Phan Huy Le-Chung A, Current Vietnamese Traditional Values and People.. Ill* Hanoi, 1997 Sociological survey statistics of project KX.
Trang 1E X P A N D I N G C O O P E R A T I V E R E L A T I O N S
A M O N C S T E A S T A S I A N C O U N T R I E S O N E O F T H E M A J O R P R I O R I T I E S O F
V I E T N A M N A T I O N A L U N I V E R S I T Y , H A N O I ( V N U )
Dao Trong T h P
A f te r four y e a rs o f im p le m e n tin g the
coop e ra tiv e activities, the m e e tin g jo in tly
o rg an iz ed by the fo u r m a j o r Bast A s ia n
universities (V ie tn a m N atio n al U niversity,
H anoi ( V N U ) Beijing U n iv e rsity (BU),
U niversity o f T o k y o ( U O T ) an d U niversity o f
Seoul (D O S ) in Seoul, South Korea, is a
s ignificant event T h is is a g o o d c h a n c e for us
to review the a c h ie v e m e n ts , d raw useful
e x p e rien c e s, and d isc u s s fu rther p lans o f
action
As far as V N IJ , H a n o i I S c o n c ern e d , it is
possible to a ffirm that It is very useful to
e stablish a netw o rk o f four m a j o r East A sia n
universities, o r g a n iz e a n n u a l m ee tin g s ,
e x c h a n g e s and c o n fe r e n c e s in e a ch m e m b e r
country
Not only has the role o f E ast A sia n values
been m e n tio n e d , but the im p o rta n c e and im p act
o f the values on social life also have been
d iscussed for a long tim e T h e i r values are not
only limited to the East A sia n cultural sp ace,
but they arc also k n o w n and rec o g n ize d to the
rest o f the world W h a t s e e m s to be n ew in o u r
activities o ver the past tim e is that
adm inistrators an d s c h o la rs from the lead ing
’’ 1 Prof Dr Sc , Vietnam National University, Hanoi
t ra in in g a n d r e s e a r c h c e n tr e s in th e E ast A sian
c o u n tr ie s h a v e b e e n o f fe r e d a n o p p o rtu n ity to
e x c h a n g e th e ir e x p e r i e n c e an d re s e a rc h results
in o r d e r to u n d e r s t a n d b e tte r th eir o w n values,
a n d m o re i m p o r ta n tly , to look for new
d ire c tio n s to b r in g in to full p la y positive
a s p e c ts o f th e s e v a lu e s in the p ro ce s s o f th eir
n ational d e v e lo p m e n t At the s a m e tim e,
t h ro u g h d ire c t e x c h a n g e s a n d c o n ta c ts , the relations a m o n g the f o u r u niv ersitie s will be
c lo s e r a n d e x p a n d e d
T h e b ig g e s t o u t c o m e w e have g a in e d after
th e e x c h a n g e s is th at w e u n d e rs ta n d m ore
d e e p ly E ast A s i a n v a lu e s w h ic h are not only as
a c a te g o ry that th e social s c ie n c e s and
h u m a n itie s are c o n c e r n e d w ith, but a ls o as an inv isible a n d e x is t in g f a c to r in flu e n c in g all the activities o f the p e o p le s in E a s t A s i a n societies
A s a result, it is not e a s y to u n d e rs ta n d fully and c o rr e c tly its E ast A s i a n values
East A s ia is a re g io n a l no tio n w ho se
g e o g ra p h ic a l lo c a tio n is not d iffic u lt to d efin e, but its c u ltu r a lly c o n d e n s e d v a lu e s c re a te d by
i n h a b ita n ts o f this re g io n o v e r the long
h istorical p r o c e s s e s o f th o u s a n d s o f years,
p e rv a siv e s p h e re a n d i n flu e n c e o n the
1
Trang 22 Dao T ro n g Thi
dev elop m en t p ro cess in e a ch lo cation have still
been a m ystery
C ulture inclu des all that are cre a te d by
h um an b ein gs to m ain ta in and d e v e lo p their
