Some notable suggestions and additions.

The attached appendix and the draft Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of Circular No. 138/2020/TT-BQP dated November 10, 2020, of the Minister of National Defense regulating the regime, norms, and standards of cultural and spiritual life in the Vietnam People's Army (VPA) (draft circular) contain many adjustments regarding the standards of equipment and materials for Party work and political work.

Specifically, the proposed increase in television size is from 32 inches and 40 inches to 43 inches for eligible individuals; and from 55 inches to 65 inches for units with Ho Chi Minh Rooms. The proposed increase in sound system power is from 600W to 2,400W with lighting for level 1 units; and from 300W to 1,200W for level 2 units. DVD players are proposed to be replaced with digital disc players for eligible individuals. Simultaneously, digital speakers are proposed to replace disc players; and the DVD disc standard is to be abolished. The proposed reduction in the lifespan of flags and banners is from 2 years to 1 year.

Regarding book standards, the draft circular proposes: Ensuring 300 pages of paper books per person per year; of which, independent companies and battalions account for 70%, libraries and reading rooms at all levels account for 30%; units stationed in the Truong Sa archipelago and the DK1 platform are guaranteed 350 pages of paper books per person per year. Notably, units equipped with sufficient computers with internet access and military data transmission networks to their libraries and reading rooms will be granted access to and use of shared digital databases within the Ministry of National Defense .

Soldiers of the 151st Regiment, Region 1 of the Navy, perform at the Youth Union Congress of the 151st Regiment. Photo: NGUYEN TAI

The draft circular also proposes adjusting the standards for some newspapers and magazines; adding regulations for some newly established types of units, while removing regulations for some types of units that have been dissolved (readers can find the details of this content on the People's Army Newspaper Online at: www.qdnd.vn).

Regarding the standards for the People's Army Newspaper, the draft circular proposes the following:

1. For units with full troop strength

- Platoons, pipeline stations, communication lines; border guard units; performing groups of military theaters; control stations, jet squadrons, Coast Guard (CSB) squadrons, naval air force squadrons, naval ships, CSB ships, and fisheries patrol vessels of level 3 and below are provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend edition).

- Companies, border control stations, border guard posts, transport air squadrons, helicopters, patrol aircraft, and first-class ship branches; teams belonging to warehouses, workshops, centers, and equivalents are provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and one issue of the monthly magazine Events and Witnesses (SK-NC).

- Battalions; naval squadrons, jet squadrons, level 1 ships, submarine crews, level 3 islands, radar stations, convalescent units, depots, maintenance and repair stations, workshops and equivalents are provided with 2 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and 1 issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- The Military Command of communes, wards, and special zones is provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend issue).

- Brigade, regiment, naval squadron, and Coast Guard regional command; warehouses, workshops, centers, units, and institutes with political departments; border guard command at port checkpoints and fisheries inspection detachments are provided with 5 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and 1 issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- Divisional commands, provincial and centrally-administered city military commands, provincial Border Guard Commands, naval regions, coast guard regions, and economic-defense groups are provided with 5 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend issue) and 1 issue of the monthly SK-NC magazine.

- Departments under the command of divisions, brigades, naval regions, coast guard regions, provincial and centrally-administered city military commands, provincial border guard commands, the General Staff, the General Political Department, general departments, military regions, branches of the armed forces, corps, services, the Hanoi Capital Command, the 86th Command, the Artillery-Missile Command; the Economic-Defense Corps; departments and offices under bureaus, divisions, the Institute of Military Science and Technology, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center; and branches of research institutes are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend edition).

- Departments within regimental headquarters, offices within regional defense command; departments directly under bureaus, divisions, brigades, naval regions, provincial military commands, provincial border guard commands, the General Staff, the General Political Department, general departments, military regions, corps, branches of the armed forces, the Hanoi Capital Command, the 86th Command, the Artillery-Missile Command, the Economic-Defense Corps; warehouses, workshops, centers, units, and institutes are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend edition).

- Departments, divisions, and centers under the academies, officer schools, hospitals, and research institutes of the units directly under the Ministry of National Defense are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend edition).

- Departments, faculties, and divisions of schools under the General Staff, the General Political Department, general departments, military regions, military branches, corps, services, and provincial and city military commands are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend edition).

