Outstanding domestic events last week

(Baonghean.vn) - Opening of the 4th Conference of the 12th Party Central Committee; Three Chinese nuclear power plants located near Vietnam; Proposal to increase retirement age to 60 and 62; Floods in the Central region causing heavy damage to people and property;.... are the outstanding events in the country last week.

1 - The fourth conference of the 12th Party Central Committee

Panorama of the opening ceremony of the Conference. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

Implementing the working program of the entire term, on the morning of October 9, the fourth meeting of the 12th Party Central Committee solemnly opened in Hanoi. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the meeting.

At this Conference, the Central Executive Committee discussed and gave opinions on the socio-economic situation in 2016, the planned socio-economic development plan for 2017; a number of major guidelines and policies to innovate the growth model, improve growth quality, labor productivity, and economic competitiveness; effectively implement the international economic integration process, maintain socio-political stability in the context of our country participating in new-generation free trade agreements; strengthen Party building and rectification, prevent and repel the degradation of political ideology, ethics, lifestyle, manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party and a number of other important issues.

Speaking at the opening of the Conference, on behalf of the Politburo and the Secretariat, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong suggested a number of important contents for the Central Committee to discuss, consider and decide.

2 - Conference to deploy the national target program for the period 2016-2020.

The Prime Minister said that support should be provided to help people escape poverty on their own instead of just giving it away for free.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc assessed that poverty reduction work has been highly effective when in 1993 the whole country had 58% poor households, but by 2015 it had reduced to 4.25% according to the old criteria. If calculated according to the multidimensional poverty standard, by the end of 2015, the poverty rate was 9.88%, equivalent to about 2.33 million households. The Prime Minister affirmed that this result was thanks to the leadership of the Party, the management of the State, and the strengthening of people's trust in the leadership of the Party.

Drawing on experience in poverty reduction over the past five years, the Prime Minister noted that some localities still have inaccurate identification of poor households, and confirmation of poor households in a “rotational” manner. Some local officials even abuse poverty reduction policies, affecting the nature of poverty reduction efforts. Among them, there are cases where officials have income but declare themselves as poor households to receive support.

To help the poor escape poverty sustainably, the Prime Minister said that it is necessary to provide support so that people can escape poverty themselves instead of just giving it away.

3 - Launching the movement "Vietnamese enterprises integrate and develop"

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Vice President Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh presented the Thanh Giong Cup to outstanding entrepreneurs.

On the evening of October 11, in Hanoi, the Central Emulation and Reward Council held a ceremony to launch the emulation movement with the theme "Vietnamese Enterprises Develop and Integrate"; awarding the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneurs in 2016.

Speaking at the launch of the emulation movement, on behalf of the Government and the Central Emulation and Reward Council, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc stated: Currently, Vietnam has nearly 600,000 operating enterprises, and in the past nine months alone, there have been more than 91,000 newly established enterprises. This is a positive signal, demonstrating that the Government's policy of improving the investment and business environment, encouraging start-ups, innovation, and enterprise development has gradually come into life, creating confidence in business, striving to have more than one million enterprises nationwide by 2020, with a strong improvement in the quality of operations.

At the ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Party and State leaders awarded the title of Outstanding Vietnamese Entrepreneur of 2016 and the Thanh Giong Cup to 100 outstanding entrepreneurs in international development and integration.

4 - Workshop on the context and possibilities of wage reform

Scientific workshop on the context and possibilities of wage reform.

On the afternoon of October 12, the Ministry of Home Affairs organized a scientific workshop on the context and possibilities of salary reform. The workshop aimed to perfect the salary policy for cadres, civil servants, public employees and armed forces according to Conclusion No. 63 of the 7th Central Conference (11th term) on "Some issues on reforming salary policy, social insurance, preferential allowances for meritorious people and reform orientations until 2020".

Opinions at the workshop said that wage policy affects the motivation of workers and the general minimum wage cannot be used as a basis for calculating wages for cadres, civil servants, public employees and armed forces. Starting from the minimum wage does not solve the problem because when the minimum wage increases, the deductions based on wages also increase. Increasing the minimum wage is not based on increasing labor productivity but on forecasting GDP growth and consumer price index, tying the minimum wage to the social security system creates pressure on both businesses and the state budget, while workers' income does not really improve.

5- Three Chinese nuclear power plants located near Vietnam

Location of three Chinese nuclear power plants near the Vietnamese border.

In response to the recent operation of three Chinese nuclear power plants near Vietnam, the Ministry of Science and Technology said it would negotiate with this country on early warning in case of incidents, and install several monitoring stations in the area.

Three nuclear power plants in southern China have just entered commercial operation, including the 1,000 MW Fangcheng (Guangxi), the 600 MW Changjiang (Guangdong) and the 650 MW unit of Shuangjiang (Hainan Island). These plants are all located near the northern border of Vietnam, the closest is Fangcheng, only 50 km from Mong Cai, Quang Ninh, and less than 500 km from Hanoi.

Although it is a new generation of safe technology, the construction of many nuclear power plants in China, especially the plan to develop in the area adjacent to Vietnam, has made many domestic experts worried. According to a nuclear safety expert, nuclear accidents are very dangerous because they spread radiation over a large area. Therefore, Vietnam needs to strengthen monitoring and provide timely solutions when an accident occurs, and at the same time have a mechanism for regular exchange with China.

6 - Will propose to increase retirement age to 60 and 62

Illustration.

