Hi everyone,

Here are two new articles for discussion over the weekend.
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Half of foreign workers in Vietnam are illegal: minister

Nearly half of the foreign workers in the country are employed illegally. They enter the country as tourists or to visit relatives and stay on, the labor minister said Thursday.

In remarks made Thursday while taking the floor to answer questions at the ongoing National Assembly (NA)’s session, Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Minister of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs, said only about 50 percent of foreign workers in Vietnam are licensed to work in the country.

Her observation elicited concerns from NA deputies that the large presence of illegal foreign workers could worsen the unemployment situation in the country.

She noted that the movement of workers among countries is indispensable in the context of international economic integration, but added Vietnamese regulations only permit skilled foreign workers, experts and those having experience in business and production management to work in the country.

The ministry will deal with the cases of foreigners illegally working in Vietnam on the basis of respecting the country’s laws and bilateral cooperation with other countries, she said.

Ngan said Vietnam will not extend visas for illegal workers, will facilitate their return home and strengthen immigration management.

“I admit my responsibility in managing laborers,” she said. “The three ministries [the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs] will have to coordinate with us to solve the issue of illegal foreign workers and to amend laws and decrees in the field.”

Do we have lots of these “illegal foreign workers”? Do they really hurt the Vietnamese labor force? ik think foreigners are useful to the country. Đất lành chim đậu. Do we really have to kick them out?
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Police advise charges in Japan ODA graft case

The Ministry of Public police have recommended “abuse of power” charges against two former officials in charge of Ho Chi Minh City’s biggest infrastructure project.

Huynh Ngoc Si, former head of the East-West Highway and Water Environment project, and his ex-deputy Le Qua, are facing charges of wrongdoing in leasing and spending rent collected for a house in HCMC’s District 3 leased to Tokyo-based Pacific Consultants International (PCI) from August 2001 to November 2002, the police said Thursday.

The rent for the house, owned by the project management, was then equivalent to US$5,000 per month.

The total rent of VND1.2 billion received from PCI, the consulting contractor on the East-West Highway and Water Environment project, was distributed among various project employees, with Qua and Si getting VND53.9 million and VND52.25 million respectively, the police said.

Qua had also earmarked VND350 million for entertaining guests without providing any invoice authorizing such spending, the police said.

The Supreme’s People Procuracy (SPP), Vietnam’s highest prosecution agency, will consider ratifying these charges.

What do you think about this case?
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TODAY’S CHALLENGE

You may translate the above news articles into Vietnamese.

That’s it. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Hoanh

Hi everyone,

I have a news item for today. But before that, let me remind everyone that this Daily English section is for you to study English. Many folks have been telling me one way or another that you guys want English study. So you need to do your work. And reading is not doing your work; it is doing 1/10 of your work. Writing English is 10 times more effective than reading, as far as English study is concerned. So, if you want to take your study seriously, then write.

Just write something to comment on these news articles. Whatever you write doesn’t matter. If the news article talks about nuclear war and your comment is about coconut cake, so what? You’re writing, that’s important.

“Work smarter, not harder.” We all have only 24 hours a day. We cannot increase the hours. We can only increase the efficiency of each hour. So, trust me. Study smarter, not harder. Stop reading and start writing. Trust me.

And here is the news item for today.
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Ministry announces HCMC megacity plan

Ho Chi Minh City will become a regional megacity with an area of more than 30,000 square kilometers, according to a 2020-2050 masterplan announced in Dong Nai Province Monday.

According to the Ministry of Construction’s plan, HCMC will be a key metropolis linking with other southern provinces including Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai.

Vo Van Mot, chairman of the Dong Nai Province People’s Committee, said the plan would make the city the key economic zone in Vietnam and an economic hub of Asia.

The announcement was made at a meeting between the Dong Nai People’s Committee and the Southern Urban-Rural Zoning Sub-institute.

Reported by Hoang Tuan

This sounds good. But I wonder if the City will have a good water drainage plan or as the City gets bigger the inner-city water will rise higher on the streets.

How would citizens of Saigon be sure that city officials will have a good water drainage plan before the “megacity” plan is approved? Could someone introduce a law to that effect?

