Quyết định 1209/QD-TTg

DECISION

APPROVING THE MASTER PLAN ON FOREIGN AFFAIR TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING TO 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Decision No. 79/2010/QD-TTg of November 30, 2010, promulgating the Regulation on state management of external information;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 187/2007/ND-CP of December 25, 2007, defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Information and Communications;

At the proposal of the Minister of Information and Communications,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the master plan on foreign affair television and radio broadcasting to 2020, with the following major contents:

I. GUIDING VIEWPOINTS

1. The foreign affair television and radio broadcasting is a key force to perform the external information task. In foreign affair television and radio broadcasting, it is necessary to identify objects in key and central problem, especially neighboring countries, big countries, countries in ASEAN, the United States, the European Union, Japan, and overseas Vietnamese, particularly young generation.

2. To invest in focus and priority human resources and finance to form a key-diversified force of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting and modernize modes of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

3. The State shall invest in technical facilities and equipment to build national television and radio channels for foreign affairs, and step by step mobilize all resources in the society to maintain and develop the operation of these channels.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. To expand the coverage of television and radio broadcasting globally. To effectively combine various modes of transmission and broadcasting and take full advantage of end devices in line with the trend of technology and service convergence in order to ensure the thrifty, rational and economic investment for development of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

2. To build and develop personnel and modernize physical and technical foundations servicing for work of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting. To expand international cooperation, and diversify forms of cooperation with foreign partners to meet requirements of external information task.

3. To formulate programs on national foreign affair television and radio broadcasting, aiming to form 1 national radio channel and 1 national television channel for foreign affairs, on the basis of prioritizing programs and contents that having nature of orientation, promotion of the image of Vietnam and its achievements in the renewal work.

III. DEVELOPMENT TARGETS

1. By 2015

a/ To ensure satellite coverage to all countries and territories in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Oceania;

b/ To ensure that television and radio channels for foreign affairs are transmitted on the transmission and broadcasting systems of local television and radio service providers in around 10-15 countries in the key regions, especially neighboring countries, big countries, countries in ASEAN, the United States, the European Union and Japan;

c/ To form 1 national radio channel for foreign affairs to meet external information needs in the new situation, with total amount of time self-produced for foreign mission is 20 hours per day, to step by step form 1 national television channel for foreign affairs with amount of time self-produced is at least 8 hours per day for foreign mission and develop a number of high-definition television (HDTV) standard specialized programs in order to be suitable to the needs of overseas television viewers. To concurrently encourage other television and radio stations to produce programs aiming to increase diversity and variety supporting for the national television and radio channels for foreign affairs.

2. By 2020

a/ To ensure global satellite coverage of television and radio channels for foreign affairs;

b/To ensure that television and radio channels for foreign affairs are transmitted on the transmission and broadcasting systems of local television and radio service providers in around 25-30 countries in the key regions of external information;

c/ To ensure 1 national radio channel for foreign affairs with an amount of time self-produced of 24 hours per day, to raise the self-produced amount of time of national television channel for foreign affair VTV-World to 24 hours per day up to HDVT standards to serve the external information task. To concurrently encourage other television and radio stations to produce programs with high quality, rich and interesting contents to support the national television and radio channels for foreign affairs.

IV. BREAKTHROUGHS

1. To concentrate on raising the quality and volume of television and radio programs for foreign affairs in all aspects of politics, culture, tourism, society, history, economy and investment.

2. To develop and raise the quality of human resources and means of content production, transmission and broadcasting for work of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

3. To form 1 national radio channel and 1 national television channel for foreign affairs in accordance with international practices to meet external information needs in the new situation, to raise the broadcasting quality of television programs for foreign affairs meeting HDTV standards.

V. ORIENTATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT

1. Orientations for development of television and radio channels for foreign affairs

The television and radio programs for foreign affairs are determined to be public television and radio programs which state priority for investment in content production, transmission and broadcasting, under the following objects:

a/ National radio program channel for foreign affairs (VOV World): Radio program channel VOV5 of Voice of Vietnam;

b/ National television program channel for foreign affairs: Program Channel VTV4 of Vietnam Television, to be replaced with VTV World after 2015;

c/ Television program channel for overseas Vietnamese community: Program Channel VTC10 of Digital Television VTC;

d/ Television and radio programs for foreign affairs servicing for each specific target group and location: Vietnam News Agency television program channel and local television and radio programs;

e/ Other television and radio programs for foreign affairs as decided by the Prime Minister.

2. Orientations for development of transmission and television and radio broadcasting infrastructure for foreign affairs

a/ Scope and modes of transmission and broadcasting servicing the radio for foreign affairs:

- National radio channel for foreign affairs VOV5 of Voice of Vietnam:

+ AM wave:

By 2015: Coverage in Europe, Northeast America, Northwest America, part of Central America, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, the Middle East, part of Africa and the Caribbean;

By 2020: To strengthen short waves which rent from foreign countries for coverage in parts of concave wave such as Central America, South America, Oceania and Africa; to invest in increasing the broadcasting capacity in order to expand and raise the quality of radio coverage for foreign affairs from Vietnam.

+ FM wave:

In Vietnam: To increase the external information FM broadcasting capacity in Hanoi, Quang Ninh and Ho Chi Minh City, to expand coverage to other areas such as Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Nha Trang, Can Tho and the Central Highlands.

Overseas: To hire broadcasting of some external information programs in a number of countries, initially Laos and Cambodia. Specifically, in Laos: To hire FM wave broadcasting of programs in Lao, English and French and broadcasting programs of overseas Vietnamese; in Cambodia: To hire FM wave broadcasting of programs in Khmer, English and French and programs of overseas Vietnamese.

+ Via internet:

To use the system providing television and radio services for external information for overseas Vietnamese community to transmit national radio program for foreign affairs VOV5 and other radio programs under regulations of the Ministry of Information and Communications.

To broadcast national radio program for foreign affairs VOV5 on the website of Voice of Vietnam.

+ Via satellite:

To coordinate with Vietnam Television and Digital Television VTC in broadcasting national radio program for foreign affairs VOV5 on the satellite transmission and broadcasting system of  programs for foreign affairs VTV4 (VTV World after 2015) and VTC10.

- Radio programs of local television and radio stations for foreign mission on the spot:

To strengthen AM and FM wave coverage in areas of concave wave under approved planning.

b/ Scope and modes of transmitting and broadcasting for television programs for foreign affairs:

- Transmission and broadcasting via satellite:

By 2015: To continue to develop VTV4 (VTV World after 2015) channel toward raising its quality to reach HDTV standards and global C- and Ku-band satellite coverage area. To cover via C- and Ku-band satellite national external information channels and other channels for foreign affairs initially in areas: Asia, Oceania, Europe and North America.

By 2020: To broadcast via C- and Ku-band satellite national and other external information channels under global HDTV standards.

- Transmission and broadcasting via local television and radio networks of the following countries and territories:

By 2015: To expectedly provide television and radio services for foreign affairs on the domestic television and radio networks of the following countries: North America (the United States, Canada); Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, some northern European countries); Asia (Cambodia, Laos, South Korea, China); Australia and some other key regions.

By 2020: To expectedly provide television and radio services on the domestic television and radio networks of the following countries: North America (the United States, Canada); Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, northern European countries); Asia (Cambodia, Laos, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand); Oceania (Australia, New Zealand); Africa (Algeria, South Africa) and some other key regions.

- Transmission and broadcasting via internet:

To provide a number of television and radio programs for overseas Vietnamese community, including VTV4 (VTV World after 2015), VTC10 and VOV5 programs and other television and radio program channels.

- Transmission and broadcasting of television programs of local television and radio stations for foreign mission on the spot:

To continue to expand coverage at areas of concave wage under approved planning.

