Hello and welcome to VOV’s Letter Box, our weekly feature dedicated to listeners throughout the world. We are Mai Phuong and Ngoc Huyen.
A: First on our show today, we’d like to say hello to Mohamad Shamim from Keralam State of India. This week, we received several emails and letters from Shamim, showing us that he is very interested in our program.
B: Shamim reported listening to our program on October 3rd, 16th, and 17th on the frequency of 12005 Khz and said he liked the report on stamp collecting in Vietnam and especially the Letter Box, which was “superb and interesting”. Shamim posed several questions about Vietnam that we think we should consider one at a time.
A: The question we are most excited to reply to is one asking about the most popular drink in Vietnam. So, Huyen, what do you think is the most popular drink in Vietnam.
B: Oh, I’m hesitating between coffee and tea, but I lean toward tea.
A: Yes, I agree. Tea drinking has been a tradition of Vietnamese people for over three thousand years. There are many aspects of tea culture worth noting. There are also many types of tea in Vietnam, each with its own flavor and properties. Tea cultivation, the history of tea in Vietnam , its relationship to the environment, its economic impact on the ethnic minorities who grow it , the aesthetic aspects and social importance of tea-drinking rituals, could all provide topics for extensive research.
A: Tea, called “tra” in Vietnamese, can be divided into three kinds: dried tea leaves, tea combined with herbs, and tea scented with flowers. People prefer green tea brewed hot and strong and sometimes flavored with lotus, jasmine, or chrysanthemum flowers. The therapeutic and medicinal functions of tea are well-known for its incongruously cooling effect in both hot and cold weather.
B: The unique and exquisite lotus tea is one variety especially popular during Tet –Vietnam’s traditional Lunar New Year festival. The people of Tràng An (ancient Hanoi people) were renowned for their lotus tea. The lotus is considered a pure, serene flower that gathers the essence of heaven and earth in its scent.
A: Drinking lotus tea is an elegant feature of Hanoi lifestyle. It is believed that the best lotus flowers are collected from the ponds of Quảng Bá village near Hanoi’s West Lake or from Tịnh Tâm Lake in Huế City because the blossoms grow larger and more fragrant there.
B: Jasmine tea, also made from green tea leaves but scented with jasmine flowers, requires special preparation. The jasmine flowers are harvested during the day and stored in a cool place until nightfall to preserve their full fragrance. They are then layered over green tea leaves and every step of the scenting process is done by hand.
A: Green tea is hugely popular, and the majority of Vietnamese drink several cups every day. Taste a good Vietnamese green tea, and you will immediately taste the difference between it and a green tea from anywhere else. One of the main effects of green tea is to prevent small tumours from creating the new network of blood vessels essential to their growth. Vietnamese habit of taking tea, betel, or a cigarette as a prelude to conversation is referenced in the folk saying "a quid of betel and areca-nut starts the ball rolling".
B: That’s a short take on tea drinking in Vietnam. If we keep talking about tea, we’ll have no time to talk about other listeners. So, my friends, let’s take a tea break and we’ll be back in a minute with more interesting letters from our listeners throughout the world.
A: You’re listening to VOV’s Letter Box, our weekly feature dedicated to listeners throughout the world. We’re Mai Phuong and Ngoc Huyen. Next is a letter from Ratan Kumar Paul of West Bengal, India. In an email to VOV this week, Ratan wrote: “First, we would like to give our salute to General Vo Nguyen Giap. His death meant we lost a real leader. We here and see more about General Giap from your webpage and station. Thank you all”.
B: Ratan says he’s interested in learning more about the general election system of Vietnam’s parliament. According to the 1992 Constitution, elections to the National Assembly and the People's Councils are held in accordance with the principles of universal, equal, direct, and secret voting.
A: The Constitution stipulates any the citizen, regardless of ethnicity, sex, social background, religious belief, cultural standard, occupation, or length of residence, shall, upon reaching the age of eighteen, have the right to vote, and, upon reaching the age of twenty-one, have the right to stand for election to the National Assembly and the People's Councils in accordance with the provisions of the law.
B: The National Assembly election is in accordance with the Election Law. The mode of designation is 500 directly elected members. There are 182 constituencies divided into voting precincts.
A: Members to the National Assembly are elected in two rounds. A province or city directly under the central Government may constitute one precinct or be divided into several precincts. The number of precincts and number of members elected by each is based on population.
B: Each precinct may elect no more than three members, and each province and city directly under the central Government is allotted at least three seats; Hanoï, the capital, is allocated 23 deputies.
A: Vacancies arising between general elections are filled through by elections, unless the remaining parliamentary term is less than two years.
Voting is not compulsory.
B: Well, that’s how the election system in Vietnam is organized. We hope Ratan and our others listeners found it interesting.
A: This week, we welcome back Grant Skinner of England and Tjang Pak Ning of Indonesia, who have been absent from our show for a long time. In a letter to VOV this week, Grant said he has been listening to VOV for a long time and will continue to listen to our station as VOV’s broadcasts give him a good insight into what is happening in the world and in Vietnam.
B: Thank you, Grant and Tjang Pak Ning. Ashik, our regular listener from Bangladesh had a very interesting conversation with us via email about how to pronounce our names in Vietnamese. You can call me Huyen and my colleague Phuong.
A: Today, we’d also like to acknowledge letters and emails from 72-year-old Edward Nawrocki and John Arthur of Belfast, the US, Timm Breyel of Malaysia, Jayanta Chakrabarty of India, Muneer K.P and Avinash Cheekkoth of United Arab Emirates, and Fumito Hokamura of Japan. Dear listeners, your reception reports were all complete enough for us to send you letters of confirmation.
A: Once again, we’d like to remind you of our address: English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. You’re i.nvited to visit us at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. And join us on Facebook at VOV5 English Section. Good bye from Hanoi.