About LIV
Independent media for Vietnam’s democratic future.
Legal Initiatives for Vietnam is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public-interest media organization.
Our story.
From a small legal publication to an independent media institution working for Vietnamese and international audiences.
Our mission is to build a democratic society in Vietnam through independent journalism, research, and education.
LIV was founded by Trịnh Hữu Long, Trần Quỳnh-Vi, Phạm Đoan Trang, and Trương Tự Minh in 2014 as a small legal publication. That publication became Luật Khoa, LIV’s first and core media project.
LIV was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan organization in California, United States, in January 2017. In November 2021, LIV opened its representative office in Taipei, Taiwan.
What we do.
We combine journalism, research, and education to strengthen public knowledge and democratic civic life.
Independent journalism
We believe that independent journalism and an informed citizenry are vital to Vietnam’s democratic future. We invest in media outlets and institutions that are free from censorship and self-censorship—and committed to quality journalism.
Luật Khoa
Independent reporting and analysis on law, politics, human rights, democracy, the rule of law, and environmental protection.
Visit Luật Khoa ↗The Vietnamese
News, analysis, and translations bringing Vietnam’s political, legal, human-rights, and religious affairs to international audiences.
Visit The Vietnamese ↗Luật Khoa YouTube
Accessible video journalism that helps Vietnamese audiences understand the issues shaping public life.
Watch on YouTube ↗Knowledge
Research
LIV provides quality resources for journalists, researchers, policymakers, and advocacy groups. Our work covers internet freedom, religious freedom, democratization, press freedom, and criminal justice.
Explore our publications ↗Capacity
Education
Our publications and research educate and inform audiences on contemporary issues, human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. We also provide training and paid internships, translation and compilation services for books, and access to physical and virtual libraries.
Discover the LIV Library ↗Meet our team.
LIV’s public leadership brings experience in journalism, law, human rights, research, and nonprofit media.
Trịnh Hữu Long
Aside from being a member of LIV’s leadership, he is in charge of Luật Khoa Magazine, a Vietnamese publication covering Vietnam’s law and politics. He began his career in 2008 as a legal counsel for companies in Hà Nội and became a democracy advocate and journalist in 2011. He has worked for media and human-rights organizations including Tia Sáng magazine, Tuổi Trẻ newspaper, and VOICE.
He specializes in Vietnam’s constitutional law, freedom of expression, internet freedom, and criminal justice, as well as Taiwan’s democratization. He has written and translated several books on politics and has authored the Vietnam chapter of Freedom House’s Freedom on the Net reports since 2021. He earned an LL.B. from Hanoi Law University and a master’s degree in Asia-Pacific studies from National Chengchi University.
Trần Quỳnh-Vi
She was a litigation lawyer in Menlo Park and San Jose, California, before becoming a democracy advocate and journalist in 2015. Apart from being a member of LIV’s leadership, she is a member of the fundraising team.
She specializes in Vietnam’s freedom of expression and criminal justice and is a strong advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. In 2021, Vi was accepted as a Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellow at the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy. She graduated from Columbia University’s master’s program in journalism in 2023.
Phạm Đoan Trang
She is one of Vietnam’s most prominent journalists and has worked for media outlets including VnExpress, VietNamNet, and Pháp Luật TP. Hồ Chí Minh since 2000. She became a democracy activist in the early 2010s and has been involved in social movements and educational activities. Alongside her work as an editor for LIV, she was a leading author at Liberal Publishing House and has written many books on Vietnam’s political and legal affairs.
Her journalism and human-rights work have been recognized by People in Need, Reporters Without Borders, the Martin Ennals Foundation, the US Department of State, the Canadian and United Kingdom governments, and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Vietnamese authorities arrested her in October 2020 and sentenced her to nine years in prison for “spreading propaganda against the state.” She is currently serving her sentence at An Phước Prison in Bình Dương province.
Independent oversight.
LIV’s Board of Directors provides strategic guidance, accountability, and support for our mission.
Meet the Board of Directors ↗