I have heard enough of flooding in HCMC city in the recent days, and I wonder if the City officials are working on the issue at all, or they are sitting on their rear waiting for the water to approach.
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VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH

American History Series: The Story of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858
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TODAY’S ENGLISH CHALLENGE

Chi Huệ has 4 Celine Dion songs today to translate into Vietnamese. And the above discussion article also. They all can be used to translate.

That’s it, everyone. Enjoy your day!

Hoanh

Hi everyone,

Here are some news articles for our discussion today.

Internet growth corrupting the youth, say parents

The “information superhighway” is supposed to spread knowledge, but parents in poor rural communities find their children use it more for smut and video games.

It’s only 9 a.m., but groups of secondary school students between 12 and 15 years old are already huddled around computers at an Internet shop in the mostly-rural Dien Ban District, Quang Nam Province.

Some of them are watching pornography, others are chatting online.

A ninth-grader from Dung Si Dien Ngoc Secondary School, who is chatting with a local girl, tells his friend that he thinks the girl is “hot” and he’ll try to seduce her. He says he thinks she’s willing to go out with him. The subtext is that he thinks she’s willing to do much more than just go out with him.

After chatting with the girl, the boy accesses a forum of students from Da Nang. “Let’s see if the city kids have more interesting things going on than around here,” he says.

Another Internet shop nearby is packed with local students all morning. Some stand outside cursing harshly because there are no free computers. Obscenities mix with sounds of gun fire, screams and blood-splattering from the online games in the shop.

The establishment’s owner says he opened the shop nearly four years ago with 20 computers, and he often stays open until 10 p.m. He is about to buy more computers to meet higher demand during the summer.

With the province’s great outdoors – terraced rice fields, green mountains and cool swimming holes – just waiting to be explored by adventurous kids on their summer break, many youngsters will opt to sit in front of the screen and surf the net instead.

What do you say to that?
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Students burdened by study fees
17:03′ 09/06/2009 (GMT+7)

VietNamNet Bridge – Fees for finals exams unexpectedly raised to 500,000, fines imposed if students pay tuition fees late – students are fed up with the spontaneous and high fees set by universities.

When returning to school to prepare for repeating the final exams, T and his friends at the HCM City Food Industry College were surprised when they read the college’s notice which stipulated a surprisingly high fee for the exams.

The notice said that the students of some training courses who failed the final exams last year have to pay the fee of 500,000 to repeat the final exams. Meanwhile, the fee for sitting for the final exams was 300,000 dong only in previous years.

The college stated that this would be the last exam it organised for the said students. If students do not register to sit for the exams, the college will not be responsible for any claims the students make later.

Explaining the sharp increase in the final exam fee, Doan Le Ngoc Phi Lan, who leads the training division of the college, said that the fee was set based on the regulation on internal spending which went into effect on March 1, 2009.

Lan said that the sum of money was set after the college calculated necessary expenses such as goods price increases and increases in pay of lecturers.

What do you think about the exam fees? Should school have exam fees to begin with? What is the logic for it? What if a student doesn’t have money for the exam? Is there any way for him to obtain a fee waiver from the school?

If the fee is legitimate (by common sense), then what should be a reasonable amount for the fee? How to calculate it reasonably? Is the way to calculate as described in the article good enough?
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YESTERDAY’S CHALLENGE

Thanks, all, for translating the three Phil Collins songs. Chi Hue is a little busy but she will comment on your work when she get a chance.
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TODAY’S CHALLENGE

We have two new articles for discussion up there, and the transcript of the WCAG 2.0 theme song video. These are good for translation exercise. Anyone wants to give it a shot?

That’s it for now. Have a great day, everyone.

Hoanh

Hi everyone,

Here are some news items for today’s discussion.

Nation’s groundwater drained dry by out-of-control well drilling

Underground water levels have decreased remarkably over the last decade due to the reckless drilling of wells for agricultural, household and industrial use, experts warn.

A recent report by the Center for Water Resources Technology and Assessment, under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, says groundwater levels are 10 meters lower in Ho Chi Minh City, and six meters lower in Hanoi than they were 10 years ago.

Professor Ngo Dinh Tuan from Hanoi Water Resources University warned that groundwater levels in the Central Highlands were sinking due to the over-irrigation of crops, mainly coffee.

