Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Ladyboy’ Flight Attendants Begin Their Ascent with Thailand’s P.C. Air

By William Lee Adams | @willyleeadams | December 16, 2011 | 1

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REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom

Transgender flight attendants pose for photographers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

At Thailand’s P.C. Air, transsexual flight attendants are taking to the skies—and boosting acceptance of the country’s “third sex” while they’re at it.
Four transsexual flight attendants completed their inaugural flight over Thailand earlier today, serving drinks and snacks en route from Bangkok to Surat Thani province. That comes ten months after the recently-launched P.C. Air announced it would consider applications it had received from more than 100 transvestites and transsexuals. Four made the cut and joined a cabin crew that also includes 19 female and seven male flight attendants.
(MORE: Thailand Elects its First Female Prime Minister)
Peter Chan, the airline’s president, told Reuters that the new recruits faced the same stringent application process as applicants who were born female. Bosses judged them on criteria that included femininity, attractiveness and proficiency with English and Mandarin. They also had to demonstrate feminine posture and vocals. He believes that transgender flight attendants will prove more versatile than the airline’s more traditional recruits. “They might provide better services because they understand both males and females. And they’re well-trained according to the aviation standard,” he said. “I’m a pioneer, and I’m sure there will be [other] organizations following my idea.” (The airline doesn’t draw its name from its politically correct approach to recruitment: P.C. refers to Chan’s initials.)
Known locally as ladyboys or katoeys, Thailand’s transsexuals enjoy greater acceptance and visibility than their counterparts anywhere else in the world. Skilled surgeons have turned Bangkok into a capital for gender reassignment, and relatively low costs make procuring a sex change more realistic than in the United States, where fees can easily run into the six figures. The Miss Tiffany pageant—Thailand’s most prestigious beauty contest for male-to-female transsexuals—is broadcast nationally every year. And millions of tourists flock to transgender musical shows, like the Simon Cabaret in Phuket.
P.C. Air’s newest trolley dollies hope their work will allow other katoeys to explore careers off the stage and away from the beauty counter. “This is the beginning of the acceptance of transsexuals in Thailand, giving the opportunity for us to work in various fields,” 22-year old Tanyarat Jirapatpakorn told Reuters. “Maybe in the future we can get any job that transsexuals never did before, such as police, soldiers or even pilots.”
For now, though, they’re content to scratch flight attendant off the list. Twenty-three-year old Dissanai Chitpraphachin, a former winner of the Miss Tiffany pageant, told the Associated Press her new gig was a dream come true. “When I was young, I couldn’t take my eyes off those nicely dressed ladies in the airline commercials every time they came on the screen,” she said before starting her new career. Now, as you can see in the commercial below, Thailand has its eyes on her.

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/12/16/ladyboy-flight-attendants-begin-their-ascent-with-thailands-p-c-air/#ixzz1h5n2qfcb

Transsexual Flight Attendants Take Off on Thailand's P.C. Air | NewsFeed | TIME.com

Fatal morning through Ron Haeberle’s memoirs | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Fatal morning through Ron Haeberle’s memoirs

December 18, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Returning to Son My this time, at the age of 71, Ron Haeberle tried to please everyone, with his patience and enthusiasm. He seemed to try his best to compensate the pain in Son My.

Haeberle returned to Duc Pho, where his regiment stationed in 1968.

This is the second time Haeberle returned to this land. In 2000, he quietly returned to Son My for the first time, as a tourist. Perhaps he was afraid to face locals and was afraid that they did not forgive an American like him.
Several months after the massacre, Haeberle left the army to live in Ohio. After his photos were published on magazines, Ron was invited to clubs, seminars and universities to talk about the Vietnam War. At the same time, the anti-Vietnam War campaign was launched in the US and quickly spread to the world.
However, if Seymour Hersh became famous for his articles about My Lai, Haeberle lived very quietly.
Many years after the massacre, many correspondents questioned: why Haeberle’s photos only focused on dead or not dead yet people (these photos are often captioned: after this picture was taken, people in the photo was shot to dead)? There is no photo featuring American soldiers shooting or killing Son My people.
Haeberle kept silent.