lives In their turn, h u m a n bein g s are u nd er the
influence o f natural co n d itio n s, e c o logica l
en viro n m ent and historical situations In a
sense, cu lture is reg a rd e d as the result o f the
process o f creative a da p ta tio n and b e h avio r
m ade by m an k in d to w a rd s the nature and
environm ent T h e re fo re , in ad dition to the
shared values in the East A sia n region, it is
necessary to realize the m u ltifo rm an d diversity
o f East A sian culture
From the ge o g ra p h ica l-c u ltu ra l angle,
V ie tna m is located at the cro ssro ad o f
Southeast Asia It is the b rid g e c o n n e c tin g tw o
m ajo r civilizations: the C h in e s e and the Indian,
and c o ntactin g diffe re n t c u ltu ral cu rren ts Due
to historical co n d itio n s, V ie tn a m has been in
close contact with East A sian cultures T h e
East A sian values in V ie tn a m , therefore,
should be c o n s id e red as an a m a lg a m o f
Southeast A sian c h a ra c te ristic s a n d E ast-A sian
cultural norm s T h is c h a ra c te ristic ex p la in s
why V ie tn a m is se en as the b rid g e betw een
East Asia and South East Asia
In V ietn am , we are alw a y s a w are o f the
fact that h u m a n s b e in g s are the decisiv e factor
W e also u nd e rsta n d that the stro ng and w eak
points o f a c o m m u n ity are d e te rm in e d by its
cultural features T h e re fo re , the study o f
culture to prom o te stro ng points, red uce w eak
points, and to facilitate the creativ e cap acity o f
the peop le is an i m p o r ta n t d i r e c ti o n o f V i e tn a m
N ational U n iv e rsity , H a n o i ( V N U )
In c o m p a r is o n w ith o th e r E a s t A sia n
c ou n tries, V ie tn a m h a s c o m e later to e c o n o m ic
d e v e lo p m e n t, th e r e f o r e le a rn in g a d v a n c e d
e x p e rie n c e s o f the c o u n tr i e s w h i c h h a v e c o m e before and rec e iv in g m o d e r n s c ie n tif ic and tec h n o lo g ic a l a c h ie v e m e n t s are o f stra te g ic sig n ific a n ce T o d o th is, the b e s t c h o ic e is to give top priorities to e d u c a t io n a n d the
d e v e lo p m e n t of s c ie n c e a n d te c h n o lo g y T hat is
w hy the V i e tn a m e s e G o v e r n m e n t regards
e d u c a tio n and the d e v e l o p m e n t o f s c ie n c e and tec h n o lo g y as th e first p rio rity in its national policy T h e V i e tn a m e s e G o v e r n m e n t ’s focus
o n in v estm e n ts in a n d c o n s tr u c ti o n o f V N U in the past few y e a rs is a vivid e x a m p l e o f that national policy
W ith in the f r a m e w o r k o f E a s t A sian values, fo n d n ess o f a n d r e s p e c t for learn in g have a very c ru c ial m e a n i n g , ft is p o s s ib le to
c la im that every V i e t n a m e s e fam ily h o p e s to send their c h ild re n to s c h o o l a n d a tte n d h ig h er
e d u c atio n S o c io lo g ica l su rv e y sta tistic s reveal that o f 7 0 0 in te rv ie w e d f a n n e r s ( w h o h a v e very low e d u c a tio n a l b a c k g r o u n d ) 4 5 % w is h their
c h ild re n cou ld g o to u n iv e rs ity an d 3 0 % wish their c h ild re n c o u ld e a r n a d o c to ra l d e g r e e [1] This is a n a d v a n ta g e o f V i e tn a m in the process
o f e d u c a tio n d e v e lo p m e n t J a p a n , S o u th K orea have had hig hly v a lu a b le e x p e r i e n c e s in
b rin g in g into p la y th is a d v a n ta g e d u r in g the
