Highlights of domestic events this past week

(Baonghean.vn) - Lao National Assembly President pays official visit to Vietnam; Opening of the 12th National Congress of Vietnamese Women; Inspection of the appointment processThe "lightning speed" of a female department head in Thanh Hoa; numerous errors in appointing officials at the Ministry of Industry and Trade;... are some of the notable domestic events of the past week.

1. The President of the Lao National Assembly pays an official visit to Vietnam.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong receives Lao National Assembly Chairwoman Pany Yathotou on an official friendly visit to Vietnam. Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA.

At the invitation of the Chairwoman of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, on the afternoon of March 5th, a high-level delegation of the National Assembly of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, led by Chairwoman Pany Yathotou, arrived in Hanoi to begin an official friendly visit to Vietnam from March 5-10, 2017.

The official friendship visit of the high-level delegation of the Lao National Assembly to our country aims to further develop the long-standing traditional relationship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation between the two Parties, two States, and peoples of Laos and Vietnam; and to fulfill the commitments on annual exchanges of high-level parliamentary delegations in accordance with the Cooperation Agreement signed between the Vietnamese National Assembly and the Lao National Assembly.

In addition, the visit also aims to strengthen exchanges and share experiences between the legislative and elected bodies of Laos and Vietnam, from the central to local levels.

The visit of the Lao National Assembly delegation is one of the important activities leading up to the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Vietnam-Lao Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation.

2. Opening Ceremony of the 12th National Congress of Women's Representatives

Mr. Nguyen Thien Nhan presents flowers to the Central Executive Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union, 12th term. Photo: VOV.

On the morning of March 7th, the 12th National Congress of Women's Representatives, for the term 2017-2022, was solemnly inaugurated in Hanoi. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong attended and delivered a speech at the Congress. 1,153 delegates, representing the will, faith, and aspirations of women from all walks of life across the country, participated in the Congress.

With the theme "Promoting the traditions and creativity of women, building a strong women's association, contributing to accelerating the process of innovation, building and protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland," this congress focuses on reviewing and objectively and comprehensively evaluating the results, limitations, and causes; drawing truly profound lessons from the implementation of the Resolution of the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Women's Union; concentrating intellectual and democratic discussions to determine the goals, directions, and tasks for the 2017-2022 term; adopting the revised and supplemented Charter of the Vietnam Women's Union; and electing the 12th Central Executive Committee of the Union, which is truly exemplary in political qualities, ethics, intellect, and has sufficient leadership capacity to fulfill the great tasks of the women's movement and the Union's work in the coming period.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of the Vietnam Women's Union for the 11th term, was re-elected by the Central Committee as President of the Vietnam Women's Union for the 12th term.

3. Investigation into the 'rapid' appointment process of a female department head in Thanh Hoa.

Ms. Quynh Anh was elected to the Party Committee of the Department of Construction (term 2015 - 2020). Photo: Thanh Nien.

On the morning of March 8th, the People's Committee of Thanh Hoa province issued a notice regarding the process of handling the case of Ms. Tran Vu Quynh Anh, Head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department (Thanh Hoa Department of Construction) - who has been reported by several media outlets as having "unusually rapid promotion and possessing a large amount of assets".

According to this announcement, Thanh Hoa province has instructed relevant agencies to urgently conduct an inspection of the appointment of leading officials under the authority of the Department of Construction from 2010 to 2015, including the appointment of Ms. Tran Vu Quynh Anh; the inspection deadline is March 30th.

Mr. Ngo Hoang Ky (Chief of Office and Spokesperson of the Provincial People's Committee) said that the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee are very concerned and proactively handling the case. "During the inspection process, if any related issues arise, we will consider resolving them in accordance with the regulations of the Party and the laws of the State," Mr. Ky informed.

Given that the leaders of the Department of Construction have not provided information to the press about this matter for several days, Mr. Ky said he would report to the provincial leaders for investigation and rectification.

In recent days, several media outlets have reported that Tran Vu Quynh Anh, the Head of the Housing and Real Estate Market Management Department (Thanh Hoa Department of Construction), has experienced a "rapid" career advancement and owns a villa and luxury cars.