Haeberle at the site where he took pictures of the massacre. Behind him is the stele
with the name of over 100 villages who were shot to dead right at the place
where Ron is standing and the field around.

Until 40 years later, in November 2009, he admitted that he destroyed many photos which featuring US soldiers killing Vietnamese civilians. “I was there. I was one of them. All of us are guilty,” he said.
He lived for several decades in Ohio as a production manager of the Premier Industrial Corp. He was retired for many years. He is now a member of cycling, skiing and kayak clubs.
In 2000, he pedaled a bicycle from the ancient town of Hoi An to Son My.
On October 25, 2011, Haeberle returned to Duc Pho, where he garrisoned and where US soldiers started the Son My massacre.
This time Haeberle went to Son My with Robert Hoard, a teammate in his cycling club. After the trip to Son My, the two men rode bicycle to Phnom Penh, Cambodia and around Vietnam’s Mekong Delta before returning to the US.
VietNamNet’s Hoang Huong talked with Haeberle two days after he came to Son My.

The photo of the old man and a child killed in the morning of March 16, 1968.

Haeberle’s story about the My Lai massacre has been published on many newspapers but many Vietnamese people, particularly those who were born after the war, still want to hear it directly from a witness like him.
At the time the My Lai massacre occurred, I was about to leave the army and return to the US. From the LZ Dottie base (which is in Quang Ngai province), we flew to My Lai on a helicopter.
The helicopter landed on a field outsider My Lai village. When I arrived there, I heard a lot of shooting. I and other soldiers jumped out of the plane. I thought that I was in a battlefield but very soon I felt something stranger there. It did not seem to be a battle. I saw only American soldiers shooting on mobile targets. There was no shooting from the other side. I asked myself: what was happening?
Another helicopter landed. Two groups of soldiers moved into the village and began shooting villagers. They shot every moving target, including men, women, kids and cattle. But I did not see any signal of Viet Cong.
When I approached nearer to the village, I witnessed a woman who was trying to stand up from a pile of dead bodies. She was injured but she could not stand up. I did not know whether she was a Viet Cong or not but she was a moving target and a soldier killed her by a gunshot to her head.
At the same time, other US troops walked around to seek the traces of Viet Cong or weapons.
After that I saw an old man and two kids approaching. They were the first Vietnamese I saw in a near distance. Immediately, they were shot to dead. I was really shocked because he did not look like a Viet Cong, more like two kids.
Are they in one of your photos?

The tomb of victims who were killed on the village road. Over half
of them were children from 1 to 15 years old.

Yes. There is only one boy in that photo but actually, the second boy lied very near from the first boy.
A stele in My Lai writes: Here American troops arranged machine guns to massacre civilians who were gathered on the front field. So civilians were shot by machine guns and guns of infantrymen?
On the road I walked into the village, I saw American solders shooting and burning houses on the left. I did not see machine guns. Perhaps that’s the way Vietnamese called M16 guns. Actually I heard that that day US soldiers brought machine guns (M30) with them but I did not know whether other groups used them or not.
Shooting, crying and shouting was everywhere. I began taking pictures.
In another photo, entitled “The elder brother shields his sister”, I saw the arm of someone. Is that the arm of a soldier who prevented you from taking photo? Were you hindered from shooting these pictures?
That is exactly the arm of a soldier. You can also see his helmet. He was behind me at that time. I did not know how he reacted. My task was taking photo while his task is shooting. Some soldiers said: be careful, there is one with cameras. Just it.
The My Lai massacre was exposed in 1969 by journalists and your photos. Why did you decide to launch those photos? Did you face any obstacle from the US army?
I was a voluntary soldier. While I was in the army, I could not show those photos. There were many war journalists at that time. If I launched the pictures, they would have been hindered from doing their job.
In an interview, you said that you were most obsessed by seeing American soldiers jumped on the back of buffaloes and stabbed them by bayonets. What happened to these soldiers?

Haeberle and Tran Van Duc’s family burn incense at the tomb.