A study done at the university also found that groundwater levels in the Mekong Delta had fallen to 10 meters over the last decade and could run completely dry over the next five years.

“Without proper planning, Ho Chi Minh City’s groundwater could be all used up in only 30 years,” said Huynh Le Khoa from city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Can Tho University professor Le Anh Tuan added that pollution could ruin the groundwater even before it dries out as local authorities have not kept a vigilant eye on open abandoned wells, which act as open veins through which pollution flows into groundwater.

I wonder why do people need to drill wells in the city. Does the article talk about farmers in the outskirts of the city using wells to grow vegetable, or city dwellers drilling wells for home use?

Shouldn’t we have some water management plans and regulations that also cover well drilling?
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US, Vietnam discuss peacekeeping, counterterrorism

on Jun 8, 9:00 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States and Vietnam held talks on cooperating in peacekeeping and other military affairs, taking another step to reconcile from their war, officials said.

Greg Delawie, acting assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, and Pham Binh Minh, Vietnam’s vice minister of foreign affairs, took up a range of topics during annual talks, the State Department said.

The dialogue “confirmed the increasingly robust bilateral relationship between the United States and Vietnam,” a joint statement said.

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I have always wanted to see Vietnam and the US cooperate on military matters, because that is the highest level of cooperation. This fits well in the improvement of the Vietnam-US relationship which I started to promote at the end of the 1980’s.
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Return to the no-game world

VietNamNet Bridge – Nearly two months after the first 8-week computer game rehabilitation course closed, Pham Le Long, a 13-year-old game addict, and nearly 20 other gamers have escaped from their addiction to return to the real world.

“I only surf the web for around one hour a week to seek information and email my friends. I gave up games!” affirmed Long, who lived with computer games day and night before he attended the rehabilitation course held by the Southern Teenage Centre.

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Wow! I am happy to see that they have a program to help game addicts!! Good. I love it. These kids should spend time reading Đọt Chuối Non instead.
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YESTERDAY’S ENGLISH CHALLENGE

Thanks chi Kiêm Yến cho the good translation. You have a great way of using Vietnamese language!

Some minor notes:

“To enforce” a law means to execute the law, to arrest violators of the law; it means “thi hành”. “Ban hành” means to promulgate or to issue.

“He requested the Chinese side stop operations.” This is a good example of the use of subjunctive: “The Chinese side stop operations.” (“stop” has no S at the end).

Subjunctive is use to express a request, a wish, a hope… something that is not a fact yet.
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TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Chị Huệ has the lyrics of three songs by Phil Collins in today’s Nhạc Xanh. Translating these lyrics into Vietnamese is a part of our daily challenge. So please feel free to translate and post them either in the page for the songs or in this English Challenge page. And chi Hue will take care of reviewing, commenting on, and doing whatever she wishes with, your comments.

Thank you everyone. Have a wonderful day.

Hoành

Hi everyone,

Here is the news for today.
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Government urges China to quit VN waters –

Ha Noi — The foreign ministry has called the Chinese embassy in Ha Noi urging China to cease operations at sea that interfere with Vietnamese fishermen.

“The Chinese side has recently enforced an order to ban fishing in a number of areas, including some in the East Sea under Viet Nam’s sovereignty, and has increased patrols to seize fishing vessels operating in those areas,” ministry spokesman Le Dung told reporters in Ha Noi yesterday.

On Thursday, deputy foreign minister Ho Xuan Son contacted Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Sun Quoqiang about the situation which, he said, has been interfering with the normal activities of Vietnamese fishermen in their traditional fishing fields.

Dung said that Son told the Chinese ambassador that “this has caused indignation among the public, bringing no benefit to bilateral relations,” and he requested the Chinese side stop operations that prevent Vietnamese fishermen from going about their daily business in marine areas under Vietnamese sovereignty.

The Chinese ambassador promised to report Viet Nam’s concerns to his country’s leadership, Dung said. — VNS

What should we say to our big brother? Let’s talk? Let’s go to court?
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Mekong residents donate land to build new schools

(08-06-2009)

CA MAU — More than 40 families in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ca Mau have donated nearly 100,000sq. m of land to build schools in Cai Nuoc District.

The donations will be used for schools and teacher housing.

