Thursday, June 25, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Four students arrested for distributing sex clip
VietNamNet Bridge – For the first time, distributors of a personal sex clip on the Internet will be prosecuted in Vietnam. They are four students in Hanoi who delivered a sex clip of a famous young actress and singer and her boyfriend. 
Actress Hoang Thuy Linh
A short clip (around 5 minutes) of sexual relations between Hoang Thuy Linh, a young actress and singer, who is famous for her leading role in a TV series for teenagers on the national Vietnam Television channel 3, namely “Vang Anh’s Diary”, and her boyfriend appeared on the Internet on October 11.
After that a longer clip (over 16 minutes) was uploaded, proceeding from YouTube to many other websites and blogs. The clip has even been burnt onto VCD to sell as a porno product. On October 23-24, police seized hundreds of these VCDs.
This is not the first time a personal sex clip has been distributed on the Internet. Previously sex photos of a singer and a sex clip of an actress were put online. However, this is the first time police took part to hunt the distributors. According to investigators, the spread of this clip on the Internet has caused adverse impacts on society, especially the young.
Four students between the ages of 21-25 at four universities in Hanoi have been arrested for distributing the 16-minute clip on the Internet. Policemen are seeking the first who distributed the first 5-minute clip.
Besides the four above students, policemen have named ten others, from 19-21 years old, who have kept, edited and spread this clip. Eight of them are Vietnamese students overseas and two are staffs of a mobile phone shop in Hanoi.
The four arrested people said they were aware that the clip was pornographic but they still uploaded it onto the Internet for others to watch. They will be prosecuted for spreading pornographic product under the Penal Code of Vietnam.
Major-general Nguyen Duc Nhanh, Director of the Hanoi Police Agency, said that this was a new type of crime in Vietnam and police had to cooperate with IT experts to investigate and seek the culprits. Investigation is still underway.
PV
4 sentenced for sex-clip scandal
VietNamNet Bridge – Four people implicated in the Hoang Thuy Linh sex-clip scandal received suspended sentences of between 20 to 30 months at the Ha Noi People's Court yesterday.
Four people implicated in the Hoang Thuy Linh sex-clip scandal.
College students Nguyen Huu Tai, 24, Vo Thanh Hiep, 26, Nguyen Thu Linh, 22 and Vu Thi Thuy Linh, 22, were charged with "dispersing illicit materials" (the sex-video of now 20-year-old actress Thuy Linh and her then boyfriend Vu Hoang Viet) last October. 
The sex clip, which the actress and her boyfriend recorded in July 2007, was found by a friend of Viet on his laptop in August. On October 16 it reached Tai, who posted the clip on his website and sent links to the three other defendants.
The court said the four accused had not sent the clip with commercial purposes but on impulse and had co-operated well with the police investigation.
This is the first time defendants have appeared in a Vietnamese court for posting information of a sexual nature on the internet.
(Source: Viet Nam News)
Vietnam launches sex education to teenage schoolgirls
VietNamNet Bridge - The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has launched a sex education program for students at 116 junior high schools in eighteen provinces and cities nationwide. 
Themed “Sex Education for Teenagers”, the project - financed by Kotex, a Kimberly Clark sanitary napkin brand - commenced in Ha Noi on the November 2.
Approximately 10,000 schoolgirls from over 120 schools participated in this special 45-minute sessions during which they watched informative video images of real life situations concerning sex and feminine issues appropriate to their age, besides health and hygiene matters.
The students could also consult experts on the spot.
Sex education is not included any official curriculum at Vietnamese high schools although biology classes do teach certain human reproductive functions.
Recently, a group of students from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanity has conducted an interesting survey on secondary students’ sex knowledge.
23.1% of the 76 schoolboys and 96 schoolgirls surveyed (all aged 17-18) said babies are born from the anus, 9.8% said they were ignorant while quite a few naïve students said they are born from armpits.
One even said babies are born from belly-buttons.
Vietnam ranks top in “sex” searching on Google
In 2005-2006, Vietnam was not among the top ten countries searching for this word on Google but in January 2007, Vietnam climbed to fourth and then third position (March, April, May and June), and has been first since July 2007.
October has seen a further jump of Vietnam in this category, in which Vietnam is top among countries and territories while Hanoi tops the cities in the world for searches with “sex” included in the keywords.
Meanwhile, “money” and “rich” are the words that British, Australian, American, and Canadian people search for the most. It is interesting that the countries ranking first in searching for “money” are not among the top searching for “sex”.