Yes, this was abnormal act. I could not explain what happened. Previously, some American soldiers were killed near My Lai and perhaps remaining soldiers suffered from great pressure and tenseness. That act was likely the way they relieved their stress.
A local who survived in the massacre said that American soldiers sometimes entered the village. They seemed to be friendly to villagers and even gave candies to kids. Villagers said that if they knew that American soldiers were so brutal like that, they would have hidden themselves. As a veteran, could you tell us what happened among soldiers?
American soldiers used to be friendly with villages but in several consecutive days, some soldiers treaded in mines and mortally wounded so they were angry. They blamed villages to indirectly cause the death of their comrades and they revenged.
The interview switches to a controversial topic: whether Tran Van Duc, a Vietnamese origin in Germany, and his younger sister Tran Thi Ha are characters in the photo entitled “Eldery brother shields his sister by his body” or not.
This content will be introduced in the next article.
Hoang Huong

Jury for Vietnam Film Festival announced | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Jury for Vietnam Film Festival announced

December 16, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - The ongoing 17th Vietnam Film Festival in Tuy Hoa city, Phu Yen province, has revealed the jury for the feature film category.

Director Luu Trong Ninh.

Headed by famous director Luu Trong Ninh, the panel members include renowned actress Tra Giang, director Bui Thac Chuyen, screenwriter Trinh Thanh Nha, and cinematographer Dinh Anh Dung.
Director Ninh is known for war-related movies and recently “Thang Long Aspiration”, a historical drama representing Vietnam which will compete in the Oscar’s Best Foreign Film category.
Chuyen is widely known for “Adrift,” which was well-received at the 2009 Venice Film Festival.
Although the festival looks for the best of various film genres, from documentaries to animated works, its feature film category has traditionally been the center of both public anticipation and media attention.
The judges said they had watched the 17 nominated movies and arrived in Phu Yen on December 14 to start their work.
To Van Dong, a senior official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the main organizer of the festival, said that besides 17 feature films, it has received 91 other entries, including 62 documentaries, 8 scientific documentaries, and 16 cartoons.
Each category will have its own experienced judging panel, he said, adding that 999 local artists, filmmakers, producers and other professionals would join the event, which opens on December 15 at Sao Mai Theatre.

Director Bui Thac Chuyen.

The Golden Lotus award will be given to the best sound for all categories after a two-year interruption. The Vietnam Cinematography Association will also honor the best young director under the age of 30 for the first time.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the first festival held in Hanoi in 1970. The festival’s opening and closing ceremony will be broadcast live on VTV1 and VTV2, tonight, December 15 and Saturday.
Festival highlights

Senior actress Tra Giang.

December 15: The exhibition Four Decades of Viet Nam Film Festival will take place at Dien Hong Park and April 1st Square; and opening ceremony, Sao Mai Theatre, 8pm.
December 16: Meetings between actors and fan clubs; discussion on cinema development policy at the Cendelux Hotel and outdoor movie screen at April 1st Square.
December 17: Discussion entitled Vietnamese Cinema – Situation and Measure; closing ceremony at Sao Mai Theatre, 8pm, and press conference.

Vietnam’s architecture via lens of photographers | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Vietnam’s architecture via lens of photographers

December 12, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - High-rise buildings, cathedrals, Buddhist temples, etc. look brilliant in 32 photos that entered the finale of the Masterpiece Photo Contest 2011. These works are now on display in HCM City.
The contest closed on November 25, attracting more than 2,800 entries. The best 32 photos are on display until December 17 in HCM City. The award ceremony will be held on December 18.
Below are the top 32 entries:

Semicircle Lake in District 7, HCM City by Huynhdung.

Dak Lak Museum by Bao Hung.

Urban painting by huutienphoto.

Phu My Bridge by Mr_deven.

Thong Nhat Palace 2 by telieuo.

Architectural line by Lehuudung.

Wind and water café by khanhpham.

Hanoi in evening sun by naduytuong.

Violet sunset by nhim1958.

Patterns by tranthephong.

Vietnam’s imprints by randoc.

Path to dream by Vohien.

Truc Lam Tay Thien monastery by Tuan Lai.

A corner of Saigon Pearl by khanhphoto1960.

