Decision No. 02/2004/NQ-CP of the Government at the regular meeting in January 2004

RESOLUTION

Regarding the regular meeting of the Government in January 2004

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On February 4 and 5, 2004, the Government convened its regular monthly meeting in January to discuss and adopt the following issues:

1. The Government heard reports from the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Minister of Health on the situation of avian influenza and viral pneumonia.

The situation of avian influenza and viral pneumonia is evolving very complicatedly; if timely measures are not taken, it will cause unpredictable consequences for production, living conditions, and health of the people. The Government requests all Ministries, sectors, and localities to strictly implement the Government's policy on prohibiting the transportation and trade of poultry and poultry products nationwide until the epidemic is eradicated. All Ministries, sectors, and localities must coordinate with Party organizations, mass organizations to mobilize all specialized forces, market management, police, military, and the people to participate in preventing and eradicating avian influenza and protecting human health; have strict plans to protect poultry flocks at breeding farms and rare poultry gene banks; have policies to support households in quickly restoring poultry flocks after the epidemic ends. The Ministry of Health must proactively prevent the spread of the disease to humans and develop appropriate treatment protocols for viral pneumonia to minimize deaths. At the meeting, the Prime Minister assigned members of the Government to direct each locality in eradicating avian influenza in February 2004.

2. The Government heard the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism present the draft Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Publishing; and heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office report on the summary of opinions of Government members on this draft Law.

After ten years of implementation, the Law on Publishing has created an important legal basis for the strong development of publishing work in both quantity and quality, serving well the political tasks of national development and contributing to improving the spiritual life of the people. However, during the implementation process, many unreasonable points of the Law have been revealed; currently, some provisions are no longer suitable or specific enough, causing difficulties for management and implementation. Therefore, this Law needs to be amended and supplemented promptly to meet the requirements of publishing activities in a socialist-oriented market economy, promoting the responsibility, initiative, and creativity of subjects participating in publishing, printing, and distribution activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is tasked to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies to incorporate the opinions of Government members, perfect the draft Law; the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism is authorized by the Prime Minister to submit this draft Law to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

3. The Government heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office present the proposal and report on the summary of opinions of Government members on the draft Decree on the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The Government agrees that over 58 years of operation, the Official Gazette has increasingly fulfilled its role in issuing legal normative documents of the State, positively contributing to the dissemination and provision of legal materials for the needs of various levels, sectors, state civil servants, and citizens.

However, the current publication and distribution of the Official Gazette still have many limitations, failing to meet practical requirements, especially those set out in the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Issuing Legal Normative Documents in 2002; there are still insufficient specific regulations on organizational mechanisms and financial systems suitable for the responsibilities of the Official Gazette. Therefore, the issuance of the Decree on the Official Gazette of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is necessary to better meet the requirements of disseminating and publicizing legal normative documents; making a significant contribution to the transparency of policies and the construction of a socialist rule-of-law state.

The Government Office is tasked to lead and coordinate with relevant agencies to incorporate the opinions of Government members, perfect the draft Decree, and submit it to the Prime Minister for signature and promulgation.

4. The Government reviewed the draft Law on National Security presented by the Ministry of Public Security; and heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office report on the summary of opinions of Government members on this draft Law.

Building and defending the country are strategic tasks of the Vietnamese revolution. The task of building the nation requires close integration with the task of defending the country. Among these, national security holds a particularly important position for the existence and development of the country; it relates to the survival interests of the nation and the domestic and foreign policies of our Party and State. In reality, in recent years, under complex global changes, thanks to ensuring national security, our country has maintained political stability, contributing to high economic growth.

The issuance of the Law on National Security aims to create an effective legal tool to mobilize the comprehensive strength of the political system and the whole society towards building, consolidating, and enhancing national security potential, meeting the requirements of national security in the new situation.

The Ministry of Public Security is tasked to lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and related agencies to incorporate the opinions of Government members, perfect the draft Law, and submit it to the Prime Minister for consideration and decision on submission to the National Assembly.