c o u rse o f national d e v e lo p m e n t, t h e s e are really useful for V i e tn a m
l ' \ u Journal o f Science, Sac., Sci., Human., No IE, 2002
Trang 3In the c u rre n t c o m p lic a ted c irc u m stan c e s
in th e w orld, if we want to d ev elo p , we m ust
m a in ta in stability W e have found in East
A sia n v a lu e s m a n v factors that co ntrib ute to
s tr e n g th e n in g fam ily c o n n e ctio n , social
stability, a n d h u m a n n e s s in various relations
th ro u g h p e rso n a lity e d u c a tio n based on the
traditional c u ltu re norm s T h e c o m m o n wish o f
m a n k in d I S to head for the values o f h u m an ism
and it is o b v io u s that East A sia n values have
alre ad y c o n ta in e d this profou n d philosophy
H o w e v e r, not all that is c o n ta in ed in East
A sia n c u ltu ra l heritag e is superior T h a n k s to
the e x c h a n g e s , we have u n derstood the
lim itations a n d sh o rtc o m in g s o f “ East A sian
n a tu re ” w h ic h need to be adju sted to integrate
into the w orld In the irreversible process o f
g lo b aliz a tio n w h ic h c o n ta in s in itself m any
p a ra d o x e s, h o w to turn what we have into
a d v a n ta g e s fo r d e v e lo p m en t is o n e o f the
research d ire c tio n s o f V N U , Hanoi
Like the U niversity o f T o k y o , Beijing
U niversity a n d U niversity o f Seoul, o n e o f the
big a d v a n ta g e s that V N U , H anoi possesses is *
that it has a m ultisectoral and m u ltidisciplinary
structure w hich includes natural sciences,
tec h n o lo g y , social s ciences and hum anities,
e c o n o m ic s , law, bu sin e ss a d m inistration,
ped a g o g y etc As a lead in g training and
research c e n te r, we are able to bring into full
play these advantages
In m a n y recent y ears, we have paid m uch
attention to d e v e lo p in g interdisciplinary
sciences, a d d in g th em to the specialized
science stru c tu re w hich is the traditional
strength o f V N U , H anoi H e a d in g to that intended d ire c tio n and realizing the im portance
o f O riental C u lture, the C ollege o f Social
S ciences and H u m a n itie s (C S S H -V N U ) has establish ed the D e p a rtm e n t o f O rien ta l Studies
in 1994, w h e re Ja p a n e s e , C h in e se and K orean studies are offe red CSSH - V N Ư , H an oi can
he said to be the first institution in V ie tn a m to train these m ajo rs with the top level o f attainm ent
A part from the in te rd isc ip lin a ry p rogram s
at the D e p a rtm e n t o f O riental Studies, oth er
d isciplines o f E ast A s ia n c oun tries su c h as history, literature, and p h ilo so ph y are also offered to s tu d e n ts with basic k n o w le d g e , so as
to help th em to ca rry o ut in-depth rese a rc h in these areas o f k n o w le d g e
S uccessful e x p e rie n c e g a in e d from the reality o f d e v e lo p m e n t in East A s ia n cou ntries are highly ap p re c ia te d at m e m b e r institutions
o f V N U , H anoi A t the School o f E c o no m ic s,
T he School o f L aw , an d the H an oi School o f Business, m a n y re se a rc h projects have been
c arried o ut in o r d e r to apply e x p e rie n c e s o f these c o u n trie s to V i e tn a m ’s situations in
w hich special atte n tio n are paid to the
p rom otio n o f E ast A s ia n values
In the recen t y e a rs, along with providing
m o d e rn k n o w le d g e on e c o n o m ic s and business