Wind’s words by Tranhungphoto.

The stairs to heaven by Tuandat.

The beauty of contrast by Trinh.

Hoang Sa cathedral by le hai.

Rural life in city by thuongpoly.

Vista building by thang190470.

Starlight bridge by Tranbaohoa.

Can Tho Terminal by Sontran.

Lien Khuong Airport by Nguyen Thanh Liem.

Parallel by daihocsi.

Cathedral by ngoctrung.

My city by cattien.

The past and the present by tranquocviet123.

Bitexco Financial Tower by Quangbui.

Hanoi by anhkhang2011.

White-Black by imsvietnam.

Magnificent by Nguyen Vinh Hien.

Majestic by Longthaibao8011.

VNE

Big network operators prove to be more “indocile” | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Big network operators prove to be more “indocile”

December 13, 2011 about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - As predicted, after Beeline, a small network operator,
launched the “billionaire service package”–a new war in the mobile call charges
has been kicked off. While Beeline has been told to stop the super-cheap
package, big guys have jumped on the bandwagon.

The state management agency has the right to “blow its whistle” asking network
operators to stop the activities that it believes the signs of unhealthy
competition. However, in some cases, its actions have no effect, if the network
operators are the “big cheeses”.
Meanwhile, small mobile network operators had to stop their sale promotion
campaigns immediately after they were instructed to do that.
“Small telecom companies prove to be more obedient to the instructions of the
Ministry of Information and Communication than the big ones,” an official of the
ministry commented on Thoi bao Kinh te Vietnam.
The words of the official partially can show the current situation of the
telecom market.
Three months ago, Beeline launched the “billionaire service package”, offering
low charges in an effort to attract more users. Under the sale promotion
campaign, when people bought a simcard priced at 20,000 dong, they would have
20,000 dong in their main account. Besides, Beeline would give 270,000 dong more
to the users’ account every day. As such, people need to pay 20,000 dong and
they would have one billion dong in account for use for 10 years. However, the 1
billion dong could be used only to make inner-network calls.
However, the super-cheap package has no more been available on the market, after
the Ministry of Information and Communication instructed Beeline to stop
providing the package. The ministry said that it can see the signs of dumping
the mobile call charges which will influence the market’s operation.
Meanwhile, right after Beeline’s program stopped, some big guys on the telecom
market have also launched attractive service packages with very low charges. As
predicted by experts, the telecom market is now witnessing a new mobile call
charges competition when the big guys jump on the bandwagon.
Viettel, the mobile network with the highest number of subscribers, has launched
Tomato Green package, offering the super-cheap charge of 50 dong per
call-minute. Tomato Green is being applied to new pre-paid subscribers and the
subscribers who are using Tomato, Sumosim packages activated since June 1, 2011.
Tomato Green has been applied since November and will last on January 30, 2012.
With Tomato Green, clients can make 150 free messages and enjoy the low charge
of 50 dong per minute for the inner-network calls from 10 pm to 12 pm and 500
dong per minute for the calls from 0 am to 5 pm every day.
However, Viettel’s Tomato Green proves to make nothing if MobiFone’s Alo 24/7
program applied from November 29 to December 10, 2011. The noteworthy thing is
that the mobile network does not run noisy ad campaigns on mass media, does not
introduce the new package on its official website. It only quietly sends
information to mobile subscribers.
With Alo24/7, MobiFone’s subscribers, when registering the package, can enjoy
free 80 inner-network minute calls, i.e the charges of 7500 dong for 130 minute
calls, 10,000 dong for 180 minutes, 15,000 dong for 300 minutes within the day.
As such, users just have to pay 50-60 dong per minute.
A manager of a telcom has raised a question that if the above said service
packages could be considered as dumping on the market and should the packages be
stopped, like the Beeline’s package.
Big network operators are the ones who hold big market shares with the numbers
of subscribers reaching tens of millions for each. Therefore, once they apply
big sale promotion campaigns, they would destroy the market structure, and the
impacts of their promotion campaigns would be even more serious than the ones of
small network operators.
Source: TBKTVN

