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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011341

Top discipline watchdog to strengthen oversight of senior officials in command

After a busy year of fighting corruption in various aspects, such as in the financial and poverty alleviation sectors, the top discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China has pledged to maintain a high level of pressure on all sorts of disciplinary violations and graft crimes to ensure a clean Party.

A communique adopted at the sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC, which was held in Beijing from Tuesday to Thursday, rounded up the achievements of discipline authorities in 2021 and set out clear requirements for key tasks this year.

While addressing the session on Tuesday, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed rigorous and unswerving efforts in further promoting full and strict Party governance.

The meeting also approved a work report by Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC.

In 2022, the CPC will convene its 20th National Congress, which is a major event in the political life of the Party and the country, the communique said.

It urged coordination in punishing corruption, strengthening deterrence among officials, tightening institutional restrictions, and improving the officials’ political awareness to make more institutional achievements and greater progress in governance.

Discipline inspection commissions and supervision agencies should play a better role in enforcing oversight of the implementation of decisions, particularly on the major tasks of fully deepening reform and opening-up, realizing common prosperity, improving self-reliance in science and technology and defusing major risks, the communique said.

The document stressed the importance of putting the spotlight on leading officials, also known as the “key few”. It called for strengthened oversight of officials in command and leadership teams, and said no mercy will be shown to those who run or are engaged in political factions, cliques or interest groups within the Party.

Election by bribery and breaches of electoral discipline will be punished harshly, according to the communique.

It called for strictly educating, managing and supervising young officials, as well as more efforts to tackle problems related to the disorderly expansion of capital and monopolies in the internet platform sector.

The communique urged strict financial discipline, and to promote the prevention and resolution of local government hidden debt risks, as well as resolutely investigate and deal with corruption in infrastructure construction, the financial sector and State-owned enterprises.

Furthermore, the authorities will explore setting up a blacklist of people engaged in bribery, and will continue with the Sky Net anti-corruption operation, which was launched in 2014, to hunt corrupt officials who have fled overseas, said the communique.

By CAO YIN

Published : January 21, 2022

By : China Daily

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011340

HÀ NỘI — Bilateral trade between Việt Nam and the US set a new milestone, hitting US$111.56 billion in 2021, up nearly $21 billion over the previous year, according to the General Department of Customs.

The impressive figure made the US the second trade partner having import-export turnover with Việt Nam reaching the $100 billion mark after China. 

Last year Việt Nam’s exports to the US rose 25 per cent to nearly $96.3 billion, accounting for 28.6 per cent of the country’s total exports. 

Among Việt Nam’s major export items to the US were machinery, equipment and parts with $17.82 billion, up 46 per cent; textiles and garments ($16,1 billion, up 15 per cent); computers, electronics and components ($12.76 billion; up 23 per cent); handsets and parts ($9.69 billion, up 10.3 per cent); footwear ($7.42 billion, up 18 per cent); and wood and wooden products ($8.8 billion, up 23 per cent). 

Last year, the country imported nearly $15.27 billion worth of goods from the US, mainly computers, electronics and components as well as machinery, equipment and parts. 

Bùi Huy Sơn, Counselor of the Việt Nam Trade Office in the US, said that the two-way turnover, which exceeded $100 billion for the first time in 2021, was a very important achievement, especially given the pandemic, as well as the disruptions and disturbances in the supply chain and logistics activities.

Along with that, the active and flexible activities of two business communities continued to expand trade and investment activities, such as the resumption of direct flights between Việt Nam and the US, and the fact that Vietnamese businesses were increasing investment in the US to continue to expand their presence sustainably in the market.

Looking at import and export activities, not only had the total two-way turnover reached a record level, but it was also worth mentioning that export activities from both directions had good growth rates, Sơn said, adding that the import and export goods between the two sides were very complementary.

To accelerate bilateral trade, Sơn called for continuous efforts from both sides, first of all in terms of the policy. The two sides should continue to maintain a dialogue channel, sharing information, and further enhancing mutual understanding so that they could detect and coordinate on problems favourably.

At the same time, businesses also needed to seize opportunities, especially opportunities from the strong recovery of the US economy, since different forecasts assessed a relatively high growth rate for the US economy in 2022.

