An Ninh TV denounces a poem by Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh and accuses the poet of participating in a ”White Revolution.”
The Latest: On Oct. 1, An ninh TV published a report condemning the “White Revolution,” sharply attacking poet Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh, his poem “Bullying,” and several other people.
- The broadcast characterized the poem as “mediocre, silly” work, stating that “hardly anyone had heard of the so-called poet Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh until his poem ‘Bullying’ appeared in sixth-grade textbooks.”
The Details: The report criticized Linh, describing him and his body of work “raw, vulgar, and cheap.”
- It also attacked his claims of being a genius and his poem a masterpiece.
- The broadcast stated, “Lashing out at the public’s reaction with a barrage of gutter language tells you all you need to know about the stature of someone working in literature and the arts.”
Furthermore, An Ninh TV targeted the authors of sixth-grade textbooks, questioning their “competence and qualifications” as well as their “political motives and interests.”
- The attacks on Linh were followed by warnings about “liberal education” and “Western ideas of freedom and democracy,” characterizing such activities as “incitement and recruitment,” “subversion,” and “opposition to the Party and the state.”
From the Poet: In response to accusations of being reactionary, Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh stated, “Perhaps, this is a smear campaign.”
- He countered by saying, “It is deeply wrong to label a writer as reactionary, one who continually contributes works to the betterment of the country, humanity, and the universe. With more than 15,000 works on this Facebook wall, you are likely to find flaws if you look closely. But clearly, all of them seek to offer goodness, artistic merit, beauty, truth, creativity, freedom, and entertainment to all living beings.”
About the Poet: Born in 1982, poet Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh has written thousands of poems and the novel “The Story of a Genius.”
The Background: The recent television report follows a wave of public denunciations directed at Hoàng Linh since early September.
- Pro-government Facebook pages have criticized the inclusion of “Bullying” in sixth-grade literature textbooks, citing its “poor quality” and the author’s political views.
This is not the first time the poem has drawn controversy.
- Addressing the situation in a Sept. 15 post on his personal Facebook page, Nguyễn Thế Hoàng Linh wrote:
“[…] Wherever it is, the poem, published in 2015, has spread and will continue to spread, making the world more loving and honorable. It has grown far beyond its author. Attacking the author is pointless and only harms those doing the attacking.”
Trịnh Hữu Long wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 7, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
