Vietnam Releases Student Protester Tran Long Phi 21 Months Ahead of Schedule

The Vietnamese Magazine -

Key Events

  • Tran Long Phi, a Protester Against the Law on Special Economic Zone, Released Early from Príson
  • Facebook is Suspected of Deleting a Popular Group on its Social Media Platform
  • Democracy Activists Petition for Political Reforms and Honoring of Human Rights
  • Human Rights Watch Urges Thailand to Reject Extradition Request for Y Quynh Bdap

Tran Long Phi, Protester Against the Law on Special Economic Zone, Released 21 Months Ahead of Schedule

Tran Long Phi, an activist imprisoned in 2019 for his alleged participation in “Quốc nội quật khởi” (The National Uprising), an organization the government classified a “reactionary” group, has been freed 21 months ahead of his scheduled release in July 2026.

According to RFA, Phi was released from Chau Binh Prison in Ben Tre Province on Oct. 23, and has returned to his relative's house in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province. The 26-year-old political prisoner said the correctional officers freed him unexpectedly without giving any prior notice. The prison authorities said Phi’s early release was because he did not cause any trouble and complied with the prison's regulations.

In June 2019, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced Phi, 26, to an eight-year sentence on charges of “conducting activities to overthrow the people’s administration” under Article 109 of the Penal Code. The student protester also joined protests against the controversial Law on Economic Zone and the Cybersecurity Law in 2018. Phi must serve an additional three months of house arrest following the release.

Huynh Duc Thanh Binh, another student protester who was tried alongside Phi, remains in prison. Binh, 28, was sentenced to 10 years on the same “subversion” charge. Michael Phuong Minh Nguyen, a Vietnamese American citizen, received a 12-year sentence under Article 109 in the same trial due to his participation in this organization. The Vietnamese authorities freed Nguyen in October 2020 and deported him just before then Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Hanoi on Oct. 29 and 30 of that year.

Phi’s recent release followed the earlier release of other political prisoners, including climate activist Hoang Thi Minh Hong and former businessman Tran Huynh Duy Thuc last September. The authorities announced they were granted amnesty right before General Secretary To Lam visited the United States, where he made a speech at the UN General Assembly highlighting Vietnam’s claimed new period of openness and reforms. Thuc was freed eight months before his term was completed, while Hong was freed 20 months before her scheduled release.

Liêm Chính Khoa Học (“Scientific Integrity”) FaceBook Group Suddenly Disappears, Suspected to Have Been Deleted by Meta

According to Tuoi Tre Newspaper, the Facebook page of the “Scientific Integrity” group, with almost 100,000 members, has suddenly disappeared on social media. The link to the Facebook group’s page currently displays the message: “You can't currently view this content.”

The sudden disappearance of this Science Integrity Facebook group is attracting significant interest in the Vietnamese scientific community.

According to its board, on the evening of Oct. 23, the Science Integrity Facebook group suddenly disappeared without the management receiving any notification or warning from Facebook.

Duong Tu, a researcher at Purdue University who founded the Scientific Integrity Facebook group, told Tuoi Tre that Facebook had likely hidden or deleted the group due to the large-scale report performed by the state-owned internet trolls in Vietnam, which have been more known as the Force 47.

This sudden decision by Facebook is puzzling as the group has been operating for more than four years with very few warnings from Facebook on violations of its community standards, Tu stated to Tuoi Tre.

The board of Science Integrity said the Facebook group was established on Sept. 1, 2020, as an open forum to discuss diverse topics related to scientific integrity, with the goal of “contributing to building a cleaner and more transparent Vietnamese scientific community.”

Since its inception, the group's size has grown rapidly from less than 5,000 members in its first year to nearly 100,000 before its Facebook page disappeared.

Over the past four years, the Science Integrity group has become an essential and influential forum for scientific integrity, attracting the participation of researchers, scholars, students, and leaders of many units in academic institutions at home and abroad.

Democracy Activists Petition for Political Reforms and Protection of Human Rights

Pro-democracy activists and rights defenders in Vietnam and overseas have published an online petition calling on the government and Communist Party leadership to honor fundamental rights and comprehensively reform the current political system. The petition's signatories include exiled activist Nguyen Tien Trung, Nguyen Van Dai - the founder of the organization Brotherhood for Democracy; attorney Vo An Don, activist Dang Thi Hue; and Canada-based attorney Vu Duc Khanh.

The petition, dated Oct. 20, was released following Communist Party General Secretary To Lam's visit to France. There, he met with President Emmanuel Macron and reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to upholding the United Nations Charter and promoting human rights.

According to the activists, the petition reflects the people’s yearning for freedom, democracy and human rights and urges To Lam to turn his affirmations into practical actions rather than promises. The open letter also said that Vietnam's development needs to focus on respecting the fundamental rights of all citizens instead of just clinging to diplomatic statements.

