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A cultural salon in Hồ Chí Minh City (HCMC) abruptly canceled a tribute to 19th-century scholar Trương Vĩnh Ký following public condemnation from Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn.

The Latest: On the afternoon of May 29, Salon Cà phê thứ Bảy in HCMC announced the cancellation of its scheduled event, “Trương Vĩnh Ký như ông có" (Trương Vĩnh Ký, as he is), citing “objective reasons.”

The event was slated for Sunday, May 31, featuring researcher Cao Tự Thanh as the guest speaker and musician Dương Thụ as the moderator.

The original event announcement, which was posted several days prior, was also removed.

The Details: Approximately six hours before the cancellation was announced, Phan Trung Can, a blogger known for pro-government posts, published an article revisiting the life of Trương Vĩnh Ký. Can labeled Ký “a traitorous lackey and a criminal against the Vietnamese people” while questioning the organizers’ “intentions.”

Three hours later, Lt. Gen. Nguyễn Thanh Tuấn, former head of the Cục Tuyên huấn under the General Political Department of the Vietnam People’s Army, posted his agreement with Can’s views.

Tuấn further escalated the rhetoric by posting images of Ký, King Gia Long, Phan Thanh Giản, and Lê Văn Duyệt marked with red slashes.

The post received more than 2,000 shares. Notably, Tuấn was also among the most active opponents of honoring Bảo Ninh’s novel “Nỗi buồn chiến tranh” in early December 2025.

What Remains Unknown: Salon Cà phê thứ Bảy did not specify what the “objective reasons” were for the cancellation.

Furthermore, Tuấn did not state whether he had directly contacted the organizers, and it remains unclear whether central or local authorities pressured Dương Thụ before or after the planned event.

There is no verified evidence confirming that Salon Cà phê thứ Bảy canceled the event explicitly because of the aforementioned social media posts.

Who was Trương Vĩnh Ký? Trương Vĩnh Ký, also known as Pétrus Ký, was a 19th-century cultural figure, linguist, and scholar from Bến Tre. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of Vietnamese-language journalism, having served as editor-in-chief of Gia Định Báo (Gia Định newspaper), which was founded in Sài Gòn in 1865 and helped open the way for journalism in chữ Quốc ngữ.

Fluent in French and more than 20 other languages, he left behind more than 100 works upon his death, including dictionaries, transliterations of Nôm stories, classical Vietnamese texts, and important writings on Vietnamese linguistics. He is also credited with helping spread the use of chữ Quốc ngữ—the romanized Vietnamese script.

Despite being honored in 2015 by the Quỹ Văn hóa Phan Châu Trinh as a Distinguished Modern Vietnamese Cultural Figure (Danh nhân Văn hóa Việt Nam thời hiện đại), he remains one of Việt Nam’s most controversial historical figures. State media have repeatedly described him as a French “insider” who committed “crimes” against the country.

Past Censorship: Documents, books, and media works about Ký have been censored multiple times.

In 2017, historian Trương Đình Đầu’s book Trương Vĩnh Ký – nỗi oan thế kỷ (Trương Vĩnh Ký: A Century-Long Injustice) was recalled and suspended from circulation. The historian stated the book contained several important new findings, including evidence that “Trương Vĩnh Ký was deeply dissatisfied with the way the French treated the Vietnamese, so he did not want to cooperate.”

Two years ago, VTV Cần Thơ also removed Ký’s name from its Lunar New Year program.

About Salon Cà phê thứ Bảy: Salon Văn hóa Cà phê thứ Bảy is a community project founded by musician Dương Thụ that operates on weekends, serving as a popular cultural exchange space for intellectuals in HCMC and Hà Nội.

Operating in partnership with the Cà phê Trung Nguyên chain, attendees can join free dialogue events spanning culture, politics, language, philosophy, architecture, and education.

The sudden cancellation of an academic event at such a prominent intellectual hub highlights the ongoing sensitivity, ideological friction, and historical contention surrounding 19th-century figures in modern Việt Nam.

Hoàng Nam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on June 1, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.