4. Numerous errors in personnel appointments at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Interior stated that, in addition to the case of Trinh Xuan Thanh, the Ministry of Industry and Trade also had many other shortcomings in the appointment of managerial officials.

On March 8th, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Interior announced the conclusions of its inspection regarding the implementation of legal regulations on the appointment of leadership and management positions within the Ministry of Industry and Trade (during the period from January 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016).

During that period, the Minister of Industry and Trade appointed 97 individuals, including 55 officials at the departmental level and 42 officials at the divisional level; transferred and appointed 10 officials to the same rank; reappointed 5 individuals; and extended the term of office for one individual (at the departmental level) until retirement age.

The inspection also pointed out many shortcomings in the Ministry of Industry and Trade's personnel appointment process. There were two cases where individuals did not meet the age requirements for initial appointment (over 2 months and 8 months). At the time of appointment, 31 individuals did not meet the required political theory qualifications, 3 lacked certificates in state management training, and 3 lacked foreign language certificates...

In addition, there were two cases of recruitment without a civil service entrance examination, which is contrary to the Government's regulations on the recruitment, use, and management of officials and civil servants in state agencies.

In addition, the file of a case received by the Minister of Industry and Trade in 2008 currently lacks sufficient documentation to confirm that the recruitment was conducted in accordance with the law.

5. The Deputy Prime Minister requested close monitoring of Formosa.

On the morning of March 8th, at the Government headquarters, Politburo member and Standing Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, Head of the Steering Committee for addressing environmental incidents in the four central provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien-Hue), chaired a meeting of the Steering Committee.

As of December 31, 2016, authorities had implemented an emergency support policy providing 15,027 tons of rice (free of charge) as directed by the Government, and 59 billion VND to fishermen. Regarding compensation payments and inventory management, the Prime Minister decided to temporarily allocate 3,000 billion VND in the first phase and 1,680 billion VND in the second phase to four central provinces.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Steering Committee stated that immediately after the meeting, the Steering Committee would establish four inspection teams to examine the compensation for marine environmental damage in the four central provinces. Each locality would also establish its own inspection teams to address obstacles, record local and public opinions, and take timely measures to resolve issues.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade continues to take the lead in handling the stockpiled seafood. In addition, it continues to monitor Formosa Company to ensure it fulfills its commitments and demonstrates social responsibility towards the local community. Only when absolute environmental safety is guaranteed will it be permitted to discharge wastewater...

6.The provincial chairman will be assigned a fixed allowance for official vehicles.

Illustrative image.

That's the Ministry of Finance's commitment outlined in the draft regulations on the allocation of official vehicles. If approved, from deputy ministers to provincial governors, no official vehicles will be available to pick them up and drop them off at home…

On March 7th, Tran Duc Thang, Director of the Public Assets Management Department of the Ministry of Finance, announced that the draft amendment to Decision 32 of the Prime Minister on standards, norms, and regulations for the management and use of government vehicles has been finalized.

According to the draft decision, the Ministry of Finance proposes that for positions with a position allowance coefficient of 1.25 or higher, including deputy ministers and equivalents, deputy secretaries of provincial Party committees, chairmen of People's Councils, chairmen of People's Committees, heads of full-time National Assembly delegations, including chairmen of boards of directors, chairmen of member boards, and general directors of state-owned economic corporations, a mechanism for contracting out the use of transportation from home to work and vice versa must be implemented.

The cost of using a vehicle is included in income at a rate of 6.5 million VND/person/month. This fixed amount is adjusted when the CPI increases or decreases by more than 20%.

7. The premiere of the blockbuster film "Kong: Skull Island"

"Kong: Skull Island" tells the story of the homeland of King Kong. Photo: Legendary

On the evening of March 10th, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MOCST) held the premiere ceremony for the film "Kong Skull Island".

At the premiere, attendees watched videos showcasing the entire process from conception to release of the film. They also heard shared experiences and impressions from audiences and international journalists who attended the premiere of this blockbuster film in various countries.

The main content of the videos shown at the launch event was the stunning visuals of Vietnam on screen. In particular, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts also sent his most sincere thanks to Vietnam for its support and assistance during the filming process in the three provinces of Quang Binh, Quang Ninh, and Ninh Binh.

Peace

(Synthetic)