a d m in is tra tio n in c o o p e ra tio n with E u ro p e an and A m e ric a n sc h o la rs, the H a n o i School o f
B usiness * V N Ư , H an oi has org an iz ed se m in a rs
on C ulture a n d B usiness A dm inistration T h ese
have attracted the p articipation o f not only scholars but also b u s in e s s m a n a g e rs
\ M l Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci H um an, \ nil: 2002
Trang 44 Dao Trong Thi
T h e c o n te n ts o f s e m i n a r s o n c itin g
Studies, A p p lyin g T a o ist S tra teg ics ill B usiness
A dm inistration, T h e T ru st in B usiness
A ctivities o f J a p a n e se P e o p le , T h e B raveness
ill D oing B usiness o f K o rea n P eo p le etc have
a lw a y s b e e n a c tiv ely d i s c u s s e d and m a n y
b u s in e s s m e n have fo u n d th e s e s e m in a rs
interestin g a n d u se fu l fo r th e ir p rac tic e s T h a t
is w hy s u c h s e m i n a r s a re a lw a y s w a rm ly
w e lc o m e d b y b u s in e s s m e n a n d e n tr e p re n e u rs
At the in stitu tio n s s p e c ia liz e d in tra in in g
a nd rese a rc h o n n a tu ra l s c ie n c e s and
tec h n o lo g y E ast A s ia n v a lu e s are e x p lo r e d in a
way s o as to e d u c a t e p e rs o n a lity , e n c o u r a g e
traditional f o n d n e s s o f le a r n in g , T ea ch ers are
venerated, lea rn ing is r e s p e c te d ’ tradition,
g e n tl e m a n ’s h o n e s ty a n d b r a v e n e s s in
scientific activities T h is d ire c tio n , to a c e rta in
d e g re e , has res u lte d in m a n y po sitiv e o u t c o m e s
in lea rn in g a n d in re se a rc h
A p a rt from th e r e s e a r c h and te a c h in g
institutions, the g r a d u a t e s fro m all m a jo r s in
V N Ư , H a n o i h a v e b e e n inv olved in d iff e re n t
c o m m it m e n t s at m a n y c e n tr a l a g e n c ie s,
steerin g o p e ra tio n s at th e c e n tr a l and local
levels, so E a s t A sia n v a lu e s still h a v e th eir o w n
m e a n in g and c a n e x p a n d th e i r in flu e n c e and
im pact o n a larg e r scale
F r o m the a ctivity o f th e n e tw o r k o f the
four E ast A s ia n m e t r o p o li ta n u n iv e rs itie s in
recent y e a rs , w e th in k that w e sh o u ld
c o n c e n tra te o n the fo llo w in g d ire c tio n s in the
tim e to co m e:
1) Study in -d e p th e a c h v a rie ty o f the East
A sian c u ltu re s to s u p p le m e n t the g e n e ra l view s
a n d p e rc e p tio n s g a in e d T o a c h ie v e this gone,
E a s t A s i a n c o u n tr i e s s h o u ld s tr e n g th e n their
re s e a rc h o n e a c h o t h e r ’s h isto ry a n d culture
W ith in th e f r a m e w o r k o f th e fo u r E ast A sian
le a d in g u n iv e rs itie s , th ere are a lre ad y
d is c ip lin e s a n d re s e a rc h in stitu tio n s intend ed for that d ire c tio n I f w e h av e a close
c o o p e ra tio n , the C h i n e s e , J a p a n e s e , K o re a n and
V i e tn a m e s e S tu d ie s a v a ila b le in e a c h c o u n tr y
w ill be m u c h m o r e e ff e c tiv e A t V N Ư , Hanoi, the d is c ip lin e s w h i c h a re rela te d to the East
A s i a n c o u n tr i e s a r e still n ew , s o it n eed s m u c h
h e lp a n d a s s i s ta n c e f ro m its co u nterp arts
V N U , H a n o i is d o i n g its be st to d e v e lo p
V i e tn a m e s e S tu d ie s , c o n s id e r in g it as an
in te rse c to ra l b r a n c h o f s c ie n c e that m a k e s a
po sitive c o n tr i b u ti o n to the process o f
