Legal Intitiatives for Vietnam’s 2025 Recap

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In 2025, turning 11 years old, Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV) faced a major challenge, yet also discovered an unprecedented sense of momentum.

FINANCIALS

The US government’s abrupt funding freeze in January 2025 threw LIV into serious jeopardy. With much of our major US government funding coming indirectly through intermediary international organizations, we had originally projected financial stability through at least the end of 2026. Instead, we were forced into austerity mode right at the start of 2025 as over $300,000 in grants earmarked for 2025 and 2026 vanished overnight.

Salaries were reduced for almost all mid-level managers and above. Honorariums for contributors were discontinued. We relocated to a smaller office and slashed all non-essential expenses. Towards the end of the year, a persistent shortfall in funds left us with no choice but to prematurely terminate contracts with several managerial staff members. 

Thanks to the generous support of our readers, alongside revenue from content operations and a few new grants, LIV managed to absorb part of the blow and stabilize our budget through at least June 2026.

Given our current revenue projections from both business activities and funding, we remain optimistic about weathering the rest of the year, targeting an estimated income of around $350,000.

To address readers’ questions on foreign funding: we want to reiterate that receiving grants from governments and international organizations is a standard, legitimate, and legal practice for non-profits worldwide, including civic organizations (and state agencies) in Vietnam. LIV accepts no funding from political parties, religious bodies, or special interest groups that could compromise our independence. Nor do we ever permit any donor to dictate what we write or demand the removal of any article. 

In truth, LIV had long prepared for the day funding might dry up, because we know no grant lasts forever. Early in 2022, three years before the US government cuts hit, we had already begun pivoting toward a content-based business model. Though the plug was pulled sooner than anticipated, we can take confidence in knowing LIV is not at risk of shutting its doors: we generate meaningful, steady revenue from our readers and commercial operations to keep us standing strong.

Through these hardships, the team’s spirit has only grown resilient. We have pitched and launched a series of new commercial initiatives, as highlighted below.

LUẬT KHOA MAGAZINE

Our flagship project, Luật Khoa Magazine, continued to make dramatic strides in both quality and reach. In 2025, alongside our traditional analytical and commentary pieces, we experimented with an Opinion section, investigative reporting, and data journalism. Notably, we launched a daily news roundup in December. The results surpassed our wildest expectations:

  • News : 104 pieces
  • Magazine: 463 articles 
  • Pageviews: 3.6 million (up from 1.3 million in 2024)
  • Unique Visitors: 1.8 million (up from 687,000 in 2024)

Top 10 Most-Read Magazine Articles of the Year:

12 Monthly Issues

On the final Thursday of every month, Luật Khoa releases a special monthly issue in both PDF and EPUB formats, available exclusively to our paid subscribers.

THE VIETNAMESE MAGAZINE

As the English edition of Luật Khoa Magazine, The Vietnamese Magazine made massive strides in 2025, cementing its status as the only independent English-language news outlet covering Vietnam today.

  • Published Articles: 323 (up from 137 in 2024)
  • Pageviews: 177,000 (up from 117,000 in 2024)
  • Unique Visitors: 107,000 (up from 59,000 in 2024)

Through the end of 2025, The Vietnamese remained completely free to read before introducing a paywall in 2026.

10 Most-Read Articles of the Year:

LIV’S VIDEO CHANNELS

In an era dominated by video content, Luat Khoa’s video channels continued to lead as top-tier outlets for Vietnamese-language political commentary and analysis.

In 2025, we overhauled our broadcast strategy. Our flagship channel, Luật Khoa Tạp Chí, shifted focus toward documentary-style videos rather than general coverage. Towards the end of the year, we launched two dedicated channels – Luật Khoa Clips and Trịnh Hữu Long – to deliver specialized news coverage and commentary.

Views:

  • Luật Khoa tạp chí: 12,513,769 (up from 6.6 million in 2024)
  • Trịnh Hữu Long: 185,286

Watch Time (Hours):

  • Luật Khoa: 988,741 (up from 425,900 in 2024 )
  • Trịnh Hữu Long: 14,215

New Subscribers: 

  • Luật Khoa: 66,995 (up from 37,300 in 2024 )
  • Trịnh Hữu Long: 3,523

10 Most-Watched Videos: 

THE 1975 PROJECT

The year 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of April 30, 1975 – a watershed moment with enduring impacts on Vietnam’s history and national identity. To mark the occasion, we spearheaded three key initiatives:

  • The 1975 Project: Launched at 1975.luatkhoa.com, this dedicated feature revisits the historic events of 1975 through political, personal, and cultural lenses.
  • The 1975 Internship Program: Launched on April 30, 2025, this initiative targets young overseas Vietnamese. It aims to reconnect the next generation with their roots, foster identity awareness, and build meaningful cross-border communities to help shape a freer, more just Vietnam.
  • 70th Anniversary Special Issue of the Republic of Vietnam (Oct 26, 1955): Released in late October under the theme “Portraits & Legacy,” this special edition spotlighted key chapters from a regime now written into history.