Over the last 10 years, 49 families in the province’s U Minh District have donated about 82,000sq.m of land for the public service.

Local resident Cao Thuan Phong donated 12,000sq.m of his family farm to build Khanh Lam High School.

Nguyen Van Viet, a poor farmer in the Cuu Long Delta province of Vinh Long, has offered 303.8 sq. m of land to build a clean water supply station and the station’s 40 metre entrance road. — VNS

Wow! This is so wonderful. What do we say to that?
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VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH DEVELOPMENT REPORT

Putting a Price on the Cost of Forced Labor

This report is in writing. To listen as you read, click on “MP3 – Stream (MP3)” on the right column.
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FLASHCARDS FOR ENGLISH

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TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Below is the news article we have above for our discussion. Please translate it into Vietnamese.

Government urges China to quit VN waters –

Ha Noi — The foreign ministry has called the Chinese embassy in Ha Noi urging China to cease operations at sea that interfere with Vietnamese fishermen.

“The Chinese side has recently enforced an order to ban fishing in a number of areas, including some in the East Sea under Viet Nam’s sovereignty, and has increased patrols to seize fishing vessels operating in those areas,” ministry spokesman Le Dung told reporters in Ha Noi yesterday.

On Thursday, deputy foreign minister Ho Xuan Son contacted Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Sun Quoqiang about the situation which, he said, has been interfering with the normal activities of Vietnamese fishermen in their traditional fishing fields.

Dung said that Son told the Chinese ambassador that “this has caused indignation among the public, bringing no benefit to bilateral relations,” and he requested the Chinese side stop operations that prevent Vietnamese fishermen from going about their daily business in marine areas under Vietnamese sovereignty.

The Chinese ambassador promised to report Viet Nam’s concerns to his country’s leadership, Dung said. — VNS

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That’s it, everyone. Let’s have fun together. No stress.

Have a great day!

Hoành

Hi everyone,

As mentioned last week, today we have a new category called “Daily English Discussion” (Thảo luận bằng tiếng Anh) and our Daily English Challenge is still here, in the second half of this page. Let’s experiment with this for a while to see how things will go. We will refine our working process as we go along.

Let’s hope that everyone will jump in with enthusiasm and make this project full of fun.

Today there are a number of news items. Let’s read the news and then comment, argue or expand on it, or do whatever with it as we see fit 🙂

1). VN makes top 10 for outsourcing. HCM CITY — Viet Nam ranks as one of the 10 most attractive destinations in the offshoring industry, according to a report recently released by the global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

“Viet Nam is a country to watch as it has climbed the rankings nine spots into the 10th place since 2007,” according to the report The Geography of Offshoring is Shifting.

This was the biggest change in the Global Services Location Index rankings among Southeast Asian countries.

(Chị Loan Subaru must be proud about this. What do you say about this, Loan?)
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2). HCMC drainage projects outdated before completion: experts

May 18, 2009

An unforeseen increase in rainfall and tide levels may reduce the effectiveness of major water drainage projects underway in Ho Chi Minh City, experts warn.

The projects are based on old hydrometeorology statistics and will likely fail to handle the actual amount of rain in the city, where flooding remains a major concern, said Ho Long Phi of the HCMC University of Technology.

Three water drainage projects are currently under construction in HCMC with a total investment of nearly US$800 million. The construction of the projects, including around 100 kilometers of street barriers erected for a new sewage system, has caused numerous gridlocks on HCMC roads.

Lately the folks in Saigon got constant problems with flooding on the streets. Obviously the HCMC does have enough water drainage capacity. Are we building too many structures too fast on the ground and not building enough water drainage system for it?

What should we say to the city leaders?

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3). You are talking to your 12 year-old daughter/sister Hoa, and you tell her this: “Hoa, if there is only ONE thing in this life I would like you to remember, it is …..”

Please fill in the blank to continue your conversation, as long as you want.

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TODAY’S ENGLISH CHALLENGE

Below is an excerpt from the speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop” by Martin Luther King. Please translate it into Vietnamese.

Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: “We want to be free.”

And another reason that I’m happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn’t force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men, for years now, have been talking about war and peace. But now, no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence. That is where we are today.

Have fun and have a wonderful day, everyone.

Hoanh