B: The UN Day of Vesak 2019 to be held on May 12-14, 2019, by the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) at Tam Chuc pagoda in Ha Nam province, under the theme “Buddhist Approach to Global Leadership and Shared Responsibility for Sustainable Society”. This will be the 3rd time Vietnam has hosted the Vesak Celebrations. Previous events were held in Hanoi in 2008 and Ninh Binh province in 2014.
 Tam Chuc pagoda in Ha Nam province. |
A: We’re sorry that VOV is not a member of the organizing board and we cannot send you invitation. Besides invited guests, Buddhist followers are free to attend all public events at Tam Chúc Pagoda. The pagoda covers nearly 5,000ha, including a 1,000-ha lake, mountains, forests, and a 1,000 ha valley. A huge garden of sutra pillars is being built in the pagoda. Upon its completion, the garden of sutra pillars will be the world’s largest of its kind.
B: In 1999, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognising the Day of Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon, to acknowledge the contributions that Buddhism, one of the world’s oldest religions, has made for over two and a half millennia and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.
 Tam Chuc pagoda |
A: Throughout Vietnam’s history, Buddhism’s lofty values and principles have been deeply ingrained in the everyday lives of the Vietnamese people. Buddhism co-exists in harmony with other religions in Vietnam and has made significant contributions to national peace, stability, and development and the well-being of the Vietnamese people.
B: Richard Nowak of the US emailed us that he just came back from New York City after a business trip and meeting relatives. Once home, he returned to his DX’ing hobby. VOV’s signal quality on December 2 on 7315kHz was good with SINPO rating all 4s.
A: Richard told us that after the news he enjoyed the Sunday Show, which was informative and educational. It was about the architecture of the Ha Nhi in Lai Chau province, and the Ha Nhi’s New Year celebration, which includes ancestor worship, an offering of whatever is available in the house, and a special New Year Festival meal.
 Tam Chuc pagoda is surrounded by mountains and river. |
B: Andrejs Kuzņecovs of Latvia sent us a reception report on the December 1st program on 7280 and 9730 kHz. On both frequencies, Andrejs got good reception with an overall quality of 4.
A: Timm Breyel of Malaysia told us: “As always it is wonderful to tune in to the Voice of Vietnam and catch another informative program about your country and people. Such was the case on 2 December, when I listened to the “Sunday Show” which highlighted the customs and habits of the Ha Nhi ethnic group. Excellent program!”
B: Robert Duebler of Germany said that after the change from CEST to CET time in Germany, and the switch to the winter broadcast schedule, VOV’s signal is still strong. Robert tuned in to VOV’s program on November 7th on 7280khz. SINPO rating was 43434.
A: Robert wrote: “This frequency has only slight splash from 7275khz. However, the other one, 9730khz, is totally useless between 19:00 and 20:00 UTC as that frequency is completely occupied by a Portuguese program from China at that time.
B: Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, President of the Chaitak Listeners Club, emailed us on November 29th to report listening to a program on 7220k khz. He got a good signal with SIO all 4s. His audio files have helped us monitor our transmission in India.
A: Thank you, dear listeners, for sending QSL cards to verify them. Indian listener Siddhartha Bhattacharjee wants to know about digital transactions in Vietnam. In recent years, non-cash payments have grown in Vietnam in different forms: bank cards, banking apps on mobile phones, and e-wallets, with payment by bank cards being the most common. Most Vietnamese commercial banks provide internet banking services and 16 organisations now service 2.3 million e-wallet accounts.
B: Statistics from the State Bank of Vietnam showed financial transactions via mobile phones rose 81 percent last year. Vietnam now has 78 organisations offering online payment services and another 41 offering similar services via mobile phones.
A: Vietnam is striving to have 95 percent of banks offering internet banking and mobile banking services, 30 percent doing digital banking, and all supermarkets, shopping centres, and distribution centres supporting point of sale transactions, with over 300,000 POS devices installed.
B: According to the Nielsen Vietnam Smartphone Insight Report 2017, smartphone users in 2017 were 84 percent of all mobile phone users in Vietnam. That means Vietnam is ready for payment via mobile phones and explains why banks are pushing QR code payment on mobile phones. Consumers can now make payments using QR codes on the mobile banking apps of many banks.
A: Digital transactions are occurring in many fields besides banking. The Vietnam Information Security Association has set up the Vietnam Certificate Authority and Digital Transaction Club. Its goals are to improve the efficiency of business activities, protect the legitimate rights and interests of its members, and boost research on technology, markets, trade promotion, and cooperation between domestic and foreign businesses.
B: The Club will make digital signature certification an important part of Vietnam’s information infrastructure and develop effective tools for electronic transactions and e-government.
A: This week we acknowledge letters from Madhab Chandra Sagour of India, Abid Hussain Sajid and Dildar Laghari of Pakistan, Chris Malboeuf of Canada, Vassily Kuznetsov of Russia, Toshiki Tsuboi of Japan, and Arvid Husdal of Norway.
B: A: Thank you all for listening to VOV and sending us your reports. We will verify them soon. Please join us again next Wednesday for another edition of the Letter Box. Goodbye till then.