Higher education institutions in the capital are actively suppressing student participation in unofficial memorials for a fatal 2025 traffic collision.
The Latest: On the afternoon of Aug. 16, at least three universities in Hà Nội issued formal warnings to their students regarding the sharing of information or participation in activities linked to the allegations surrounding Nguyễn Sỹ Cương.
The Details: Hà Nội National University of Education published a post urging students to remain alert, noting that social media had recently featured numerous posts, images, and calls to action regarding cases attracting public attention.
- The university stated that some content was framed to “strongly appeal to young people’s emotions, compassion, and sense of justice, even though the information has not been fully verified.”
- Students were advised not to “rush to believe, share, comment on, or circulate content that has not been verified by official sources,” and were told not to participate in or support calls for mass gatherings, marches, protests, or spontaneous memorials without permission from authorities.
- Furthermore, students were advised to be cautious of manipulated or distorted material intended to provoke an emotional response, and were told not to speculate or assign blame before authorities issued official conclusions.
Later that afternoon, the HAUI Youth Union and Student Association at the Hà Nội University of Industry published a post titled “Warning: Students, Stay Alert — Don’t Let Yourselves Be Incited!”
- The post instructed students “not to participate in gatherings, memorials, or protests in any form—even when motivated by personal emotions or sympathy for the victim.”
- It also urged them to “remain vigilant against attempts to exploit young people’s kindness and enthusiasm for malicious purposes and to divide the vital national unity bloc.”
- The Department of Political and Student Affairs at Hà Nội University of Civil Engineering published a similar post.
The Background: These warnings follow a surge of online activity with “Nguyễn Sỹ Cương,” “BMW,” and “Tree No. 55” becoming some of the most prominent topics on Threads and other social media platforms over the past month.
- Social media users allege that Cương was driving a BMW involved in a May 30, 2025, crash in Hà Nội that killed a young woman, and that he has not been held criminally responsible—allegations authorities have not publicly confirmed.
Threads users have demanded an investigation and clarification from responsible agencies, with the most prominent action involving calls to “check in” and leave flowers at the “Justice Tree”—Tree No. 55 on Nguyễn Huy Tự Street, near the crash site.
- By the afternoon of Aug. 14, police officers were frequently stationed in the area to prevent people from leaving flowers in memory of the victim, and all existing tributes left by members of the public had been loaded onto a garbage truck.
The May 2025 Crash: According to the newspaper Pháp Luật, the crash occurred at about 1:15 p.m. on May 30, 2025.
- A 64-year-old man identified by the initials N.S.C., formerly a resident of Hà Nội’s Đống Đa District, drove a BMW on Nguyễn Huy Tự Street from Trần Khánh Dư toward Yec-xanh Street and collided with an oncoming motorcycle.
- The motorcycle was driven by Đ.V.H., who was carrying his 18-year-old daughter, Đ.N.P.T.
- The crash broke Đ.V.H.’s leg, while Đ.N.P.T. was critically injured and her right leg was severed; she was taken to a hospital but later died.
- A representative of Road Traffic Police Team No. 4 under the Hà Nội police stated on May 31, 2025, that the case file had been transferred to the Hà Nội Police Investigation Agency for further investigation.
At 12:34 a.m. on June 8, more than a week after the crash, Đỗ Quang Minh, a relative of the victim, published a Facebook post confirming that “Thùy—known at home as Mina—the victim of the crash that severed her leg more than a week ago” had died.
On June 10, an image of a funeral notice appeared on the VOZ forum stating: “The visitation for Đỗ Ngọc Phương Thùy will begin at 2:15 p.m. on June 11, 2025. Location: National Funeral Hall, 5 Trần Thánh Tông Street, Hà Nội.”
- According to the notice, Đỗ Ngọc Phương Thùy died at 10:07 p.m. on June 7, 2025.
- Her parents were identified as Đỗ Việt Hùng and Nguyễn Quỳnh Trang.
- Since then, neither the police nor state media have released further information about the case.
Why It Matters: Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
As a member of the United Nations, Việt Nam is obliged to respect, protect, and ensure this right for its citizens.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on August 17, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
