Tran Thi Tho

On August 5, 2021, a student of Duy Tan University posted a video of him arguing with Tran Thi Tho about how the Vietnamese government responded to the COVID pandemic and welfare support for citizens (she described how the vaccine scheme was not working, and how people desperately fled big cities, creating devastating scenes across the national roads all over the country). The student accused Tho of having reactionary thoughts, distorting the Party and State’s policies, and being, “The nut that forgets its skin.”

Two days later, on August 7, the Public Security of Da Nang City announced that it was working with Duy Tan University to “investigate” the incident and would properly address the issue. Bringing the public security into every minor issue in Vietnam is a classic intimidation tactic used to make sure that the victim does not dare to challenge the authorities. On August 10, Duy Tan University applied the highest disciplinary action against its lecturer Tran Thi Tho, dismissal.