pe rc e p tio n M e a n w h il e , th ro u g h e x p a n d in g the
c o o p e ra tio n , V N U , H a n o i m a y a lso c on tribu te
to p u s h in g up th e c o u r s e o f V ie tn a m e s e Studies
in o th e r E a s t A s i a n c o u n tr ie s P ro m o tin g the
s tu d ie s o f the c u ltu r e o f e a c h o th e r in the
re g io n h a s a g r e a t m e a n i n g in m a k in g the
c u rr e n t E a s t A s i a n v a lu e s b e tte r in e ach
co u n try
2) A lo n g w ith th e s tr e n g th e n in g and
p ro m o tin g a ctivities o f th e n e tw o rk o f the four
m a j o r E a s t A s ia n u n iv ersitie s, su p p o rtin g and
c re a tin g f a v o ra b le c o n d itio n s for setting up
b ila te ra l rela tion s s h o u ld b e s e e n as o n e o f o u r
r e s e a rc h d i re c tio n
A t the m o m e n t , th e U n iv e rs ity o f T o k y o
a n d V N Ư , H a n o i h a v e re a c h e d a c oo p e ra tiv e
a g r e e m e n t , o n th e b a s is o f w h ic h the form er has o p e n e d its lia is o n o ffic e in H a n o i W ithin
I XL' Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci Human., Noil:, 2002
Trang 5the fram ew ork o f the C o o p e ra tio n P ro g ra m ,
their two m e m b e r s as the C S S H - V N U , H anoi
and the College o f C u lture - I J O T have sig n e d
an a g re e m e n t to exchange* th e ir s tu d e n ts In
o rd e r to p ro m o te this p r o g ra m m e , it is very
im portant to prom o te and e x p a n d bilateral
relations
Hxpunding coo perative rela tio n s w ith Hast
A sian c o un tries I S one o f the priorities o f V N U ,
Ỉ lanoi We ho pe that the C o o p e r a tio n P ro g ra m
betw e en us and Beijing U n iv e rs ity a n d the
University o f Seoul will he m o re e ffe c tiv e in
the future
3) As a result o f the m e e tin g s b e tw e e n the
leaders and scholars, w e think that p r o m o tin g
e x c h a n g e s and e x c h a n g in g e x p e r i e n c e s play an
e x tre m e ly im portant part, e s p e c ia lly for
rese a rc h e rs and students o f the f o u r c o u n tries
Hast A sian values should be u n d e rs to o d as both
shared values with c ultural sim ila ritie s o f East
A sian c ountries, and its vitality s h o u ld be s e e n
in particular cultural c o n te x ts C ultu ral
e x c h a n g e s will prom ote m u tu a l u n d e rs ta n d in g
a m o n g st Hast Asian co u n tries T h is h as an
im portant m e a n in g for the stu d e n ts , w h o are
the future generatio n o f these c o u n trie s , and the
force leading the c o u n tries to in te g r a tin g into
the world in the era o f glo b aliz a tio n F o r this
g eneratio n, what they brin g a lo n g o n the w ay
to in te g r a tio n IS n ation al a n d c u ltu r a l t r a d itio n s ,
and East A sian values, w h ic h sh o u ld be
regarded as invaluable properties T h e y n eed
and deserve to en joy favorable c o n d itio n s to
broaden their know ledge T h a t is w h y we
propose that each o f the u niversities look for all
possible o p p o r tu n itie s fo r o u r s tu d e n ts to be
a b le to visit, c o n ta c t, a n d e x c h a n g e their
o p in io n s
4) In the field o f sc ie n tific re s e a rc h , due
a tte n tio n s h o u ld be pa id to dev e lo p in g
c o o p e ra tiv e re s e a rc h
A lth o u g h s o m e a c h ie v e m e n t s have been
g a in e d c o n c e r n in g th e c o n te n t a n d im pact o f
c u ltu ral v a lu e s o n the s o c ie ty in the past, at
