By Viet Anh  October 3, 2019 | 08:25 pm GMT+7 Stacks of Vietnamese cash at a commercial bank in Vietnam. Photo by VnExpress/Le Chi. A report saying Vietnam tops a list of countries by dollar value in illicit inflows is ‘inaccurate’, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said Thursday. Le Thi Thu Hang was responding to a request for comments on a January report by Washington DC-based think tank Global Financial Integrity, which said Vietnam tops the list of countries ranked by dollar value of illicit inflows in the 2006-2015 period at $22.5 billion. For the last several years, Vietnam has implemented many methods to build and complete legal frameworks, to apply international standards and abide by international recommendations and commitments to stop money laundering, Hang said at a press meeting. The Vietnamese government is clearly aware of the negative impacts of this phenomenon on the society and economy, she added. The country has the requisite legal … [Read more...] about Vietnam rejects money laundering report as ‘inaccurate’
Vietnam
As Vietnam’s middle class expands, dog meat consumption shrinks
In all his 52 years, Tuan had never thought a day would come when he would consider closing his dog meat restaurant in Long Bien district, Hanoi. For the last several years, sales have dropped. From selling up to 20 dogs per day several years ago, Tuan only sells three. Most importantly, his children hate his job. "My wife and I have run this for years, I don’t know why people are giving up dog meat now, we have been eating it for a long time," Tuan said. The restaurant has been running for more than 20 years and has been the family’s breadwinner. Tuan does not know what he would do if has to close it. Sociologists and other experts say several factors have led to the drop in consumption of dog meat, for long a normal practice in the country. One of them is an increase in pet ownership that has followed a rise in incomes and living standards. The increased affection for animals, dogs in particular has led to a reduction in people seeing canines as food. Emotional support … [Read more...] about As Vietnam’s middle class expands, dog meat consumption shrinks
Vietnam leader wants Party to consider East Sea issues
By Hoang Thuy  October 8, 2019 | 10:56 am GMT+7 Vietnam's party chief Nguyen Phu Trong at the opening of the 11th plenum of the 12th Central Committee of Vietnam's Communist Party, October 7, 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Nhat Bac. Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has called on the Central Committee to “analyze the situation in the East Sea” and prepare for “possible challenges.” Trong, who is also the country’s president, was speaking Monday morning at the ongoing 11th plenary meeting of the committee, the highest authority within the Communist Party of Vietnam. He also said the committee has to foresee what could happen in the coming time in the East Sea, also known as the South China Sea, to get the nation "prepared for possible opportunities and challenges." Earlier this month foreign ministry spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang said Vietnam is in the process of verifying reports that a Chinese deepwater oil rig has been deployed in the East … [Read more...] about Vietnam leader wants Party to consider East Sea issues
Vietnam to enjoy 7-day Lunar New Year break
By Hoang Thuy  October 8, 2019 | 09:01 pm GMT+7 Foreign tourists watch a lion dance at the Thien Hau Pagoda in Ho Chi Minh City on the Lunar New Year 2019. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen. The upcoming Tet will be a seven-day holiday that will start January 23, 2020, two days before the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Mouse will begin January 25 next year. Government offices and state-owned companies will close for seven days from January 23 to 29. Schools and other businesses across the country usually follow the same break as government offices. This option is one of the two seven-day options proposed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs last August. Under the second option, the holiday would have started on January 24, a day before Tet, and run until January 30, the sixth day of the new lunar year. But the ministry said this option would not give migrant workers enought to travel home. Vietnam got a nine-day break for the last Tet festival … [Read more...] about Vietnam to enjoy 7-day Lunar New Year break
Vietnam mulls shutting down 2G network in 2022
By Nguyen Ha  October 9, 2019 | 11:16 am GMT+7 A farmer talks on a cell phone on a rice paddy field outside Hanoi, Vietnam, July 3, 2017. Photo by Reuters/Kham. Vietnam is planning to shut down its 2G network as a technology no longer suitable for advancing the nation’s telecom sector. Under a roadmap currently being considered by the Ministry of Information and Communications, the shut down process would be initiated on January 1, 2022. 2G, short for second-generation cellular technology, is capable of providing wide network coverage and enables mobile phone users to make or receive phone calls in many areas across the world. The technology, however, does not let users download data, emails or access the internet. According to the ministry, the 2G trend is dying out and is increasingly being replaced by more advanced technologies. In Vietnam, the telecommunications networks are already employing three different technologies: GSM (2G) which was deployed in … [Read more...] about Vietnam mulls shutting down 2G network in 2022