He also suggested businesses closely observe market developments, ensure the requirements of legal traceability, storage, information about documents and invoices for the origin of goods, so that they could coordinate and provide information when there were requests for investigation and verification by US agencies. — VNS

Published : January 21, 2022

By : Vietnam News

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011339

The government will lower the age of eligibility for COVID-19 treatment pills from 65 to 60 to better contain the spread of the omicron variant, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday.

Kim announced the measure during a COVID-19 response meeting held a day after President Moon Jae-in said omicron has become the dominant strain in the country.

The first batch of Pfizer Inc.’s COVID-19 treatment pills arrived in the country last week to be administered first to those with compromised immune systems and those aged 65 and above. (Yonhap)

Published : January 21, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011338

SINGAPORE – About 100,000 people have entered Singapore from Malaysia under a quarantine-free travel scheme that started on Nov 29.

Of these, about 55,000 people have entered via the Causeway under the land vaccinated travel lane (VTL), and some 44,000 people have entered via the VTL for air travellers from Malaysia.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said that as at Tuesday (Jan 18), about 43,000 of the land VTL travellers had entered after the scheme was expanded on Dec 20. The expansion had allowed Singapore citizens to enter Malaysia, and Malaysia citizens to enter Singapore.

A spokesman also said MTI will temporarily reduce the land VTL capacity and ticket sales by 50 per cent from Friday, as announced last month.

She added: “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and adjust the VTL (land) capacity, taking into account the public health situation in both countries and globally.”

The number of travellers allowed to cross the Causeway was temporarily halved amid concerns over the spread of the Covid-19 Omicron variant. The move meant that there will be a maximum of 48 buses daily ferrying about 2,000 passengers between Singapore and Malaysia.

A similar capacity cut was also introduced for all air VTLs, along with stricter testing requirements.

The two designated bus operators for the land VTL, Transtar Travel and Causeway Link, reported brisk sales, even before the cut in quotas.

Competition for tickets has heated up further since, with all tickets for the land VTL sold out till Feb 28.

Malaysia’s Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said earlier this month that both countries will re-evaluate the current risks before deciding whether to proceed with the 50 per cent reduction in quota.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said that between Nov 29 and Tuesday, 44,056 travellers entered Singapore from Malaysia under the air VTL between the two countries.

These travellers are made up of 19,645 short-term visitors and long-term pass holders, 21,661 Singapore citizens and permanent residents, and 2,750 children aged 12 years and below.

Singapore Airlines (SIA), which is one of six carriers offering quarantine-free flights between both countries, said it continues to see high demand for its VTL flights.

But a spokesman said SIA is unable to disclose specific figures owing to commercial sensitivity. It said it will continue to adjust its capacity in response to travel demand patterns and passenger arrival caps.

The VTL scheme has helped to support a recovery in Singapore’s air hub, even though numbers remain a far cry from before the pandemic.

For instance, the start of a VTL with South Korea in mid-November has allowed about 1,600 travellers from the country to enter Singapore.

Passenger traffic through Changi Airport in December also reached about 15 per cent of the levels before the pandemic, on the back of the holiday season and the expansion of VTLs.

By Toh Ting Wei

Published : January 21, 2022

By : The Straits Times

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011317

Thailand needs to accelerate its connection with the China-Laos railway to boost international trade and inject greater stimulus to its domestic economy, experts say.

“The China-Laos railway project has opened a new logistics mode in the region,” said Joe Horn-Phathanothai, founder and CEO of Strategy613, an investment consultancy in Bangkok that focuses on China and Thailand. One of his clients has already been able to transport goods including packaging materials, consumer products and accessories from China to Thailand through the railway.

Horn-Phathanothai hailed the Thai government’s efforts to enhance the country’s connection with the China-Laos railway, which he said will be highly beneficial for industries and trade.

The China-Laos railway, which began operations on Dec 3, is an important part of the pan-Asian railway network that will ultimately connect Kunming, in Southwest China’s Yunnan province, with Bangkok and Singapore.

Thailand’s Transport Ministry has said it is looking to connect the country with the China-Laos railway to create a seamless inter-border transport link, Bangkok Post reported on Jan 18.