India and Portugal are at the middle for “money” and “sex” searching.
Google Trends is the site that makes statistics of Internet users who use Google Search around the world. It debuted in 2004.
(Source: VNE)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Japanese traditional music to charm HCM City
Melodies from Japanese stringed instruments – Koto and Biwa, and the Shakuhachi flute, will entertain music lovers in HCM City tomorrow. 
Nakai Tomoya and Nagasu Tomoka will perform popular songs using these traditional musical instruments and hold cultural exchanges with local students and residents.
The concert is organised by the Consulate General of Japan and is one of the cultural events held to celebrate the Year of Cultural Exchange between Japan and Mekong 2009.
Construction begins on first museum of cinema
Construction of Viet Nam’s first museum of cinema will start tomorrow in the southern province of Binh Thuan.
The 2,000sqm museum will be designed in Hue city’s architectural style.
Memorabilia of late talented actors such as Le Cong Tuan Anh, Bac Son, Lam Toi and Hong Sen will be displayed at the VND300 million (US$17,000) museum.
Short film month shows off young directors
VTV6 will present films by young directors such as Neu Con Co Ngay Mai (If Tomorrow Comes) by Duong Mong Thu, PA by Phan Huynh Trang and Uoc Mo Cua Thuy (Thuy’s Dream) by Minh Thuy and Thi Ngon this month to celebrate short film month.
These films often address social issues such as social evils and the third sex.
Tourists to enjoy royal music by boat in Hue
Hue Monuments Conservation Centre will use royal boats for tourism starting on March 26.
Tourists can enjoy a royal party and royal music performed by the Hue Royal Traditional Theatre on boats while sightseeing.
The VND4 billion (over US$228,500) restoration followed the design of the Nguyen dynasty’s royal boats.
US, Canadian models do charity work in Viet Nam
Canadian supermodel Noot Seear and American model Annie Henley attended the first meeting of the international members of Rose Charities International and began their own charity work in Viet Nam.
Noot Seear, 25, is the representative of Rose in the US. Annie Henley is also an active member of Rose.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
Vietnamese singers join Indie?
Indie – stimulus for music circles
Indie is an abbreviation for independent. In music, Indie is contrary to mainstream and popular music. At first, Indie had a narrow meaning, connoting “underground” or artists who don’t participate in the mainstream music market.
But Indie is different from “underground”; Indie singers often produce and distribute their own albums without the assistance of recording companies. Indie has developed along the DIY (Do it yourself) line and become a cultural symbol. Indie has expanded from music to movies and literature.
In music, Indie is more often understood as a music genre, not an indication of the nature of singers’ activities. However, many still don’t agree with viewing Indie as a music genre because it can go with rock, folk or ambient, etc. to become Indie rock, Indie pop, Indie dance, and so on.
There is no standard understanding about this term but talking about Indie music products, one can understand that these are creative and highly individual products.
In the past, Indie artists accessed audiences through the radio. Thanks to the development of information technology, Indie artists can easily advertise their music through the Internet. Many music blogs and websites are available to bring Indie music to listeners.
The borderline between mainstream and Indie music has nearly been erased. Indie has become a new trend in the world and in Vietnam, as well.
Conditional choice
Vietnam doesn’t have a developed showbiz industry so it is difficult to differentiate between Indie and mainstream music. 
Singer Tina Tinh.
A nameless singer can easily become famous though he/she has never released an album. Some artists have gotten fame through only one song broadcast on TV, like the case of Nguyen Duc Cuong. Some bands have become famous through forums and music blogs, such as M4U. In such a primitive environment, artists have many roads to follow to pursue their music career.
Indie music products have appeared in Vietnam and attracted audiences’ attention. Singer Tran Thu Ha’s Dialogue 06 album is a typical example. Thu Ha made some trials with this album and this album was produced as an Indie album. However, it was widely advertised and distributed.
In 2007, song writer Tuan Khanh produced the Bui Duong Ca album not for sale, but for free uploading on the Internet. This rock album is an Indie product in nature because it didn’t aim at popular listeners and it was not distributed in the mainstream market. However, this album didn’t catch the attention of the media.
Some other singers who have practiced Indie methods are Luong Bang Quang, Mai Khoi and Tina Tinh. These singers have written songs, sung and produced albums themselves.
2008 was believed to be a year for Indie products when many independent albums were released. Thanks to the creativeness and flexibility of Indie music, this genre of music is expected to have a positive influence on the local music market in the near future.
Cine Khang