The petition proposes several demands for the Vietnamese government, including releasing all political prisoners, protecting fundamental freedoms, introducing legal reforms, implementing a multi-party system with equal opportunities for all political forces, and organizing free and fair elections under international supervision. The petition added that Vietnam's development is only sustainable when fundamental human freedoms are respected, and political mechanisms are reformed to ensure everyone can live in a free, democratic and prosperous country.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA), activist Nguyen Tien Trung said that although these demands sounded unrealistic due to the Communist Party’s power dominance, he emphasized the importance of pushing forward with the call for democracy. He said that he believed their message could spread across Vietnamese society, reminding people that opposition voices exist and that they should not give up the goal of promoting democracy and defending human rights.

Human Rights Watch Urges Thailand to Reject Extradition Request for Y Quynh Bdap 

The New York-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a statement released on Oct. 22, urged the Thai government to dismiss Vietnam’s request to extradite Montagnard activist Y Quynh Bdap, who faces deportation as early as Oct. 30 and allow him to resettle in a third country.

Bdap, 32, an ethnic Rhade from the Central Highlands, fled to Thailand in 2018 to escape persecution by the local authorities. The activist’s family has also faced abuses by the government, as authorities have described family members as saboteurs with “a tradition” of opposing the state.

The Bangkok Criminal Court on Sept. 30 approved Hanoi’s extradition request for Bdap, giving the Thai government 30 days to decide on his status. HRW expressed a concern that the Montagnard activist could face a risk of torture and mistreatment upon his return, and that Thailand would be violating its own law and international obligation of non-refoulment.

The UN Convention Against Torture and Inhumane Treatment also forbids party members from sending any individuals to a place where they could face persecution and threats to their lives. Y Quynh Bdap is a refugee recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Meanwhile, the forced repatriation of Bdap, as well as the abduction of other exiled activists and journalists, such as Duong Van Thai and Truong Duy Nhat, showed that Thailand is no longer a safe place for Vietnamese asylum seekers.

Duong Van Thai, believed to have been kidnapped and returned by state agents, is scheduled to be tried on Oct. 30 under the charge of “distributing anti-state propaganda.” He faces a sentence of up to 12 years in prison. Last March, Thai police escorted Vietnamese state security to two refugee communities in Thailand, where they pressured them to go back to Vietnam.

John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at HRW, called on the Thai authorities to stop collaboration with the Vietnamese government in targeting activists like Bdap and to allow them to resettle in another country. “Y Quynh Bdap has spent years advocating for the rights of Indigenous Montagnards in Vietnam,” Sifton added. “Vietnam should not be prosecuting him for exercising his rights to free speech, and Thailand should not be participating in Vietnam’s attacks on his basic freedoms.”

Quick Takes

Tran Cam Tu Replaces Luong Cuong to Become the Secretariat of the Communist Party

On Oct. 25, General Secretary To Lam announced the decision to appoint Tran Cam Tu, a member of the Politburo and chairman of the Central Inspection Commission, to replace his predecessor Luong Cuong to become the secretariat of the Communist Party. Luong Cuong, an army general, assumed the presidency on Oct. 21 following the unanimous approval of the National Assembly; he is the fourth person to hold the presidential position in less than five years. Previously, Cuong took over the secretariat position after Truong Thi Mai, his predecessor, was forced to resign due to her violations of party regulations.

President Luong Cuong Holds Talks with China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia

President Luong Cuong held talks with the Central Military Commission of China Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia, who visited Vietnam from Oct. 24-26. According to state media, the Vietnamese president said the visit and mutual discussions with Zhang solidified and deepened the cooperation between the two armies in defense and security. He added that maintaining friendly and cooperative relations with Beijing remains a top priority in Hanoi's foreign policy of self-reliance and diversification.

Vietnam to Include Nuclear Energy in Amended National Power Plan

The Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien has announced that Vietnam will make adjustments to PDP8, its national power development plan, to include nuclear energy and hydrogen, in addition to other renewable sources of energy such as solar and wind, Reuters reported. The amended plan aims to tackle the country’s energy shortages by boosting its total power generation capacity to over 150 GW by 2030, an increase from 80 GW the previous year. To achieve this plan, officials said the country had engaged with several countries, such as Russia, South Korea, and Canada, to discuss the construction of small modular nuclear reactors, regarded as more affordable than large ones.

Vietnam Insight: Learn more about Vietnam

Will Vietnam Keep ‘Nuanced’ China Policy Amid Report of Radar System on Disputed Island?

South China Morning Post/ Sam Beltran/ Oct. 23

“The development was worrying as Triton was only 130 nautical miles (240km) from the coast of mainland Vietnam, said Huynh Tam Sang, an international relations lecturer at Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City.

“The new radar system gives China leverage to monitor Vietnam’s central coastal region, home to its strategic military bases,” he said. It would also allow China to bolster its electronic warfare and intelligence capabilities, he added.”