The railway link presents a substantial opportunity as Thailand currently operates passenger and cargo train services to Thanalaeng station in Laos’ capital Vientiane, said Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob.

In addition, the State Railway of Thailand was ordered by the Thai cabinet on Jan 13 to build a second bridge from Nong Khai in Northeast Thailand to Laos, to connect with the China-Laos railway.

Piti Srisangnam, an associate professor of economics at Chulalongkorn University, said Thailand needs to accelerate the connection with the China-Laos railway as it can encourage the country to speed up reforms in its logistics and transport system while providing an alternative option for trade.

For example, throughout the pandemic, the logistics cost to transport a container box via sea routes from Thailand to European countries and the Americas has increased at least 200 percent, and on occasion up to 10 times higher than pre-pandemic levels, he said.

The alternative route enabled by the China-Laos railway will also allow Thailand to transport goods to China, Central Asia and even European countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, said Piti.

Connecting 15 Chinese cities with Thailand, Singapore and several other countries involved in the BRI, the China-Laos railway has so far carried over 1 billion yuan ($157.49 million) worth of international freight, according to Xinhua News Agency, citing Kunming Customs.

In March 2021, the Thai government and a Chinese construction consortium signed an agreement for the first phase of the planned China-Thailand high-speed railway project that links Bangkok with northeastern Thai province of Nokhon Ratchasima, aiming to make it operational in 2026.

The project will eventually link Bangkok with Nong Khai on the border with Laos to connect with the China-Laos railway.

Horn-Phathanothai of Strategy 613 said it is also important for Thailand to utilize its existing transport system to connect with the China-Laos railway.

“We can use the existing one to build a kind of little interchange hub,” Horn-Phathanothai said. 

Surasit Thanadtang, director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center at the National Research Council of Thailand, said the government’s efforts to enhance Thailand’s connection with the China-Laos railway and establishing the transport and logistics alliance of the China, Laos and Thailand economic corridor is “happening at the right time and at the right place”. 

“This model can (help) build an integrated logistics system of the China-Indochina Peninsula Economic Corridor,” said Surasit. The Indochina Peninsula is an important link in the BRI.   

By Yang Han in Hong Kong

China Daily

Published : January 20, 2022

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011302

HCM CITY — The HCM City health department on Wednesday announced three Omicron cases in the community, the first cluster of the highly contagious variant to be discovered in Việt Nam.

All three Omicron cases are linked to a Vietnamese woman whose name was given as N.T.N.P., born in 1981 and with an address in Ward 17, Bình Thạnh District.

P. had received three doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine previously, but tested positive for the coronavirus. The genomic sequencing results are not yet available.

P. entered Việt Nam on January 7, 2022 (she had a negative PCR test in the United States on January 4) on flight number BN5409, which landed at Cam Ranh International Airport, Khánh Hoà Province. She was quarantined in a separate room at a hotel in Nha Trang City.

She was tested for COVID-19 on January 9, and the results returned negative.

On the afternoon of January 10, she took a Vietnam Airlines flight (VN1345) to HCM City, and was welcomed by three relatives – a man named K. (born in 1987, residing in Bình Chánh District), a woman named H. (born in 1976, Gò Vấp District), and a woman named T. (born in 1991, District 11) – at Tân Sơn Nhất International Airport.

P., K. and H. had dinner together at a restaurant then returned home.

Late January 13, P. started coughing and had a slight sore throat. The next day, all three relatives showed symptoms and went for medical examinations.

Their specimens were sent to Hospital 30/04 for analysis, after the SARS-CoV-2 positive status was confirmed, the hospital forwarded the specimens to the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases for genomic sequencing on January 15.

On January 16, Hospital 30/04 also confirmed P. was infected with the coronavirus.

On January 18, the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases said all three relatives were infected with the Omicron variant, while the results for P. are still pending.

All four patients are in stable health condition.

The HCM City Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDC) is conducting contact tracing and testing all those who had close contact with the Omicron cases.

HCDC has closely supervised quarantined people entering the country from overseas and performed genomic sequencing of positive COVID-19 test results to detect the Omicron variant of the virus.

Community rapid testing will be performed at residential areas with a surge in infections, and genomic sequencing of positive COVID-19 test results will be conducted to detect the Omicron variant of the virus in the community, according to HCDC.

