Hello, I’m Kim Chi - welcome to the Letter Box on VOV Radio.
Hi, everyone. I’m Nhat Quynh. We’re here every Wednesday to acknowledge listeners’ letters we got during the week
A: This week, we received a lot of greeting cards from listeners. We thank Roberto Carlos Alvares, Gerry Neumann, Sanjib Biswas, and W.C van Hoolwerff for your generous support for our station over the past year. Your beautiful Christmas and New Year greeting cards have been hung around our office, brightening our work place with the warm red color of poinsettia flowers, green pine branches, snow white, and the gold and silver of seasonal festive decorations.
B: We have also sent out our New Year’s greeting cards to our listeners’ worldwide carrying best wishes from the VOV staff. In previous years, our cards featured scenic spots in Hanoi and good luck icons of the New Year such as peach blossoms and kumquat trees. This year’s cards are different, sporting a glimpse of springtime in Vietnam’s mountainous region and a fancy festival of some ethnic minority people.
A: Now, let’s get to the listeners’ letters. From India, regular listener Sanjib Biswas wrote: “I got a VOV certificate from you two days ago by registered post. The English program is crystal clear at my place in Kolkata. The World News, Current Affairs, Mailbag, and Sunday show are my favorite radio programs. VOV is a big source for me to know more about Vietnam and its culture. I would like to know more about the Tea Industry in Vietnam.”
B: Recently, our Economy and Business reports have featured VN’s tea industry and the tea sector’s effort to raise productivity and quality to meet external demand. So in this Letter Box, we’ll just mention basic information about the industry. Vietnam is considered one of the world’s primary tea centers. Tea is grown in 30 of Vietnam’s 53 provinces. The northern region’s climate and terrain are suitable for aromatic varieties like Oolong, Shan Tuyet, and Nam Ty tea. The tea plantation here covers more than 41,000 hectares.
A: In the foothills where the mountains meet the plains, the tea planting area covers more than 35,000 ha. The central region, which has a hot climate, has over 11,000 ha of tea, the main production are being in Nghe An province. The Central Highlands region is another tea hub.
B: Vietnam tea has found its way to more than 100 nations via some 200 small and large-scale exporters. Russia, China, Taiwan, Japan, the UK, India, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Malaysia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey are all long-term partners. Vietnam is a member of the World Tea Association and the Green Tea Association. Many countries and territories have invested in Vietnam in the form of co-operative plantation, and processing, or 100% foreign-owned ventures in the case of Taiwan - China, India, and Iraq. Vietnam currently ranks fifth in the world in tea production. It exported about 200 million USD worth of tea last year.
A: That’s an overview of Vietnam’s tea industry, in response to a question from Sanjib Biswas of India. If you have more specific questions on this topic, we’ll be pleased to answer them in our weekly Economy and Business reports. From Japan, Fumito Hokamura submitted a reception report for November 15th on the frequency of 12020 khz. He listened with interest to something about Vietnam’s educational system and now wants to know which language is more popular in Vietnam, Chinese or Japanese.
B: For historical reasons, Chinese is much more popular than Japanese in Vietnam. Over the past 10 years, however, an increasing number of young people have studied Japanese, hoping to work for a Japanese invested company in Vietnam, qualify to study or work in Japan, or just out of love for Japanese culture and language.
A: Since VN opened its market, more and more Japanese businesses have invested VN, recruiting local people who can speak Japanese. To be fluent in Japanese is truly an advantage for young people seeking a good job in a competitive labor market. Almost all language centers offer Japanese courses and Japanese language materials are widely available. VOV’s Japanese program is a favorite channel for people who want to practice their Japanese listening skills.
A: I’m reading a letter from Alyson Sjardijn of Maryland in the US, who submitted a report for the program on November 26th on the frequency of 6175 khz. Alyson listened on a Yaesu FT – 840 with a 100 meter G5RV antenna, noting good reception signal with SINPO rating at 54455. There was no notable interference or loss of signal strength during the program. Alyson found the segments interesting including a report on a village of brass craftsmen and a local festival to honor the traditional craft.
B: Alyson writes: “I was pleased to be able to receive your broadcast as I really enjoy hearing programs from foreign countries. As you may be aware, local news programs in the US are generally focused on articles of national interest and selected international segments. We do not often get to hear what else is going on in the world, especially on a local level. For this reason, I’m always thankful for shortwave programs like yours. Not only can I hear local interest pieces, but can also hear alternative opinions on global topics.”
A: It’s nice to hear that you appreciate our program. Your reason for listening to shortwave broadcasts is shared by a pool of Dx’ers worldwide. In our station’s development strategy, shortwave broadcast remains a core channel for introducing Vietnam to the world. We have just launched a new website www.vovworld.vn where you can replay our programs at your convenience.
B: This week, we acknowledge letters from Claude Wangen of Luxemburg, who listened to our German program on November 17th and our English program on the 26th. He monitored the frequency of 5960 khz, which he said was notably better than 5955 khz, our registered frequency. We’ll forward your report of the German language program to our German section and they will issue a QSL card for you.
A: Meanwhile, Alessandro Errichetti of Italy noted a SINPO of all 5s on the frequency of 5955 khz under good weather conditions. With such pleasant listening conditions, he was able to note all the specific contents of the program on November 13th.
B: Peter Ng of Malaysia tuned in our way on November 18th on 12020 khz. This frequency works very well in Asia and all our listeners including Peter Ng noted good signal quality with SIO at 454. He used the quite popular SONY ICF SW11 portable receiver with a built-in telescopic aerial.
A: Last but not least in our Letter Box this week, we thank Avijit Mondal of India, Grant Skinner of England, Johann Sedlak of Austria, and Tony Bernhoffer and Allen Loudell of the US for sending in your reports. You will soon receive QSL cards to confirm your reception. We welcome your letters at English section, Overseas Service, VOV, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is: englishsection@vov.org.vn. We’re Nhat Quynh and Kim Chi wishing you a merry Christmas and looking forward to a bright new year ahead. Goodbye.