Mr. Pham Minh Huan - Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs confirmed that the proposal to increase the retirement age was raised again in the revision and supplement of the Labor Code and is expected to be submitted to the National Assembly in 2017. According to Mr. Huan, this draft is being consulted by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs with experts and related units at seminars and posted on the website of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

It is expected that the retirement age for cadres, civil servants and public employees will be increased from 55 to 60 years old for women and from 60 to 62 years old for men. The reason for the proposal to increase the retirement age given by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs is to avoid "social insurance fund bankruptcy" and the aging population of Vietnam.

Previously on October 4, at the regular Government press conference in September 2016, answering the question about the Government's viewpoint on the proposal to raise the retirement age of workers, Minister - Head of the Government Office Mai Tien Dung also emphasized: "Raising the retirement age of workers is an inevitable trend and is being implemented by many countries. The retirement age in our country has been regulated and maintained for a long time, and up to now, many factors have changed, including the health and life expectancy of the people being raised (over 73 years old)".

7 - Recognition of 703 titles of professor and associate professor in 2016

703 teachers were recognized with the titles of professor and associate professor in 2016.

The Chairman of the State Council for Professor Titles signed Decision No. 55/QD-HDCDGSNN recognizing the achievement of standards for the titles of professor and associate professor in 2016.

According to this Decision, in the 2016 recognition period, the whole country has 65 teachers recognized as meeting the standards for the title of professor, and 638 teachers as meeting the standards for the title of associate professor. Among them, Associate Professor - Doctor Tran Dinh Thang, Vinh University is the youngest person to be considered for the title of professor in this period.

Associate Professor - Doctor Tran Dinh Thang was born in 1975 in Thanh Chuong district and has many years of teaching experience at Vinh University. In 2012, he was awarded the title of Associate Professor and is currently Deputy Head of the Chemistry Department - Vinh University.

In particular, in 2016, the Office of the State Council for Professors recognized the title of special professor for Professor Dao Van Lap - Physics, teaching at the Center for Optical and Quantum Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia.

Illustration.

The Ministry of Finance said that on October 10, the Ministry of Finance temporarily provided 3,000 billion VND to 4 localities to compensate people who suffered losses due to the marine environmental incident. By the end of yesterday, the above-mentioned temporary amount had been transferred to the accounts of the 4 localities.

Mr. Dao Xuan Tue, Deputy Director of the State Budget Department of the Ministry of Finance, said that in order to transfer money as quickly and conveniently as possible, the Ministry of Finance has instructed localities to set up accounts, independent from the State budget. When the subjects of compensation are clearly identified, the transfer of money is very quick, transparent and clear.

"The compensation process is carried out publicly and transparently, from the stage of determining the compensation recipients at the commune level to the compensation results for each damaged subject," Mr. Dao Xuan Tue affirmed.

9 - Floods in the Central provinces leave many people dead and missing

Floods submerged many villages in the Central region. (Illustration photo)

Due to the impact of floods since October 12, 2016, in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, there has been very heavy rain over a large area, with complicated developments. Floods on rivers rose rapidly and flowed strongly, causing landslides on the negative slopes and roadbeds in some sections within 200 km of the North-South railway, causing serious traffic congestion on the North-South railway; many locations on National Highway 1 and Ho Chi Minh Road in the provinces of Quang Binh and Ha Tinh were deeply flooded; some water transport vehicles broke their anchors and drifted out to sea.

Quang Binh province suffered the most damage due to floods. According to a quick report from the Standing Office of the Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and Control and Search and Rescue of Quang Binh province, as of 5 p.m. on October 15, the whole province had 12 dead and missing people, 13 injured. Road and railway traffic routes through Quang Binh province were paralyzed.

In Nghe An, from the night of October 14 to the morning of October 15, heavy rains continued to cause flooding in Vinh city and the districts of Hung Nguyen, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Anh Son... Rainfall measured in many localities exceeded 338 mm. Heavy rains caused about 200 houses to be deeply submerged in water, roads to be deeply flooded and paralyzed, thousands of vehicles to stall along the road. High flood waters caused a student in Nam Dan district and a man in Yen Thanh to be swept away by the water.

In Ha Tinh, continuous heavy rains caused many places to be deeply flooded. Huong Khe district was recorded to have suffered the most damage, with almost all communes in the area being deeply flooded, and the communes of Phuong My, Hoa Hai, Huong Thuy, Huong Giang, Gia Pho, Loc Yen, and Huong Do being isolated. In Ha Tinh city, roads such as Ly Tu Trong, Nguyen Cong Tru, Tran Phu, Dong Que, Nguyen Huy Tu, Nguyen Bieu, Nguyen Du, and Ha Ton Muc... were deeply flooded, making it impossible for vehicles to circulate.

10 - Ministry of Health speaks out about Department Head being accused of spirit mediumship

The image circulating on the internet is said to be Mr. Tac performing the ceremony.

On October 11, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Viet Tien said that the Ministry of Health received a petition from Mr. Pham Van Tac, Director of the Department of Organization and Personnel, reflecting on the fact that on November 9, a number of press agencies published an article: "Hầu đồng" hoping for promotion.

After investigating the case, the Ministry of Health found that Mr. Pham Van Tac's organization of a thanksgiving ceremony at Bao Loc Temple to worship Saint Tran was a personal matter of his family, unrelated to the work of the health sector.

The article stated that the thanksgiving ceremony was held from 12:00 to 17:30 on Saturday, which is a day off, outside of working hours according to state regulations.

The issue of personal beliefs has been permitted by the State, therefore, in response to the above information, the Ministry of Health hopes that the newspapers will reflect honestly and objectively in accordance with the provisions of the law, avoiding affecting the reputation and honor of individuals in the health sector for the goal of protecting and improving people's health.

Peace

(Synthetic)