Key Events 

• Last-Minute Speaker Purge Mars International Vietnam Studies Conference;
• New Seat Plan Boosts Central, Military and Police Power in Việt Nam’s Next Parliament;
• Nguyễn Văn Quảng Becomes First Non-Police Chief Justice in 18 Years;
• National Assembly Divided Over Expanding Police Forensic Powers;
• Local Police Empowered to Issue Fines 15 Times Higher Under New Rules

Party-Driven Censorship Casts Long Shadow Over Vietnam Studies Conference

Several scholars say they were abruptly removed from the speaker lineup for a session with General Secretary Tô Lâm during the 7th International Conference on Vietnamese Studies (ICVNS 2025), BBC Vietnamese reported on Nov. 11. Their accounts shed rare light on the extent of political gatekeeping inside one of the country’s most prominent academic forums.

According to an exclusive BBC report, three anonymous sources said they had been officially invited to present papers at the major conference, held from Oct. 25–26, only to be removed from the program at the last minute. One scholar—initially slated as a plenary speaker and a participant in the meeting with Tô Lâm—said he was later told his recent work on political factions in Việt Nam had angered the Communist Party chief’s security team.