Trưng Khoa Lê’s four walls of freedom in Berlin against Vietnam’s media censorship
Accused of "opposing the state", the journalist spoke to AsiaNews in Thoibao’s office in Germany. Under police protection due to repeated threats, he is a symbol of resistance to Vietnam’s ebbing press freedom. At least 70 journalists have been imprisoned since 2016. The website has seen an uptake in visits after funding shut down Radio Free Asia. Today it uses AI-generated reporters to circumvent repression.
Berlin (AsiaNews) – Vietnam is afraid of a small room in East Berlin decked out with simple Christmas decorations, jumbled boxes, a window overlooking a gray December sky. All around, one can hear the chatter of adjacent offices: a real estate agency, a law firm, a photographer.
How ironic that, from these four walls of freedom, Trưng Khoa Lê, 54, worries the leaders of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), who find uncensored news in the morning published overnight by thoibao.de in the light of day in Germany and European democracy.
“The regime hates us with all its might,” Lê said, his face serene. Showing a Thoibao reel featuring an AI-generated journalist, he added: “He’s very handsome, isn’t he?” Pause. “And he can’t be arrested.”
On 17 November, Trưng Khoa Lê – journalist and editor-in-chief of the news site active for more than 20 years, now blocked in Vietnam – has been accused of “making, storing, spreading information, materials, items for the purpose of opposing the state,” according to the Ministry of Public Security in Hanoi.
Charged under Article 117 of the Criminal Code, he faces a prison sentence of up to 20 years. His trial is set to begin on 31 December.
This is yet another sign of the limits of press freedom in Vietnam, which increased since Tô Lâm, a police general, became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2024.
Since 10 December, freedom of information has been further restricted after Vietnam’s National Assembly adopted two legislative reforms that will make it harder for journalists to protect their sources and expand the list of classified information defined as state secrets.
Trưng Khoa Lê spoke to AsiaNews sitting at a glass table surrounded by cash registers. The walls of the room are covered with monitors and cameras. Three clocks simultaneously tick the time in Berlin, Hanoi, and New York.
“The regime's leaders in Vietnam, while drinking their morning tea, have already received our news," he said, looking at the clocks. The Thoibao editorial office is in the Dong Xuan Center, Berlin's large Asian market.
Here, among wholesale distributors and restaurants, Lê works alone, but with "the greatest possible technological support," and a network of collaborators and sources, some also in Vietnam, despite the risks. “People with ordinary jobs, not just journalists," he explained.
German police have been protecting him since 2018. He shows us his communications: law enforcement is constantly updated on the journalist's movements and meetings.
The threats against him have intensified since Thoibao, which reports on corruption and internal affairs in the CPV, first broke the news of the kidnapping in Berlin of Trinh Xuan Thanh, a former Vietnamese politician who has since been repatriated.
The case soured diplomatic relations between Germany and Vietnam and revealed the extent of Vietnamese police operations abroad.
Lê, a German citizen, has an arrest warrant pending, along with the recent indictment in November. “Next time we see each other, I'll tell you how many years they gave me,” he told AsiaNews with an amused tone.
Thoibao's channels reach up to "100 million clicks per month." Visits have increased since the Trump administration cut funding to news agencies like Radio Free Asia, which was forced to cease broadcasting after 29 years.
In Vietnam, Facebook remains the most popular online platform, the primary channel for news uninfluenced by the "truth" of the one-party system.
The thoibao.de page alone has 1.3 million followers. But censorship is also infiltrating Meta's social media. “Your video is not available in Vietnam,” reads a notification received during our meeting.
"All our channels have been completely blocked, so the news we publish cannot be read in Vietnam. This is a sign that press freedom is deteriorating," Lê said.
Behind him are the silver plaques awarded by YouTube for reaching 100,000 subscribers to the Thoibao News and thoibao.de channels.
"Over 80 per cent of our content is produced with artificial intelligence software," said the journalist. There are at least two reasons for this.
The first concerns the costs of maintaining the media, initially printed on paper and then published exclusively online.
The second concerns the risks faced by those who collaborate, especially in Vietnam. "Their responsibility is not comparable to that of artificial intelligence," he said.
Reporters Without Borders notes that under Tô Lâm’s influence, more than 70 journalists have been imprisoned since 2016, placing Vietnam in 173rd place out of 180 in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
"For Vietnamese people, it's important to see and listen to brief but good content. Because we're exposed to so many issues, news stories should be no longer than a minute. We see that they're well received this way," Lê explained.
Among the videos published by Thoibao are AI-generated "satirical clips" on CPV leaders. Some depict Tô Lâm and President Lương Cường at their desks, drinking tea and smoking cigars.
Despite censorship, thoibao.de manages to appear in Vietnam thanks to “new technology” that provides a “special link” that bypasses the government’s firewall, Lê explained.
The intention is to create "political" content that is not boring and can speak to the younger generations about democracy.
"I do this to give 100 million people in Vietnam the right to know the truth, far from the regime. They can't do that because they would get in trouble or be arrested. I believe this has a positive impact, including on the economy. I live in a democratic country in Germany, and I would like Vietnam to move in this direction as quickly as possible," said Lê, full of hope.
For him, it is no coincidence that the 31 December trial – in which he is accused alongside lawyer and pro-democracy activist Nguyễn Văn Đài, who also lives in Germany – is taking place on the eve of the 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, on 19-25 January 2025.
“They think they can silence me so they don't have problems at the start of the year,” he said.
The congress will set the guidelines for the five-year period from 2026 to 2031. “Before and after, the same system will remain: a police state led by the Communist Party and its top leader, Tô Lâm," the journalist said.
Trưng Khoa Lê believes in Vietnam's potential for democratic transformation. “I think a large part of the Vietnamese people want renewal – to have a system in which their right to vote truly counts, with equal opportunities guaranteed. This will happen, but much depends on our work," he pointed out in a serious tone.
The journalist dreams of a free Vietnam. Until then, he will not return. And when that happens, he will dedicate himself to politics, to help the “transition”, he told AsiaNews. He dreams of a plane connecting Berlin to Hanoi, as Thoibao is trying to do.
"I would invite on board the agents who have protected me over the years, and the journalists who fought. And we will start celebrating already in flight," he said. Four walls of freedom that become wings. Who knows how many times he dreamt about it.
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