The magazine has issued a public apology but has not disclosed how the reporter was disciplined.
The Latest: On the morning of Nov. 2, the disciplinary council of Một Thế Giới magazine held an emergency meeting and decided to impose “strict disciplinary measures” on reporter Nam Phong.
- The decision followed public outrage over a Facebook post that “deviated from standards and lacked propriety,” in which Phong used vulgar language to insult opponents of the Ministry of Health’s controversial organ donation bill.
- Despite repeated inquiries, the magazine has not disclosed the specific nature of the disciplinary action.
The Details: On Oct. 30, Một Thế Giới reporter Nam Phong published a post on his personal Facebook page criticizing the public backlash against the draft Law on Donation, Removal and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs and Donation and Retrieval of Cadavers (amended).
- Phong wrote: “These past few days, society has gone mad, cursing in a possessed frenzy at the Health Ministry’s leaders and at the drafting board of the draft Law on Donation, Removal and Transplantation of Human Tissues and Organs and Donation and Retrieval of Cadavers (amended).”
Notably, Phong used harsh language in the post against opponents of the bill.
- He wrote: “Bunch of idiots, heads full of s— […] From the educated, those in leadership roles, officials, and Party members to the poorly educated and ignorant, they (apparently) haven’t read the draft or read it but are too thick-headed to understand—truly a bunch with heads full of s—.”
At 5 p.m. on Nov. 2, Một Thế Giới posted an apology on Facebook, acknowledging that Phong’s statements “seriously affected the reputation of the press agency,” and that he would face “strict discipline.”
- The magazine stated it “accepts its share of responsibility for management, education, ideological guidance, and professional ethics,” and emphasized that it “does not tolerate deviant behavior, attacks on or contempt for the public in any form.”
- About 20 hours after it was posted, the apology had drawn 460 likes, 261 comments, and 68 shares.
On Nov. 3, 4 and 5, Luật Khoa repeatedly emailed and called Một Thế Giới to inquire about the specific disciplinary measures taken.
- The representative who answered the phone stated that they were not authorized to answer.
- As of 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 6, Luật Khoa had not received a response.
Phong’s Apology: In the comments section, the magazine reposted a screenshot of Phong’s own apology, which he had restricted to his friends on Facebook.
- Phong characterized his initial post as “an impulsive, unrestrained act that deserves serious criticism.” He claimed he had “absolutely no intention of cursing or insulting anyone who holds a different view, is worried or has questions, or has constructive criticism or objections to the draft law,” adding that he had deleted the post and “complied with all disciplinary measures.”
From Social Media: At 8 a.m. on Nov. 3, Facebook user Vinh Râu posted a critique of the magazine’s apology.
- Vinh Râu wrote: “They [Một Thế Giới] said they met to ‘strictly discipline’ him [reporter Nam Phong] but didn’t say whether the discipline was firing, a warning or a reprimand… The letter is long, but it leaves out the most important part: Was the reporter fired or not?” Vinh Râu argued that reporters like Phong are “morally unfit to remain in the Party’s revolutionary press system and must be removed immediately.”
- The post also named the magazine’s editor-in-chief: “If Editor-in-Chief Lưu Quang Định doesn’t do that, it means you are tolerating a bad actor in the ranks of revolutionary journalists.”
- About six hours later, the post had 876 likes and 19 shares.
The Background: On the morning of Oct. 21, the government presented the National Assembly with a draft allowing people under 18 to register as donors and to donate body parts after brain death or circulatory death.
- “Organ donation” immediately went viral on social media, with reactions intensifying after some schools distributed surveys about the draft to students.
On Oct. 29, Tuy Đức Commune police in Lâm Đồng fined a woman identified as T.L. 12.5 million đồng for sharing a post they deemed false, regarding universal health checkups and the under-18 organ donation proposal.
- She was required to delete the post, publish a correction, and apologize publicly.
Just days prior to his controversial Facebook post, on Oct. 28, Nam Phong had written a report for Một Thế Giới covering the Ministry of Health’s Oct. 27 press conference, titled “Organ Donation by Children Under 18: A Lesson in Propriety and Policy Communication.”
- Một Thế Giới magazine is an outlet of the Vietnam Association for Science and Technology Information, which is a member of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations.
The Aftermath: On the afternoon of Oct. 30, the National Coordinating Center for Human Organ Transplantation suspended new online donor registrations.
- By Nov. 1, the government reported to National Assembly deputies that it had dropped the proposal to allow individuals under 18 to register as donors, restricting registration to those 18 and older.
- However, the revised draft still permits the retrieval of tissues and body parts from individuals under 18 following brain death or circulatory death, provided there is written consent from their legal representative.
- During debates on the morning of Nov. 2, the National Assembly reviewed the revised draft, which continues to ban the harvesting of body parts from living individuals under 18. Children are now only permitted to donate regenerable tissue to their full siblings, and strictly in cases where no suitable adult donor is available.
Thành Phương wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Nov. 6, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
