Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, March 21 (VNA) -- The Viet Nam Government well understands the threat of corruption and knows the fight against it is a very important task that must be consistantly carried out, says Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phan Thuy Thanh.

She says that every body sees Viet Nam's efforts to fight corruption by continually perfecting its legal system; enforcing the 1998 Anti-corruption Ordinance and implementing the Party building and strengthening campaign.

"In fact, many corruption cases were discovered and brought to court recently," she says. "This manifests the Vietnamese Party and State's strong determination to fight the evil."

Regarding the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy, PERC's listing of Viet Nam among Asian countries where corruption is allegedly rife, Ms.Thanh says that corruption is a disease in many countries, including countries having time-honoured and so-called perfect legal system.

However, she says in Ha Noi on March 21, Viet Nam is not considered a country ravaged by corruption as PERC contends.--VNA