5. The Government heard the Minister of Trade present the draft Competition Law; and heard the Minister, Head of the Government Office report on the summary of opinions of Government members on this draft Law.

Competition is a crucial factor in a market economy, driving economic development. The 1992 Constitution recognized the right to engage in business freely and the equality of economic sectors in the country. Since then, the State has issued many legal normative documents, creating a necessary legal framework to ensure the realization of these rights of enterprises and all economic sectors.

However, in reality, competitive restrictive practices and unfair competition among businesses have emerged, causing negative effects on the business environment, harming legitimate enterprises and consumers. The legal provisions related to competition activities are still incomplete. The enactment of the Competition Law aims to regulate acts that limit competition and prevent unfair competition; protect consumer interests; create a legal basis for controlling monopolies in business, avoiding adverse consequences for society.

Entrust the Ministry of Trade to take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Justice, the Government Office, and relevant agencies to incorporate the opinions of government members, perfect the draft Law, paying attention to the context of the national economy transitioning from a centralized planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy under state management; entrust the Minister of Trade to submit the draft Law to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on behalf of the Prime Minister.

6. The Government listens to the Minister of Justice presenting the draft Law on Issuing Regulatory Legal Documents of People's Councils and People's Committees; listens to the Minister and Head of the Government Office reporting the summary of opinions of government members on the aforementioned draft Law.

Entrust the Ministry of Justice to take the lead, coordinate with the Government Office and relevant agencies to incorporate the opinions at the meeting, continue to perfect the content of the draft project; at the same time clarify the necessity of building this project in the form of a draft Law, report to the Prime Minister for a decision on submitting it to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

7. The Government has reviewed the Report on the situation of the January 2004 economic and social development plan and the implementation of the 2004 plan presented by the Ministry of Planning and Investment; the Report on inspection work, handling complaints and denunciations in 2003 presented by the State Inspector General.

In January 2004, the economy maintained growth across all sectors: some key industrial products showed high growth rates; agricultural production maintained stable development; the service sector developed strongly, meeting social needs; state budget revenue was secured; export activities were promoted, the trade deficit ratio decreased; disease prevention, health care for the people received attention; policy beneficiaries, war veterans, retirees, the poor, and ethnic minorities during the Tet holiday were given special attention; social order and security were stable, and traffic accidents decreased compared to the same period last year. However, overall growth rate was lower than the same period last year; the volume of basic construction investment implementation funded by the state budget was low. Drought, severe cold weather, and the spread of avian influenza, with worsening trends, severely affected many production sectors, tourism, services, and there is a risk of slowing economic growth.

Regarding the handling of complaints and denunciations: In recent times, heads of ministries, sectors, and localities have devoted considerable time to strengthening inspections of the proper fulfillment of responsibilities and authorities of heads of administrative bodies at all levels in handling citizens' complaints and denunciations. The handling of citizens' complaints and denunciations has been conducted openly, democratically, in accordance with the law and principles. Generally, the number of complaint and denunciation cases has significantly decreased; hotspots and complex situations have been limited. However, there are still some mass petition cases exceeding jurisdictional levels, involving complex issues left over from history, regarding compensation and land clearance.

To successfully complete the 2004 economic and social development plan right from the beginning of the year, the Government requests ministries, sectors, and localities to quickly implement Resolution No. 01/2004/NQ-CP dated January 12, 2004 of the Government on major measures to focus on directing and managing the implementation of the 2004 state budget and plan; direct the successful conduct of the election of People's Councils at all levels for the 2004-2009 term; effectively carry out citizen reception, complaint, and denunciation handling work; strengthen inspection work in the field of basic construction investment and land management; adopt effective measures to address drought, promptly mitigate the aftermath of avian influenza, and proactively prevent natural disasters, boost production, and maintain economic growth momentum; urgently develop an action program to implement the Resolution of the 9th Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Party, Ninth Term.