday so far the 40th day without any new local transmission detected in Vietnam.

The two new cases, dubbed patients No. 2,706 and 2,707, had been quarantined right after their arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

Patient 2,706, aged 37, from District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, reached Tan Son Nhat on April 3 after a flight from Qatar.

The patient tested positive for COVID-19 while in quarantine and was transferred to the Cu Chi Makeshift Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City for treatment.

Meanwhile, Patient 2,707, 21, from Son Tay Town of Hanoi, landed at Tan Son Nhat on April 10 on flight OZ735 from Japan, which also dropped in at a South Korean airport.

The patient tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday and is also receiving treatment at the Cu Chi Makeshift Hospital.

The two new transmissions brought the total COVID-19 caseload of Vietnam to 2,717, with 910 cases detected since the latest outbreak transpired on January 27.

The country’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 35, while 2,445 have recovered from the disease.

On Monday, the northern province of Bac Ninh became the first locale to roll out the second phase of Vietnam’s free vaccination campaign, with more than provinces and cities to follow suit this week.

The Southeast Asian country aims to immunize 70 percent of its population and has so far inoculated over 60,000 people since the first vaccine rollout, which started in early March.

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