FPT University is facing severe public backlash after attempting to distance itself from its former vice chair, Nguyễn Thành Nam.
The Latest: At 8 p.m. on July 7, less than an hour after police announced that Nguyễn Thành Nam had been arrested, the university published a notice on its website denying any connection to his views on Hồ Chí Minh and opposing the contents of his controversial book, Chuyện với Thanh: Lời kể mới về ánh sáng.
The FPT Notice: In an unsigned notice, FPT University stated the following:
“In recent years, Nam has not participated in management work and has not taught History/Ho Chi Minh Thought at the university. He submitted a resignation letter from the position of vice chair of the university council for the 2022-2026 term and received a dismissal decision.”
The university confirmed that it “did not participate in the drafting, content appraisal, publication or distribution of the book ‘Chuyện với Thanh: Lời kể mới về ánh sáng.’”
- It also stressed that “the contents of the book and the remarks are the author’s personal views and do not represent the university’s policies or views, and the university opposes these views.”
At the end of the statement, FPT University noted that it “recently… directed, reviewed, and removed Nam’s shared content on the topic ‘Hồ-style leadership – the spirit of Vietnamese entrepreneurs’ from a seminar for some businesspeople.”
- The university council stated that it met to review the situation and draw lessons to prevent future violations, committing to “complying with the law, contributing to human resources training, and respecting the historical, cultural, and traditional values of the nation.”
- The chair of the FPT University council is Dr. Lê Trường Tùng. The rector is Dr. Nguyễn Khắc Thành.
FPT Lapses: The institution did not publicly disclose when Nguyễn Thành Nam submitted his resignation letter, when he received his dismissal decision, or when his content was removed from the university’s channels.
- Despite claims that he had “not participated in management work” in recent years, his name was still displayed on the leadership list on the university’s website as of June 27.
- His information was only removed on June 28.
On the afternoon of July 8, FPT University had not responded to Luật Khoa’s emails seeking more information.
Public Reaction: The distancing by FPT University has drawn criticism from experts and the public.
- Phạm Ngọc Hưng, a marketing and crisis communications expert, wrote on his personal Facebook page:
“[…] FPT University’s way of distancing itself is seen as disloyal, because FPT cannot erase Nam’s influence or the time Nam taught at the university. […] And so, the more it handles the crisis, the worse the crisis becomes, because the response itself has turned into a moral conclusion against them. And how do you handle a moral conclusion?”
- In the comments, user Kevin Đặng, who wrote:
- “[…] As for FPT, Nam is a founder and an FPT lecturer, and FPT Uni also used Nam’s image for promotion […]. To teach, there must be a syllabus, and the party benefiting from this teaching was also FPT, not Nam alone. So saying there is no connection sounds sad—but still funny.”
- Journalist Nguyễn Thông, a former managing editor at Thanh Niên newspaper, also condemned the move on Facebook, stating:
“[…] That is how life has always been: people support the rising, not the falling, and sometimes even strike again to finish them off. So I ask FPT University and its owner, FPT Corporation: When Nam’s book first came out and was praised by public opinion and state media, including Nhân Dân, which praised it to the skies and always linked the author to his role as an FPT and university leader, why didn’t you speak up or issue statements, then […] instead of staying silent and enjoying the benefit? Why now turn around 180 degrees so aggressively?”
- He added that “The Nhân Văn–Giai Phẩm era is not over. If it does not appear in this form, it appears in another, even more aggressive and blatant. I mean it. Living submissively, keeping your head down and ignoring the world is safe, but what is the point of living like that?”
- Journalist Hoàng Tư Giang offered a defense on his personal Facebook page:
“[…] In the current context, that notice was necessary to prevent unnecessary speculation. Responsibility must first be individualized. Whoever violates the law must bear responsibility under it. If that principle is not maintained, any school or agency could face unnecessary consequences.”
The Background: Nguyễn Thành Nam was previously the vice chair of FPT University’s board of directors.
- His most recent public appearance was on May 16 at the seminar “Hồ-style leadership – the spirit of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the new era,” organized by the FSB Institute of Management & Technology at FPT University.
By June 26, all posts introducing the event had been taken down from the university’s Facebook page.
- It could not be verified when the posts were officially removed.
In contrast, VinUniversity, where Nam also taught, has not made any public statement.
- By June 23, Luật Khoa’s attempts to contact him via his work email address at VinUniversity failed, returning a message that the address could not be found.
- Furthermore, his lecturer information page on the university website had been deleted, returning a 404 error.
Thành Phương wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on July 8, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights to the English translation.
