Your say

The first word I learnt in Vietnam was ‘khong.’ You say it nearly the same as the huge gorilla’s last name, ‘King Kong.’ As any well-experienced traveler knows, knowing how to say ‘no’ is often much more important than ‘yes’! Later you get to learn more, like ‘ok’ instead of yes. ‘Khong mua,’ (moo-a) I don’t want to buy, came in particularly useful as I strolled around Hanoi in the early weeks of my first visit. It seems to me that local people only say yes when they don’t know what to say. “Wow! You look great today!” “Yes…” As I settled in Hoi An five years ago, I started to realize that ‘no’ or asking about possibilities takes on very surreal aspects. Somehow, the idea of suggesting something different to what a menu offered became a comedy routine. “Can I have the baguette with butter and jam instead of a baguette with marmalade?”  … [Read more...] about Saying ‘yes’, ‘no’ the Vietnamese way

Pham Huu Son, a spokesperson for the TEDI-TRICC-TEDISOUTH consortium said the Ministry of Planning and Investment's (MPI) estimate of $26 billion for the North-South high-speed raiway project "has no basis." The MPI's price tag is much lower than the $58.7 billion proposed earlier by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) because of lower speeds at which trains will run and "a more optimized route." The train speed under the MPI’s proposal is 200 kilometers an hour, lower than the 350 kilometers proposed by the MoT. The TEDI-TRICC-TEDISOUTH, comprising three Vietnamese construction firms, has been hired by the MoT as a consultant for the project's pre-feasibility study. Son, also CEO of TEDI, one of the three firms, said the consortium has worked out that a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour proposed by the MPI would only cut track costs by 10 percent and equipment costs by 26 percent.  "We have made detailed calculations for different speeds. There … [Read more...] about Cutting high-speed rail cost by half impossible, says consultancy

  Illustration by Trịnh Lập   By Nguyễn Mỹ Hà   The dreams of millions of Vietnamese people came true on Tuesday night. They had been dreaming for 30 years, or was it 60 as some said? Now it doesn’t matter, as the dreams are reality. The Việt Nam men’s U22 football team won a gold medal at the 30th Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines by defeating Indonesia 3-0 in the final. A popular saying goes ‘phúc bất trùng lai’, which means happiness does not repeat itself, but the men’s victory came just days after the women’s team won their own gold medal at the Games. Double happiness, truly, because despite the fact the women’s football team had won for the sixth time, it was the men’s first triumph. “Though this is the sixth time,” said women’s coach Mai Đức Chung, “I still feel very touched.” Sheer joy and happiness brightened … [Read more...] about Let the Vietnamese spirit soar

  Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director-General for Policy at the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director-General for Policy at the International Labour Organisation, spoke to Viet Nam News reporter Thu Vân about the Vietnamese Government's efforts to change its labour laws in line with requirements on labour rights in free trade agreements it has recently ratified, like the CPTPP and the EVFTA, as well as the challenges ahead in the world of work.  Việt Nam has recently ratified the CPTPP and signed the EVFTA, and these two trade agreements include provisions on labour rights and require the country to make certain changes to its labour laws. Việt Nam has made changes to its labour code, ratified the ILO Convention 98 and plans to ratify Convention 87 on the freedom of association by 2023. How do you evaluate such efforts by the … [Read more...] about Việt Nam making strides in workers’ rights

    Sĩ Đức Quang, 38, from the Hà Nội National University of Education, was the youngest person to become a professor in Viet Nam this year. The maths professor talks with Hà Nguyễn about his upbringing and his love for maths. Inner Sanctum: You were a talented literature student, so how did you end up researching maths? I have been interested in mathematics since I started reading the Journal of Mathematics and Youth in 1997. The mathematical stories and problems attracted me by their beauty, creativity and challenging nature. When I was a student, after learning advanced mathematics, I saw this subject is not only beautiful but also contains philosophy. One of the most important reasons for my interest in mathematics is that this subject is the basis for almost all other natural scientific subjects. I see researching mathematics as really meaningful work. Inner Sanctum: How did you go about mastering mathematics? When I was a … [Read more...] about Professor Sĩ Đức Quang proves if you’re old enough, you’re good enough