All previous 70 Omicron cases as of Tuesday in Việt Nam were imported cases who were isolated upon arrival, including 30 cases in HCM City, one in Hà Nội, one in Hải Phòng, 27 in Quảng Nam, one in Hải Dương, two in Thanh Hóa, three in Đà Nẵng, two in Khánh Hòa, one in Long An, and two in Quảng Ninh.

Most were asymptomatic or showed mild fever, except for an 82-year-old woman returning from the US considered to be at high risk, but her condition is currently stable.

As per Government requirements, all entries into Việt Nam will need to undergo rapid tests at airports, and positive tests will need to undergo genomic sequencing.

People with positive tests at Tân Sơn Nhất Airport in HCM City will be sent to No.12 COVID-19 field hospital in Thủ Đức City for quarantine and treatment. — VNS

Published : January 20, 2022

By : Vietnam News

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011301

The South Korean economy faces uncertainty as the upsurge in COVID-19 cases, external risks and fiscal situations could constrain the economic recovery, the country’s finance minister said Thursday.

Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki also stressed the need to run the economic policy in a delicate manner in a bid to pursue the harmonized operation with the monetary policy.

“The South Korean economy faces complicated conditions at home and abroad that could constrain its growth,” Hong said at a government meeting on the economy.

He cited virus situations, external economic risks and fiscal conditions as major factors that could weigh on the economic growth.

The minister raised the need to meet many policy goals via a “policy mix” under which the government supports vulnerable people while the central bank tightens monetary policy.

His remarks came amid concerns that the government’s plan for another extra budget is not in sync with the central bank’s efforts to curb inflation with rate hikes.

The finance ministry plans to propose an extra budget of some 14 trillion won ($11.8 billion) to support pandemic-hit small merchants. The move could put further upward pressure on rising inflation.

Last week, the BOK raised the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 1.25 percent, marking the third pandemic-era hike since August and November last year. The central bank hinted at more rate hikes in the coming months to tame inflation.

South Korea’s consumer prices grew 2.5 percent last year from a year earlier, the fastest pace in 10 years, due to surging energy costs and high prices of farm products. The BOK put its 2022 inflation outlook at 2 percent.

Interest rates could further rise as the government plans to issue bonds to finance the planned extra budget.

Yields on three-year government bonds spiked to 2.148 percent on Monday, the highest since June 21, 2018, due to the impact of the BOK’s rate hike and the planned extra budget.

The government seeks to assist pandemic-hit merchants with the supplementary budget, but the move could jack up people’s interest payment burdens.

Global supply chain disruptions and uncertainty about the Federal Reserve’s plan to scale down its monetary stimulus are expected to serve as major external risks for Asia’s fourth-largest economy. (Yonhap)

Published : January 20, 2022

By : The Korea Herald

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011300

More Myanmar citizens are trying to illegally cross border to Thailand, and there have also been arrests almost every day this month.

Thai media reported that over 100 more Myanmar workers were arrested in Kanchanaburi Province for illegally entering Thailand.

As more attempt to illegally cross border to Thailand, more than 100 Myanmar migrant workers were arrested in Kanchanaburi Province bordering Dawei District, Taninthayi Region, on January 17, the Public Relations Centre of the Royal Thai Army announced.

The illegal migrants mainly used jungle routes on the border and tried to enter Thailand with the help of brokers and local guides.

On January 17 in Kanchanaburi Province, over 100 Myanmar nationals were captured in three batches—44, 18 and 41.

According to the confessions of the detained Myanmar workers, they entered Thailand to seek a job. Each had to pay up to 20,000 baht as a broker fee, and they came from Dawei, Bago, Magway, Yangon and Mandalay, Thai media reported.  

This month has seen a series of attempts by Myanmar citizens to enter Thailand illegally via cross-border. Meanwhile, Thai authorities have made arrests almost every day.

Thailand is taking stricter measures to prevent illegal cross-border by deploying troops and security cameras. Illegal migrant workers mostly try to enter the provinces of Kanchanaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan sharing borders with Myanmar’s region of Taninthayi.  

By Zaw Moe Oo (Myeik)

Published : January 20, 2022

By : Eleven Media

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011299

MANILA, Philippines — Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio said on Wednesday that, if elected vice president, she would push for mandatory military service for all Filipinos reaching the age of 18 — male or female.

