Authorities greet Catholics, overseas Vietnamese on Lunar New Year

In Hanoi, Chairman of the People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung visited the Hang Bot and Thai Ha parishes in Dong Da district and presented 100 gifts to disadvantaged Catholic followers there.

Parish priests Trinh Ngoc Hien of the Hang Bot Parish and Nguyen Van Kieu of the Thai Ha Parish both expressed their appreciation toward assistance from the capital’s authority in many years.

In the southern province of Binh Duong, the provincial Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee held a gathering for close to 200 overseas Vietnamese, who came back to their hometown for the occasion of Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

At the event, Vice Chairman of the Binh Duong People’s Committee Dang Minh Hung acknowledged valuable contributions of the expatriate community to the country, asking them to continue supporting each other and working to promote the image of Binh Duong and Vietnam to international friends.

Binh Duong has over 10,000 residents living abroad. The expats have so far invested more than VND4 trillion (USD44.1 million) in approximately 135 projects in the province. In 2017, Binh Duong recorded USD130 million worth of remittance, up 8 percent from 2016.

A similar get-together held for over 160 overseas Vietnamese took place in the central city of Da Nang.

Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Ho Ky Minh greeted the community and pledged to facilitate their travel to and business investment in the city.

He stated the USD110 million worth of remittance Da Nang received last year reflected the community’s dedication to their homeland.

On the occasion, the Da Nang VFF Central Committee presented certificates of merit to three overseas Vietnamese with significant contributions to the local development./.