MGM Grand HO Tram to open

S$4.2 billion beach resort to open in 2013

December 13, 2011  about News, Travel

The first phase of the Ho Tram Strip project, to build a top-notch beach resort in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province, has been completed and is expected to open the door to tourists in early 2013.
Lloyd Nathan, chief executive officer (CEO) of Asian Coast Development (Canada) Ltd. (ACDL), the project investor, says workers are putting the finishing touches to a five-star hotel with 541 rooms, named MGM Grand Ho Tram, an entertainment centre, restaurants and retail shops.
The Canadian-invested project is the first in Vietnam to build a large-scale resort complex covering 164 ha and stretching along 2.2 km of beautiful beach in Long Dien district. It is divided into five phases with an estimated investment of US$4.2 billion.
The complex includes a 19-storey luxury hotel, a series of international-standard restaurants, a conference hall, art performance areas, swimming pools, a golf course and entertainment centres.
Lloyd Nathan says that his company is upgrading a 125km section of National Highway 52 with four lanes to connect Ho Chi Minh City to Ho Tram Strip.
VOV

Ha Long tour excursion ticket gets more expensive, travel firms get shocked | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Ha Long tour excursion ticket gets more expensive, travel firms get shocked

December 8, 2011 about News, Travel

LookAtVietnam - The decision to increase the price of the excursion ticket
to Ha Long Bay, commencing from December 1, just a couple of weeks after Ha Long
Bay was recognized as one of the seven natural wonders, has surprised travelers.

The excursion ticket price has unexpectedly increased by 100 percent since
December 1, 2011. Travel firms have complained that they were not warned about
that before, and they could not prepare for the changes,

The shocking decision

Since December 1, travelers have to pay 80,000 dong for a ticket for the
itinerary of Thien Cung cavern - Dau Go cavern – Cho Da island – Ba Hang fishing
village – Dinh Huong island – Trong Mai island – Hoa Cuong fishing village.
Meanwhile, the ticket is more expensive, at 90,000 dong for the Sung Sot cave –
Titov island – Me Cung cave – Dong Tien Lake, and 130,000 dong for a place for
staying at night.
Especially, if travelers want to visit some points of the fixed itineraries,
they will have to buy tickets for the whole itinerary, while previously, they
only had to pay tickets for the excursion to some certain points. Besides,
travelers also have to pay to charter ships which bring them to the bay.
The higher excursion tickets have in no way influenced the number of travelers
to Ha Long Bay. It was estimated there were 4500 travelers on November 2, the
same as the number of the other days. However, travel firms said that most of
the travelers were foreign ones, who booked tours before the day travel firms
were informed about the higher excursion tickets.
“We ourselves got surprised about the excursion ticket increases. We now have to
renegotiate with travelers. Many of them accept to pay more for tickets, while
those, who do not want to visit Ha Long Bay any more, will get money back. In
case the negotiations fail, we have to use our money to offset the ticket price
increases,” said Nguyen Van Hien, Director of Joy Travel.
Travel firms said that they should have been informed in advance about the
ticket price increases several months in advance, so that they could prepare for
this.
In fact, the Quang Ninh local authorities made the decision to raise the ticket
on November 18, while an official notice was released on November 20. And only
those, who came to the area, could hear about the information.
Tickets get more expensive, what’s next?
A question has been raised that whether the excursion ticket price increase
means the improvement in the service quality.
Travel firms say that in general, all the travelers to Ha Long Bay would spend
money to visit the wonderful landscape. However, travelers still complain about
the poor tourism products and the infrastructure.
The quay at the Titov Island has to be upgraded after it was put into operation
for a short time. Meanwhile, the quay at Thien Cung cave has not been completed
after a long time of implementation. Especially, tourists do not feel safe when
the quay is still under construction, while it is receiving guests at the same
time. In many cases, travelers have to wait on the key to wait for the officers
of the Ha Long bay management board to come to receive them.
Commenting about the decision to raise the excursion ticket price to Ha Long
Bay, Nguyen Quy Phuong, Director of the Travel Department of the Vietnam
National Tourism Administration VNAT has affirmed that he has received a lot of
complaints from travel firms.
The increase of the excursion ticket price after five years of keeping unchanged
price levels would not have been a problem, if the decision had not been made at
this moment, just a few days after Ha Long Bay became one of the seven natural
wonders of the world.
Analysts have also commented that it is now not the right time to make such a
decision. The Quang Ninh People’s Committee should have offered preferential
tickets to be grateful to those who have voted for Ha Long Bay and to attract
more travelers.