3. Orientations for improving and enhancing quality of content of television and radio program channels for foreign affairs.

a/ To develop foreign-language radio program channels for foreign affairs with regional quality, to study digital broadcasting technology to meet requirement of high-quality sound:

- To continue to produce radio programs in 14 languages: Vietnamese, English, French, Japanese, popular Chinese, Russian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Lao, Thai, Khmer, Arabic and Korean;

- To continue to improve the contents of radio program channels for foreign affairs, replace inappropriate sections and develop new ones suitable to the situation and satisfying external information needs.

b/ To develop foreign-language television channels for foreign affairs with international quality to meet increasingly high demands of viewers:

- To prioritize the production of television programs for foreign affairs suitable to regions with different cultures in languages of English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish and Portuguese;

- To develop subtitling services in English, French, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, Spanish and Portuguese to meet the needs of each region.

c/ To renew content of television and radio programs for foreign affairs in direction:

Proactively and promptly providing information on achievements of the renewal work, guidelines, lines, policies and law of the Party and the State, Vietnam's development and cooperation potential, and the country, people, history, culture and national material and spiritual values. To attach importance to introducing Vietnam's external policies and its viewpoints on international and regional matters. To increase information on external economic, foreign investment attraction, trade promotion, tourism and international integration of Vietnam.

VI. SOLUTIONS

1. Completion of institutions, mechanisms, policies and law on television and radio broadcasting activities for foreign affairs.

a/ To elaborate, amend and complete other legal documents related to the press in order to complete the legal environment and guide contents and methods of external information in general and foreign affair television and radio broadcasting in particular.

b/ To complete mechanisms and policies to uniformly direct, decentralize, organize implementation and strengthen coordination among external information agencies to bring into play their own advantages and strengths and avoid overlapping in their functions and tasks which cause waste of funds while still assuring good fulfillment of task relating to foreign affair television and radio broadcasting; to study and establish a national television and radio broadcasting group for foreign affairs on the basis of reorganizing current television and radio broadcasters for foreign affairs.

c/ To continue implement the external information research and survey program as a basis for planning television and radio programs suitable to the characteristics and needs of target groups at home and overseas.

d/ To complete mechanisms and policies to step by step shift from task assignment to units performing television and radio broadcasting task for foreign affairs to the State's order placement of public services in order to raise state management effectiveness in spending state budget for foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

e/ To consolidate the organization of overseas representative offices of Vietnamese news and press agencies, ensuring uniformity and attaching importance to their effectiveness and coordination in key areas and regions and countries prioritized for external information.

2. Solutions on technological renewal, application of international standards

To promote digitalization and technological renewal from production, formulation, transmission and  foreign affair television and radio broadcasting in order to reach regional and international quality and match technical specifications of audio-visual devices of other countries.

3. Solutions on increase of human resource training and retraining and investment in finance and physical foundations for foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

a/ Policies on human resource training and retraining:

- To elaborate, complete and implement programs to train and retrain personnel, who doing work of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting, especially those of key foreign affair television and radio broadcasters, reporters and commentators in domestic and international matters, and experts to fight, refute distorted and wrongful allegations of opportunistic and hostile forces;

- To increase training and retraining budgets, to have worthy treatment regimes for persons who doing work of external information.

b/ Policies on investment fund rising:

- To prioritize state budget funds for investment in renewing and modernizing physical and technical foundations, elaborating content of overseas service programs and building transmission and broadcasting infrastructure for agencies specialized in foreign affair television and radio broadcasting, particularly prioritizing resources for key units. To allocate budget to implement the programs and plans provided in the Appendix of this master plan;

- To mobilize resources to develop the foreign affair television and radio broadcasting system;

- To ensure budget funds for cooperation with foreign partners in such external information activities as inviting foreign reporters to Vietnam to make news, articles and reportages and films in order to introduce about Vietnam abroad, hiring foreign collaborators to work as broadcasters and editors, revising news; and cooperating with foreign television stations in developing programs to promote the image of Vietnam;

- To study, elaborate and implement specific financial mechanisms and policies in service for work of external information in general and foreign affair television and radio broadcasting in the new period.