She said she would use the Office of the Vice President to urge the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Philippines to pass such legislation.

“We see this in other countries like South Korea and Israel. It should not just be like ROTC [Reserved Officers’ Training Corp’ where it’s just one subject or one weekend or a month in a year,” Duterte-Carpio, said, speaking in a mix of English and Filipino during the Manila Virtual Caravan.

“Everyone, once your turn 18, once you reach 18 years old, you will be given a subsidy. You will be asked to serve our country under our Armed Forces of the Philippines,” she added.

In 2002, military training was made optional through the National Service Training Program (NSTP) Act of 2001 (Republic Act No. 9163).

Calls to abolish mandatory military training were fueled by the killing of University of Santo Tomas sophomore cadet Mark Welson Chua in 2001 after he exposed corruption in his school’s military training program.

By: Neil Arwin Mercado

Published : January 20, 2022

By : Philippine Daily Inquirer

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https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40011298

The daily total of new infections with the novel coronavirus set a new record in Japan on Wednesday with at least 40,000 cases, exceeding Tuesday’s 32,197.

Particularly notable amid the current spread of the omicron variant is the rapid rise in infections among children aged under 10, and the spread among family members. Although 90% of infected children are asymptomatic or have only mild symptoms, municipalities and experts are concerned about the increased risk of serious illness if the virus spreads to elderly people.

“We’ve seen an increase in the number of child patients since around last week,” said the director of Hosaka Kodomo Clinic in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward.

Since the second week of this month, when the number of suspected infections began increasing sharply, the clinic has tested up to about 20 patients a day. Of the 12 people who tested positive this month at the clinic, eight were aged under 10. Their symptoms have tended to be mild, such as a fever and runny nose.

“Up until the fifth wave of the infection, children who came in with a fever rarely tested positive in an antigen test,” the director said. “But now, there’s a good chance that an examinee will test positive.”

■ 6 times more

Infections among children aged under 10 are on the rise. About half of new patients confirmed over the week to Sunday in Tokyo were in their 20s and 30s, and those under 10 accounted for 6%. The number of patients under age 10 was 6.3 times that in the previous week, and those in their 20s and 30s numbered 3.8 times the level in the week before.

The increase in child patients has led to a proportional rise in the number of nursery school closings. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said 86 facilities in 14 prefectures were closed as of Jan. 13, more than 10 times the level in the previous week.

Experts say a lack of vaccinations could be behind the rise in child infections, as well as the fact that the omicron variant is highly contagious, making it difficult to prevent infections at home.

According to the Tokyo metropolitan government, household infections accounted for half the infections confirmed from Jan. 4-10, more than workplace or facility infections. Among people infected outside the home, between 31% and 45% of those infected with omicron passed it to family members in the same household, according to a National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) survey. This compared to 11% to 12% of those infected with the variant that was dominant in 2020.

“We suspect that infections first spread among people in their 20s and 30s at Christmas and other year-end and New Year events, were transmitted to children at home, and then spread among children since the start of the new school year,” said Kansai University Prof. Toshio Takatorige, who specializes in public health.

■ Mild or asymptomatic

Many omicron-infected patients are either asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.

Among 191 infected people, 68, or 36%, were asymptomatic and 113, or 59%, had mild symptoms, accounting for 95% of the total, the NIID survey found. Nine people had moderate symptoms, and one was in serious condition.

However, the older patients are, the higher the risk of serious illness. In Okinawa Prefecture, the area where omicron first began spreading rapidly in the nation, the percentage of COVID-19 patients aged 70 or older rose from 3.5% on Jan. 4 to 8.3% on Tuesday.

The number of patients requiring ventilators, which had remained at zero since November last year, increased to one on Monday and three more on Tuesday, bringing the total to four.

“We’re worried about more infections occurring among the elderly, who are more likely to develop severe symptoms,” said Koji Wada, a professor of public health at the International University of Health and Welfare. “People living with grandparents are urged to take preventive measures, such as wearing masks at home, if they have symptoms.” 

By Ayaka Ueno and Kisho Hamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

Published : January 20, 2022

By : The Japan News