Mai Hoa

New Low Cost Airlines joined Vietnam market

Private low-cost carrier set to take off in Vietnam 

December 6, 2011  about Business

The first private airline licensed in Vietnam four years ago officially joined the market Friday, introducing itself as a low-cost carrier.

 

With its “Save more, fly more” slogan, VietJetAir aims to make air transport accessible to all Vietnamese and foreign tourists including low-income earners through affordable and flexible prices, the VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Company said in a press release.

 

Nguyen Duc Tam, the airline’s deputy general director, said the low-cost model is very popular and successful in the world.

 

Tam said several low-cost flights in Vietnam have been operating with old airplanes, so VietJet “will change what Vietnamese people think about low-cost carriers” by using brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft.

 

The new aircraft will save energy, reduce maintenance costs and avoid technical problems that can cause unexpected flight delays, he said, adding that all 180 seats will be used to maximize the efficiency.

 

“The operation of new and renowned aircraft will be the key to VietJetAir’s future success,,” the press release quoted Tam as saying.

 

Initially, VietJetAir will operate four flights per day between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi starting December 24. The number will be increased to 14 in early 2012, when it will also begin flights between HCMC and central Vietnam’s Da Nang.

 

The airline also plans to launch flights to other destinations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia in the middle of 2012, the release said.

 

VietJet had initially planned on an all-Vietnamese crew, but that will not be possible for the inaugural flights.

 

Tam told the press during the launching ceremony that “it’s impossible to use only Vietnamese people, especially pilots and technical experts.”

 

But he said the airline will regularly train people and increase the Vietnamese component of its crew.

 

VietJet, with a registered capital of VND600 billion (US$28.56 million), has delayed its maiden flight several times.

 

Like other private carriers in Vietnam, the airline has been struggling with certification, financial and personnel problems.

 

Five of them have been licensed in the past four years but only Air Mekong is flying, and not very smoothly.

 

Earlier this year, Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia divested its 30 percent stake in VietJet after the companies did not reach an agreement on using the brand name.

 

They planned to name the joint venture VietJet AirAsia. But the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam has banned local carriers from using brands and logos of foreign airlines.

 

Tam said at the launching ceremony that VietJet was “active” despite AirAsia’s withdrawal.

 

“We have very good foreign experts who can replace AirAsia in technical support. Without AirAsia, we’re still flying,” he said.

 

The deputy director said VietJet is prepared financially for five years of operation and there have been no plans to seek foreign investment in the future.
 

Thanh Nien News 

Doctors give up on 90-kg tumor | Look At Vietnam - Vietnam news daily update

Doctors give up on 90-kg tumor

December 3, 2011 about Health

Nguyen Duy Hai will not be able to get rid of his 90-kilogram tumor.

Doctors at Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City Tumor Hospital have decided against removing a local man’s 90-kilogram tumor, saying the procedure would cost the patient his life, VnExpress reported.
They said Nguyen Duy Hai, 31, had pleural effusion, which would cause respiratory failure after such an operation.
Massive blood loss during the procedure could also threaten the patient’s life, doctors said.
“We compared performing a risky surgery with letting the patient live with his non-painful tumor, and we chose the second option,” said Dr Pham Xuan Dung, deputy director of the hospital.
Hai will soon be brought back to his home in Da Lat, a mountain town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong. Doctors said they would continue to monitor Hai in case they may be able to operate on him in the future.
The HCMC Tumor Hospital said it was willing to provide assistance to any health organization or medical clinic able to perform surgery on Hai.
Hai said he was not “too upset” about the cancelation of the surgery because he has a lot of caring people around him.
Hai has been diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type I (NF-1), formerly known as von Recklinghausen disease, a human genetic disorder.
Hai was a normal infant, but his right leg grew much bigger than his left leg by the time he turned four years old.

