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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-15 | 5KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>51457</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>VIETNAMOfficial name: C├┤ng hoa x├ó h├┤i chu nghia Vi├¬t Nam (The Socialist Republic of Vietnam)Member of: UNArea: 330033 km2 (127426 sq mi)Population: 70902000 (1993 est)Capital: Hanoi 2095000 (1992 est)Other major cities: Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) 4076000, Haiphong 1517000 (1992 est)Language: Vietnamese (official; 84%), Tay, KhmerReligions: Buddhist (55%), Roman Catholic (7%), Cao Dai (3%), Buddhist minorityGOVERNMENTThe 395-member National Assembly is elected by universal adult suffrage for five years. The Assembly elects, from its own members, a Council of State ΓÇô whose Chairman is head of state ΓÇô and a Council of Ministers, headed by a Prime Minister. Effective power is in the hands of the Communist Party, the only legal party.GEOGRAPHYPlateau, hill country and chains of mountains in Annam (central Vietnam) lie between the Mekong River delta in the south and the Red River (Hongha) delta in the north. The highest point is Fan si Pan (3142 m/10308 ft). Principal river: Mekong 4350 km (2702 mi). Climate: Vietnam has a hot humid climate, although winters are cool in the north. Heavy rainfall comes mainly during the monsoon season from April to October.ECONOMYOver three quarters of the labor force is involved in agriculture, mainly cultivating rice. Other crops include cassava, maize and sweet potatoes for domestic consumption, and rubber, tea and coffee for export. Natural resources include coal, phosphates and tin, which are the basis of industries in the north. The wars in Vietnam, involvement in Cambodia and the loss of skilled workers through emigration have all had a serious effect on the economy. Despite aid from the USSR and the Eastern bloc up to the end of the 1980s, Vietnam remains underdeveloped. Attempts have been made to encourage Western investment since 1989ΓÇô90. Currency: Dong.HISTORYTonkin (the north of Vietnam) and Annam (the center) broke free of Chinese rule in 939 and, apart from a brief reconquest (1407ΓÇô28), these areas formed an independent Vietnamese state until 1757. In 1802 Nguyen Anh united Tonkin, Annam and Cochin-China (the south), and made himself emperor of Vietnam. The French intervened in the area from the 1860s, established a protectorate in Vietnam in 1883 and formed the Union of Indochina ΓÇô including Cambodia and Laos ΓÇô in 1887. Revolts against colonial rule in the 1930s marked the start of a period of war and occupation that lasted for over 40 years. For the history of the Japanese occupation during World War II, the war against French colonial forces (1946ΓÇô54), the partition (1954) into a Communist state in the north and a pro-Western state in the south, the Vietnam War and US involvement (1964ΓÇô73), see pp. 452ΓÇô53. Since the Communist takeover of the south (1975) and the reunification of Vietnam, reconstruction has been hindered by a border war with China (1979) and the occupation of Cambodia (1979ΓÇô89) by Vietnamese forces. Lack of Western aid and investment has hindered economic development, and this, combined with political repression, led to large numbers of refugees (the ΓÇÿBoat PeopleΓÇÖ) fleeing Vietnam. Since 1989ΓÇô90 more pragmatic policies have been adopted, but, although liberalizatin of the economy is being pursued, there is no indication that political reforms will follow.</text> </content> <name>Vietnam</name> <script></script> </card>