B: Track and field athlete Bui Thi Thu Thao won a second gold medal for Vietnam in the women’s long jump with a jump of 6.55mm. The other gold medal was win by the female rowing team.

A: One of the most notable successes of the Vietnamese team was the male football team defeating Syria 1-0 in a quarterfinal match. This is the first time Vietnamese football team has reached the semifinals of an ASIAD. Vietnamese footballers will compete against South Korea on Wednesday afternoon.

Vietnam's rowers win a gold medal at ASIAD 2018 (photo: Ngoc Duy)

B: The Asian Games is the world’s second biggest multiple sports event, after the Olympics. This year’s Asian Games, held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, has drawn 16,000 competitors and officials from 45 countries and territories.

A: To congratulate their successes, the Voice of Vietnam has given 8,600 USD to the women’s rowing team, 44,000 USD to the U23 football team for its 1-0 victory over Bahrain and 1-0 over Syria, and 4,300 USD to track and field athlete Bui Thi Thu Thao. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism and other organizations have also given bonuses to the winners. Vietnam hopes to win at least three gold medals this year.

Jumper  Bui Thi Thu Thao wins a gold medal for the Vietnamese team (photo: Ngoc Duy).

B: From the US, Richard Nowak emailed us to say he enjoyed our show on 7315kHz from 0:00 to 0:27 UTC. He rated SINPO at 55545 with great reception on a National NC-77x tube receiver hooked up to an outdoor active loop antenna.

A: Interesting items in that news bulletin included the new Golden Bridge in Da Nang City being honored on a list by Time magazine, a visit by Vietnam’s President to Egypt, and fascinating activities at a Central Highlands Ethnic Culture Festival. Richard said: “Your special report honoring US Senator John McCain was very touching. McCain advocated for relations between the US and Vietnam and also helped remove tariffs on fish and encouraged cooperation on defense and healing the wounds of war. This report was very nice. We will miss him.”

Nguyen Van Tri wins a gold medal in pencak silat at ASIAD 2018

B: Thank you, Richard, for listening regularly to VOV and for supporting shortwave. We hope to continue receiving feedback from you for many more years. On September 7, VOV will celebrate its 73^rd anniversary. We’ll mark the important day with some special radio programs reviewing VOV’s achievements and plans.

A: VOVWORLD Service of the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) will begin Korean language broadcasts on September 7. The program will be available daily from 7am to 8am, 6pm to 7pm, and 11pm to midnight on FM 105.5 MHz and on vovworld.vn, offering the latest news, entertainment, and educational features, along with great music. With the addition of Korean, VOV now broadcasts in 13 languages.

B: Director of VOVWorld Nguyen Tien Long talked about VOV’s future: "In the fast changing world towards artificial intelligence (AI) and big data on Internet platform, it’s hard to say what will happen in the next five years or a decade. But i presume, by that time, there’ll be no limit to access to information, no limit to platforms of transmission, and no border between different media. If you want to get a niche in the future world of media, providing the right content to marginalized target groups of audience would work. That rests with the content and creativity of each and every program maker. And VOVWORLD will continue to survive and strive on in that direction with its more refined quality service."

A: That was Director of VOVWORLD Nguyen Tien Long. You’re listening to the Letter Box on the VOVWORLD. Now we’ll continue reading letters from listeners.    

B: Zhenheng Kang of China reported listening to our program on August 27 on the frequency of 12020KHz. He rated SINPO at 55445. Kang reported the main contents of the show so we’ll send him a QSL card.

A: Eddy Prabowo of Indonesia emailed us a report on a program heard August 23 on 7315 kHz. Eddy logged in via WebSDR in Milford, Pennsylvania, in the US, and monitored in Jakarta, Indonesia, using an Android smartphone. The transmission was not very good and Eddy rated SINPO at 32332. Here are his technical remarks: “In a moderate signal strength, the audio heard relatively noisy and wavy, due to the QRM interference co-channel from the local station in Spanish and RTTY.”

B: Ratan Kumar Paul, a teacher in India, listened to a program on August 9^th on 7220 khz. SINPO was rated all 4s. He sent audio clips of the program for us to confirm the reception quality in his place.

A: Another Indian listener, Najim Uddin, reported listening to a program on August 22nd on 7220kHz. It was a Wednesday program, which included the Letter Box. Uddin said it was interesting to learn about Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups, particularly the Kinh majority.

B: He said that in recent years, influenced by Western and Eastern fashion trends, the Kinh wear jeans and other casual clothes found in other modern countries.  

A: In Vietnam people wear Ao dai not only at traditional festivals, ceremonies, and official events but as uniforms at schools and workplaces. Fashion designers have modified the traditional dress to match more contemporary styles. The many modern Ao dai designs include Ao dai with a shorter length, shorter sleeves, without sleeves, or of modern fabrics. Women even wear Ao dai with jeans instead of loose silk pants.

B: Some of our Indian listeners want to know about Vietnam’s agriculture, its rice cultivation method – does it use buffalos or machines – and the quality of its rice Vietnam’s agriculture sector contributes about 20 percent of GDP and employs 40 percent of the workforce.

A: Vietnam is poised to become the world’s fifth largest exporter of food, including aquatic products, rice, coffee, tea, cashews, black pepper, rubber, and cassava. The number of machines used in the agriculture sector has increased very quickly over the last decade. The demand for modern agricultural machinery to support a closed value chain is continually on the rise.

B: Seventy per cent of the farm machinery in Vietnam is imported from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Vietnam manufactures just 15 to 20 per cent. Mechanization in rice production has changed significantly the work of farmers, shifting it from small, haphazard farming to large-scale production. Mechanization is driving new rural development and expanding rice export.

A: Since the beginning of this year, many enterprises have been receiving high-priced orders, over 475 USD per ton, which has boosted domestic rice prices 30 percent. The agriculture sector has used technology and restructured crops to boost productivity and quality. Vietnam’s rice export volume this year is likely to reach 6.5 million tons. Currently, high-quality rice varieties, including glutinous, fragrant and jasmine, account for more than 80% of Vietnam’s total rice exports.

B: That wraps up our Letter Box for today. Thank you for listening to VOV. Please join us again next Wednesday for another edition of the Letter Box. Goodbye till then.