- Directors and deputy directors of hospitals; principals, vice principals, political commissars, and deputy political commissars of schools under the General Staff, the General Political Department, general departments, military regions, corps, branches of the armed forces, the Border Guard Command, the Hanoi Capital Command, and the Artillery-Missile Command are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend edition).

- Directors and deputy directors of hospitals (Military Central Hospital 108, Military Hospital 175, Military Traditional Medicine Institute); directors and deputy directors of research institutes under the direct control of the Ministry of National Defense are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend edition).

- The heads of the Ministry of National Defence, the General Staff, the General Political Department, and other general departments; the heads of military regions, branches of the armed forces, corps, and services; the Border Guard Command, the Hanoi Capital Command, the Coast Guard Command, the 86th Command, the Artillery-Missile Command, the 969th Brigade, and other corps; the directors, deputy directors, and deputy directors of departments; the political commissars, directors, deputy political commissars, and deputy directors of academies; the principals, political commissars, deputy political commissars, and deputy principals of officer schools under the Ministry of National Defence; the heads of hospitals under the Ministry of National Defence; the head of the Military Science and Technology Institute; and the head of the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center are entitled to one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend edition).

2. For other types of organizations and staffing structures.

- Checkpoints and depots staffed with 3 to 10 people; departments within offices and equivalent units; teams belonging to performing arts troupes; teacher groups and student groups belonging to academies and officer schools are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend edition).

- Military trainees at non-military (domestic) schools with a number of 40 or more are organized to live and eat together; ships with more than 30 crew members; and production teams belonging to economic-defense units are provided with one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend edition).

- Theaters, performing arts troupes, museums; teams belonging to the convalescent care units of the General Staff, the General Political Department, general departments, military regions, corps, branches of the armed forces, and services are provided with 2 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue).

- Directors and deputy directors of enterprises within the Army are responsible for their own funding to purchase one copy of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including the Weekend edition).

- The standard applied to a permanent organizational structure unit is calculated as a full-strength unit but one rank lower.

3. For the Ho Chi Minh Room, the reading room

- The Ho Chi Minh Room was provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend issue) and one issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- Regimental and brigade libraries with full troop strength are provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and one issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- The libraries of Regiment 969, the Ho Chi Minh City Command, full-strength divisions, provincial and city military commands, and provincial and city border guard commands; naval and coast guard regions; the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center, and academies and officer schools of units directly under the Ministry of National Defense are provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a weekend issue) and one issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- Libraries of military regions, branches of service, corps, services, and commands of: Border Guard, Coast Guard, 86th Army Corps, Artillery-Missile Command, Hanoi Capital Command; Corps: 15, 16, 18, 19, 20; Military Science and Technology Institute; academies and officer schools under the Ministry of National Defense and equivalent units are provided with 2 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and 1 issue of the monthly magazine SK-NC.

- Reading rooms in hospitals under the Ministry of National Defense, the General Department of Logistics and Technology, military regions, branches of the armed forces, and corps are provided with 2 issues of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and 1 issue of the monthly Health and National Defense Magazine.

- Reading rooms of naval units, convalescent units, military schools, cadet schools, warehouses, workshops, centers, defense-economic units with political departments, institutes and equivalent units, and institutes belonging to the Military Science and Technology Institute are provided with one issue of the daily People's Army Newspaper (including a Weekend issue) and one issue of the monthly SK-NC magazine.

- Reading rooms for the Engineering and Defense unit, or units equivalent to a company, are provided as if they were company-level.

- For types of units with specific organizational structures and staffing levels, details will be specified in the implementation guidelines of the circular.

Regarding the standard regime for cultural and artistic activities, the draft circular proposes adding the following regulation: Each year, soldiers are allowed to attend two artistic performances by professional art units within or outside the military; at least one of these performances must be by an military art unit. Units performing national duties for more than two months are allowed to attend one artistic performance by a professional art unit within or outside the military.

Division-level, provincial military command, provincial/city border guard command, naval region, coast guard region and equivalent levels organize mass art festivals twice every 5 years.

Units from the grassroots level to the top-level units directly under the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defense plan to organize the annual Vietnamese Culture Day (November 24) as prescribed.

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/quoc-phong-an-ninh/xay-dung-quan-doi/mot-so-de-xuat-bo-sung-dang-chu-y-1038995