 Peach blossom is the symbol of Tet in Vietnam's northern region. |
A: Gerry Neuman of Britain told us: “Now it’s a few days until the Lunar New Year festival or Vietnamese Tet. I know that everyone is busy preparing for this, going to the many colourful flower markets, and shops selling traditional items connected with Tet. I’ve been in Vietnam several times and enjoyed the special atmosphere at this time of year, and the cheery greeting “Chuc mung nam moi”. I would like to send this message to all the staff of the English Section of VOV, too, wishing everyone a happy, prosperous and successful year of the Rat.”
B: Thank you very much Gerry for your wishes and for supporting VOV over the years. We’re glad to know that some of our listeners, including you, have received VOV calendar for 2020. Gerry said: “I wish to express my sincere thanks for the 2020 desk calendar, featuring photos of the Truong Sa islands. I know that these islands, together with the Hoang Sa islands in the East Sea, are very much in the hearts of the Vietnamese people. And this calendar will serve as a reminder to me and other listeners of their importance to Vietnam over the coming months.”
 In the southern region, yellow apricot flower is the iconic flower of Tet. |
A: S.B. Sharma of India’s SBS World Listeners Club wished a happy and prosperous New Year to VOV’s English section. He added: “A happy Tet to all Vietnamese citizens, including all families and friends of the VOV staff. The biggest festival, Tet, will bring the biggest happiness to all of you.”
B: Igor Kolke, a shortwave radio listener in Moscow, told us that he listens to VOV’s English broadcast on 7280 KHz. On January 13th, he heard the news and a report on ASEAN and Vietnam, and has Vietnamese communities worldwide celebrate the lunar New Year.
A: Igor listened on a radio with a 10m wire antenna. He said the reception on 7280 kHz was not very good, with a SINPO of 35333. There was some atmospheric noise and fading, but despite the poor conditions, the signal was occasionally audible and clear.
 Orchids are also favourite flowers during Tet. |
B: Muneer K.P. a teacher at the Gulf Asian English School in the United Arab Emirates, sent VOV his best wishes for the year 2020. He often tunes in to 7220 kHz. On January 19th, the signal was a little bit better than usual. He said: “It was nice to hear the Sunday Show on the topic of reducing plastic waste. For the whole world plastic waste is creating too much of a burden, not only for human beings but for the flora and fauna systems. Salute for this big step.”
A: We’re glad to know that the issue of plastic waste is drawing public attention. Communications campaigns have raised people’s awareness of the consequences for human life and nature and have inspired people to make an effort to reduce their consumption of plastic products.
B: Richard Nowak of the US shared his ideas: “The great Sunday Show had an interesting segment on efforts to reduce plastic waste. Children and clubs were discussed and their efforts to reclaim plastic waste and recycle it. Group efforts to protect the environment in Hanoi and a hostel which has a water purifying machine were mentioned. Plastic is being recycled and no new plastic needs to be used. Very impressive was the bamboo factory producing 100,000 straws a day and employing 100 people.”
 Imported red apricot flowers are also sought after during Tet. |
A: He continued: “I wish they would do more plastic reclaiming here. Starbucks, the big coffee chain, has been using paper straws for at least a year. I reluctantly had to buy several cases of bottled water when the latest hurricane was heading this way. Most of it I donated to the Bahamas. I use the BP free reusable water bottles that last for years.”
B: Thank you, listeners, for sharing your ideas and good practices to reduce plastic waste. VOV now uses reuseable glass water bottles at daily meetings and big events. We hope other listeners will share their stories of plastic waste reduction.
A: Ullmar Qvick of Sweden listened to a program on January 15 on the frequency of 7280khz and noted poor reception conditions with a high level of atmospheric noise. SINPO rating was 35333 with a high noise level and a rather weak signal.
B: We’re sorry to hear that. We’ll forward your remarks to our technical section. Ullmar told us that he got the news that the leader of the Swedish Socialist Party, Jonas Sjöstedt, will resign in May and join his family in Hanoi. His wife is the Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam. The resignation of Mr. Sjöstedt is a great loss to the leftists in Sweden. Ullmar said he will surely be welcomed in Vietnam.
A: Yes, definitely he will. Ullmar asked us, “what are Vietnam’s main exports to Sweden and the main imports from Sweden to Vietnam?” According to the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam imports from Sweden machines, and spare parts, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel products, paper, computers, cell phones, and chemicals. It exports to Sweden cell phones and spare parts, garments and textiles, computers, footwear, bags, and fine art.
 Chrysanthemum signals spring. |
B: Today, the relationship between Sweden and Vietnam has entered a new equal partnership basis. Sweden is an important and reliable partner of Vietnam in the European Union.
A: Sweden currently has 67 investment projects in Vietnam with a total of more than 360 million USD, ranking 34th out of 130 countries and territories invested in Vietnam. Vietnam has two investment projects in Sweden with a total investment capital of 700,000 USD. Sweden is the Nordic country providing the most non-refundable aid to Vietnam - 3.4 billion USD since 1967.
B: Sweden leads in assisting Vietnam’s economic, financial, banking, and administrative reforms. It has helped Vietnam establish relations with international financial and monetary institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
A: Sweden also provides much of the development aid for Vietnam’s culture sector including projects to preserve and promote cultural heritages and provide media training. Vietnam welcomed nearly 50,000 Swedish visitors in 2018, an increase of 13%. The Vietnamese community in Sweden has 20,000 members.
B: Siddhartha Bhattacharjee, President of the Chaitak Listeners Club of India, reported listening to VOV’s program on January 12th on the frequency of 12020kHz and 9840kHz.
A: He noted that on both frequencies the audio was strong and clear, with only minor fading and buzzing. SINPO on both frequencies was 54444.
B: Thank you all for your reports and feedback. We’ll send you QSL cards to confirm. We welcome your feedback at: English Service, VOVworld, the Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re invited to visit us online at vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs.
A: Check out our VOV Media App, available on both the IOS and Android platform to hear our live broadcasts. We look forward to your feedback on the mobile version of vovworld.vn. Once again, thank you all for listening.