Condolences sent to Japan

Party
General Secretary and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Phu Trong has
sent a message of sympathies to Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan over the
losses caused by the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country.

President Nguyen Minh Triet has also sent a message of condolences to Japanese
Emperor Akihito, expressing the country’s solidarity and willingness to help
Japan. The President said he believed that the Japanese people would overcome
the pain and destruction caused by the disaster and hoped that they would be
able to resume their normal lives soon.

Politburo member and Standing member of the Party Central Committee’s
Secretariat Truong Tan Sang sent sympathies to Yoshito Sengoku, acting president
of the Japanese Democratic Party.

Representatives of the Foreign Ministry and the Vietnamese Embassy in Japan met
with representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Ha Noi and the Japanese Foreign
Ministry on March 12, asking the Japanese Government to take timely measures to
support the victims, including Vietnamese citizens in Japan.

The
Vietnamese Government provide Japan US$200,000 in aid. An untold number of
deaths and extensive damage have devastated Japan after an earthquake, measuring
at 9.0 on the Richter scale, hit northeastern Japan Friday, which triggered a
massive tsunami in the Pacific Ocean that slammed into the Japanese coastline.

Condolences sent to Japan over earthquake

Prime Minister Nguyen
Tan Dung yesterday sent sympathies to his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan over
the 8.9 Richter-scale earthquake and tsunami which caused serious losses and
damage to many localities in Japan.

Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem also sent his sympathies to
Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeaki Matsumoto.

National Buddhism propagation seminar wrapped up

Photo: VNA

The National Buddhism Propagation Seminar 2011 themed “Buddhism and the nation”,
the largest ever held, closed in the southern province of Binh Duong on March
13.

Various activities took place during the four-day
seminar, including an environmental protection parade and discussions of topics
such as Buddhism with environmental protection, Buddhism in the process of
international integration and social charity.

The Organising Board also held a requiem to pray
for peace of the nation and the souls of fallen soldiers and the dead.

Participants took place in charitable activities,
donating 100 houses to the poor, funding for 15 heart operations on poor
patients and bikes to poor students worth over VND10 billion in total.

The seminar adopted a nine-point resolution aimed
at disseminating Buddhist dharma to young people, increasing Buddhism
propagation work aboard and in remote and ethnic-inhabited areas, and opening
professional training courses.

According to Venerable Thich Minh Thien, Deputy
Head of the seminar’s Organising Board, the seminar had the goal of
disseminating Buddhist dogmas to all monks and nuns as well as people from all
walks of life in and outside the country.

On the occasion, the Vietnam Record Book Centre
presented Vietnamese records to the Organising Board for the largest Buddhism
propagation seminar in Vietnam and the Buddhism propagation seminar with the
largest number of participants.

VNN/VOV/VNS