4. Solution on diversification of forms of international cooperation with foreign partners aiming to meet external information requirements

a/ To encourage and facilitate for agencies, units and localities, and mobilize force resources of domestic and overseas organizations and individuals, to develop some foreign affair television and radio broadcasting activities.

b/ To encourage the provision and exchange of the copyright to broadcast foreign affair  television and radio programs with domestic and overseas organizations under agreed principles in order to meet external information requirements.

c/ To cooperate with and support overseas Vietnamese communities in implement Vietnamese television channels, ensuring information exchange according to the orientations of external information work.

d/ To have timely motivated and incentive policies for organizations and persons making many effective contributions to foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

dd/ To enhance propagation and information work in all forms to introduce to and connect with foreign partners to receive and broadcast foreign affair television and radio programs.

e/ To step up cooperation with international television and radio organizations and international television and radio stations and agencies in exchanging programs and training experts in television and radio content production and techniques and management.

5. Solution on television and radio transmission and broadcasting infrastructure and services

Domestic providers of television and radio transmission and broadcasting services shall:

- To save a part of capacity to transmit foreign affair television and radio channels in the localities in which they cover and provide television and radio services, ensuring at least one transmission and broadcasting network transmitting those channels for external information on the spot in the localities;

- Not encode foreign affair television and radio channels to ensure that all video transceivers (television sets, video recorders, computers, mobile devices) can receive these channels from different television and radio transmission and broadcasting networks;

- Prioritize capacity on Vietnamese satellites for transmitting foreign affair television and radio programs;

- On the basis of increasing production effectiveness, to continue to have policies to reduce charges for domestic and international channel lease services to a rate equal to or lower than the regional and world average level for developing the signal transmission service market in order to further step up content and program exchanges among television and radio stations.

Article 2. Organization of implementation

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications

a/ To organize and monitor the implementation of the master plan, based on the country's economic development situation, to submit to the Prime Minister appropriate updates and adjustments to the master plan; to regularly inspect, preliminary review, summarize the implementation, report to the external information steering committee.

b/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Planning and Investment and related agencies in elaborating and submitting the Prime Minister to complete mechanisms and policies in order to step by step shift from task assignment to foreign affair television and radio broadcasters into form which the State may place an order.

c/ To appraise and approve units' plans on provision of television and radio programs according to the State's orders.

2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for monitoring, studying and summarizing foreign opinion about the quality and contents of foreign affair television and radio programs.

b/ To provide information on Vietnam's external activities, to coordinate with related ministries, sectors and localities in guiding television and radio stations in informing international and domestic news related to foreign affairs.

c/ To coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications and related units in assisting and supporting television and radio units in providing foreign affair television and radio programs in localities of foreign countries.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment

a/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications and the Ministry of Finance in, raising funds to invest in developing foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance in, planning state budget funds for the formulation and implementation of programs and projects under this master plan.

c/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Information and Communications in, submitting the Prime Minister for amendment, supplementation of the list of public products and services with respect to foreign affair television and radio broadcasting service.

4. The Ministry of Finance

a/ To assure funds specified in annual state budget for investment in physical and technical foundations and implementation of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting programs, plans, schemes and activities.

b/ To assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, formulating financial mechanisms and policies for external information in general and foreign affair television and radio broadcasting in the new period.

5. The ministries, ministerial-level agencies, governmental agencies and provincial- level People's Committees within the scope of their tasks and functions, shall:

a/ Provide television and radio stations with relevant information on matters relating to the fields and localities under their management as prescribed.

b/ Direct provincial-level television and radio stations in formulating television and radio programs for foreign affairs on the spot and providing the copyright of their programs for national foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

6. Vietnam Television

a/ Based on the approved master plan, units shall make plan to estimate funds for and implement annual foreign affair television activities as prescribed, in order to ensure the master plan's objectives.

b/ To formulate VTV4 (VTV World after 2015) television program channel with a number of sections reaching HDTV standards for overseas coverage.

c/ To step by step formulate national foreign affair television program channel VTV World on the basis of upgrading VTV4 television program channel in English to tell Vietnam’s information to countries in the world.