After doctors amputated his right leg 14 years ago, a tumor kept growing and has since swallowed portions of his buttocks and back.
This July, when Hai was admitted to the HCMC Tumor Hospital, the tumor was approximately 1 meter wide and weighed about 80 kilograms (176 pounds).
The tumor now weighs 90 kilograms.

Thanh Nien News

Vietnam still fumbles in the fight against counterfeit goods

December 2, 2011  about Uncategorized

LookAtVietnam - Nearly all the high quality products which have high
sales have been counterfeited. Businesses have lost billions of dong because of
the counterfeit goods, while state management agencies still fumble in the fight
against counterfeiters.

When counterfeit goods look more beautiful than real goods
Nguyen Huu Vinh, Deputy Personnel and Administration Division of LG Vina, the
owner of cosmetics brands of Essance, Ohui and Whoo, said that counterfeit goods
not only cause reputational damage, but also badly affect the sales of the
enterprise.
He said that the turnover of the company in the last few years just reached
70-75 percent of the expected level, despite thorough market survey and
preparation for sale campaigns, because real goods have to compete with
counterfeit goods in the market.
Also according to Vinh, in the past, the products with Essance brand were most
counterfeited, because the products have reasonable prices. Previously,
counterfeit goods were made in HCM City and neighboring provinces. Nowadays,
they are made in China and then carried illegally to Vietnam.
“The packing of the products looks very good, and in some cases, it looks even
more beautiful than that of real goods,” he said. For example, the packing
sample which LG Vietnam ordered in South Korea contained errors. Meanwhile, the
error cannot be found in the counterfeit goods
Nguyen Ba Cuong Truc from Nghia Pincers Company said that on November 15, the
company, joining hands with the investigation agencies, discovered counterfeit
goods at two shops in Hanoi.
Truc said that though the company regularly examines the doubtful points of sale
and takes drastic measures to request sales agents to comply with the
commitments on refusing counterfeit goods, the company cannot be sure that all
the sales agents follow the promises.
Meanwhile, sales agents well understand that they would pocket huge profit when
selling counterfeit goods, which is double the profit they gain when selling
real goods.
Truc’s principle is that the thing that needs to do to fight against counterfeit
goods not to eliminate sales agents, but to guide consumers how to differentiate
real goods and counterfeit goods.
According to Lawyer Chau Huy Quang from LCT Law Firm, even the anti-counterfeit
stickers (the stamps used to stick on products to certify the real goods) also
can be counterfeited. This has made producers more puzzled in the fight against
counterfeit goods.
Meanwhile, Lawyer Tran Hai Duc said that some enterprises made real products at
first, but then they have products outsourced to Chinese producers. After the
products are made in China, they import the products and then stick their labels
to sell on the market. In this case, enterprises have their products themselves
counterfeited for bigger profits.
Enterprises and management agencies need to join hands
Do Hong Quang, Deputy Head of the Market Management Sub-department, admitted
that despite the great efforts, the sale of counterfeit and imitation goods
still continues.
Nguyen Thanh Nhan, Deputy Head of the Binh Duong provincial market management
sub-department, complained that he has got tired because of the overlapping and
contradictory regulations.
Nhan said that previously, the criminals of industrial property infringement
could face the criminal prosecution. However, other regulations stipulate that
the commercial-scale infringements would not face the criminal prosecution. Due
to the concept “commercial-scale infringement,” the agency could not take a lot
of counterfeit consignments of goods worth billions of dong into legal
proceedings.
Nhan also said that there lacks the cooperation between state management
agencies and enterprises. His sub-department asked gas trading companies to join
forces to clarify a counterfeit goods case, but none of them sent
representatives to the meeting.
Lawyer Chau Huy Quang agrees that the legal framework in fighting against
counterfeit goods is sufficient, but the implementation of the regulations is
not good.
“In the last five years, only 22 cases of intellectual property infringement
were found, which really does not truly reflect the real situation,” Quang said.
Source: TBKTSG