A: Happy New Year, dear listeners. I’m very glad to be with you on the first edition of the Letter Box after a week off for Tet, the Lunar New Year Festival. Tet is the biggest holiday in Vietnam and a few other Asian countries. Some people get 9 days of Tet holiday. It’s a great opportunity to recharge your batteries and begin a new year with full energy.

B: I wish all of you lots of health and happiness. With good health you can do everything you want. You can do something new or finish something previously started, but the results will make you happy. Happiness is all important. You can be happy with your family, your work, small things, big things, a short time or a lifetime. Again, I wish you health, happiness, and success.

A: Let’s read some listeners’ letters. Here I have a big stack of letters we received in the first week of the New Year. It’s a good omen for the year. It means we’ll receive a lot of listener feedback. Most of the listeners congratulated us on the New Year and expressed their love for VOV. I’m reading a letter from Muneer Kaitha Parambath of the United Arab Emirates. He sent us a message for World Radio Day 2013: “Radio is a vital information tool that explores the world events better than any other media. Radio also teaches language literacy that benefits youth and adult alike. Nowadays, it’s very sad to hear that many broadcasters are cutting their transmission partially or completely. Let us hope and pray for a better tomorrow for radio broadcasts”.

B: From Egypt, Mohamed Elsayed Abd Elbaheim wrote: “Give you thanks and greetings for the programs and good reports we get through VOV. These programs reflect the renewed vision of those in charge of the media industry in Vietnam. I, who follow VOV and am an old friend of VOV, still enjoy seeing Vietnam and the world through VOV. I wish you at the beginning of the year every success and hope you’ll continue to give the people of the world useful programs every day.”   

A: Dewan Rafiqul Islam, President of the Friends Radio Club of Bangladesh, wrote: “Thank you so much for always supplying me with your most informative, precise, well-thought out, and fascinating programs. I have learnt so much about your country and culture by listening to your radio station. I enjoy listening to broadcasts from all around the world to get a different perspective on world affairs. It’s a pity so many broadcasters have ended ceased their short-wave transmissions, thinking that streaming or podcasts can replace them. Not everyone is lucky enough to have an internet connection. Keep up your good work.”

B: Another Bangladeshi listener, Afzal Ali Khan, emailed us: “Last night I was listening to shortwave radio and tuned to VOV at 18:00 UTC. I enjoyed a report on Vietnam’s celebration of World Radio Day for the first time. I was glad that the pronunciation was very clear and attractive. I’m interested in knowing broadly about Vietnam, the country that fought gallantly for years against the French and Americans.”

A: Sanjib Biswas, our regular listener from India, wrote: “I’m a fan of VOV’s English Service. The reception is good in Kolkata. The half - hour program is excellent for learning more about Vietnam and its rich culture and tradition. This is my first letter in 2013. News, Current Affairs, the Letter Box, and the Sunday Show are my favorite radio programs. I would like to know more about the famous radio manufacturing companies in Vietnam.”

B: I’m very moved by the sentiments the listeners express for VOV and shortwave in general. VOV is committed to shortwave broadcast, because we consider it an effective international communication channel suitable to Vietnam’s present circumstances. Emico, an affiliate of VOV specializing in broadcast development, is the sole radio manufacturer. Its products are mainly said domestically.

A: Last week, listeners tuned in to our channel on the frequency of 9550 khz and reported a good signal. Munner Kaitha Parambath of the UAE said: “The signal strength was good without using an external antenna. Like a nearby station. Excellent broadcast and program line-up.” Bangladeshi listeners Dewan Rafiqul Islam and Faisal Ahmed rated SINPO at all 4s. Debakamal Hazarika of India said he was very happy with the reception quality on February 14^th . He heard about a VOV team visiting a center for people with disabilities and children with mental illness. He found the broadcast inspiring and excellent.

B: The frequency of 9730 khz beamed to Europe was also good. Andy Martynyuk of Russia and Dmitriy Puzanov of Kazakhstan, Giuliamo Bertozzi of Italy, and Harald Suss of Austria reported favorable listening condition on this frequency. Other frequencies such as 7220 khz and 12020 khz were also good for listeners in Japan and India.

A: One of our listeners suggests that we start a new program about young people as he wants to know more about the younger generation. It’s an interesting idea. We often mention the participation of young people in social activities and campaigns but we don’t yet have a specific segment about them. We’ve forwarded your idea to our boss.      

B: You’re listening to VOV’s Letter Box, acknowledging listeners’ comments and questions. We promise to confirm all the reception reports we received this week. We welcome your feedback at:

English section, Overseas Service, Radio Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Or you can email us at: englishsection@vov.org.vn. If you miss any of our programs, you can always catch up by visiting our website at www.vovworld.vn, where you can hear both live and recorded programs. Good bye until next time.