7. Voice of Vietnam

a/ Based on the approved master plan, units shall make plan to estimate funds for and implement foreign affair radio activities as prescribed to ensure the master plan's objectives.

b/ To formulate national foreign affair radio channel to tell Vietnam’s information to countries in the world.

8. Television and radio stations and transmission and broadcasting service providers

a/ Based on the approved master plan, units shall make plans to estimate funds for and implement annual foreign affair television and radio broadcasting activities as prescribed, in order to ensure the master plan's objectives.

b/ To increasingly push up the common use of foreign affair television and radio transmission and broadcasting infrastructure.

c/ To promote Vietnam's foreign affair television and radio programs to the international press and community.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of governmental agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees, directors general and directors of television and radio units, and transmission and broadcasting service providers shall implement this Decision.

APPENDIX

LIST OF KEY PROJECT GROUPS UNDER THE MASTER PLAN ON FOREIGN AFFAIR TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING THROUGH 2020
(Promulgated together with the Decision No. 1209/QD-TTg of September 04, 2012, of Prime Minister)

Project group I: “Expansion of foreign affair television coverage via satellite”

Project’s objectives: To expand foreign affair television and radio coverage by method of satellite transmission and broadcasting to regions, countries and territories in which have not yet listened or viewed national foreign affair television and radio programs.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 500 billion.

Implementing units: Vietnam Television in coordination with Vietnam News Agency, Digital Television VTC and television and radio transmission and broadcasting service providers.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group II: “Expansion of foreign affair radio coverage”

Project’s objectives: To increase strong, stable, constant and high-quality coverage of foreign affair radio services on high-quality AM and FM wave.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 100 billion.

Implementing units: Voice of Vietnam taking the main charge, and local television and radio stations and television and radio transmission and broadcasting service providers.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group III: “Strong development of via-internet foreign affair television and radio broadcasting networks to serve overseas Vietnamese communities

Project’s objectives: To develop the system of via-intemet foreign affair television and radio broadcasting networks to serve overseas Vietnamese communities.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 800 billion.

Implementing units: Units being placed orders by state through bidding.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group IV: “Expansion of foreign affair television and radio transmission and broadcasting via domestic cable and digital terrestrial television networks overseas

Project’s objectives: To develop foreign affair television and radio broadcasting networks via domestic television and radio networks overseas to meet external information needs in the world.

Funding sources: State budget and enterprise capital sources.

Estimated fund: VND 190 billion.

Implementing units: Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, Digital Television VTC and television and radio transmission and broadcasting service providers.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group V: “Formulation of national foreign affair television and radio channels”

Project’s objectives: To formulate, and develop contents of national foreign affair television and radio programs with high-quality, meeting international standards.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 2,500 billion.

Implementing units: Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group VI: “Diversification of contents of foreign affair television and radio products produced under form of placing orders by state

Project’s objectives: To diversify contents of foreign affair television and radio programs.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 500 billion, including VND 250 billion from the state budget.

Implementing units: Vietnam News Agency, Digital Television VTC and other television and radio stations which are placed order by state.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group VII: “Training and retraining to enhance the quality of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting personnel

Project’s objectives: To formulate, complete and implement training and retraining programs for personnel doing work of foreign affair television and radio broadcasting.

Funding sources: State budget and other resources.

Estimated fund: VND 100 billion.

Implementing units: Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, Digital Television VTC and central and local television and radio stations.

Time: 2012-2020.

Project group VIII: “External information research and survey program as a basis for making television and radio plans and programs suitable to characteristics and needs of domestic and overseas object groups”

Project’s objectives: To conduct survey to identify the needs for listening, viewing foreign affair television and radio broadcasting in each region and country in the world, and evaluate rates of radio listeners and television viewers by different modes as a basis for making television and radio plans and programs suitable to the characteristics and needs of domestic and overseas object groups.

Funding source: State budget.

Estimated fund: VND 60 billion.

Implementing units: The Ministry of Information and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Time: 2012-2020.