Vietnam News Highlights for June 9, 2023

Vietnam demands Taiwan halt naval military drills

Vietnamese foreign ministry's spokesperson Pham Thu Hang. Photo: kinhtedothi.vn

Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 8 objected to Taiwan's live-fire exercises near Ba Binh Island in the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago in East Sea (South China Sea). The ministry urged Taiwan not to repeat such actions in the future, saying the drills threaten maritime peace and further complicate the situation in the region.

Ba Binh is the largest natural island in the archipelago, which has been illegally occupied by Taiwan since 1956. Vietnam has repeatedly declared its sovereignty over the Truong Sa and Hoang Sa archipelagos by international law.

Vietnamese speed chess players win three gold medals

Vietnamese chess players won three gold medals in the rapid chess finals at the International Youth Rapid Chess 2023. The three players are Le Thai Hoang Anh, Dau Khuong Duy and Pham Tran Gia Phuc. Anh and Duy won their first international gold medals in rapid chess, while Phuc won his second title after winning the U8 World Championship in 2017.

The rapid chess competition, which took place from June 6 to 8, is part of the international championship held in the Georgian city of Batumi from June 6 to 11. A total of 462 players from 35 nations are participating in the event, including 13 Vietnamese.

Tickets for Vietnam-Hong Kong friendly worth a maximum of US$12.77

Tickets range from VND50,000 (US$2.13) to VND300,000 (US$12.77) for the Vietnam-Hong Kong friendly match on June 15 at Lach Tray Stadium in the northern city of Haiphong. E-tickets and printed tickets will be on sale from 8am on June 10 to 11.30am on June 15.

The friendly between Vietnam and Hong Kong is the first game to be played under the stewardship of French boss Philippe Troussier. Vietnam will play the second friendly against Syria on June 20 at Thien Truong Stadium in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Vietnam among top markets for Facebook, TikTok and YouTube

Vietnam is one of the top 10 markets for social platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and YouTube, according to Singapore-based research firm DataReportal. In its May updates, the company showed that Vietnam is the seventh largest market for Facebook, with about 75.6 million users.

There are also 50.6 million TikTok users and 63 million YouTube accounts in Vietnam, ranking the country sixth and ninth globally. 

FIFA offers each World Cup female player a US$30,000 bonus

FIFA will offer individual bonuses of at least US$30,000 to players at the 2023 Women's World Cup, part of a US$110 million bonus package. The prize money is three times higher than in 2019, with the winning team receiving US$4.29 million and US$1.56 million for teams not making it past the group stage.

FIFA hopes the funds will be used for football development, and US$11.5 million will be gifted to clubs sending players to the tournament.

International Sailboat Race to be held in late October

The 2023 Hong Kong-Nha Trang International Sailboat Race will feature 120-150 racers in a week ending October 31. The race, held every two years, was first launched in 2004 under a cooperation agreement between the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club and Saigontourist. It has been suspended since the last event in 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The race starts at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club in Hong Kong's Victoria Bay and finishes at Ana Marina Nha Trang. The event is expected to boost local and national tourism.

Vietnam Office for Searching for Missing Persons Celebrates 50th Anniversary

The Vietnam Office for Searching for Missing Persons (VNOSMP) held a ceremony in Hanoi on June 8 to mark its 45th anniversary. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc said that VNOSMP had fulfilled its assigned policy tasks over the past five decades, laid a solid foundation for promoting US-Vietnam relations, and contributed to healing the wounds of war and normalized and promoted Vietnam-US relations.

US Ambassador to Vietnam Marc. E. Knapper stressed that the US supports a strong, prosperous, independent and self-reliant Vietnam. 

New Decree Allows Private Vehicle Inspection Centers

On June 8, the Vietnamese Government issued a new decree allowing car manufacturers, dealerships, and garages to register vehicles where possible. The new regulation aims to increase the number of technically capable facilities to meet the overwhelming market demand, which has been stagnant in recent months.

According to the decision, the facility must have a sufficient number of equipment and machinery as well as qualified staff to perform vehicle registration.