p rese n t, and in th e fu tu re , th e s e a re still topical for in v estig a tio n H o w to d e v e lo p research top ic s w h ic h in vo lve the p a rtic ip a tio n o f
s c h o la rs a n d a d m i n is t r a t o r s o f the four univ ersities is a q u e s ti o n w h ic h d eserves
sp e cia l a tten tion
In the h isto ric a l p r o c e s s as w ell as for the tim e b eing, c u ltu r a l a n d e c o n o m i c e x c h a n g e s , and m u ltila te ra l a n d b ila te ra l re la tio n s a m o n g
E ast A s ia n c o u n tr i e s are th e big issues that need a n in te rn atio n a l c o o p e ra tio n A s far as we
k n o w , in rec e n t tim e P r o fe s s o r F u r u ta M o to o from the U n iv e rs ity o f T o k y o h a s c o o p e ra te d
w ith C h in e s e a n d V i e tn a m e s e re s e a rc h e rs to
i m p le m e n t a m e a n i n g f u l re s e a rc h pro ject on
C ro ss-B o rd er T ra d e R ela tio n s Betw een
V ietna m and C h in a T h is p ro je c t, in o u r view,
is not ju st o f p u re e c o n o m i c b e n e fit, but it
c o n ta in s in its e lf o t h e r c o n te n t s w h ic h arc
c o n c e r n e d w ith th e is s u e s w c are in te rested in,
n a m e ly E ast A s ia n v a lu e s It c a n be said that this is a g o o d m o d e l o f c o o p e r a ti o n that sh ould
be ta k e s into c o n s id e r a tio n
A s far as V i e t n a m e s e S tudies is
c o n c e r n e d , th ere are a ls o m a n y to p ic s for us to
c a rry ou t c o o p e r a ti v e re s e a rc h F o r e x a m p le ,
I \ ( Journal of Science Sot'., Set , Human Sttili, 2002
Trang 66 u a o Iro n g I'm
V ie tn a m e s e s c h o la rs tak e sp e cia l interest in the
issues o f tra d itio n al v illa g e s -c o m m u n e s In
history, all E a s t A sia n c o u n trie s b e lo n g to
ag ric u ltura l c u ltu r e s w h e re w et rice is popular,
so v illa g e s - c o m m u n e s are a lso o n e o f the
issues w h ic h w e re o n c e e x te n s iv e ly studied
D e v e lo p in g a to pic and tu rn in g it into a th e m e
for a n in te rn a tio n a l c o n fe r e n c e o n traditional
v illa g e s - c o m m u n e s w ith in E a s t A s ia w o uld
c e rtain ly attract a tte n tio n fro m m a n y scholars
F ro m the pro p o sa ls ab o ve, w e w o uld like
to m a k e the fo llo w in g su g gestion s:
E x p a n d in g c o o p e ra tiv e relatio n s a m o n g
E a s t A s i a n c o u n t r i e s , o n to p o f th a t, a m o n g
m e m b e rs o f the f o u r le a d in g E ast A sia n universities in o u r n e tw o r k , is a useful m e a n s for u n d e rs ta n d in g c u ltu r a l v a lu e s w h ic h are, in
e sse n c e , rich and d iv e rs ifie d At the sa m e tim e, it is the best w a y to p re s e r v e a n d bring into full play E ast A s i a n va lu e s
F ully realizing th e im p o r ta n t role o f the
E ast A sia n values in th e p a s t, at p resent, and in the future, as well as re s p e c tin g c oo p e ra tiv e relations with o th e r c o u n tr i e s in E a s t Asia,
V N U , H anoi r e g a r d s th e e x p a n s io n o f coo perativ e relations w ith th e c o m m u n itie s o f
E ast A sia n univ ersities a s o n e o f the prioritized
d ire c tio n s in its d e v e lo p m e n t strategies W e hope to receive y o u r c o n s e n s u s and support
R E F E R E N C E S
1 Phan Huy Le-Chung A, Current Vietnamese Traditional Values and People Vol Ill* Hanoi,
1997 (Sociological survey statistics of project KX 07-02)
VNU Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci., Human., No IE, 2002