Key Metrics:

  • Published Articles: 111
  • Pageviews: 50,284 
  • Unique Visitors: 23,285
  • Reader Donations: $10,385

CONTENT BUSINESS & MONETIZATION

In our fourth year of commercial operations and third year running a paid subscription model, Luật Khoa is building a firmer foundation for long-term financial sustainability. The sudden cutoff of US government grants in early 2025 pushed us to double down on our media business model. We view commercial viability not just as our only realistic path to survival, but as the single best way for independent journalism to put down deep roots among its audience.

This year, Luật Khoa Magazine maintained its subscription rate at $2/month, roughly the price of a bowl of pho, keeping it affordable even for students. Readers looking to offer extra support can opt for a $5/month tier.

We also shifted our monetization model from a strict “hard paywall” to a “metered paywall.” Readers can now access a set number of free articles every month regardless of the topic before hitting a paywall, replacing the old system where selected stories were locked behind a paywall from the start. Our Breaking News section remains completely free.

Even with a subscription model in place, over half of our content remains freely accessible, and Luật Khoa continues to operate as a non-profit organization.

We continued to receive media business development training this year from the US-based Media Development Investment Fund (MDIF).

Two MDIF specialists, Dávid Tvrdoň (left) and Mayuri Mei Lin (right), alongside journalist Trịnh Hữu Long, Editor-in-Chief of Luật Khoa Magazine.

Year-End Business Metrics:

  • 41,836: Total registered accounts across free and paid tiers (up from 17,890 in 2024).
  • 1,050: Total paid subscribers (up from 901 in 2024).
  • 1,522: Total financial supporters, including paid subscribers and recurring donors (up from 1,106 in 2024).
  • $2,703: Monthly recurring revenue from subscribers (up from $1,917 in 2024).
  • $1,123: Monthly donations via Donorbox and PayPal (up from $800 in 2024).
  • $1,980: Total raised through our Gift Subscription Program, granting 1-year subscriptions to 99 students.

CO-FOUNDER PHẠM ĐOAN TRANG MARKS 5 YEARS IN PRISON 

Phạm Đoan Trang (Photo: Adam Bemma/Al Jazeera). Graphic: Luật Khoa.

Our co-founder and editor – journalist Phạm Đoan Trang – has now spent five full years behind bars. Barring any changes, she faces four more years in prison to serve out her sentence.

In November 2025, PEN Sweden honored Đoan Trang with the Tucholsky Prize for persecuted writers.

As we have stated repeatedly, imprisoning Phạm Đoan Trang on charges of “anti-state propaganda” is fundamentally unjust – violating both the Vietnamese Constitution and the international human rights treaties Vietnam has signed and ratified. We continue to call on the government to release her immediately and unconditionally to a destination of her choice.

If you would like to write to Đoan Trang, letters can be sent to:
An Phước Prison, An Thái Commune, Phú Giáo District, Bình Dương Province, Vietnam.

OUR TEAM

The year 2025 brought major organizational shifts, marked by the election of a new Board of Directors and key leadership appointments.

  • Executive Director: Effective February 2, 2025, Trịnh Hữu Long – Editor-in-Chief of Luật Khoa Magazine – assumed the role of Interim Executive Director following the resignation of Trần Quỳnh Vi. He officially stepped into the role of Executive Director on January 1, 2026.
  • Taiwan Office Director: On April 28, 2025, LIV appointed Trần Quỳnh Vi as Director of the Taiwan Office. She continues to serve as Managing Editor of The Vietnamese Magazine.
  • Hội đồng Quản trị mới: New Board of Directors: On June 6, 2025, LIV seated a new Board of Directors comprising journalist Vũ Quí Hạo Nhiên, legal scholar Dr. Nguyễn Quốc Tấn Trung, journalist  Paul Mooney, journalist Trần Quỳnh Vi, and journalist Trịnh Hữu Long. Board members serve three-year terms. 
LIV’s new Board members, left to right: Trịnh Hữu Long, Trần Quỳnh Vi, Paul Mooney, Nguyễn Quốc Tấn Trung, and Vũ Quí Hạo Nhiên.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS 

WHAT’S AHEAD IN 2026? 

The year 2026 marks a critical turning point – one that will decide LIV’s long-term survival and business model. Every priority on our roadmap centers on building sustainable revenue streams while staying true to our mission of independent journalism.

  • Breaking News: Building on the successful trial run in December 2025, LIV is doubling down on news operations with the goal of becoming Vietnam’s most trusted political newsroom.
  • The Vietnamese Magazine Paywall: After providing free access for over eight years, our English-language outlet will transition to a paid subscription model starting in February 2026.
  • Multimedia Expansion: Building on three years of strong video performance, LIV will expand production across both documentary content and daily news coverage.

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